Recipe -- Rib Sauce

I love cooking... but I do not follow any recipe at all. I make my own recipe as I cook... but I do not take notes. So it is virtually impossible for me to reproduce the same dish at all. And this really drives Joe insane. I love to marinate... one of the special secrets in Chinese cooking. I love to try out new marinates... sometimes it turns out to be a huge success, there are also times that Joe and I are so close to write off the entire meal and order in for the night.

Sacastically enough though, I have quite an impressive cook books collection. Looney Spoons, Jamie Oliver, Reader's Digest, Cook like a Chef, Rachel Ray's 30 minutes' meals... you name it, and I am sure I can fish that out in my collection. Why do I buy cook books? No special reason at all... it is just like other women buying shoes, whether they need them or not. Or put it in another way... You need a pair of shoes to go with each outfit you have in the closet. "What happens if I want to wear this outfit, but have no shoes to go with... this is THE pair of shoes that I need to have..." The same theory when I wander down the cookbook section at Chapters.

I came across a rib sauce recipe on Ricardo and Friends a few months ago. I have been meaning to try it, but with the wedding and stuff... this recipe was taped on the fridge door for over three months. This past weekend, I finally tried it out once and for all...

Sauce:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup tomato paste
4 tsp dijion mustard
4 tsp Worchestershire Sauce
2 tsp ginger powder (I used fresh grind ginger)
1 tsp cayenne powder
1 cup chili sauce (I used Franks's Hot Sauce)
2 cups beer (I wanted to use Stella, but we only had Molson Canadian...)
6 garlic gloves (I've started my herb garden a month before the wedding and I grow my own garlic now!)

mix everyone in a saucepan... bring to boil and reduce for 7 minutes. Let the sauce cool to room temperature and then rub sauce on meat (ribs, chicken wings...etc) I used drumsticks. Marinated for 8 hours (yes... 8 hrs not 2 hrs... that's the magic of marinate)
bake in 375c convection oven for 45 mins (covered with tin foil), then another 30mins uncovered.

We had drumsticks marinated in this sauce for dinner on Sunday.... along with a bottle of our wedding wine. Joe and I LOVE this recipe.... I have to admit that following recipes once in a while is actually a good thing!

Enjoy! Happy Cooking!