Favorite Magazines & Short Rib Dinner

Lately I've become even more addicted to cooking magazines than ever. My new favorites are Delicious (I especially love the glossary at the back that translates terms for North American readers), Olive and Food - Waitrose Illustrated. That's in addition to Bon Appetit, Gourmet and Donna Hay and others at random if the photographs grab me.

Now that I'm writing my own cookbook and doing my own photography (can't afford a food stylist) I love to look at them for inspiration. They are glorious. The challenge, though, since I have tons, is to remember where I saw that perfect recipe for....... I can spend a frustrating hour looking for it and head up to the computer to check on-line. Sometimes that works, sometimes not. So if a recipe is extra special. I cut it out of the magazine and keep it in a box.


Last night's dinner consisted of my own Korean style short ribs and Waitrose Food Illustrated inspired side dishes of coleslaw and potato salad. Both salads will join those already in the box. Definitely repeaters!!!

Spiced Mango Coleslaw
Prep time: 15 minutes
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
1 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 mango (underripe, peeled and grated)
1/4 white cabbage, thinly sliced or shredded
1 large carrot, peeled and coarsely grated
1 cup of cilantro (coriander leaves), chopped
juice of 2 limes
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat a non stick fry pan. Do not add oil, just toast coriander and cumin seeds dry over medium high heat until they give off their wonderful aroma. Take them off the heat and allow to cool before grinding them to a fine powder. You can use a mortar and pestle or electric food grinder. I used my KitchenAid coffee grinder since it's easy to dismantle and wash.

2. To slice the cabbage, I once again took the easy route and used my Cuisinart with the thin slicer blade. Then changed to the grater blade for the mango and carrot.

3. Put the cabbage, carrot, mango, chopped cilantro in a large bowl. Add the lime juice, ground spices, salt & pepper and toss well.

The wonderful thing about this coleslaw is that it tastes fabulous right away (and just as good the next day for lunch, I might add). There's no need to let the flavors marinate.

Roast Potato & Garlic Salad with Mint
Prep time: 5 minutes
Roast time: 30-45 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes
Serves 2-3

Ingredients
1/2 kg/1 lb new potatoes, cut in half unless they are very small
6 cloves of garlic, separated but not peeled (just remove the tips)
2 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1-2 tbsp mayonnaise
leaves of 1 bunch of fresh mint, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 400F/200C
2. Put potatoes and garlic cloves in an ovenproof pan and drizzle with oli & vinegar, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss. Roast until soft and set aside to cool.
3. Put potatoes in a large bowl - cut into largish but bite sized chunks. Peel garlic and add to the potatoes. They will mostly be creamy, but some will be chewy. The different textures add to the eating experience.
4. Add the vinegar and oil from the pan and mix. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Add Mayo and mint, taste and add more salt and pepper as needed.

Korean Style Ribs
Makes 1½ cups or enough to marinate 8-10 strips of ribs
Prep time: 5 minutes
Marinate: 4-24 hours
Cooking time: 5-6 minutes
Ingredients:
Miami style short ribs ( cut very thin), 4 strips / person
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup sesame oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/3 cup sesame seeds

1. Combine last four ingredients to make marinade in a zip lock bag or deep dish.

2. Marinate ribs in the sauce for at least 4 hours at room temperature or overnight in fridge. Turn ribs a couple of times so that all the ribs will soak up the marinade.

3. Broil 2-3 minutes per side on BBQ or broiler rack in oven. Let them rest for 5 minutes to tenderize further. It is a tough cut of meat without the marinating and resting.