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08/30/2018 12:01 AMSome of you may think I am a pretty good cook. Some may like the way I write. Someone recently told me he only needs to read the first sentence to know I wrote it.
Maybe that is good, maybe not.
I am a serviceable good cook and I should be since I have been writing about restaurants and cooking for well over three decades. But I do believe that anyone who wants to cook, and is willing to put in some time learning, can become a pretty good cook. The same is true of writing, as long as you are a keen reader as well.
In the course of my food writing career, I have been thrilled to meet amazing chefs. This summer I was able to read some of Rollie Wesen’s travel journal that he wrote as he and his wife, Claudine Pépin, along with Lisa Marber Rich and her husband Eric Rich took a two-week Oceana cruise to cities and towns in Europe. Rollie, his daughter Shorey, and Claudine also spent a week before in Rome.
While writing is not Rollie’s day job (he is an assistant professor of culinary arts at Johnson and Wales in Providence, is a founding member of the Jacques Pépin Foundation, and is in a doctoral program, too), his fluency with words is impressive. His writing not only makes me wish I were there, but somehow makes me feel as if I am. I write. He is a writer.
As for cooking, at a recent party, Michel Nishan created a grain salad that totally wowed me. I ate my fill and begged for a portion to take home. I cook. Nischan, along with many others with whom I play boules in the summer, is a great chef.
But once in a while one of us mere mortals makes something almost heavenly. The baby back ribs made by my fellow boules player John Murphy are the best I have ever tasted. He preps them the night before in the oven and refrigerates them. He takes them out of the fridge about an hour before he throws them on the grill. You can double or triple or even quadruple the dry rub. Keep the extra rub in a jar on your spice rack for other dishes you make.
Lee White of Old Lyme has been a food editor and restaurant reviewer for more than 25 years. You can email her at leeawhite@aol.com.
Baby Back Ribs a la John Murphy
Mix together the following dry rub
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 tablespoons kosher salt
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon celery salt
2 teaspoons white pepper
2 teaspoons chili pepper
½ teaspoon (or maybe more) cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
For the ribs:
4 full racks of good quality baby back ribs
Two lemons
Ask your butcher to remove skin from rib sides.
Cut lemons in half and rub over each rack, both sides, squeezing as much juice as possible. Let ribs sit for 15 to 20 minutes.
Generously sprinkle dry rub over both side and rub into meat. Let sit 30 minutes.
You can then cook over indirect heat in a gas grill at a temperature of 325 degrees, or do what John does: Double foil wrap each rack. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place rib racks on sheet pans in single layers (may require more than one sheet pan). Bake for about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Check, and if the meat is starting to pull away from the bones, remove from the oven; if not, keep in oven for another 15 minutes.
Open the foil and pour off any seasoned liquid into plastic container.
Let ribs cool, then re-wrap in foil, and refrigerate.
About an hour before serving, heat gas grill to low. Spray or oil grate. Uncover ribs and heat to warm through and moisten, 10 minutes.
Rewarm reserved seasoned liquid and use it to baste ribs. Turn up heat to medium. Baste both sides with barbecued sauce (John uses Stubbs Original), but don’t smother. Turn twice, each time basting with sauce. Total time on medium should be 10 to 15 minutes, maximum.
Remove ribs to cutting board. Cut ribs, place on a platter, and baste with more seasoned liquid. Serve to applause.