Pulled Pork

I Decided a little while ago, that i had been alive way too long to have never tried my hand at creating a really swell pulled pork recipe. So for my brothers birthday dinner I set out to make Pulled pork sandwiches.
For the Sandwiches, i just toasted up a roll and piled them high with this delightfully tender pork, Cherry Habenero BBQ Sauce, and a scoop of Apple and Fennel Slaw.



The Pork itself proved to be extremely simple, all you really need is time. I started with a pork shoulder with the bone in.



And a good dry rub:

3 T Garlic Powder
1 T Onion Powder
4T Paprika
1/4 C Brown sugar
2 T Ground mustard
2T Cayenne pepper
2T Kosher Salt
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper



Coat the pork shoulder completely in the dry rub and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 24 hours.



After 24 hours add a little over half of a 12oz Beer ( a stout or amber ale works best) and 3 tsp of Liquid smoke. If you are going to be making BBQ sauce as well, go ahead and throw in:

6 oz of dried Cherries
1 quartered yellow onion
3 gloves of garlic.



Cover with Foil and cook at 250 degrees for 5 hours....low and slow...mmmmmm
After five hours raise the heat to 400, remove the foil, and give it about 15 more minutes



let it cool slightly and then remove the pork shoulder from the pan. At this point it will be so very tender that you should have no problem pulling the meat apart with a couple of forks....or spoons....or you can just look at it and it may fall apart.



And there you have it! pulled porky-y goodness! i want some now......

Cherry Habenero BBQ Sauce

I Made this particular sauce specifically for my pulled pork recipe, so i decided it would be a good use of time and ingredients to piggy back on the braising process and get some great flavor into a BBQ sauce.
However, even though this recipe seems fairly dependent on a big hunk of meat, you could very well cook the initial ingredients in a pan on the stovetop, YAY versatility!

So as mentioned in the pork recipe, half of the package of cherries, a quartered yellow onion, 3 gloves of garlic, and 3 tsp. of liquid smoke go into the bottom of the pan.



Along with about half of a beer (i chose Boont Amber Ale, because that's what i felt like drinking while i cooked)



After the cooking is complete, scoop the contents of the pan into a blender (you want some of the liquid but not all of it so if you just stick to scooping rather than pouring, you should be perfect)



And here is where the heat comes in. remove the tops and seeds from two habeneros and add those into the blender as well. Although it may seem a little silly, i always use rubber gloves when i get anywhere near these guys with a knife. The oil from a habenero is RELENTLESS and will stay on your hands for a week.....you have NO idea how many times a week you touch your eyes! DO IT!




Also to the blender add:

1 little can of tomato paste
1 C Apple cider vinegar
1T ground mustard
2 Large pinches of Kosher salt
1 T Paprika


Now blend!

Move this mixture to a pot on the stove top and then add:

1/4 C molasses
1/4 C brown sugar
and the other half of your beer

Simmer mixture for about 10 minutes, give it a test, and if you wish, add a little more Salt and/or Vinegar to taste.

The proportions are such, that you will probably have a good deal leftover, which is great because you wouldn't want to go through this process every time you have BBQ. Keep the remaining sauce in a jar in the fridge, it will last a good little while!

Apple and Fennel Slaw

This Particular slaw is a far cry from my Go-To slaw, which i am sure will be coming to you shortly. I needed something a little different to properly compliment a sweet and spicy pulled pork sandwich. So the tartness of the apples and delightful licorice-y spice of the fennel seemed like the way to go.
I piled a whopping spoonful of this stuff directly on top of my pulled pork, inside the sandwich, and it was REAL good, but as a side dish i think it would fly just fine.

Shopping list:

1/2 a head of green cabbage (the packaged stuff works great too, save yourself hassle)
1 Fennel Bulb
1 large Granny Smith Apple
1 large Pink Lady or Braeburn Apple
4 green onions

1 7oz container of 2% Greek Yogurt
1/3-1/2 C Apple cider vinegar (start with a third of a cup and then taste it and add more if needed)
1/4 C granulated sugar
2 large pinches of kosher salt, more to taste
a few grinds of fresh black pepper

Into a large bowl add the cabbage, and chopped green onions. Julienne the apples, peel and all, and very thinly slice up just the bulb of the fennel.



Now, at this stage, if you give the raw cabbage a little sprinkle of olive oil (just a tablespoon or so) the whole thing will be much easier to mix. the cabbage tends to be very *squeaky* and stubborn, and because we are using yogurt instead of mayonnaise, there is really nothin slick in there to coax it along.
Add all your dressing ingredients over the top of the slaw and give it a good toss.



And, that's it! Keep it cold, and ENJOY!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

My love for Pizza made on Lavash bread was born out of desperation. Years ago, i was starving and had to come up with something to eat despite the limited ingredients that i had left in my refrigerator.
Now, i almost never make pizza any other way.

I get this lavash flat-bread from trader joes, it has a million uses and i love it!



So for two pizzas, which is about 12 slices you will need:

2C BBQ chicken (leftover works great, but if you don't have that, trader joes also sells pre-cooked chopped chicken breast, to which i just add a liberal amount of BBQ sauce )
2C grated mozzarella
1C grated parmesan
8-10 green onions chopped
1 handful chopped cilantro
3 garlic cloves minced

Salt and fresh pepper

Heat oven to 375

Brush Lavash bread with olive oil



pile on your chicken



Then, the onions, garlic, and cilantro



Followed by the cheese, and then salt and pepper



I put these pizzas straight on the oven rack, and cook them until the cheese melts and the edges are crispy. Make sure to keep an eye on them because the crust will go from delightfully crisp to straight up inedible real fast.



As you probably could have guessed, i like sriracha on mine, it's quite pleasant with the sweetness of the BBQ sauce, but if youre not a fan.....then you can just eat it as is.....but it's not gonna be as good :)

Cheese Ravioli

I have had a pretty strong hankering to make home-made pasta for a long time, and ravioli seemed like the way to go because that meant i got to create the filling as well, AND it meant i got to stuff these puppies as full as i wanted with cheesy goodness! I find that there is rarely enough filling in ravioli.
So, making Pasta, as it tuns out, it not all that difficult. It takes a bit of time and muscle but it's not very complicated.

Start with Semolina Flour which is pretty much available any where, and from there you pretty much just follow the directions on the package. It's basically just eggs, olive oil, and water.



mix your flour and salt, and make a little well, put the wet ingredients in the middle and slowly incorporate the flour in little by little. Then the kneading begins....you knead the dough for about 10 minutes, and then roll it out very thin. I was convinced after i was done with this step that elderly Italian women must have extremely strong arms.



i used a glass to cut out circles, but using a knife to cut the dough into squares would be lovely as well.



For my filling i used the following:

12oz of part skim Ricotta cheese
1C freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/3 C chopped chives

the zest of about half a lemon
and Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Typically when doing a filling like this for manicotti or lasagna i would use basil and/or italian parsley, but the chives really made the whole dish, and i would definitely do it this way again.



Spoon filling on to the pasta, and then brush the edges with beaten egg.



Cover with another past round and seal the edges with a fork.



Cook the Ravioli in Boiling Salted water, and keep in mind that fresh pasta cooks much more quickly than dried.



I topped mine with a simple tomato sauce (found here) , shaved Parmesan, and some fresh Basil.

Sauce!

So, I tend to have a lot of uses for a good red sauce . This one is super simple and really delicious, and great for recipes that have a lot of other steps.

Shopping list:
1 Yellow onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp Red Pepper flakes
1 12oz can of crushed or chopped tomatoes
1 12 oz can of of tomato sauce
1 cup white wine
1 handful of chopped fresh basil
and as always: salt and fresh ground pepper

Start by chopping the onions and garlic


Sautee them in two tsp. of olive oil along with the red pepper flakes until the onions are translucent


Add the tomatoes and tomato sauce and cook down for two or 3 minutes and then add the white wine


simmer for 10 minutes with a lid on and then for another 3 or 4 with the lid off so the sauce can reduce and thicken a bit.
Add chopped basil and salt and pepper to taste.



and that's it!

Bruschetta

Out of Everything i make i would say that this Brushcetta is probably one of the most frequently requested, and despite being a little tedious, it's also one of the simplest of my go to dishes. It requires no cooking, and very few dishes....just a lot of chopping. I usually serve it with some lightly toasted sliced baguette, and i always make a ton because the longer it sits in the fridge, the better it gets, so it is great leftover.

Shopping List:

Tomatoes! this time i used about 10 medium sized tomatoes, and about two cups of baby Heirlooms




2 balls of Fresh Mozzarella (you want the kind that comes in water, it has a great silky texture and doesn't over power, but NOT buffalo Mozzarella, because even though it's amazingly delicious, you will end up spending about 15 dollars on cheese and it will just fall apart in this dish)



A big ol' bundle of Fresh Basil



4 or 5 Cloves of Garlic
3 Large Shallots



And....
1 Jar Pitted Kalamata Olives
1 Jar Sundried tomatoes in olive oil
Zest of two Lemons
Juice of One Lemon
About 5 Tbs of Olive oil (i also like to use some of the Oil from the Sun Dried tomatoes)
1/4 C Balsamic vinegar (more to taste)
Salt and Fresh ground Pepper

So, I like to start by chopping all of my tomatoes into a colander and letting them drain, unless you take the time to remove all the seeds and liquid from the tomatoes (which is annoying, but i have been known to do it anyway)
Then everything else gets chopped up, the Mozzarella into cubes, the Sundried Tomatoes, Basil, and Olives get a rough chop, and the Garlic, and Shallots a very fine dice.



When everything is sufficiently chopped to pieces, add the lemon zest, Lemon juice, Olive oil and Balsamic, give it a taste, and then go from there with your salt and pepper.



I usually try to let the whole concoction sit in the refrigerator for a couple hours and then transfer it to a different bowl with a slotted spoon. There is typically a lot of liquid that gets released from the tomatoes after you season the mixture, and i like to get rid of some of it.
Typically for serving i slice up a sourdough or french baguette, and brush a little olive oil on the slices and pop them in the oven for a few minutes at 400 degrees. You can dish them up individually, or just serve the whole mixture in a bowl with the toasts on the side and let people go to town.