No Vegetarians: Salt and Pepper Baby Back Ribs and Lightly Creamed Spinach, for 1

I never used to think of baby back ribs as anything other than giant slabs of meat smothered in barbeque sauce that’s two-thirds high fructose corn syrup, cooked by a stranger and begrudgingly delivered by someone at any number of chain restaurants. Complete with greasy sheen and wet naps.

But, you know what? Ribs are pretty cheap when you’re cooking just for yourself and they don’t even need barbeque sauce. As it turns out, they require much less supervision than a steak and they’re a delicious treat for the weekend. Since they do take time, I like planning just such a treat for myself for a Saturday or Sunday dinner.

I’ve seen ribs on sale all over recently, usually for as little $2.99 a pound. Plus, any grocery store with a meat counter (even Safeway, QFC, Albertsons, Walmart, etc.) will cut a slab of ribs into smaller pieces, you just have to ask. It’s the perfect way to buy only as much as you need. I ask for a third of a rack which works out to about four ribs and rings up at less than $4.00.

This Saturday evening I paired the ribs with some very lightly creamed spinach. I always love to say that eating an entire bunch of spinach by yourself is almost as good as working out.

Salt and Pepper Ribs:

1/3 rack baby back pork ribs

Salt and Pepper

Lightly Creamed Spinach:

1 bunch spinach

1 shallot

2 or 3 sprigs of thyme (or not)

1 clove garlic

2 tablespoons heavy cream

2 tablespoons shredded parmesan or other salty cheese

Olive oil, salt, pepper

Implements:

Small baking dish

Large skillet

Foil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line your baking dish with foil and lay in the ribs. Season the heck out of those babies on both sides with salt and pepper. Cover them tightly with more foil and pop in the oven for an hour and a half.

When an hour and a half is up, uncover them and turn the heat down to 300 degrees. Cook for another hour.

During this phase of cooking, get to cleaning and trimming your spinach and dice the shallot and garlic. Set these aside.

When the ribs complete their final hour, crank up the heat to 475 for about 15 minutes to develop some more color. Take them out of the oven and let them rest while you tend to the spinach.

Cook the shallot in some olive oil using your skillet over medium heat until soft, 4 minutes or so. Add the garlic, give it a stir and add the spinach right away. Sprinkle over some salt and pepper and move it around the pan until it wilts down, but maintains a bright green color, another 4 minutes or so. Remove it from the heat and mix in the cream and cheese.