Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas.

I work in an Italian restaurant.  Its pretty amazing and I'm always proud to talk about the food we dish up there.  The ingredients are mostly local and in-season (right up my alley) which makes it serendipitous, for me anyway, that everyday before we open the cooks prepare us staff lunch.  We all sit down at the bar and fill up on whatever delicious concoction Jose has prepared for us (in case you were wondering Jose is not Italian). 
About a week or so ago I arrived for my shift a half hour early to clean and set up the bar in preparation for an impending health inspection. If you have ever worked in a restaurant for any amount of time you understand the weight of the phrase "impending health inspection".  No matter how careful and clean you are this health inspector will strike the fear of God, Himself into your heart.   She's nefariously good at what she does.  
I digress.
 So this particular day I was hunched over the soda gun with toothpicks and sanitizer when an amazing shredded pork dish comes to the bar for lunch. I still had quite a bit of work ahead of me before open so I plugged on working,  a decision that has haunted me ever since.  When 10 people dining together are completely silent, save for a few 'Mmms' and 'Yums' for the duration of a meal, you know its got to be delicious. 
That staff lunch was the inspiration for this recipe. I went straight home with the promise of shredded pork in my fridge for days to come.

Here is what you will need:

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
a teeny pinch of ground cinnamon
1 (4 pound) boneless pork shoulder roast
 bay leaves
2 cups chicken broth

 Now, as you can see I used two small pork tenderloins instead of one large roast- because that's what I had in my freezer- so I cut the spice quantities in half.

Take all your dry ingredients and mix them together in a bowl

Coat the pork with the spice mixture

Place a few bay leaves on the bottom of your slow cooker

then place the pork on the bay leaves

measure our your stock/broth

and pour into your slow cooker, careful not to rinse the spices from the pork.

Now set it and forget it! 

(slow and low for 8 hours)

I don't have any photos of the succeeding steps because while this little beauty was cooking away I went to work and instructed Chris to do the shredding but not the photographing... Once the pork is finished remove it from the slow cooker and place on a cutting board. Using two forks shred the pork and return to the slow cooker so that the meat can absorb the Au jus.

From here you can do just about anything from carnitas to risotto (I did both!)  For the carnitas add fresh pico de gallo, cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime. To make a full meal add a side of black beans and roasted sweet potato. Pork and sweet potatoes were meant to be together.

Save the leftover pork for tomorrow's recipe, that is, if you have any.

Enjoy!

Black Eyed Pea Cakes

I once dated this guy who, well, lets just say he had a lot of...issues.
The relationship itself was a fiasco, but every once in a while he would clear a path through the beer bottles and cigarette smoke to the kitchen, where he would prepare a meal. Of course he rarely ate because that food might soak up some of the alcohol and kill his buzz.. but I ate, and man what he lacked in personal responsibility and general gross motor skills he made up for when he cooked.

Is it bad that the first thing I thought when I heard he was working a 12 step program was "Well he certainly hasn't made it to the apology step..."
Although what does one say when they receive such a call? despite the courage it must take I simply cant imagine being gracious. "You're sorry? Excellent! Now be a dear and replace that bottle of Veuve I was saving for a special occasion, because in my book you running out of Busch light on a Tuesday morning does not a special occasion make."

I'm only being honest...

The inspiration for this recipe comes from the ashes of that relationship after it crashed and burned down the kitchen because someone left a dishtowel near the stove element.

Black Eyed Pea Cakes

Here is what you will need:

Two cans black eyed peas, drained & rinsed
1 small bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup evoo
1 tablespoon softened cream cheese
1/4 cup freshly shredded parmesan
Hot sauce, your choice but I'm a fan of texas pete.

(The 12 pack of cheap beer and fire extinguisher are optional.)



Using a food processor or two forks, coarsely mash peas.

To the peas add the garlic, bell pepper, egg, cream cheese, bread crumbs and parm. Shake in your hot sauce and mix together well. By hand shape mixture into patties or cakes.

Depending on the size, you should get about a dozen.

Cook patties, in batches, in 2 tablespoons hot oil, adding oil as needed, in a large skillet over medium heat for 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until patties are golden brown. Drain patties on paper towels, and keep them warm. Serve with desired toppings, this time I chose homemade salsa and zesty-citrus sour cream.

Additional tips: If you you're a fan of breakfast for dinner try adding crumbled bacon to the pea mixture and serving the cakes with a fried egg. Its heaven on a dinner plate. Enjoy!

Rosemary Roasted Chicken & Potatoes

I think I may have mentioned it before but Rosemary is one of my favorite herbs. The flavor is so versatile, lending itself well to meats, potatoes, vegetables like carrots or corn on the cob. You get the point. I love it. And to my good fortune, it just so happens that my neighbor has a rosemary plant growing in her yard that she so graciously shares with us. Now under normal circumstances I would have to practice a bit of restraint. You know so as to be sure I didn't leave her with just a skeleton of her former plant. But as luck would have it this aint no ordinary rosemary bush...

I don't really talk like that. I just thought, for effect.. you know?

Anyway, back to the rosemary bush.

This sucker is mammoth! Rosemary for everyone!

There is more rosemary here than two families could possibly use in a season, but that wont stop me from trying. "Say, Liam how about some rosemary chocolate milk?" Or "oh, you like it? Its peanut butter and rosemary"

Have I gone too far? Perhaps.

For the purposes of this post lets just stick with what works, shall we?

This works.

Here is what you will need:

6 Boneless skinless chicken breasts, well trimmed
Red potatoes halved or quartered depending on their size
3 cloves garlic, minced
fresh rosemary, chopped- I probably used two heaping tablespoons
zest and juice from half a lemon
4 Tbsp EVOO, divided
1/2 cup chicken stock
salt and pepper

In a large skillet add two tablespoons of evoo and heat to med-high. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper then add to heated pan to sear. About 3 minutes a side. If you cant fit all 6 in one pan break it up, one tbsp evoo to 3 breasts.
transfer chicken to a large roasting pan or baking dish and arrange cut potatoes around the chicken.

In a mixing bowl add garlic, rosemary, lemon juice and zest, two tablespoons of olive oil and chicken stock. whisk together and pour over chicken and potatoes.

If your rosemary grows on trees like mine does throw of few sprigs in the pot for good measure.

Bake (uncovered) at 375 for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.

I love this dish, its easy and it has always won me compliments from dinner guests. The olive oil and stock keep the chicken juicy and tender and the flavors are mouth watering. Enjoy it soon!

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls: Galumpkis

My girlfriends and I got together just before the holidays. As is customary the wine flowed and the conversations grew louder to overcome the laughter. I think at some point a makeover was in progress, this may or may not have been before the bartender brought the table a complimentary shot of something velvety and sweet. I can't be sure.

One of the many conversations that circled the table was a brief discussion on who will host our next supper club. We started a "Supper Club" a few months back and what was supposed to be a monthly event happened once and then quickly subsided. This is typical, even with the best intentions, life gets in the way. So it was decided that the next supper club theme would be Polish cuisine hosted by Tracy. It got me thinking about one of my favorite dishes mom used to make: Galumpkis.
I've never made them before and she's not able to access her recipe box so I decided to go online and see if I couldn't find a decent recipe. I found one on the food network that looked delicious but in reality turned out rather bland. Of course traditionally this dish was intended to make a little go a long way when a little was all that you had... And while that is not too far from he truth now that the credit card bills are coming in from Christmas, I think we can do better.
This recipe is adapted from Tyler Florence's.

Here is what you will need:

Sweet and Sour Tomato Sauce:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 quarts crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cabbage Rolls:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Splash dry red wine
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 large egg
1 cup cooked brown rice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large head green cabbage

We'll start with the sweet and sour tomato sauce, and away we go...

Go ahead and mince all 4 cloves of garlic

Take half of the garlic and saute in a sauce pan with olive oil until soft. reserve the rest of the garlic for later.

Add the crushed tomatoes,

the white wine vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper and let simmer until thickened.

Dice one medium onion or about a cup.

In a large skillet heat the olive oil and butter and saute the onion and the reserved garlic from earlier, until soft.

Add two tablespoons of tomato paste, a splash of dry red wine,

the chopped parsley,

and a few ladles of the sweet and sour tomato sauce.

combine and remove from the heat.

Now to prepare the meat/rice portion of the filling.

In a large bowl break up your ground beef and pork. I'm making this batch sans pork because our 3 local grocery stores DID NOT have ground pork. Seriously? Its not like we live in the boonies. And this is not a isolated incident, either. I regularly have to go without something on my list or drive several miles out of my way to the HOLY GRAIL of grocery stores, Harris Teeter in Chapel Hill. Bitch, moan, whine. Anyway, I much prefer it with the pork so if you have a proper meat department, get the pork too.

Add the cooked rice,

the egg,

a generous amount of salt and pepper and mix together.

Once cooled to the touch, add the onion and garlic mixture.

Using your hands incorporate everything together.

Finally, prepare the cabbage:

This reminds me of a doll I had when I was little... Take the cabbage and peel away any damaged outer leaves, save them for the baking dish.

Put a large stock pot of water on the stove to simmer and gently place the head of cabbage in the water to blanch the leaves.

After about 3 to 5 minutes the leaves will pull easily from the rest of the cabbage.

Once you've got all your leaves, lay them out

To make the 'rolling' easier cut the hard white middle vein out.

place a good amount of the meat mixture and place in the center of the leaf.

and roll em up!

Lets see that again, in slow motion:





Ta-Da!

Place each cabbage roll seam down in a baking dish lined with the outer cabbage leaves you set aside earlier (this will prevent your rolls from sticking to the dish).

Then top with the rest of the sweet and sour tomato sauce.

Pop in a 350 degree preheated oven for about an hour.

The aroma is incredible!

So comforting on a chilly night!

Enjoy!