BBQ Sliders

It all started with a bottle of fresh apple juice we didn't finish. The expiration date came close. I couldn't throw it away. I tucked the juice in the freezer waiting for recipe inspiration.
With family coming to visit and making their way meandering up the coast I figured we needed a dinner that could cook slowly and wait. Knowing they are BBQ fans I landed on pulled pork. The perfect the longer it cooks the better kind of meal and a great place to hide apple juice -- or enhance the flavor with apple juice let's say.
To start I mixed up a dry rub (2 TB paprika, 1 TB garlic powder, 2 TB brown sugar, 1 TB dry mustard, 1 TB chili powder, 1 tsp cayenne, 2 TB salt) for the meat. I slathered the rub over the pork shoulder roast and let the meat wait over night wrapped up in the fridge. The next morning I sliced one onion and layered it in the bottom of my crock pot followed by the seasoned roast. I poured apple juice about 1/2 way up the side of the roast, covered the pot and let the meat cook slowly on low all day. This was a big roast -- about 7 pounds -- in fact too big for my crock pot but I carried on. After a long day of cooking (maybe 8-9 hours) I removed the roast and used two forks to tear it apart into delicious little threads. I poured out most of the extra fat in the crock pot, returned the meat to the slow cooker and mixed in about 2 1/2 cups of homemade -- you guessed it -- apple BBQ sauce (from a recipe by BBQ guru Steven Raichlen). The meat simmered along in the sauce waiting for our guests, soft buttery King's Hawaiian rolls and a topping of creamy sweet Southern style coleslaw (1/2 head cabbage, 1 large carrot and 1/4 onion tossed with a dressing of a heavy 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 2 TB lemon juice, 2 TB white vinegar, 1 1/2 TB sugar -- some people would use more, 3 TB milk (soured with the lemon and vinegar) and , S&P).
One of my favorite combinations -- a tasty shortcut to summer.

Pork. Peas, Potatoes

I love peas. When spring markets offer baskets of fresh garden peas I try to use them, and often, while they are in season.
Way back in the freezer was a lonely package of pork stew meat. Sometimes in the winter I'll make a stew with pears or winter squash. Though there is still a chill in the air most evenings those wintery dishes feel out of step with our bright spring days and the lonely pound package pushed further and further back in the freezer. We needed something simple and fresh.
I set out to create a kind of French farmers stew (at least the version from my imagination) with a light broth and bright tasty vegetables. I seasoned the meat with salt and pepper and lightly dredged each piece in flour.  One chopped onion and two chopped carrots cooked in hot olive on the stove and when they were softened and just a bit golden I added in the meat and allowed it to brown on all sides. With the meat browned I spilled in about 3/4 cup of white wine, deglazed the pan and let it cook down until reduced -- just about 5 minutes. Next I stirred in some flavor -- 1TB of tomato paste, about 2tsp chopped rosemary, 1 TB fresh thyme, and a pinch (maybe 2 tsp) of chopped fresh sage.  If I'd found some parsley in the fridge or the garden I'd have added in a couple TB too. A pile of potatoes peeled and cut in nice chunky cubes went in next followed by about 5 cups of chicken stock. The stew came to a boil and then simmered for about 40 minutes until the meat and potatoes are tender. Just before serving I added in plenty of fresh shelled peas and let the pot simmer for about 4 minutes more.
In the end we had a spring stew. Not too heavy. Not too thick. Just right with crusty bread for dinner.

I Love Leftovers

I hate to admit it but some of you may remember I made a pork roast last week that just was not so good. Oh it was edible but certainly not the dinner I'd hoped for and not one James would be anxious to see again.
And yet --as it goes with dinners that aren't so good -- we had a lot left over. Originally when I looked at that pork roast I thought tacos and veered away thinking it was too easy and obvious an answer. This time tacos would save me. The first time around the meat was tough. In its second time around I knew slow cooking with lots of liquid would help turn that leftover roast into tender taco morsels.
I started with onions, hot peppers and garlic in a pan with hot olive oil and let them cook until a bit soft. Then I added in the roast, now cut into smaller than single bite cubes, along with chili powder, chili peppers, oregano, cumin and paprika. After just a few minutes I added in 1/2 a jar of tomatillo salsa I found in the fridge,  about 1 cup of chicken broth and a splash of hot sauce and let everything simmer slowly until the now tender pork was coated with a spicy, flavorful sauce.
Resting in a warm tortilla, topped with onions cilantro and cheese a past pork mishap quickly became second helping tacos. Taco salvation.

What's In The Box This Time?

One of the most fun and most frustrating things about a CSA -- either meat or vegetable -- are the lesser know ingredients waiting for a clever recipe. Usually I can muster up some idea but I was stumped for quite a while by this little roast -- fresh pork leg. Now I've cooked pork legs before, both fresh and smoked (as in ham) but this little one (about 3 lbs) with no bone and no layer of fat and skin to keep it juicy was really puzzling me. I thought about just tossing the meat in the crock pot and making some sort of tacos. That almost seemed like cheating. I can pretty much take any relatively unknown cut and make tacos. Where was the challenge in that? After a long internal debate I decided to try a porchetta seasoned pork roast. I made a paste of olive oil, chopped garlic, rosemary, lemon zest and chili flakes and rubbed it into the meat of the split open roast. Then I rolled the roast back up, wrapping the meat with fatty bacon strips for extra juiciness. I tied everything in place and roasted my mock porchetta for about 75 minutes in a 350º oven.
I suppose I might get an A for effort or a special mention for trying my best, but I have to admit -- though tasty -- this roast was no prize winner. A little too tough, the meat really suffered from not enough fat . . . and maybe cooking a tad too quickly. Hard to fault those crispy potatoes though.

One Of James' Favorites

Every so often our meat CSA will include a package of pork scallopini, thin slices of lean meat perfect for pan frying with a thin breading. Tonight I was short on my usual choice of Panko crumbs and added in about half cornmeal for extra crunch. Along with S&P, garlic powder, oregano, chopped basil and a bit of parmesan cheese my breading (first I dipped the cutlets in an egg beaten with a splash of milk and then the bread crumb mixture) made the kind of crispy crust James loves. Feeling every bit the restaurant chef I casually plated his fresh from the pan cutlets (pan fried in a combination of olive oil and butter) over super creamy mashed potatoes and topped the dish with a dandelion, red onion and grape salad I saw Michael Symon make on his cooking channel show this morning. Symon's salad used arugula but our garden has plenty of fresh dandelions and James loves their bitter tang -- so, as every TV chef seems to instruct, I used what was fresh and in season and very, very local.

Pork Chops Italian Style

Pork chops crusted with crispy panko bread crumbs and parmesan cheese light pan fried to a crunchy golden brown served over a fregola (toasted Sardinian pasta), bean and arugula salad.

Milanese In A Minute

An old favorite. Thinly sliced pork (scallopini) dipped in egg, breaded in grated cheese, chopped rosemary and Panko bread crumbs -- fried in a mixture of butter and olive oil. After just a few minutes on a side James' quick weeknight dinner was ready to lay back on a bed of creamy olive oil mashed potatoes (tucked away in the freezer for just such an occasion). Crunchy, crispy, savory . . . clean plate.

Crock Pot Pot Luck

It's hard to complain about a Rick Bayless recipe, especially a crock pot ready one. With friends coming over last night and the house to clean before, a tidy slow cooker recipe would help the house stay clean and make time for all my chores. Our friends decided to bring beans and salad. I decided to round out the menu with cilantro rice (easily steamed in the rice cooker and then tossed -- right in the cooker -- with a blender pureed mix of lime juice (2TB), cilantro (1/2 cup), olive oil (1 TB) and garlic -- 2 cloves), guacamole, and some version of crock pot tacos.
Searching through my files and various internet sites I came across a Rick Bayless recipe for Tinga, a meaty Mexican stew, that the Chicago chef cooks in a crock pot -- Eureka! Rick browns his meat first but I found several versions (here's one) of the recipe -- all with rave reviews -- that simply layer the ingredients and turn the slow cooker to high. Sold.
The resulting stew had an unbeatable smoky, spicy flavor just right for warm corn tortillas, pickled red onions (a real flavor explosion smoky stew and sweet pickles), and a sprinkle of fresh cheese.
A big hit and super easy -- this recipe is a keeper!

Slow Cooked Sauce

I used to make a lot of slow cooking tomatoey sauces. I love the idea of dinner bubbling away on the stove for hours. Somehow over the years I got the idea that James didn't like these long simmering treats. So these days, despite my fondness for old-fashioned red sauces, I make them less and less.
This month's Bon Appetit magazine featured 7, what they called, great pasta dishes. One really caught my eye, a spicy Calabrian style pork ragu. Funny it's the kind of recipe I usually breeze right by, but for some reason the combination of slow cooked sausage and ground pork (I just happened to have both in the freezer from our meat CSA box) and a tasty use for my home canned tomatoes called to me. A super tasty, cold weather hearty pasta dish with no trip to the store? genius!
I sautéd the sausage and then added in the ground pork until no longer pink and set the meat aside. In the remaining fat I cooked down carrot, onion, dried red peppers, oregano and -- because I didn't have the parsley the recipe called for -- shredded zucchini frozen from our summer garden. The vegetables cook down and are joined by diluted tomato sauce and pureéd canned tomatoes and the reserved meat. A mere four hours later (okay maybe four and a half) James was sitting down to a hearty red tinged dinner.
"We never have sauce like this," he mused. "It's really good."

World Series Game 1

Simple ballpark style food at home.
I started to make tacos but when I ran into the little (very little but they still find space to make homemade sausage) market in nearby Valley Ford all they had were large tortillas so I switched to burritos. A game friendly, one-handed dinner.
We still had leftover pork so I cooked it down into a tasty burrito filling with olive oil, cumin, garlic, smoked paprika, ground New Mexico chilies, coriander and oregano until the fat melted out and the meat was peppered with crispy brown delicious bits. I rolled and wrapped that filling into the tortilla along with rice, home cooked quick refried beans (canned beans smashed and cooked down with bacon, onion, cumin and a dash of tabasco) and a tangy tomatillo sauce made by our neighbor Sally. I had it all worked out in my head but as you can see I forgot to wrap the cheese up in the roll so I sprinkled a little feta on top. First game jitters I guess.
Go Giants!

Autumn Pork Stew

There is nothing pretty about stew. The humble appearance more than hints at it's country favorites origins. Stew is place to hide cheaper, tough cuts of meat that benefit from slow cooking. Stew famously stretches when there are more mouths than the budget easily covers and it makes use of storage vegetables that maybe aren't as pretty as they once were. In short -- stew is as perfect at the harvest as it is a winter dish enhancing a variety of flavors with the magic of a long simmer.
All that being said. I love stew. It feels warm and comforting and truly homemade.
This past summer our neighbor and friend had a birthday pig roast. We ended up with a freezer bag of savory, long cooked pork. Tasty, but that bag takes up a lot of room in our -- I suspect -- less than standard size freezer. I started out to turn those leftovers into savory stew.
First I sautéed a chopped onion, chopped celery, 2 cloves of garlic, sage, fresh rosemary, 2 bay leaves and chopped bacon in a combination of butter and olive oil. When the vegetables softened a bit I added in the chopped pork (not for long since it was already cooked) and a good sized splash of white wine. When the wine cooked down I added in 3 cups of chicken broth, 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed, 2 tart apples cored and cubed, and thick wedges of potato. After simmering for about 15 minutes  the vegetables were almost tender but the broth seemed a little thin so I combined about 1/2 TB of corn starch with 2 TB of milk and mixed that into the bubbling stew ( I could have mixed some flour in with the early sauté). After a short boil to allow the cornstarch to thicken James' glistening harvest stew was ready to serve with plenty of bread to sop up the flavorful, shiny thick sauce.

Pork And Beans

Beans and potatoes from the garden and thin slices of pork for a fast dinner. I sliced the potatoes and popped them in a saucepan with olive oil and a sprig of rosemary. The beans -- a mix of yellow wax, Romanos, and flashy purple-striped dragon tongue -- were sautéed in hot oil with shallots, garlic, chiles, and plenty of oregano. Cherry tomatoes and a splash of balsamic vinegar turned the beans into a warm salad. While the potatoes bubbled and the beans softened I quickly dipped the pork slices in beaten, seasoned egg and crusted them in a thick, crunchy coating of bread crumbs and parmesan cheese, a greta way to use up stale bread. I pan fried the pork in olive oil and butter for a crispy exterior James loves. I topped the pork Milanese with a zesty radish green pesto sauce.
"Don't forget how to make this one," James said while carrying dishes to the sink. Not a chance!

A Little Help From The Crock Pot

I usually make ribs in the oven -- that is when the grill isn't set up. We still haven't rolled out the bar-b-que at the new place. Now that our oven is "on the fritz" as they say (don't know why) I'm looking for other ways to get dinner on the table. Today I piled pork spare ribs in the slow cooker with a mound of chopped onions underneath and a dousing of homemade barbeque sauce on top. I could have made it easy on myself and bought a bottle of sauce but I just couldn't do it. Instead I whipped up what I hear is Oklahoma style sauce -- or at least so says the recipe from Chicago chef Rick Bayless' family's restaurant, Hickory House. The sauce couldn't be easier. I mixed together 2 cups of ketchup, 2/3 cup brown sugar, 4 chopped cloves of garlic, 1/4 cup worcestershire sauce, 3 TB white vinegar, 1 tsp New Mexico chili powder, 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp dried thyme and about 3/4 tsp of black pepper into a saucepan and brought the mixture to a boil. After about 10 minutes cooking time (because I knew it would cook more with the ribs) I poured the sauce into the crock pot and set it to cook on low, covered. A mere 8 hours later James was enjoying ribs that literally fell off the bone with a tangy homemade sauce.

Apples Keep Pork Chops Company

We have a lot of apples. We share them with the deer and the neighboring cattle but we still have more than enough to eat out of hand. They start to show up in the darnedest places. Tonight I used up a bit of our apple bounty in this quick one skillet dish of pork chops with apples and onions, adapted from a Lucinda Scala Quinn recipe. I started by searing the seasoned chops on both sides in a hot skillet glistening with olive oil. I set the chops aside and added 1 sliced onion and 3 cored and sliced apples along with 2 TB of butter to the skillet and let the mixture soften (and just start to caramelize) for about 10 minutes. Next I poured in 1 cup of red wine and placed the chops in the skillet surrounded by the liquid which I let simmer for about another 10 minute, turning the chops halfway through. I plated the chops and boiled the skillet just a few minutes longer to reduce the sauce.
Next to James' chops I laid down a field of fresh picked, quickly sautéed collard greens favored with garlic and chili peppers.
We have a full garden. We have a lot of collards.

Ribs Aidells' Italian Style

Some days the idea of a sticky, delicious, home bubbled barbecue sauce and the myriad of dirty dishes it tends to require is just too much to face. Yet it was a perfect day for ribs -- beautiful weather, a welcoming picnic table in the yard, and a friend coming to spend the afternoon. So I dug up a recipe I had been saving from meat cooking superstar Bruce Aidells and started to tinker. Like Aidells I made a seasoning paste of rosemary (2 TB or so), thyme (about 1 TB), fennel seeds ( 1 1/2 TB), sage (2 tsp), chili peppers (almost 1 TB), oregano (2 tsp --my addition), all spice (1/2 tsp), coriander (1 tsp), salt (1 1/2 TB) and pepper (2 tsp) mixed with fruity olive oil. I rubbed that mixture over both sides of the ribs and let the meat sit at room temperature for 2 hours. I wanted to make sure our oven-cooked ribs were nice and tender so after the marinating time I splashed half a bottle of red wine over and around the meat, sealed the baking tray with aluminum foil and placed the ribs in a 300º oven for 2 hours until the meat was just about falling off the bone. I uncovered the ribs, poured off the pan juices ( I would usually add at least some of those into my sauce) and brushed the bone side of the racks with good quality balsamic vinegar. I broiled the ribs, bone side up, for about 4 minutes until the balsamic formed a crusty glaze, then flipped them over, brushed the meat side with more balsamic vinegar and broiled for another 4 minutes. Crispy, lightly sweet oven-barbecued ribs. No one asked for sauce.

Pork Chops and Apple (Onion) Sauce

Easy, fast, delicious. I seared double cut pork chops (rubbed with S&P, oregano, and chilis) in olive oil (bout 4 minutes a side) and then set them aside on a plate. To the fat remaining in the skillet I added about 2 TB of butter and let that melt then tossed in 1 sliced onion, 2 sliced apples, and a clove of minced garlic. I let those cook over medium heat until the onions were soft and poured in a cup of chicken broth and a bay leaf, brought the mixture to a simmer and added the pork chops back in. The chops simmered in the sauce for about 10 minutes until they were cooked through but still moist and juicy. Easy, fast, delicious.

One Dinner Two Appliances

Everything is easier when you plan ahead. I marinated a pork shoulder roast overnight in about a cup each of lime juice (I had some in the freezer), lemon juice (I had some left over from my apple jelly adventure) and orange juice (I had a few past their prime oranges in the fridge), I added in 1/2 cup of olive oil, salt, pepper, about a TB of dried oregano and about a dozen chopped cloves of garlic. The next morning I put the whole mess (not quite all of the liquid but all of the garlic for sure) along with two sliced onions in the crock pot and let it simmer for about 10 hours on low.

I started some white rice in the rice cooker an after about 10 minutes added in a mixture of sautéed onions, red peppers, cumin, oregano, crushed red peppers, S&P, and a drained rinsed can of black beans. When the rice was ready the beans were heated through and ready to fluff and serve.

A couple slices of totally out of season but still completely delicious avocado and dinner was served.

Green Mashed Potatoes

A simple dish for a weekday dinner. Pork chops sautéed in a skillet with onions, garlic, crushed red peppers, and oregano topped with a quick pan sauce of white wine, dijon mustard and butter. For sides I braised some kale (a new house favorite) and boiled some peeled potatoes. Just about three minutes before the spuds were fully tender I dropped in a package of fresh peas. I smashed those potatoes with milk and butter. Cozy, warm, all-American dinner.

Thick Pork Chops For A Winter's Night

Not quite photogenic, but this dish was a real winner. I actually followed a recipe (okay I added a pinch of cayenne the recipe didn't call for) a straight forward creation by Tyler Florence for Thick pork chops with spiced apple and raisins. Brown sugar brined pork chops, quickly seared and baked in the oven are topped with a warm compote of apples (you know we have a few of those around) and unexpectedly, raisins. Warm, wintery, hearty and delicious.

It Grows On Trees

From our new bedroom window I can see our apple tree brimming with big, red and yellow apples. Now James will happily eat an apple a day of sweet crisp apples like Fuji or Pink Lady. Though their variety is as of yet unidentified these are certainly cooking apples. Not too sweet and a bit mealy at this point I am trying to come up with recipes to make use of our bounty (aside from tossing them to the happy cows that graze along our fence). So far I've made apple cake, apple sauce, and I'm looking at a New Year's morning with apple muffins or apple pancakes. But for now there is an ever growing bag of apples waiting for me.

Tonight I opted for a savory dish. If pork chops and apple sauce are a famous combination, I pondered, why not pork stew with apples. I just happened to have port stew meat in the freezer. AFter a very quick internet search I happened along on a "harvest" stew and based on dinner on this recipe.

I started with hot oil in a pan and browned the pork. Next I added in chopped onions and garlic, crushed red peppers, shopped rosemary, fresh thyme, and plenty of chopped sage. When the onions were softened I added in chicken broth, brought the whole pot up to a boil and then let the meat simmer for about 20 minutes, covered. Next I added in cubed butternut squash, apples and potatoes and again let the pot simmer, this time uncovered, for about 20 minutes.

In the end we had a warm, cozy stew that was a little bit sweet and a little bit spicy and just right for a foggy cool winter day.