Pork Belly Anyone?

We made a trip to Jungle Jim's this weekend and I picked up a pork belly.  Like the name implies, it's the meat from the belly of the pig and it's very fatty.  I've never had it before, so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.  The recipe that I chose for the belly was one by Chef Anne Burrell,  Mustard Braised Pork Belly.  I think she's a very talented chef and I've made several of her dishes in the past.  Before I get into the recipe, the first thing you need to know about Pork Belly is that it has this really tough skin on it and it's very difficult to remove.  I Googled removing the skin and found a video on You Tube, but honestly, it wasn't very helpful.  I used 6 different knives trying to remove the skin and ended up butchering it pretty bad.  Anyway, if  you choose to do a pork belly definitely have your butcher remove the skin for you, you'll be glad that you did.  The good news about pork belly is that it's very inexpensive, only $10 for a 3 1/2 lb belly.
Chef Anne's recipe is very simple, but it will take you sometime.  You have to let it sit for 24 hours with a rub and the next day it will take you about 6 hours to braise.  The aroma in the kitchen and throughout the house was amazing and I was so excited about trying it.  So for the final step I put it under the broil for about 3 minutes to crisp up the fat layer.  It looked really yummy and smelled great.  But...it just oozed with fat.  The fat just coated my lips and the inside of my mouth.  Honestly, I've never experienced anything like it.  The meat under the fat layer was really tender, juicy and quite delicious.  But...it just oozed with fat.  I just don't think my palate is sophisticated enough for pork belly.  I'm glad that I experienced the pork belly, my next adventure will be foie gras.  Anyway, give pork belly a try and let me know what you think.

Happy New Year Pig and Peas

Traditionally in my family on New Year's Day my mom would make pulled pork, coleslaw and black eyed peas.  Supposedly if you consume pork and black eyed peas on New Year's Day you will be blessed with good fortune during the year.  I'm not sure if it's true, but I don't dare deviate from the tradition.  My dish today had 1/2 lb pulled pork (thawed), that I had  I pulled from the freezer that we had smoked back in the summer,  3 chorizo sausages (casing removed and broken into bite size pieces), 1 package of frozen black eyed peas, 1/2 of one red and green bell pepper chopped into small bite size pieces,  1 leek (cleaned well and sliced using only the white part, 3 cloves of garlic chopped, 1 tbsp of olive oil and S&P to taste.  I took a medium size dutch oven and heated my olive oil over med heat and added my veggies and cooked them until they were soft. I added the chorizo to the pot and let it brown, stirring frequently.  I added the peas and 2 cups of water to the pot and mixed it in, brought it to a boil and reduced the heat to med and cooked for about 15 minutes.  I added the smoked pulled pork and continued to simmer for another 10 minutes and seasoned with a little S&P.  I served this over brown rice and drizzled with a little Louisiana Habanero Hot Sauce.  Very simple, very yummy and can be served anytime of the year.  Enjoy!

Grilled Pork Chops with Cappellini

We had been on a long ride, so when we returned home we grilled up some pork chops and served those with some cappellini pasta (angel hair pasta). We used the gas grill, since it was late and we were both pretty hungry.  I preheated the grill with 3 burners on high and 2 on low.  I prepared the chops with some kosher salt and a generous amount of fresh ground pepper.  I also had a tbs of unsalted butter reserved to brush on the chops while they grilled.  I placed the chops on the high heated side of grill and grilled each side for about 5 minutes.  I only turned them once for 5 minutes per side.  After that I moved them to the low side of grill and brushed butter on one side. It took the chops about 20 minutes to grill total until they reached a temp of 145.  In between turns I buttered the chops.  After those finished I let them rest for about 5 minutes.  While my chops rested I had my salted water going for my pasta.  While chops were grilling Will minced 4 cloves of garlic and made a chiffonade of about 1/4 C of fresh basil leaves.  The cappellini only takes about 4 minutes to cook.  We reserved a C of the pasta water and drained the pasta, placed it back in the pot with 1 tbs of butter 2 tbs of EVOO the garlic, basil and fresh ground pepper.  We also added some of the pasta water to keep it loose.  We served the pasta with some grated Parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper along with our grilled pork chops.  Bon Appetito!

Grilled Pork Chops With Pesto & Pasta with Veggies

When you have the charcoal grill going it's such a shame to waste the heat. So the other nite after I grilled the steaks, I just couldn't waste the hot coals, so I grilled up some pork chops, potatoes, smallwoods and corn. Tonight we had the pork chops topped with a dollop of fresh pesto with farfalle pasta and sauted veggies. I started by chopping up some garlic, zucchini, yellow squash, green pepper and sweet onion and sliced some mushrooms and sauted them in EVOO until the shrooms were a golden brown. While my veggies cooked, I made some pesto from basil in my garden. My recipe is simple- I roast about 1/3 C pine nuts in a 375 degree oven until they are light golden brown. This takes between 7-10 minutes. I take 3 cloves garlic, 3 C of basil packed in the measuring cup, and I blend in the food processor. I then add the pine nuts and drizzle 1/4-1/3 C EVOO into the processor as its still blending. I don't add salt because the cheese supplies plently. You are looking for a smooth creamy texture. I remove the mixture and place in a medium bowl and I fold in 1/4 C of freshly grated Parmigiana Reggiano. You want the cheese to be finely grated. That's it!  I drained the cooked pasta and added it to the pan with he veggies along with  1/4 C chopped basil and mixed it in.  I served the pasta with the grated Parmigiana Reggiano and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. Check it out-yummy and very easy!!

I Don't Know, But it Sure Was Good!!

Last night I pulled some leftover frozen smoke pulled pork from the freezer.  I had smoked the pork butt back in the winter.  I thought when I pulled it out that I would just do pulled pork sandwiches, BORING!!  But tonight I decided to put a tex mex flair on it.  I started by getting my rice concoction started.  I added 1 C basmati rice, with 1.5 C water, 1.5 tsp chicken bouillon granules, 1 tbs cumin, 1.5 tbs hot hungarian paprika, and 1 tsp of turmeric, 1 can of rinsed and drained red beans, 1/2 C frozen corn.  I just mixed it all up, brought it to a boil and then I covered it and let it simmer for 20 minutes.  You could add whatever beans you like, I just had the red beans on hand.   While the rice was cooking, I chopped 1 jalapeno (w/ seeds), 1/2 poblano pepper, 1/2 red pepper and I sliced 1/2 of a red onion.  I heated a large skillet and added a 1 tbs of EVOO and then added my veggies and let them saute for about 5 minutes.  I then added 1 1lb of the smoked pulled pork and 1 C of no salt chicken stock and mixed it up.  After several minutes I added about 2.5 tbs of my mexican seasoning which consists of cayenne, chili powder, cumin, oregano, hot hungarian paprika, salt and  corn starch.  I'm partial to the paprika and cumin so my mixture has more of those 2 ingredients.  Just play with your mix and find what's right for your palate.  I let this simmer for about 15 minutes.  You might need to add water if the mixture gets too thick.  I served the pork over the rice with chopped scallions and cilantro, grape tomatoes and sour cream.  Enjoy!!

Grilled Pork Chops with Smallwoods

I'm very sorry to say, but my dad past away 2 weeks ago Saturday morning.  Obviously not really interested in posting lately, been so busy, so tired, so everything!!!  Although, yesterday Will and I did have a really nice day, we rode the bike to Yellow Springs and had lunch at Peaches Grill.  Love Peaches, great biker joint with great burgers and over 20 brews on tap.  Anyway, we spent most of the day riding and later stopped to visit with his folks.  My in-laws are great people, I'm blessed to have them.

I failed to mention that my parent's gave Will and I this really kick @#$$ charcoal grill.  I've never been much for charcoal grilling,  but I'm a convert!!! Love it.  So when we got home we grilled up some nice pork chops (no brining-trying to cut back on salt).  I just seasoned them with some Cajun spices and little EVOO.  I guess it took them about 20 minutes to grill.  We also did something referred to as a "Smallwood".  A Smallwood consists of taking your favorite veggies, garlic, your fav herbs/spices w/ butter/evoo and place them into a foil packet and grill them.  I don't puncture the foil.  Just let the veggies steam in their juices.  If you add potatoes, sweet potatoes or carrots you will have to steam for a least 25 minutes.  Oh, but when it's finished, it is oh so yummy.  What I love about this dish is that you use seasonal veggies and they are SOoooo good.  Give it a try, it's so easy and very little mess and clean up.  BTW, in our Smallwood we had asparagus, green beans, mushrooms, whole garlic cloves, red skin potatoes, red bell pepper, zucchini, squash, jalapeno and flat leaf parsley.    Bon Appetito!!!  Will be back soon.

Bacon Burgers and Fries

We do burgers fairly regularly, today inspired by Chef Symon. There are some out there that I would love to make, but my honey is a little picky, so I try not push the burger creativity over the top.  Tonight we had bacon burgers and fries.  The first thing I did when I got home was to take 2 large russet potatoes that had been scrubbed and cut them in half lengthwise and cut the halves in to 5 wedges each.  I placed them in a bowl of water and let them sit for about an hour, because I didn't want them browning on me while  me and my honey took little ride thru the country on the bike, since we haven't really been able to get it out with all of this rain, BTW which will back tomorrow evening. When I got home I preheated my Breville oven to 450, drained the water, dried the potatoes and coated them with EVOO and S&P and placed them on baking sheet and popped them into the oven for 35 minutes.  While those were baking I took 1 part 80/20 organic ground beef, 1 part organic ground pork and 1/4 part organic chorizo, mixed them all together, formed into burgers and sprinkled both sides with S&P and put aside.  I took the bacon outside to cook  on the side burner of the grill.  Don't get me wrong I love the smell of bacon, but it permeates the house, and sometimes its just a little much.  Anyway, when there was 15 minutes remaining on the tators I heated my grill- 1 side on med  and 1 side on high.  Once heated I placed the burgers on the med heat side of the grill and let them cook thru, flipping only one time.  I placed the bacon slices and slices of red onion and monterey jack cheese over top, closed the grill and let the cheese melt.  While the burgers were grilling I also took my burger buns and lightly seared them on the grill.  That was it.  No mess, little clean up, easy and yummy.  We served our burgers with a little mayo, and some pickles next to those perfect fries.  Mmm! Mmm!

Mexican Sliced Spiced Pork Soft Tacos w/ Texas Oven Fries

This is so yummy, please try!!

This is a Rachael Ray 30 minute meal and it is really yummy.  I've never worked with fresh tomatillos before.  When you peel the husk off they are really sticky, so be sure to wash them well.  The only things that I did differently are: 1. I cut the recipe in half  2. brined my pork tenderloin over nite  3. I didn't use the pumpkin seeds b/c they weren't available at my market  4. I added a tsp of cumin to the salsa while it was cooking  5. I blended the sauce after cooking in my food processor to reduce the large chunks of tomatillo.  I thought the salsa was really good and found that it had creeping heat that I really like, although not so hot that I need extra napkins and I wasn't sweating profusely.  I really liked the potatoes too.  They baked well and had a nice crunch on the outside and tender inside.  Rachael said to cut the potatoes into 10 each, so just cut the potato in half and cut 5 slices out of each half.  For some reason, that was a challenge for me to get with the first potato. You ought to give it try.  It's simple, but it took me about 45 minutes to do it all. Good Eats!

Thai Pork and Noodles

This dish is awesome, easy to make and fairly quick, about 40 minutes.  Thai Pork and Noodles from the Food Network Kitchen. At first when I tasted it, it kind of took me by surprise. I wasn't familiar with the combination of flavors.  After each bite it got better and better and the heat was a creeper.  By the time I finished,  I was sweating and I went thru several towels for my runny nose.  If you like heat and intense flavor I would definitely suggest that you give it a try.  Oh, instead of using thin pork chops I used  a 1.5 lb pork tenderloin that I had brined over night and sliced it into thin strips that I stir fried to medium well. Good Eats!!