The Birthday Boy's Bourbon Country Style Ribs

Tony loves meat.  I mean he really loves meat.  I think if he were pressed to answer,  pork would come first, beef second and then everything else just because. 

I knew for his birthday he would want some meat.  As luck would have it I found some very reasonably priced boneless country style ribs when I was shopping.  Lucky Tony!

I made the marinade the night before and added the meat to it in the morning.  Once we tasted it I realized this marinade would be perfect for just about any meat that is being grilled. 

Can't wait to try it on some pork chops and chicken thighs! And I think this long weekend is just the time to try!

Bourbon Marinaded Country Style Ribs

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbs molasses
• 2/3 cup bourbon
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 4 cloves garlic
• 3 pounds country style pork ribs

Directions

1.   Combine brown sugar, molasses, bourbon, soy sauce, and garlic in a food processor or blender to mince garlic with other ingredients. Pour over ribs, and marinate for several hours in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat, and lightly oil grate.
3. Place ribs on grate, and cook ribs until cooked to your liking.  When finished, the internal temperature of the ribs should be 160 degrees F (70 degrees C) when taken with a meat thermometer.
   
   
   

 

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Bacon and Egg Breakfast Cups

I am ALWAYS on the lookout for a quick, healthy and easy breakfast to feed the girls.  Our mornings are sometimes a little (lol!) hectic and having some thing made ahead or that is fast makes it oh so much better.  Usually they get these really tasty breakfast sandwiches but when I saw these on Kristen’s blog (Dine and Dish) I knew I would have to try them.

They were a real hit.  I ended up changing it and using bacon that I cooked up the night before because I didn’t have any ham.  The kiddo’s loved them.  Lauren will eat 2 of these at a sitting.  Easy to make a dozen and heat them up over the next couple of days…

Bacon and Egg Breakfast Cups (Dine and Dish)
Ingredients:

• 12 eggs
• 1 cup chopped cooked bacon
• 2 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Spray a muffin pan generously with Pam cooking spray
3. Crack one egg into each hole of the muffin pan, using a fork to gently break the yolk.
4. Sprinkle each egg with bacon, salt, cracked black pepper and cheese.
5. Bake for 20 minutes.
6. Pop out of muffin tins and serve.

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What We Ate with links and recipes…

So I posted a teaser the other day of all f the food that we ate over the Memorial Day weekend but right after that my computer developed a virus and it took me until Friday of last week to get everything figured back out.  I was so lucky and ended up not losing anything but some of the files are different and I had to reinstall some things.  Anyway as promised…

Starting from the upper right hand corner and going clock wise and finishing up in the middle:

  Tzatziki sauce – this is typically used with souvlaki and gyros but we used the leftovers all weekend sometimes even as a salad dressing!!!

 Greek Salad – Really simple dressing that is fresh and quick to make.

 Marinated Shrimp Salad – So simple and the best thing is you make it the night before and allow it to marinate all night.  Then just take it with you the day of the party.

Watermelon infused with watermelon Vodka:  Simply take a whole water melon and cut a hole in the skin just large enough for a funnel to fit in.  Do this about 12 hrs before serving.  Fill the funnel with watermelon vodka and allow the watermelon to absorb it.  Keep doing this until the desired amount is in the watermelon.  Chill and slice immediately before serving.  Place a cork in the whole for transporting to the party!

 Pork Souvlaki:  This is the souvlaki recipe that I got from my friend Peter over at Kalofagas.  It is the best I have ever tasted and made by me at home!

Bread – We bought it from our favorite German bakery and brushed it with garlic infused olive oil and grilled it…

 
Michelob Ultra – Yummmmmm!

Summer Berries with berry reduction and whipped cream (recipe to follow in a day or so)

Happy Summer!!!

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Pork Roast in a Crockpot

Sounds simple huh?  And something that you should be able to find a recipe for easily right?  WRONG!  Almost all of the recipes that I came across when searching for a recipe were sweet.  One thing Tony hates is sweet pork.  Sadly I am sure the rest of us like it but just never get to eat it…

This recipe came from about 10 different sources that I put together.  I am claiming it as mine and it is delicious!  I may have over cooked it a bit this time but trust me on this the first time I made it perfectly!  I will be making this again and again!

I used a pork sirloin roast. The one in the mesh cotton bag. I am sure any one but the tenderloin would work, would be too dry.  The picture below is only one of the 2 pieces in the bag.

Pork Roast in a Crockpot

Peel some garlic and pierce the roast with as many holes as you have garlic and push the garlic into the holes. I do about 3 or 4 cloves in each piece of meat. (the garlic will be pushed out during cooking, see pic, but the flavor is still there)

Make a mixture of:

1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/4 tsp rosemary
1 tsp lemon zest
dash of ground cloves

rub this all over the meat and place in the crockpot.

Add 1/2 cup of water around the side and cook on low for about 6 hrs.

Thicken the juice with some flour to make a gravy to serve with the egg noodles you will really want to have with this!!!

***As a rule we only eat “Happy Meat” but happy pork roast is hard to come by here.  I did break the rule on this one and used CAFO pork *hanging my head in shame* but my family really wanted pork…

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Chili Verde for the Crockpot

It was cold yesterday.  At least by Southwest Florida standards.  I think we reached a high of about 60F for the whole day.  I’m not complaining.  I live for the cooler weather but I knew that I needed something to warm us up for dinner.  Knowing that we would be at The BMX Track after the sun went down was pretty motivating too!

I pulled out my trusty Crockpot and went to work. 

Chili Verde

6-8 Servings

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of pork (this time I used pork steaks and cut them down to bite sized pieces.  Could use Pork Butt or Shoulder Roast)
• 3 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour (seasoned with a small bit of salt and pepper)
• 1/2 Cup water
• 1/2 Cup Tomatillo Salsa
• 2 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 1 (7 ounce) can of chopped green chiles, rinsed and drained.
• 1 small jar of pimientos (or 3/4 cup roasted red pepper strips)
• 1 (15 ounce) can of black beans, rinsed and drained

Directions:

• In a large bowl toss the pork with the seasoned flour until evenly coated.  Stir in the water , salsa, cumin, chili powder, oregano, garlic powder, salt, onions and 1/2 of the green chiles.  Mix well.
• Cover and cook on low heat for about 6 hours (or on high for about 3 or 4), or until pork is tender.  Stir twice if possible.
• Stir in the remaining green chiles, the red pepper strips and the black beans.  Cover again and cook on high 20-30 min. longer until heated through and bubbling again.

Will I make this again?  Definitely.  This will be a go to winter meal for us.  I wanted to try not browning the pork in this recipe and I am really pleased with how it turned out.  Truth be told I ran out of time and needed to get this on.  Worked to my advantage.  The meat was spoon cutting tender.  Everyone in the house loved it. 

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Baked BBQ Pork Ribs

What is a Memorial weekend holiday without some BBQ?! Because it was a bit cold out to grill on our rooftop deck, I baked some pork ribs instead. Although it lacked that nostalgic grill flavor, it was still pretty delicious and there's no leftover rib in sight. The following is how I normally prepare ribs in the oven, which is a technique I learned from my parents. Essentially, it involves using a dry rub, wrapping the ribs in foil and baking it at a low temperature for hours. After the ribs have fully baked, BBQ sauce is brushed on the top and broiled until the sauce caramelizes... and extra BBQ sauce is brushed again before it's served.

Baked BBQ Pork Ribs
original Joelen recipe

3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 lbs pork ribs (slab)
BBQ sauce for basting & serving


Preheat oven to 325.

Combine the spices in a bowl and sprinkle the rub generously on both sides of the pork rib slab.

Wrap the seasoned pork ribs in foil completely to make a packet for it to bake in.

Place the wrapped pork on a baking sheet and into the preheated oven; bake for 2 1/2 - 3 hours.

Remove the pork ribs from the oven; turn on your broiler.

Carefully remove the pork ribs from the foil packet and place on your baking sheet.

Warm your preferred BBQ sauce and liberally baste the top of your cooked pork ribs.

Place your BBQ sauce glazed ribs into the broil and allow it to broil for 5-7 minutes or until the BBQ sauce caramelizes.

Remove the pork ribs from the broiler and allow it to rest before cutting.

Baste the pork ribs with more warm BBQ sauce if you'd like or serve it along side as a condiment.

Cut the slab into individual ribs and serve warm.

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Panko Pork Cutlets & Confetti Couscous

Not feeling too creative, dinner was pretty straightforward tonight. With some pork cutlets ready to put to use, they were prepared pretty simply. Just a light seasoning and a crispy panko crust was all it took. To pair with it, I made a light couscous with bits of red, green and yellow bell peppers and some peas thrown in for good measure!

Panko Pork Cutlets

1 egg, scrambled (I used only egg whites)
montreal seasoning to taste
1 cup panko (Japanese) breadcrumbs
cooking spray or oil for pan frying
4 thinly pounded pork cutlets

Season pork on one side.
Dip pork into a bowl of scrambled egg.
Dredge pork into a bowl of panko breadcrumbs.
Pan fry in oil until golden brown.

Confetti Couscous

1 cup whole wheat (or plain) couscous
1 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup diced bell peppers (red, green & yellow)
1/4 cup frozen spring peas
salt & pepper to taste

Heat vegetable broth in a small sauce pan.
Once it comes to a boil, add the couscous, peppers and peas.
Cover and allow to sit for 10 minutes to fully absorb the flavors.
Season to taste.

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Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

We are still in Pennsylvania visiting T's family until tomorrow. As we were sitting around the huge pan of lasagna last night our conversation once again turned to food. We started throwing out ideas for breakfast and someone mentioned sausage gravy and biscuits. My FIL's eyes went real big! This would be a huge hit in the morning. Funny thing is this is such a simple meal to make. Who knows why we don't have this more often!

Simple Biscuits (no idea where I got this from. I have been using it forever!)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 1 cup milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Gradually stir in milk until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
3. Turn out onto a floured surface, and knead 15 to 20 times. Pat or roll dough out to 1 inch thick. Cut biscuits with a large cutter or juice glass dipped in flour. Repeat until all dough is used. Brush off the excess flour, and place biscuits onto an ungreased baking sheet.
4. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges begin to brown.

Now onto the sausage gravy. This is T’s deal. For some reason he has always been the cooker of the gravy!

Sausage Gravy (T’s recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1-1.5# loose breakfast sausage
• Flour
• Milk
• salt & pepper to taste
• Fresh Sage

Directions:

1. Fry sausage on medium high until cooked through. Add flour (estimate same amount of flour to grease produced by sausage) reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes.
2. Start adding milk a cup at a time stirring until thickened then add another cup of milk until after 10 minutes of cooking gravy is not getting thicker.
3. Season with salt, pepper and fresh sage.

Serve the sausage gravy over the fresh baked biscuits and enjoy. This is one of our favorite breakfast and is always requested by guests!

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

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Roasted Pork Tenderloin w/Fennel, Carrots & Honey

This was inspired by my The New Best Recipe cookbook I have. I was looking for recipe ideas to prepare pork tenderloin and was inspired to try the following recipe which was initially for a pork loin roast. It worked extremely well with pork tenderloin just the same.

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Fennel, Carrots & Honey
recipe inspired by The New Best Recipe

2 whole pork tenderloins
1 bulb fennel
1 lb bag baby carrots
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons honey
salt & pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut each pork tenderloin in half so you have 4 pieces; season with salt & pepper to taste and set aside.

Chop the fennel bulb into bite sized pieces and place in a baking dish with the baby carrots.

Add the melted butter and honey to the fennel and carrots; stir to combine. Season to taste.

Place the seasoned pork tenderloin over the vegetable mixture and bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.

Serve warm.

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Tourtiere or French Canadian Pork Pie

The other day T. and I were running errands and talking about food and things that I haven’t made in a while. He mentioned Pork Pie. This has to be one of our favorite meals. Funny though, it’s been well over a year since i have made it. Don’t you hate when that happens???

This is one of those incredibly fast and simple meals that really comes together in no time at all.

I usually make my own pie crust but this time I was kind of tired so I used store bought. Should have made my own…it was just a little too sweet to go with the savory pie. Lesson learned!

Tourtiere (This recipe is from - Janet is Hungry)

Double 9" Pie Crust:
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup vegetable shortening and butter mixed
5-6 Tbsp cold water

Meat Filling:
1 1/2 lbs ground pork
1 onion, chopped fine
1/4 cup celery, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground summer savory
1/3 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp allspice
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup water
1 small potato, boiled and mashed
1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp milk

Directions:

1. Prepare pastry: Cut cold shortening into cubes. Place butter/shortening in food processor with flour and salt. Pulse a few times.
2. Dump flour mixture out into a bowl and start adding water a tbsp at a time until mixture forms a dough that will hold together. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
3. Make filling: In a non-stick skillet with a cover, cook pork, breaking up the larger chunks.
4. Add onion, celery, garlic and cook until the onions are tender.
5. Add salt, savory, pepper, allspice, bay leaf and water. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove lid and simmer 5 more minutes until most of the water is gone (it should still be quite moist).
6. Add mashed potato and remove bay leaf.
7. Roll out pastry (TIP: I roll my pastry out between two sheets of plastic wrap, when it is the right size, peel one sheet away and use the other to pick up the pastry and flip it over into the pie plate). Fill with meat mixture, cover with second half of pastry and seal edges. Cut a few vents in the top.
8. Brush top with a mixture of egg yolk and milk.
9. Bake at 425F for 30-40 minutes until golden brown.

Youngest daughter was in a skating recital over the weekend. She absolutely nailed it...clever little girl!

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

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Cornbread & Pecan Stuffed Pork Loin

Pork loin is a common meat staple in our home. I love how I can prepare it in various ways and it's just as versatile as chicken. This time around, I stuffed it with cornbread and pecans for a little southern flair.

Cornbread & Pecan Stuffed Pork Loin
recipe adapted from About.com

1- 2 pound boneless pork loin
4 cups crumbled cornbread
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup pecans, lightly toasted
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a skillet, melt butter. Add onions and garlic and cook until tender. Add sage and cook for about 30 seconds.

Remove from heat and add cornbread, onion, pecans and egg. Stir, adding the chicken broth slowly until it becomes spreadable. The stuffing should look like stuffing. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Butterfly or roll cut pork loin. Spread stuffing over the pork loin and roll up. Secure with kitchen twine.

Preheat skillet until hot. Add olive oil and place pork loin in hot skillet to sear. Turn every minute until the surface of the pork loin is seared. Move pork loin to baking dish and bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 155 degrees F. (68 degrees C.). Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice and serve.

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Wild Boar Sausage and Peppers!

Months ago I was lucky enough to get my hands on a whole case of organic green bell peppers. No way was I going to be able to use them all up so I froze them. Cleaned them, cut them in half and cleaned out the seeds and plopped them in freezer bags and froze them for later use. I am so glad I did this otherwise I may not have immediately thought of them when Jaden of Steamy Kitchen handed me 2 packs of wild boar sausage and some wild boar steaks!!! I have truly been blessed by Jaden's generosity! Wild boar (her hubby hunted), chicken, noodles, tomatoes, kefir lime leaves, jalapenos and the list goes on.

I got the wild boar when our families met up for the day at the Myakka River State Park. We were heading there anyway as the girls wanted to go fishing and it really is a cool place to go. The alligators are pretty much right beside you and it makes for some pretty exciting photographs...here is an awesome video that Jaden made of her boys first fishing trip with us! Anyway Jaden is about 30 minutes from the park so I suggested that they meet for some fun! Turned out to be a great day. The kids caught some tiny little fish and we went home with a bunch of wild boar!!!


Because of a freezer full of peppers I knew exactly what to do. Thaw out the Italian sausage and the peppers. I always have onions so that wasn't an issue.

I cooked up the sausage in a large skillet, with a small bit of olive oil to prevents sticking. I sliced up the peppers, onions and some garlic and added them to the pan. Seasoned with some garlic powder, salt and pepper. Sometimes we eat this in a bun as a sandwich but for this one we ate it just like it was and was it ever delicious! That wild boar sausage was seasoned perfectly. I cannot wait to try the brats...

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

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Neely's Macaroni & Cheese

In honor of Black history month, I prepared this following dish for this month's Chef Spotlight dinner where we highlight African American chefs. This recipe comes from Pat & Gina Neely.

Patrick Neely began his career in the restaurant business when he was only 15. He and his older brother, Tony, learned the art of slow-cooked southern barbecue using indirect heat by working at their uncle Jim Neely's restaurant, Interstate Bar-B-Que in Memphis.

On their website, Interstate Bar-B-Que claims that they were the "first to put the Neely name on the Memphis BBQ scene." In February 1988, Pat and his three brothers, Tony, Gaelin, and Mark, opened their first barbecue restaurant, Neely's Bar-B-Que, in downtown Memphis with nothing more than a few tables and chairs, a barbecue pit designed by their Uncle Jimmy, and $20,000 they had borrowed from their grandmother. They eventually earned a good reputation based on hard work, great food and consistently good service. The Neelys now have three restaurant locations: two in Memphis, and one in Nashville. Pat's brother Tony moved to Nashville to head up the new restaurant there. Additionally, they operate several concession stands in the Memphis FedEx Forum (one of the company's main logistics hubs) and their products are sold online and in selected grocery stores nationwide. Gina handles the restaurant's catering division, which accounts for over 25% of the restaurant chain's total sales. ~ Wikipedia

Neely's Macaroni & Cheese

recipe adapted from Pat & Gina Neely

6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups milk, warm
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Dash salt and freshly ground black pepper
Dash hot sauce
Dash Worcestershire sauce
3 cups shredded Cheddar
1 pound cavatappi pasta, cooked al dente
1 cup crushed potato chips
5 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, for topping

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt 6 tablespoons butter in a large saucepot over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Whisk in the warmed milk and bring to a boil, continue to whisk constantly. The mixture will thicken as the heat increases. Continue to stir while adding

the dry mustard, nutmeg, cayenne, salt, pepper, hot sauce and Worcestershire. Stir in the 3 cups of Cheddar until it melts.

Pour the cheese sauce over the noodles and add to a 3 quart casserole dish.

Sprinkle the chips, bacon and Parmesan on top and bake for 35 minutes.

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Filipino Pork Menudo

Every month I get together with fellow foodies here in Chicago to do a meal swap. We each prepare a meal of our choice, package them up in entree sized containers and pass them out to everyone when we get together. This has been a great and easy way to have several meals already prepared without having to put much effort in! It certainly makes it easy for us to pack up lunches for work and save a few dollars.

For the food swap tonight, I prepared a Filipino dish called menudo. This version of menudo is completely different from what you may be familiar with in Mexican and/or Texan cuisine. This dish is traditionally made of garlic, onions, diced pork, pork liver, various diced vegetables, soy sauce and tomato sauce. The main thing about menudo is that the ingredients are prepped to be roughly the same size. My parents often made this dish for their catering events and I had the wonderful task of dicing the vegetables. This is also a great dish because it gets better over time and can easily be frozen. It's best served with steamed rice.

Filipino Pork Menudo
original Joelen recipe
inspired by my mom

2 lbs pork shoulder, pork butt, or pork chops
2 tablespoons canola oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, sliced
garlic salt & pepper to taste
1/4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 medium potatoe, peeled & diced
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 package frozen peas & carrots
1 cup raisins


Prepare your pork (regardless of cut) by dicing pork in small bite sized pieces.

In a wok or shallow pan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and onions.

Once onions have softened, add pork and season to taste; stir.

Add soy sauce, tomato sauce, water and potatoes; stir. Allow pork to cook in this sauce for 10 minutes to absorb flavors.

Add beans, peas, carrots and raisins; stir. Allow to cook over medium high heat for another 10 minutes.

Serve over steamed rice or allow flavors to meld overnight and enjoy the following day.

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Spinach & Feta Stuffed Pork Tenderloins

For dinner tonight, I had some pork tenderloin to play with. My preferred way to use pork tenderloin is to stuff it with a mixture of vegetables, herbs, seasonings, etc. With some spinach & feta on hand, I made the following recipe and served it with roasted potatoes and a light salad.

Spinach & Feta Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
serves 3
recipe from Made in Napa Valley

tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup minced yellow onion
2 packages frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
Two 1-pound pork tenderloins
5 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup low-salt chicken broth
Kitchen string
Salt (preferably kosher or sea salt) and freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach and sauté for a couple of minutes until the moisture evaporates. Remove from heat and let cool.

Cut through each pork tenderloin lengthwise to within ½-inch of cutting all the way through. Open up the pork like a book and pound out each side until it’s about ¼-inch thick. Distribute the spinach over each tenderloin and top with the cheese. Roll each tenderloin jelly-roll style from the long side, and tie with string in 5 places. Season the outside of each tenderloin withsalt & pepper. Let stand 30 minutes.

Roast the pork until a thermometer inserted into thickest part registers 150°F, about 35 minutes. Transfer the tenderloins to a platter; cover loosely with foil. Place the same skillet over medium heat, and add the wine and broth. Boil until the sauce thickens, scraping up browned bits, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. To serve, remove strings from the pork and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Spoon the sauce over the pork.

Weight Watchers Point Value = 6 points per serving

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Michoacan-Style Pork Carnitas

Rick Bayless had a spell on me. He's a well-known chef here in Chicago who not only owns quite a handful of some amazing restaurants but also has a fabulous cooking show called, Mexico - One Plate at a Time. Specifically, I caught the following episode on Create TV over the weekend (description from Create TV):

Taquisa for Ten - Episode #605
From street stalls to bustling taquerias and morning to midnight, tacos are Mexico's favorite mini-meal-a few blissful bites of something thrillingly savory, wrapped in a soft, fragrant tortilla. And it turns out they're also a perfect party food. Rick and his daughter, Lanie, plan a backyard taquisa-a taco buffet centered around one of the greatest taco fillings of all, Michoacan-Style Pork Carnitas, chunks of pork, slowly simmered in oil until they're crisp and golden on the outside and succulent inside. Rick shows us how it's done in Mexico in giant copper cauldrons, and then brings that idea home with the help of a surprising, cooking device-a turkey fryer....

Ever since that episode, I had pork carnitas on the brain. So for dinner, I gave in to my cravings and made pork carnitas for dinner. Unlike Rick's episode, I didn't have a crowd to feed so I scaled down portions enough for 2 and leftovers for tomorrow's lunch. From his show, Rick Bayless prepared carnitas so simply that resulted in delicious and succulent pork. I used a little bit of his technique and went about making carnitas...

Michoacan-Style Pork Carnitas
inspired by Rick Bayless

2 lbs pork butt or pork shoulder
garlic salt to season
canola oil for frying

To prepare, cut pork in small chunks roughly in 6-8 oz portions.

Season pork with garlic salt liberally and allow to rest covered and chilled overnight.

When you're ready to make your carnitas, prepare your dutch oven filled half way with canola oil and heat until you reach about 300 degrees. Carefully place your seasoned pork in the hot oil. the oil will lower in temperature due to the pork. Allow the pork to cook in the oil for about 30 minutes, turning to brown all sides. Remove the pork from the hot oil.

Allow the oil to heat up to 325-350 degrees. Carefully re-fry the pork in the hot oil until it crisps up. Remove the pork from the hot oil and allow to drain on paper towels or cooling rack.

To serve, slice up and fill your corn tortillas along with your favorite fillings.

I served my pork carnitas over a bed of romain lettuce with fresh tomato salsa, crumbled queso fresco and sliced avocado. As a side, I prepared Roasted Cinnamon Chipotle Corn.

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Chinese Potstickers

For our Chinese New Year dinner party, my friend Tricia prepared these potstickers! They were delicious with a good balance of filling and dough! For really good potstickers, the two part cooking process is important. The potstickers are first boiled to cook the dough and filling... and then pan fried for a nice crisp crust.

Chinese Potstickers
recipe from About.com

1/2 cup finely chopped Bok choy leaves
1/2 cup finely chopped Sui Choy (Napa cabbage)
1/4 cup finely chopped green onion (Spring onion)
1/4 cup chopped water chestnuts
1 pound ground pork
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
Dash white pepper
1 package wonton or gyoza wrappers (about 48 wrappers)
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water, or 1 lightly beaten egg white
1 cup water, or as needed

Combine the first 10 ingredients in a large bowl, using your fingers to mix everything together. (Note: If preparing the filling ahead of time, store in a sealed container in the refrigerator until ready to use).

Fill each wrapper with a heaping teaspoon of the pork filling. Add the filling in the middle of the potsticker wrapper, using your finger to spread it out toward the sides. Be sure not to overfill or to spread the filling too close to the edge of the wrapper.

To fold the dumpling, moisten the edges of the wrapper with the egg white or mixture of water and cornstarch (this makes it easier to seal). Gently lift the edges of the moistened wrapper over the filling. Crimp the edges of the wrapper and pinch together to seal. (Cover the remaining wrappers with a damp cloth to keep them from drying out while filling and folding the dumplings).

Heat a wok or nonstick skillet on medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon oil. Add 10 – 12 potstickers, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the bottom is browned. Add 1/3 cup water, cover, and steam the dumplings until the liquid is absorbed (about 5 minutes). Remove and cook the remainder of the dumplings. Serve alone, with Dumpling Dipping Sauce, hot chili oil, or with soy sauce combined with freshly chopped ginger or a few drops of Asian sesame oil.

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Spare Ribs with Black Bean Sauce

For our Chinese New Year dinner, my friend John prepared this dish. This is one of my favorite Chinese dishes because I really enjoy the flavor black bean sauce imparts.

Spare Ribs with Black Bean Sauce
recipe from Steamy Kitchen

1-1/2 lbs pork sparerib (rib tips)
2 tablespoons black bean sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger (on microplane grater)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cooking oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar

Cut the spareribs crosswise into 1″ - 2″ sections. Combine the rest of the ingredients. Transfer spareribs and sauce into a shallow, heatproof pan that will fit inside your wok (a pie plate or 9” cake pan works great.) Let marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Set steaming rack inside of wok and fill with water almost up to height of rack. Turn heat to high and when water is boiling, turn heat to medium-high. Set pan with spareribs on top of a steaming rack in wok. Steam on med-high heat for 18-20 minutes until ribs are no longer pink. Make sure that when you are steaming that you don’t run out of water in the wok. Replenish with additional water, if needed.

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Jamaican Roast Pork

I made the following recipe for our annual Holiday Party where our menu highlighted Floribbean cuisine. While in Florida, I had a chance to try some authentic Jamaican cuisine. I wanted to include some Jamaican flavors in my menu and decided on this pork roast coated with a Jamaican inspired seasoning. You can use this seasoning mix on chicken, pork, steak or even seafood.

Jamaican Roast Pork
recipe from CookingCache.com

4 tbsp. sugar
3 tbsp. onion powder
3 tbsp. dried thyme, crushed
2 tbsp. ground allspice
2 tbsp. ground black pepper
1-2 tbsp. ground red pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
3/4 tsp. ground cloves
pork roast, butt or shoulder


Combine all spices and store in an airtight container. Makes 1 cup. Lasts 6 months.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Coat pork roast with prepared seasoning.

Place pork roast in roasting pan and bake in preheated oven for 1 hour to 1 hour, 30 minutes.

Set aside to rest and slice or shred after 5-10 minutes to serve.

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Guava BBQ Ribs

I made the following recipe for our annual Holiday Party where our menu highlighted Floribbean cuisine. Guava is a common fruit used in Floribbean cuisine. I was lucky to find guava syrup at my local grocery store and wanted to use it somehow. Looking through some Floribbean restuarant menus, I came across a restaurant that served up Guava BBQ ribs. This was a perfect dish to include in my menu and allowed me to use the guava syrup I found. I also used some dry Mojo seasoning I had on hand.

Guava BBQ Ribs
recipe inspired by Cuba Libre

5 pounds pork ribs, preferably country-style
1 bottle barbecue sauce (see note)
1 bottle guava syrup
1/4 cup hot pepper sauce
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup chopped garlic
1/2 cup soy sauce
2-3 tablespoons dry mojo seasoning


Combine all ingredients in crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours until tender.
Remove from crockpot and place on baking sheet.
Boil remaining sauce in crockpot in a small sauce pan until reduced by half to create a glaze.
Brush glaze over ribs and bake for 5-7 minutes in a 425 degree oven.

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