Thanksgiving Double Rib Special

Cranberry Ribs with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Multigrain Rice

With another Thanksgiving in which I would have to make myself a feast, I decided to indulge myself with some ribs, especially since it had been a while since I last made myself a rack or two.  Having spotted a sale on fresh cranberries, the experimental side of me kicked up a gear and decided to somehow marry them with the ribs.  Though I'm sure there are recipes for ribs using cranberries, I decided to stay away from searching for recipes and just use whatever was available in my kitchen that weekend.

"I'm Proud of You, Andrew"... for Making Ribs

My Maple, Grain Mustard and Thyme Ribs (top) and Ginger-Soy Ribs served at the potluck.

A few of my theatre buddies and I had bandied about the idea of a potluck a few times over the past year or two, but for some reason we never really took it up seriously.  However, discussion somehow turned to food (surprise, surprise!) during a rehearsal break a week before the Louis Riel Day weekend, and we all eventually agreed to have that potluck on Louis Riel Day after all.  As my discussion that precipitated this event involved ribs, and since I had recently bought two racks of pork side ribs, also known as spareribs, during a sale a few weeks beforehand, I was assigned the duty to make ribs for the potluck. I've previously made ribs, including the Maple, Grain Mustard and Thyme Ribs, but, realizing I had a full day off virtually at home before the potluck, I took advantage of the situation to try cooking ribs more slowly for the first time.  I also decided to use both racks of ribs I had in my freezer and marinate them differently.  One of them was a tweaked rendition of Maple, Grain Mustard and Thyme Ribs, while the other rack was given a ginger-soy marinade.

Mother's Day a Week Early

My parents were in town for the weekend in the midst of their cross-country road trip, so I thought I should treat my dear mother to a decent dinner of my own making. Yes, there are some decent restaurants here in Brandon (yesterday we enjoyed a nice lunch at Lady of the Lake), but I believe nothing says "I love you, Mom" better than making her a nice dinner instead of taking her out for one.

Making My First Christmas Dinner

I'll remember Christmas 2009 as a unique if not watershed moment; it was the first Christmas which I did not spend with family. Considering that I'd been able to take time off work for three consecutive Christmases including the flights there and back, it was about time I'd let my colleagues take the time off while I would hold the fort. Of course, with a few days off (perchance a long weekend), that gave me the opportunity to cook experimentally for myself. My Christmas may have been solitary, but that didn't mean that I couldn't make the best of the situation.