Slow Cooker Mexican Pulled Pork

Slow Cooker Mexican Pulled Pork

The Rub:
4 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Scant pinch of ground cloves 

The Roast:
2-3 pound boneless pork shoulder roast
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

The Slow-Cooker:
1.5 cups orange juice
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons apple cider or red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons chopped chipotle chilies in adobo sauce

Whisk together the rub ingredients in a small bowl.

If the roast is tied up with butcher string, untie it.  Pat the roast dry with paper towels and place it on sheets of plastic wrap.  Rub the spice mix into the roast all over.  Wrap the roast in the plastic. Marinate in the rub at least one hour or overnight (overnight's best - duh!)

Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan on medium high heat.  Place the roast in the pan and sear on all sides.  Place the roast in a slow cooker, and add the orange juice, Worcestershire, chilies, and vinegar.  (If you have any BBQ sauce on hand you could throw a few lashings of that in too).  Cook on the low setting for 6 to 10 hours, until the pork is fall apart tender.

Leaving the meat in the slow cooker, use two forks to pull the meat apart into bite sized shreds. Let it continue to cook a bit longer for it to be infused with the cooking liquid.

Serve with warm corn tortillas, shredded cheese of your choice, and spicy bacon guacamole!

Spicy Tomato Blue Cheese Soup

You can only make tomato soup look so exciting in photos, but it's delightfully flavourful and delish!  This ain't no Campbell's crap.

Spicy Tomato Blue Cheese Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
Kosher salt
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1 28-oz can San Marzano tomatoes, with their juice
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
3/4 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons sriracha sauce or other chili sauce
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
2 tablespoons fresh basil
1/2 cup soft blue cheese

Heat the olive oil in a 4-quart pot over medium heat.  When the oil is hot, add the onion and a three-fingered pinch of salt and sweat for 2 minutes.  Add the garlic and continue to sweat for 2 more minutes.  Add the tomatoes, their juice, and the stock and bring to a simmer. (you can add a little more salt here too).  Add the cream, sriracha sauce, basil, and oregano and simmer for 45 minutes.

Pour the soup into a blender, add the blue cheese, and blend until smooth, working in batches if needed.

Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean pot, taste, adjust the seasoning if necessary, and reheat to serve.  The soup will keep, covered in the refrigerator, for a few days.

Minutely modified from here.

Sausage/Hash Brown/Cheddar Bake

So I just made this up on the fly as part of Easter brunch this morning - and wow, it's pretty darned good if I do say so.  And even better, really easy.  I used reduced fat sausage and cheese, so I only feel mildly guilty for having seconds.  And maybe thirds.  OK, I feel kinda guilty about that.

Sausage/Hash Brown/Cheddar Bake

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound pork sausage (I use the Jimmy Dean reduced fat kind)
1 onion, minced
1 can Campbell's cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
1 pound (16 ounces, or half a package) Ore-Ida Southern Style frozen hash browns, or similar
fresh ground black pepper

Heat oven to 350F.  In a nonstick skillet heat heat oil and sauté onions until translucent.  Add sausage and cook through, using spoon to break into small pieces.  Spread sausage evenly into an 8" square glass baking dish.  Spoon soup over the meat and top with half of the cheese and a sprinkle of pepper.  Spread frozen hash browns on top; cover with the other half of the cheese and more pepper.  Bake 1 hour, and then put under the broiler for a few minutes to brown and crisp up the top.

Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola

Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola

1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, diced or pressed
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 cup vodka
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound penne pasta
4 tablespoons fresh oregano
1 cup heavy cream or (to be healthier) fat-free half-and-half
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 375F.

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the onions and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes until translucent.  Add the red pepper flakes and dried oregano and cook for 1 minute more. Add the vodka and continue cooking until the mixture is reduced by half.  Add tomatoes to pot.  Add 2 teaspoons salt and a pinch of black pepper. Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and place it in the oven for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool for 15 minutes. 

 This is what it'll look like, concentrated down into its essential crispy-edged nomminess.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta al dente. Drain and set aside.  Place the tomato mixture in a blender and puree in batches until the sauce is a smooth consistency.  Return to the pan.  Reheat the sauce on low heat, add 2 tablespoons fresh oregano and enough heavy cream to make the sauce a creamy consistency.  

Add salt and pepper to taste, and simmer a few more minutes.  Toss the pasta into the sauce and stir until coated.  Stir in Parmesan cheese. 

Serve with an additional sprinkle of Parmesan and a sprinkle of fresh oregano on each plate.

Adapted from The Amateur Gourmet.

The Big Soup

So it's 90+ degrees F out, and I'm making soup.  I know.  Crazy.

Anyhoo, I usually try to avoid recipes with more ingredients than I have fingers, but I was really craving minestrone, and so here we are.  I think it was worth it:

Minestrone (which means "big soup") is great because it's one of those flexible recipes that allows for adding whatever combination of vegetables you might have on hand.  The tradition of it dates back to Roman times, and it's accommodated the introduction of new foods over time in a way that rustic cooking always does from necessity.  For more interesting background, see here.

Spicy and Hearty Minestrone

1/2 pound dried cannellini beans (about 1 cup), rinsed and picked over*
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 ounces pancetta or bacon, cut into 1/4" pieces
2 medium celery ribs, split down the centre and chopped into 1/2" pieces
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces (about 3/4 cup)
2 small onions, peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 medium zucchini, trimmed and sliced lengthwise, then cut into 1/2" pieces (about 1 cup)
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1/2 small head cabbage, halved, cored, and cut into 1/2" pieces (about 2 cups)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
8 cups water
2 cups chicken broth
1 piece Parmesan cheese rind, about 5 x 2 inches
2 bay leaves
1 can Hot and Spicy V-8 juice (1 1/2 cups)
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
ground black pepper
grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups small pasta, ditalini, miniature shells or elbows

Phew!  Enough stuff?

Dissolve 1 1/2 tablespoons salt in 2 quarts water in a large bowl.  Add beans and soak at room temperature between 8-24 hours.  Drain and rinse well.

Heat oil and pancetta or bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until pancetta is lightly browned and fat has rendered, about 5 minutes.  

Add celery, carrot, onions, and zucchini.  Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are softened and lightly browned, about 9 minutes.  

Stir in garlic, cabbage, and red pepper flakes; continue to cook until cabbage starts to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes more.  Transfer vegetables to a bowl and set aside.

Add soaked beans, water, broth, Parmesan rind, tomatoes, and bay leaves to now-empty Dutch oven and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until beans are thoroughly tender and liquid has thickened, 45 to 60 minutes.

In the meantime, cook pasta until al dente.  Drain and rinse.

Add reserved vegetables and V-8 juice to pot, cook until vegetables are soft, about 15 minutes.  Discard bay leaves and Parmesan rind, stir in pasta and basil, and season with pepper.  Serve sprinkled generously with Parmesan.

*You can use canned beans if you like - drain and rinse them, and add them at the time when you add the vegetables back in.

Welsh Rarebit

Welsh Rarebit

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1/3 cup milk

1/2 cup beer – I use porter, but you can use anything dark and flavourful

2 teaspoons dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1-1/2 cup extra sharp Cheddar cheese, grated

Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat.  Add flour and whisk together until combined.  Cook over low heat about one minute, until a nutty brown colour.  Pour in milk and beer, whisking constantly, and cook for an additional minute or until it starts to thicken.  Add mustard, paprika, and cayenne and whisk.  Add cheese and whisk slowly, cooking for a couple of minutes or until smooth, melted, and very hot.  Serve immediately over toast.

I never met a cheese sauce I didn't like.

Slightly adapted from here.

Chicken, Broccoli, & Cheddar Casserole

When I was a kid there was nothing that could strike dread and disgust in my heart in response to the question, "What's for dinner?" like the word "casserole."  Ewwww things are touching each other and there's sauce, and... ewwwww.  Those very aspects are why I love casseroles now - delicious savoury sauces and the blending of different flavours.  Alas, as a parent I'm now experiencing this scenario from the other side, but what can you say - you have to trust that your children's tastes will expand as they get older, as happened to ourselves.  In the meantime, we can keep the secret of how yummy casseroles actually are to ourselves, bwaaahaaahaa!

Chicken, Broccoli, & Cheddar Casserole

4 chicken breasts, cooked
3 broccoli crowns, cut into bite-size pieces
2 cans soup, any of these: cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, or Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 cups extra sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 cup sherry
2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1 cup breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350F.  Partially steam broccoli florets (about 3 minutes).  Place in large casserole dish.  Cut or hand-shred chicken into bite-size pieces, and place in dish as the next layer.

In a large bowl, combine the soup, mayonnaise, lemon juice, grated cheese, pepper, and sherry.  Spoon over the chicken and broccoli and smooth out to cover completely.

Sprinkle the breadcrumbs evenly on top.  Bake for 1 hour.  Allow to sit for a few minutes before dishing up.


You know, the crappy thing about casseroles is that they photograph really terribly.

 Here's some beige glop in a bowl.

Here's the beige glop spread in a pan.

Here's the beige glop made even beigeier by cooking it.

Here's a close-up to show just how beige the glop is.

That's some really beige shit you've got there.

Even though this stuff looks completely dull, it's the most delicious beige gloppy shit you'll ever eat, I promise.

It's Bacony, It's Cheesy, It's Puffy - What's Not To Love?

It's not nutrish, but it is most def delish.

Bacon and Cheese Danish

1 sheet store-bought puff pasty, cut into quarters

8 slices cooked bacon

About ¼ cup cheese – blue (crumbled) or extra-sharp Cheddar (grated)

½ cup sour cream

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons spicy mustard

½ teaspoon paprika

Fresh ground black pepper

Egg wash for pastry top

Preheat oven to 400F.  In a small bowl stir together the sour cream, Worcestershire, mustard, paprika, and as much pepper as you like.  The consistency should be thick.  Put quartered puff pastry on a baking sheet.  Spread squares with the sour cream mixture, then sprinkle with cheese.  Place two slices of the cooked bacon on top of that, then bring two opposite corners together and seal.  Brush pastry top with beaten egg.

Bake for 15-25 minutes, or until golden brown.  Then eat them all before everyone else gets up and feign ignorance when they ask you what that heavenly aroma is.

I imagine some caramelised onions or a tomato slice on these wouldn't go amiss, either...  hmmmm...!

Pasta and Broccoli with Bacon and Spicy Cheese Sauce

Cheese sauce is one of those things that are heavenly when homemade, and just as easy to make, in truth, as some abysmal boxed mac and cheese spackle.  And the taste is as different as ambrosia is to raw sloth spleens, so unless you have some perverse penchant for raw sloth spleens, you have no excuse not to make your own cheese sauce.  It will bring you happiness and contentment, purpose and meaning, earn you friends, get you a raise at work and the respect of your coworkers as well as the awe of young children who will gawp in goggle-eyed wonder as you leave rainbows in your wake; it will teach you to rumba and do your taxes and generally turn your life around.  A good cheese sauce can do just about anything.*

 
Pasta and Broccoli with Bacon and Spicy Cheese Sauce

Cook ten pieces of bacon in your preferred way.  The easiest technique is in the microwave, but if you want something more flavourful and have the time, I recommend this method.  Chop into small pieces and set aside.

Cut up into small pieces and steam two crowns of broccoli to desired doneness (don't let it turn to mush.  Just tender and bright green is best).  Set aside.

Boil whatever pasta you like according to the package directions.  It's best to use a variety that will hold the sauce well.  While doing this, make the cheese sauce.

Ingredients here are somewhat fluid, depending on how much you want to make and what consistency you like your sauce to be.  You really just need to fool around with it until you get the feel - and no mistakes are unfixable... if too thick, add milk.  If too thin, add cheese.  If the shaker top falls off the cayenne... well, sweat it out, buster.  You'll get it.  The basics, quantified where possible, are:

2-3 tablespoons butter
1-3 tablespoons flour
Milk (use whatever fat content you like, but I use nonfat (don't kill me!) and the sauce still will be thick)
Grated extra sharp Cheddar cheese
Crumbled blue cheese, the more potent the better
Sherry
Worcestershire sauce
Cayenne pepper
Black pepper, freshly ground
Nutmeg, freshly grated

In a medium saucepan, melt butter.  Add enough flour (a tablespoon or two, or three depending on how much butter you used) to make a paste.  Whisk constantly until blended - be careful it doesn't burn.  Add milk - I do 2-3 cups.  Whisk to blend into a roux.  Dribble in about a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and pour in about 1/4 cup sherry.  Whisk.  Turn heat to very low.  Start adding cheeses and whisk to melt them, adding enough to get the consistency you like.  If you put in a bit too much and it gets too thick, add a smidge of milk.  Whisk over very low heat until all cheese is melted and the texture becomes smooth.  Finally, stir in lots of black pepper, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg - again, whatever degree of spice you like (I like a lot).

Dish up the pasta, distribute broccoli and bacon, ladle on oceans of the cheese sauce; then sit back and wait for your life to metamorphose into a glorious apogee of beauty and oneness with the universe.  At least while you're eating.

NOM.

*Not an actual claim that cheese sauce can do anything but be delicious**

**But it actually can