FOX 5's Tom Haynes prepares pasta salad, ribs - Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5

You know him as the anchor of FOX 5 News Edge at 11. But did you know Tom Haynes is also an "arm chair" chef? He prepared the perfect pasta salad and ribs for Good Day Atlanta on Tuesday!

Here's the recipe for Tom's pasta salad and ribs

3/4 pound fusilli pasta
Kosher salt
Olive oil
1 pound ripe tomatoes, diced
3/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
3/4 pound feta cheese, cubed
5 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped

For the dressing:

6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon capers, drained
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup packed flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Directions
Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water with a splash of oil to keep it from sticking together. Boil according to the directions on the package. Drain well and allow to cool. Place the pasta in a bowl and add the tomatoes, olives, feta and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.

For the dressing, combine the sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, capers, salt and pepper in a food processor until almost smooth.

Pour the dressing over the pasta, sprinkle with the Parmesan and parsley, and toss well.

Baby Back Ribs

2 slabs baby back ribs (about 3 pounds)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 bacon slices
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 onion
3 smashed garlic cloves
2 cups ketchup
1 cup peach preserves
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard or 1 tablespoon dry mustard
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground paprika

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Put the ribs on a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Stick them in the oven, and let the ribs bake, low and slow for 1 1/2 hours.

Meanwhile, make the sauce. Wrap the bacon around the middle of the thyme sprigs and tie with kitchen twine so you have a nice bundle. Heat a 2-count of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the thyme bundle and cook slowly for 3 to 4 minutes to render the bacon fat and give the sauce a nice smoky taste. Add the onion and garlic and cook slowly, without coloring, for 5 minutes. Add all of the rest of the sauce ingredients, give the sauce a stir, and turn the heat down to low. Cook slowly for 20 minutes to meld the flavors. Put some sauce in a separate bowl for basting, reserving the remaining sauce for serving.

Baste the ribs with the sauce and let them continue cooking, basting twice more, for 30 more minutes. When the ribs are cooked, take them out of the oven. You can let them hang out like this until you're ready to eat.

When ready to eat, preheat the broiler for 5 minutes and broil the ribs, basting with the sauce. They should become crisp and charred, about 5 minutes on each side. Pick the onion and garlic out of the sauce and serve with ribs.

This recipe courtesy Tyler Florence