Post-Birthday Dinner

Legendary Hangover = Well Celebrated Birthday

And boy oh boy did Cafe Drake suffer through the Lord's Day following our celebratory dinner and party!! Luckily, THREE iced Cafe Americanos from nearby Euro Cafe bolstered our ailing body enough to enjoy a lazy, ur-caj dinner with Jen Ruske.Once we were certain we could keep solids down by 9PM . . . On the menu: Long-Simmered Country Style Spareribs with Sauerkraut, Roasted Baby Potatoes, Cucumber Salad and sliced Jersey-fresh tomatoes. And oh, plenty of vodka and tonics and, courtesy of Ruske, a charming bottle of bone-dry Muscadet (Sevre et Maine, Loire Valley, 2003).

SPARERIBS WITH SAUERKRAUT

Suffer like we did and crawl to the nearest butcher for the best boneless "country-style" ribs you can afford. Take a long nap while this recipe simmers away for 2 hours.

3 lbs. boneless spareribs / 4 cups sauerkraut / 1 tart apple, peeled and chopped / 1 T. caraway seeds / 1 large onion, chopped

1. Cut ribs into reasonable size pieces and brown in a hot skillet for 10 minutes.


2. Add juice from sauerkraut and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, add onions, cover and simmer 45 minutes.


3. Add sauerkraut, apple and caraway. Mix well.


4. Cook covered for another hour or two.


5. Serve hot.