Lunch: Coca-Cola Ribs and Salted Caramel Popcorn

(No, not ribs and popcorn together silly. Although, I could be onto something there...)

After having countless meals at the girls flat I decided it was high time I repaid the favour. On Sunday I told them to starve themselves beforehand and have drinks, bibs and a few seasons of New Girl at the ready, because this was going to be a meal of epic proportions.

I cooked up an All-American feast of Coca-Cola ribs, walnut and apple slaw, mac and cheese and salted caramel popcorn. I don't like to talk about the calories, so we won't. You've probably gathered by now that I'm not a celery and spirulina kind of girl.

My Coca-Cola Ribs are adapted from What Katie Ate's version, and hopefully I've done them justice. As with all good ribs they take a while, but are so worth the time.

• 2 racks of pork ribs 
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon soft brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder (or seeds)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix above herbs and spices together and rub all over the ribs. Cayenne and paprika are compulsory here, but don't fret if you don't have all the other ingredients. Mix and match yo.

Leave the spice rubbed ribs in the fridge for at least 2 hours. When ready, remove and sear them in a hot griddle pan or on the BBQ and place in a roasting dish.

• 3 Cups Coca-Cola
• 10 (yes, ten) cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 whole chilli, finely chopped

Mix all above ingredients together and pour over ribs. Place the roasting dish in the fridge and leave to marinate overnight. Good Ol' Coca-Cola will do it's job here and break down the meat so that when it's cooked it will be falling off the bone.

You are probably completely sick of ribs by this stage, but hang in there! Preheat your oven to 160C and cook the ribs for 3 hours or so, turning at half time and basting those bad boys frequently.

Once they're finally done, garnish with sesame seeds and chilli, chuck on your bib, get your finger bowl out and dig in. For dignity associated reasons I didn't take action shots of us eating...

Not bad eh? Drool drool drool.

Like all well mannered girls we each went back for seconds. And while I realise we had probably eaten enough to see us through to the next week, we then sat down with season 1 of New Girl and dug into the salted caramel popcorn.

Now this popcorn is super easy to make so don't be frightened off by the caramel, it's just butter and sugar. Before you start, line a baking tray with baking paper.

• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup popping corn

 Just like the days before microwave popcorn, heat the oil in a large pot and add the popping corn. Shake it frequently until it stops popping. You're halfway there. 

• 125 grams butter
•  3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• flaky sea salt

Combine butter, sugar and honey in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until sugar has dissolved. Bring mixture to the boil and cook without stirring, for 5 minutes or until light golden.

Now, quick quick quick pour the caramel into the popcorn pot and stir to coat evenly. Spread the popcorn out onto the baking tray and sprinkle over sea salt as desired. Resist the temptation to have a nibble (I discovered hot caramel burns your mouth) and once cool break the popcorn up. 

It's sweet, salty and completely addictive. Unless you have any weirdos who don't like popcorn at the table (James), it's going to be a hit.

I'm a bit late for fourth of July, but if you fancy cooking up an American feast for any reason then don't forget to include these two recipes. Although the ribs take a while, both dishes actually require very little effort and skill which suits me down to the ground, especially on a Sunday!