Barefoot Contessa Sundays Greek Smoked Pork Ribs and Mezze Platter Ina Garten aka The Barefoot Contessa is my all time favorite cook/hostess/person ever. I am always inspired after watching her show every weekend and usually spend my Sundays cooking up her delicious recipes. This week on her show she cooked a Mediterranean feast with Chef Michael Symon. As always, the dishes turned out great as all her "full proof" recipes do! For the mezza platter I made her tzatziki and served it with marinated feta, Greek olives, pita bread, and hummus. Here are the recipes for the Smoked Pork Ribs and the tzatziki: Smoked Pork Ribs 2013, Michael Symon, All Rights Reserved Total Time: 4 hours 40 minutes Ingredients Rub: 1 tablespoon garlic salt 2 teaspoons smoked paprika 2 teaspoons toasted and ground coriander seed Pinch kosher salt 1 tablespoon oregano 2 racks pork baby-back ribs Juice of 1 lemonGlaze: 1 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 1 garlic clove, minced 1/2 small red onion, minced Teaspoon fresh oregano Teaspoon fresh thymeFinish: 1 lemon Sea salt 1 tablespoon fresh oregano 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil Drizzle of honey Directions Mix to combine all the rub ingredients. Moisten the ribs with lemon juice and then coat all sides with the rub, making sure to distribute evenly.Arrange the grill or smoker for indirect heating so the ribs will not be directly over the heat source. Using low heat and applewood chips (about half a pound), place ribs on cool part of the grill, wrap in foil, make a few incisions in the foil and smoke for 1 hour.Meanwhile, whisk together all glaze ingredients.After 1 hour, pour a third of the glaze on top of the ribs and seal tightly in the foil, being careful not to tear it. Do the same with remaining racks. Return ribs to the grill and cook meat-side down for 30 minutes, maintaining low heat. Occasionally check the grill to make sure it remains low. After 30 minutes, flip the foil bundles and continue cooking.After 1 hour of cooking, remove the ribs from the grill and let rest in the foil for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, raise grill heat to medium-high. Cut the lemon in half and grill flesh-side down until nicely marked and slightly soft, 3 to 5 minutes.When done resting, remove the ribs from the foil and place on the grill meat-side down and cook for 4 minutes. Flip and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove the ribs from the grill and garnish with the grilled lemon, sea salt, oregano and extra virgin olive oil and a little drizzle of honey. http://m.foodnetwork.com/recipes/724104 Tzatziki Ingredients 1 pound (1 pint) plain greek yogurt 1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled and seeded 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 cup sour cream 1 tablespoon Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 lemon) 1 tablespoon good olive oil 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh dill Pinch freshly ground black pepper Directions Grate the cucumber and toss it with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt; place it in another sieve, and set it over another bowl. Place bowl in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours so the cucumber can drain.Put the greek yogurt in a large bowl. Squeeze as much liquid from the cucumber as you can and add the cucumber to the yogurt. Mix in the sour cream, vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, dill, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper. You can serve it immediately, but I prefer to allow the tzatziki to sit in the refrigerator for a few hours for the flavors to blend. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
