Sunset Cookbook

During grilling season, I love to make my own barbecue sauce. There are tons of recipes out there, and it's surprisingly pretty easy to put together. You toss a bunch of ingredients in a pan and let it simmer, then bam! You end up with a thick and delicious sauce to slather on ribs or chicken. This recipe has double the flavor because the ribs are coated with a spice-rub before being smothered with barbecue sauce. The main components, paprika, thyme, dried cherries, and Zinfandel, might seem like an unusual combination, but they work wonderfully well together. The resulting ribs are finger-licking good. You should really make them this weekend! Here's the recipe.

Normally I purchase salsa verde, the Mexican condiment that's made from tomatillos, but sometimes it's nice to make it from scratch. Like most salsa, it requires a food processor or blender for pureeing. This one gets its reddish-green color from the tomatillos, green chiles, and chipotle chilies in adobo. The ingredients are broiled in the oven before being blended, so the salsa has a nice depth of flavor. The chipotles give the salsa the perfect amount of heat. To learn how it's done, keep reading.

Earlier this week, I shared menu suggestions for a vegetarian Thanksgiving. Now, I've got one more idea for you: this wildly delicious mushroom and leek tart! It's a beautiful dish that's absolutely scrumptious. The crust is a quick homemade salt and pepper dough, while the filling is a savory mixture of sautéed mushrooms, leeks, thyme, and gruyère cheese. The ingredient list calls for chanterelles, but they were quite expensive at my local market, so I opted for regular button mushrooms. I served this tart to mushroom haters, and they loved it! To make it for Thanksgiving or any other Fall celebration, get the recipe here.