Pacifico Pulled Pork Tacos

This is Carolina barbeque meets Mexico City street food. In short, me gusta!


The ingredient list looks long, and it is. If you're not a compulsive spice hoarder like me, you can certainly feel free to leave a few of these out, unless you feel like stocking your spice cabinet. This would also be just fine if you don't happen to have Pacifico lying around - any other beer (or chicken stock, or beef broth, or water) would work just fine. And if you can't find the curious cut of meat called a "pork picnic?" You guessed it - not to worry. Any old cheap cut of pork (or beef) would work beautifully.


In fact, even after eating about a quarter of our pork picnic, I'd be hard-pressed to tell you exactly what it is - but at $4 for 2-3 lbs., you can bet it was a part of the pig you would not want to eat unless you'd cooked it all day. All I know is, I fished out what was unmistakably a ball joint bone from the Crockpot, so I'm guessing it was either a shoulder cut or a hind-quarters cut. Regardless of where on the little porky guy it came from, it was downright delicious after a juicy all-night bath and about 10 hours in the slow cooker.


Despite its formidable ingredient list, this dish is definitely worth making! It was inspired by a post on Smitten Kitchen which originally used beef brisket. I've made a similar dish with beef before, and it was great. At this point in the post, I sound like a broken record, so I'll wrap it up and take you to the directions. I hope you like this as much as Ross and I did!


Wait, wait, one more thing! Sorry about the grainy photos - none of our cameras had charged batteries, so I resorted to snapping pics of this on my iPhone - it was too good not to document! Better photos next time, promise :-)

INGREDIENTS

1 large pork...piece (mine was called, as mentioned earlier, a "pork picnic" - basically a big hunk of cheap meat; mine was about 3 lbs. before being cooked - a lot of it cooks off, and you'll need to discard some fat both before and after cooking)
3 T. olive oil
1 bottle Pacifico beer
1 14.5-oz. can "Mexican" diced tomatoes and all juices
1 onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 T. cumin
1-2 T. hot Mexican chili powder
1 T. paprika
1 cinnamon stick
juice of 2 limes
2 bay leaves
several heaping spoonfuls brown sugar
a few dashes cayenne pepper
1/2 T. ground coriander
salt and black pepper

corn tortillas
1 T. olive oil
salt and pepper
1 onion, julienned
2 poblano peppers, julienned
fresh cilantro, chopped
juice of one lime
sour cream (I used light)

one 28-oz can Mexican-spiced black beans, drained
one can Mxican-spiced tomatoes and all juices
fresh chopped cilantro

MORE NOTES ON SWAPS: If you want to skip the poblano/onion topping and sour cream-lime sauce, be my guest. This would ve fine topped with any taco fixin's you like...and under tons of melty, gooey cheese...? [CUT TO EXTREME CLOSE UP OF ME DROOLING.] If you like flour tortillas, use those. If you want to skip the taco building altogether and stand over the crockpot and eat the damn pork with a spoon, I wouldn't blame you.

STEP ONE:

The night before you want to eat this (or the morning of), trim the pork of any big pieces of obvious fat, and heat the oil in a pan and brown the pork on both sides, seasoning liberally with salt and pepper, until browned.

STEP TWO:

Meanwhile, in your Crockpot's interior pot (the one that can be removed, not the electrical part), add the beer, tomatoes, lime juice, all spices, onion, garlic, and brown sugar. When the pork is browned, transfer it to the liquid. Turn off the heat in the browning pan and pour in the vinegar, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze it. Pour this into the Crockpot too. Cover and refrigerate until the morning.

STEP THREE:

Place the inner pot into the Crockpot and turn on low. Cook for 8-10 hours. Remove the pork from the pot and place on a plate or cutting board. With two forks, shred the meat, discarding any too-fatty bits. Meanwhile, strain the cooking liquid over a pot. Boil until reduced by half. Return the shredded pork and about 1 cup of the reduced liquid to the pot and mix together (you can also skip this step entirely - or, you can use an immersion blender to puree the wilted veggies and juices together - whatever you prefer).

STEP FOUR:

In a pan, heat the other 1 T. oil. Cook the poblano peppers and onions until softened, seasoning with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, mix together the fresh chopped cilantro, juice of one lime, and a few big spoonfuls of sour cream. Set aside, refigerated.

STEP FIVE:

Place the beans and tomatoes in a pot. Boil until much of the tomato juices have steamed off and the mixture has thickened. Stir in the fresh cilantro. Serve in individual cups or small bowls. Serve the shredded pork in the tortillas, top with the poblano/onion mixture and sour cream-lime sauce. Serve with the beans & tomato. Enjoy!

Pork Chops in White Wine-Caper Sauce & Brussels Sprouts Gratin

I sort of had a religious experience with whole nutmeg.


At my recent gnocchi-making class at the Chopping Block (don't you worry, a gnocchi blog will be coming soon), we grated whole nutmeg into a rich cream sauce (truly the most delicious cream sauce I've ever had, and with 2 cups of cream and a stick of butter, there's no guessing why). The difference between freshly grated nutmeg and the pre-ground jarred kind cannot be overstated. Soon after, I bought whole nutmeg on my own - it's worth noting that it's no more expensive than ground nutmeg, and while ground spices from the supermarket last only about 6 months (and this is counting the time they sit on the store shelves), whole spices last between 1-3 years.

Gripped by a transcendent desire to be one of those people who toast and grind their own spices (because I have so much free time on my hands, you know), I headed straight to the Spice House.

I know I've mentioned The Spice House on this blog before. For those of you who aren't familiar, The Spice House is a specialty spice shop in Old Town. You can literally smell the delectable spices wafting down Wells Street from a block out.


The veritable food blogging saint Mark Bittman further goaded me toward the toasting-and-grinding light when he mentioned in his book, How To Cook Everything Vegetarian (a truly lovely book, and absolutely comprehensive), that spice "purists" use a mortar and pestle to crush their spices. To me, that sounded like a challenge.

I booked it to the Spice House immediately (as much to escape the interminable sounds of Modern Warfare 2's digital XBox explosions as to actually buy the spices). I didn't really have a plan going in, other than to buy as many whole spices as I thought I'd feasibly use. I picked up a wide range of spices, many commonly used in Indian cooking, as well as a few designer salts and a harissa spread, all for under $30. I'm really excited to make a true curry spice blend, but, much too excited to wait until I had a meal plan laid out, I decided to incorporate a few of my new spices into the dinner I had already planned to cook - pork chops.

I also made Brussels Sprouts Gratin and served the whole thing with roasted parsnips. I served the pork to Ross and Taylor and had a giant plate of veggies for myself (although I did taste the pork and sauce, because after all that old-school crushing of spices, there was no way I wasn't going to try it). Here's how it came together:

INGREDIENTS

PORK

whole mustard seeds
whole fennel seeds
whole black peppercorns
1 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
2 pork chops, fresh
flour
salt
~3/4 c. white wine
fresh chopped parsley
capers

BRUSSELS SPROUTS

~2 lbs. fresh (raw) Brussels sprouts
2 T. butter
2 T. flour
~1.5 cups milk (I used 2%)
salt
pepper
freshly grated nutmeg
grated parmegiano reggiano
~1 cup panko bread crumbs
2 T. butter
salt and pepper

PARSNIPS

5-6 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into roughly equal chunks
olive oil
salt and pepper

STEP ONE:

Preaheat the oven to 375. Par-boil the Brussels srpouts whole until tender but still bright green. Drain. Cut off tough bottom part and cut in half. Place in a baking dish.



STEP TWO:

In a dry pan, toast the mustard seed, fennel seed, and peppercorns for about 2 minutes. With a mortar and pestle (or in a spice/coffee grinder), crush the spices.

STEP THREE:

In a smallish baking dish, toss the parsnips with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake for about 45 minutes, until soft and browning.

STEP FOUR:

Melt 2 T. butter in a pan and stir in the breadcrumbs, seasoning with salt and pepper. Stir them around in the butter until they are coated. Set aside.

STEP FIVE:

In a shallow pan, melt the butter for the Brussels sprouts gratin and whisk in the flour to make a roux. Cook for a couple minutes. Whisk in the milk and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Turn up heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the bechamel is thickened. Grate in the parmesan cheese. Pour over the sprouts. Top with the bread crumbs. Bake for about 30-40 minutes, until edges are bubbly and breadcrumbs are browned.




STEP SIX:

Heat the butter and oil for the pork in a skillet. Dredge the pork chops in a little flour, removing excess. Place in the pan, topping with salt and the crushed spices, pressing them into the meat. Cook on one side until beginning to brown. When browned on one side, flip over and fry on the other side until browned. Add the wine, capers, and parsley. Cover and cook over medium heat until pork is cooked to your liking. Serve with the Gratin and the parsnips, drizzling the sauce over the pork.



Here's what Taylor had to say about the meal:

"Sure, the pork was perfectly cooked with a nice earthy spice blend that complimented it perfectly. And yeah the parsnips were evenly browned and delicious. But the real triumph of this dish was making Brussels sprouts not only edible but quite delicious. I guess that's the magic of cheese. Another triumph for the Fearless cook, for sure."

Nice! A success! Ross seemed to enjoy it too, judging by his empty plate. I was pretty happy with the way the sauce came out - the freshly ground spices were super flavorful, and the fact that they were more coarsely ground than they'd be from a jar added a pleasant textural element.

I can't wait to do more toasting and mortar-and-pestling, especially with an Indian spice blend! Check back soon for more spicy action.

Thanks for reading! More soon...

And This Little Piggy Drank and Drank, All The Way Home

Since Obama won the election, there hasn't been much of interest in the way of news. Until now....

I got a new Crockpot! (Anderson Cooper should be pulling up to my doorstep any minute now...)

I had been using my mom's old orange Crockpot from the 70's, and it finally just gave out on me, so it went the way of wilted Christmas trees - out into the back alley dumpster. Goodbye, little Crockpot! You served me well!


I got a new one for only $21 at Best Buy (who knew they sold appliances?). I love it! It's a deep brick red, and the inside ceramic bowl is removable, so you don't have to risk electric shock every time you wash it.

My first meal with it was a lean pork loin cooked in about a half bottle of white wine. I threw in some sweet potatoes, carrots, and onions, and served it with broccoli and sourdough bread (to soak up all the wine and porkiness).

I'm really glad I went with the Crockpot as the pork cooking method, because it was a very lean cut of meat, and it would've been very tough if I hadn't cooked it for hours. I actually wish I had cooked it on low for 7-8 hours as opposed to on high for about 4. Nonetheless, it was tender and flavorful. It wasn't a fearless meal, per se, but I snapped a photo of it because I thought it was yummy enough to share.

INGREDIENTS

1 two-pound lean pork roast, visible fat removed
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 large carrots, peeled and chunked
1/2 large white onion, sliced
1/3 bottle of dry white wine
salt, pepper, ground cayenne pepper, and all-purpose seasoning
drizzle of olive oil
2 T. dijon mustard

1 c. cooking liquid from Crockpot
2 T. fruit preserves
1 T. butter
1 T. balsamic vinegar

1 head broccoli
2 slices white American cheese
1/2 c. milk
salt and pepper

sourdough bread
butter

STEP ONE.

Place the first set of ingredients into the Crockpot (through mustard). Set on low and cook for 7-8 hours, or cook on high for 4 hours.

STEP TWO.

When the pork is tender, remove from liquid and slice into thick pieces. Take 1 c. of the cooking liquid, preserves, butter, and vinegar, and cook over medium-high heat until reduced by half to make a sauce.

STEP THREE.

Cook broccoli in boiling water for 4-5 minutes. Drain. In the same pot, heat milk, cheese, and salt and pepper until smooth. Toss broccoli in cheese sauce. Serve with the pork, veggies, and bread & butter.

I admit, it might've been gilding the lily to do the cheese sauce with the broccoli, but I was craving broccoli and cheese. And - I'l just come out and admit it - I love American cheese. It's the lowliest of the cheeses, especially among the foodie set, but I defy you to find me a cheese that melts as well. I even used it the next day to make a leftover pork-and-cheese sandwich.

Thanks for reading. Enjoy!

It's All About Focus

My Nikon and I need to have a heart-to-heart.

It'll go something like this:

ME: Camera, why do you all of a sudden refuse to take clear, crisp photos?

NIKON: [silence]

ME: I keep your batteries fresh, I take you everywhere with me, I spend plenty of quality time with you - what else do you want from me?!?

NIKON: [more cold silence]

ME: Tell you what. I'll give you a little vacation - it is summer after all - if you promise to stop taking blurry pictures and help keep my blog from completely unraveling.

NIKON: [complacent silence]

ME: So we're agreed then.

Until that chat, this photo-less blog will have to suffice. Well, it won't be utterly devoid of visuals (I do have access to Google image search, you know), but this post will not feature the meticulous, step-by-step pictorials you've grown to (hopefully) love.



But focus (and the lack thereof), it turns out, is a fitting theme. The occasion for an elaborate meal was, of course, the Top Chef Season 4 Finale - in my opinion, the most surprising, dramatic, and triumphant finale in Top Chef history. A female Top Chef winner? An African-American (almostifogdhelpusbarackbeatsjohnmccainohpleasegod) in the White House? This is real progress, people!



My congratulations to Stephanie Izard! Hopefully I'll see you around town and congratulate you in person.

Taylor and Sarah, my most faithful (and geographically advantaged) judges came over for a meal that I hoped would be worthy of my own reality TV star fantasies.

I made herb-rubbed, roasted pork tenderloin with a lemon-pear sauce with wild rice and cheddar squash casserole.

INGREDIENTS:

SQUASH CASSEROLE
2 yellow squash
2 zucchini squash
1/2 onion
1 leek, white and light green parts only
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
2 c. lowfat milk
3 T. butter
3 T. flour
salt and pepper

PORK TENDERLOIN
1 pork tenderloin roast, about 1/3 lb. for every person who's eating
3 T. chopped fresh thyme leaves
salt and pepper
cayenne pepper
dried oregano
chili powder
3 T. olive oil

WILD RICE
2 c. wild rice
chicken broth
white wine (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

LEMON-PEAR SAUCE
3 T. butter
1 large shallot, minced
3 T. lemon curd spread
3 pear halves, coarsely chopped (jarred or canned, drained)
3/4 c. white wine
3/4 c. chicken broth
salt and pepper
2 T. white vinegar

A much more beautiful casserole than mine:



CASSEROLE:

Halve the squash and zucchini lengthwise, then slice into thin half-moons. Coarsely chop the onion and leek. Place in a glass casserole dish, and lightly season with salt and pepper. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and whisk in the flour to make a roux. Whisk in the milk slowly and cook until it thickens. Stir in 3/4 of the cheddar until melted. Pour the cheese-roux mixture over the vegetables. Top with the rest of the cheese. Bake at 350 (when it's in the oven with the pork), then turn the heat up to 375 and bake until the edges are bubbly and the cheese on top begins to brown, about 35 minutes.

A hippie tenderly cradles some wild rice:



RICE:

Cook rice according to package directions, substituting mostly chicken broth and a little white wine for some or all of the water (if desired). Simmer until the liquid is absorbed and season with salt and pepper.

This is what pork tenderloin looks like before it's cooked:



PORK TENDERLOIN:

Preheat the oven to 350. Place the tenderloin in a baking dish, and rub it with seasonings and herbs (to taste), pressing them into the meat. Top with the olive oil, rubbing it in with your hands. Bake uncovered until the meat is semi-firm when pressed (about 40 minutes). Let the meat rest for 15-20 minutes, covered in aluminum foil. Slice into 1-inch thick slices to serve.

SAUCE:

Melt the butter over medium heat in a saucepan and stir in the shallots, cooking them until they're translucent. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook over medium-high heat until thickened and reduced. When the pears begin to soften, mash them with the end of a wooden spoon until the sauce is the consistency of runny applesauce. Spoon over the pork servings.



Sometimes, the thing you worry about the most turns out to be just fine, while the thing you thought you had under control ends up being what you should have focused on. Which is precisely what happened with this meal.

The pork, by all accounts, was perfect. I must have finally learned my lesson from many years of overcooking meat, and that lesson is this: if you cook the meat on a lower temperature than you think, and for a shorter time than you think, it will be delicious. I'm not advocating eating raw, possibly salmonella-infected meat, but as long as it reaches an internal temperature of 145 (medium rare), you're in the safe zone.

A delicious-looking herbed pork roast from the interweb:



The casserole, however, was not so perfect. I thought that at this point, I was beyond screwing up simple vegetable side dishes. (And I bet Richard of Top Chef thought he was home-free, too, but I'll get to that later.) Apparently I still have a lot to learn about the subtle nuances of the lowly squash. Squashes are nature's sponge, and when the heat wrung them out into the casserole, you can guess what happened. What I thought was going to be a rich, cheesy delight turned out to be a sloshy, watery mess.

Thank God for slotted spoons. I drained each spoonful as I was serving it, and it wasn't half bad. I perused some squash casserole recipes online, and it seems that I should have cooked the squash before I put it in the casserole, so next time, I'd saute the veggies and drain them on a paper towel before baking. I might also add stuffing mix or bread crumbs to soak up some of the excess moisture, and use a thicker white sauce from the beginning (less milk).



The wild rice was, in a word, annoying. It took fffooooorrrrreeeevvvvveeeerrrrr to cook. I thought we were going to be there till the Top Chef Season FIVE Finale before that rice got done! It was a little, er, rustic for my palate. I know that as an informed, health-conscious consumer, I should really prefer the brown and/or wild rice varieties, but to me there's nothing better than diving into a pile of processed, bleached-white fluffiness (with, of course, a hunk of butter melting on top).

Taylor pointed out that a failed casserole would be good for the blog's storyline, as most of the dishes I've made have been tastier than I would've predicted. He's absolutely right, and the casserole would've been a whole lot worse if not for the saving grace of the aformentioned slotted spoon. Long story short, the dinner came out nicely. I was once again flabbergasted that I didn't overcook the meat, but oh so glad that I didn't once I had the first tender, savory bite. The rather al dente rice actually turned out to be a nice complement to the mushiness of the squash.

"The most important meal" of Richard's life, however, did not go so well.



I think all of America assumed the Top Chef finale would come down to Stephanie and Richard battling it out. Who knew that petulant, unpopular Lisa would make a Thai soup so good, it almost overshadowed her horrible personality and season-long streak of mediocrity? Richard suffered from a lack of vision and planning, and admitted at Judges' Table that he "choked." So it was down to Stephanie and Lisa. Ultimately, to the chagrin of Lisa's 3 total fans in all of America, Stephanie made the meal that left the judges wanting more, and thank God!



It seemed so close there for a minute that we all started playing the "If Lisa Wins Top Chef I'll ____________" game.

Feel free to play along at home! Some popular answers:

If Lisa Wins Top Chef I'll:

- Move to Canada
- Never Watch Bravo Again
- Roast Padma and Serve her to Tom
- Boycott Asian Cuisine Forever
- Shave My Head in Protest and Inadvertently Resemble Lisa Herself

Luckily, it didn't come to that, and the wonderful Stephanie was the Season Four Queen de Cuisine. WOOT!

Just goes to show that when you really focus in the kitchen, when you achieve that Zen-like calm even while wielding a sharp object, as Stephanie did in this most crucial of battles, great food will follow.

Thanks to my guests! And thanks for reading.

What A Crock

It was all I could do not to title this one "Nice Heiny." Why, you ask? Because I cooked pork in Heineken. Read on...

This week, my dear friend Kent came over - with a bottle of Smoking Loon Merlot in tow - before he went to the Improv Olympics show. I call the dish I made:

HERB-ROASTED PORK WITH ROASTED RED PEPPER PESTO OVER RIGATONI.



FEARLESS FACTOR: I'd say medium-fearless. As faithful readers know, this is my second blog meal using my trusty orange CrockPot, so I was confident that the meat would be good. Even the Heineken wasn't too crazy - I've boiled many a bratwurst in beer before grilling it, always with great results. The pesto was the biggest leap of faith - I had never made any kind of pesto, let alone my own red-pepper-sun-dried-tomato version. And, since I royally destroyed last post's asparagus, I made it again this time with much better results. No mushy veggies!

INGREDIENTS:

One 5-lb. pork shoulder roast (about $1 per pound - very economical)
1 medium onion
5 garlic cloves
1 T. dried oregano
1 T. dried basil
2 bottles Heineken or other lager
2 jars roasted red peppers
1 large jar julienned sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, undrained
2 (1/2 c.) bags pine nuts
1 c. pork broth from CrockPot
1 large bunch basil
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley
1 lb. rigatoni pasta
2 bunches fresh asparagus
2 small or 1 large zucchini
olive oil
salt and pepper

STEP ONE:

Dinner was at 7 PM, so at about 11 AM, I put the pork (5 lb. of pork shoulder) in the Crockpot. It needs about 8 hours on LO or 4 hours on HI. Pour the beer around the pork - it should come to the top but not completely cover it. Slice an onion and mince about 4-5 cloves of garlic. Add the onion, garlic, and dried oregano and dried basil, as well as some pepper (no salt yet). Cover and cook on LO for about 7-8 hours.







STEP TWO:

In a blender (doing one half at a time, the repeating for the second half of the ingredients so as not to overload the blender), add the roasted red peppers, the sun-dried tomatoes with all the oil, the pine nuts, fresh basil, parsley, and about 1 c. of the pork roasting broth from the Crockpot. Blend on high until the ingredients start to break down. Open the blender and stir around the ingredients, scraping the bottom of the blender. Add a little salt and pepper. Continue to blend until the mixture is mostly smooth, with some small pieces of pine nuts still visible. Transfer to a container until you're ready to warm it.













STEP THREE:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Trim the tough ends off the asparagus. Trim the ends off the zucchini and cut into pieces lengthwise. Place in a baking dish and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and drizzle with a little olive oil, tossing to coat. Bake for about 10 minutes.





STEP FOUR:

Remove the pork from the broth and allow to cool enough to touch. Remove the meat from the bones, discarding any excess fat (there will be a lot of fat to remove - pork shoulder is a tough, fatty cut of meat, which is why it needs to be slow-roasted for hours). My 5-lb. roast yielded about 2 1/2 cups of torn meat). Tear into small pieces. Keep warm.




This is how much meat a 5-lb. roast yielded:


STEP FIVE:

Boil salted water and cook pasta according to package directions.



STEP SIX:

In a large skillet, combine the pesto and the pork, and heat on low until hot. Don't let it bubble heavily - you don't want it to evaporate/ reduce.





STEP SEVEN:

Spoon the pesto and pork over the rigatoni and serve the asparagus and zucchini on the side. Top with a little grated parmesan cheese if you want.



THE JUDGES' VERDICTS:

KENT: I don't think I've ever had pork with pasta before. It's interesting. It's really good. The vegetables are perfect, I love asparagus.

JESS: This is really good. I'm really impressed with the sauce. The only bad thing is it got a little cold before we got to eat it. But the meat was perfect. The zucchini could've used a little more seasoning, but the asparagus was awesome.

ROSS: This is awesome. Maybe top 5 you've ever cooked. Top 10, maybe. Well, maybe Top 15. You cook a lot of stuff.



MY VOTE ON MY DISH: Hmmm...I'd say 8.5 stars. Aside from the bad timing on my part (the pasta sat a little while and got a bit sticky, and nothing was piping hot), everything came out great. The pork was tender and flavorful, and the pesto was great. It somehow tasted creamy without containing any cream. And the veggies were crisp and yummy.

NOTES: Next time, I would just wait longer to cook the pasta, so it didn't get sticky and too soft, and I would heat the sauce for a little longer so it stayed nice and hot. This isn't a dish I'd cook a lot, not only because the CrockPot is time-consuming, but because pork shoulder is a fatty cut of meat. Even though I trimmed off most of the fat, there is fat that's just integral to the meat that can't really be extracted from the meat. In small portions, it's not too terrible, but as I rule I try to keep pork to a minimum (and red meat, too, for that matter). If I made this dish again, I would substitute whole wheat pasta, and I would make it vegetarian - I might incorporate the zucchini and asparagus into the sauce in lieu of meat.

We had a great night. Rather than watch Desperate Housewives and veg, we desperately ate some veggies in our house. The wine was great, too. I usually don't like Merlot, but the Smoking Loon was really good.

Thanks for reading, guys!