Ribs are a family thing. My Uncle Matt had an idea for a rib joint, so the Lichorowic family bought a bankrupt chain of five restaurants in the late 70's throughout upstate New York. They retooled the stores and Rib Inns was born. Uncle Matt enlisted his oldest son (my late cousin Gary) and headed out on a nationwide vision quest for a good rib recipe to duplicate. Many brown paper bags filled with different ribs were brought by for us to taste and rate. We'd eat and be bored to the gills learning about stupid BBQ. We tried them all; dirty red BBQ sauce, Carolina sweet, dry rubbed and slow smoked. After about a month of this I didn't care if I ate another rib until I was 70. I made it to 35.

Rib Inn's, once immensely popular and successful, ultimate demise was due to 1) very poor economy and probably 2) Making people fat. The plating and portions were immeasurable. For $9.95 you got a full rack of baby back ribs with cereal bowl of slaw and a 9"x9" pan of Cornbread on your meal. For an extra $5.95 you got an Onion loaf banged and dropped into the middle of your table. This was an aspiration of my late cousin. The Rib Inn Onion Loaf should have been sold at Home Depot. A full loaf's dimensions were the size of a full size commercial fryer basket (12"x 8" x 10"), These were made by hand breading onions and layering them into a fry basket and cooking them to order in fresh peanut oil. It became a local legend. Syracuse University students would order a loaf; wrap it in newspaper and head back to their dorm room.

Uncle won't say a word. The rub and the sauce he keeps to himself along with about 8000 other amazing recipes in his head. A family yarn after 30 years had become an annoying summer obsession with my brothers and I to duplicate Uncle Matt's ribs. We have an ongoing verbal pilgrimage (CA, FL & VA) calling each other to share our ingredients list anytime one of us produces a batch worth mentioning. Needless to say, after 3 decades, we can now bury Uncle's recipe, and each appreciate how great a good rack of baby backs can be.

I like the rib platter: Ribs, Slaw and cornbread

The Ribs

If I hear the words, "I love it when the meat falls off the bone," I cringe. Usually to get that, the ribs have to be incinerated for an impious amount of time with any vestige of taste gone with it. I use baby backs only because, for the money and the quality and what is readily available around here, they are still some of the best in the country. My older brother, Bob, and I do a wet rub and steam before finishing on the grill. My brother Bruce does a dry rub with a slow pre-cook in the oven before finishing on the grill. It comes out great every time. He's made it a Zen discipline.

Dry Rib Rub
1 3/4 cups Brown sugar
1/4 cup Kosher salt
1/2 cup Paprika
3 tbs Parsley, dried
2 tbs Basil, dried
3 tbs Oregano, dried
2 tbs Thyme, dried
2 tbs Onion, dried
1 tbs Cayenne pepper
1 tbs Garlic, powder
3 tbs Allspice, ground
3 tsp Cinnamon, ground

Combine all ingredients in something large enough that you can shake it all together, then store it in something you can shake it out of. (I use an old pizza joint cheese shaker). Cover with a piece of wax paper (between the glass and cover) and it'll stay until the next decade. Rinse the rack of ribs off with cold water and pat dry with paper towels. With your fingers, massage a light layer of olive oil into the ribs. Sprinkle and firmly massage the rub into the rib meal. Don't forget the sides and ends. Place them on a large pan in a preheated oven at 225º, let cook for 2 hours minimum. (I do 4 racks = 3.5 hours). Finish them on your grill with your desired BBQ sauce.

The Slaw

I was at a farmer's market a couple of weeks ago when I witnessed a woman picking up a large beautiful head of fennel and announced, "And what can you do with this stuff anyway?" I told her to make this. This is a different but just as wonderful salad for you "slaw enthusiasts out there". Something away from the norm with the usual suspects, a head of cabbage, shaved carrots and a gallon of commercial mayonnaise.

Apple, Cranberry and Roasted Fennel Slaw
3 med Fennel heads, cut in half
4 med Granny Smith apple, sliced not peeled
1 lg bag Fresh baby Spinach
1 med Red onion, sliced
1 cup Cranberries, dried (substitute raisins or dates)
1/4 cup Cider vinegar, of good quality.
1/4 cup Olive oil

Preheat oven to 400º. In a baking pan put the fennel heads face down, sprinkle with olive oil and pinch of salt and roast for 10 minutes. (Rule of thumb: the longer you cook fennel the more mellow the flavor.) Remove and let cool. Then slice thinly.

The Granny Smith apples should not be peeled. Thoroughly wash spinach, dry and set aside. In a large bowl, add sliced fennel, apples and onions. Toss with cranberries. Add cider and _ the olive oil. Before serving, toss with spinach and add rest of olive oil only if necessary. Make sure everything is coated.