Early in my television career, I produced and hosted a cooking show called Just Like Home. Filmed in Fort Worth and broadcast on the city’s community TV station, the show was eventually syndicated to other outlets, including in Iowa where Better Homes & Gardens was headquartered.
The show was produced on a shoestring budget, but thanks to my Park Cities friends Gail Heinonen and Betty Merwin who helped style the set and washed a boatload of dishes, we filmed four 30-minute shows each month for 12 years. It was there I honed my on-camera skills for entertaining, wine segments, interviewing guests, and speaking to my viewers as if they were friends in my home kitchen while preparing recipes I knew they would love.
One of my favorites from those years is BBQ’d Hawaiian Ribs with Hot, Sweet, and Sour Sauce. We filmed the episode in my director’s backyard so viewers could hear the sizzle while fragrant smoke rose from the grill. But cooking the ribs was only the beginning. One reason I vividly recall this recipe, aside from the fact that it’s incredibly tasty, is the garnishes. It’s the visual aspect of a dish that captures our attention before we take the first bite, so the platter was accented in Hawaiian style with pineapple, mango, kiwi, and tropical flowers.
Ideal for Father’s Day and summertime grilling, I’ve updated my original recipe by creating a dry rub featuring two spices commonly found in Hawaiian cuisine — ginger and smoked salt. After both sides are coated with the rub, the ribs are slowly braised in the oven with pineapple juice until almost tender, then are mopped with sauce and transferred to the grill for 30 minutes. Fall-off-the-bone tender, savory, sweet, and spicy with a little kick in the back of the throat, this easy Hawaiian-inspired dish could become one of your favorite go-to recipes for summer dining and celebrations. Aloha!
Christy Rost is a cookbook author, host of Celebrating Home cooking videos, and longtime resident of the Park Cities and Preston Hollow. Her ‘At Home with Christy Rost’ cooking series for Eat This TV Network airs on AmazonFire, AppleTV+, Roku, Samsung TV, and YouTube. Please visit christyrost.com for details and recipes.
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