Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Buy my photos!
Trying out Imagekind. I have some of my latest photos up for sale. Posters, prints, greeting cards, framed art prints? Check it out!
Monday, May 05, 2008
Slow-Roasted Pork Burritos
I didn't get a chance to get a lot of pictures. Having guests for dinner makes it a little hard. But next time I make this (and there will be a next time), I will chronicle it all in photographs. I *did* get a picture of the roast just before it went into the oven. But then events overtook me and I didn't get a chance to record the rest of the process.
I did the black beans in my cast iron skillet and let those cook on the gas grill because I have only one oven, and that was taken up with the pork roast. I also made lime-cilantro rice, guacamole and pico de gallo. I bought the largest flour tortillas I could find, some sour cream and a package of 4-cheese Mexican Blend.
Oh. My. God. Five of us ate, and there was enough meat left for another five people. I still can't believe I paid only $.99/lb for that beautiful piece of meat.
The beans, by the way, were *outstanding*, and could easily be made vegetarian with a good vegetable stock without any loss in flavor. The chipotles brought a nice depth and smokiness, and just the right touch of heat.
This is also great party food, because everything can be done ahead of time, including slicing up the meat. It can be kept warm without any loss of quality. Then just put everything out and let folks build their own burritos.
This evening we used up the leftovers.
The Recipe
From Mark Bittman's The Best Recipes in the World website.
Steve Els's Slow-Cooked Pork Shoulder Burritos
MAKES 15 BURRITOS
TIME ABOUT 3-½ HOURS, LARGELY UNATTENDED, PLUS OPTIONAL MARINATING TIME
This may sound oxymoronic, but the best fast food can take a while to make. Take Steve Els's killer burritos. Once you've prepared the components, the burritos themselves takes about a minute to assemble. But the reason they'll be some of the best burritos you've ever eaten is that the pork shoulder (one of my favorite cuts of meat) has spent three hours in the oven, getting tender and developing a swoon-worthy crust. The black beans get the oven treatment, too, which makes them unusually smoky and delicious.
2 tablespoons salt or to taste
1 tablespoon pepper or to taste
5 tablespoons finely chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo
1 (4- to 7-pound) pork shoulder (picnic or Boston butt), trimmed of excess but not all fat
1 ½ tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons corn, grapeseed, or other neutral oil
1 large onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound dried black beans, rinsed, picked over, and soaked in water overnight
1 teaspoon roughly chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons finely chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo
2 dried bay leaves
4 cups chicken stock
15 flour tortillas
1. Combine the salt, pepper, and 3 tablespoons of the chopped chiles. Pierce meat all over with the point of a knife. Rub the chile mixture all over the exterior of the pork; if time allows, wrap in plastic or place in resealable plastic bag and refrigerate for up to 48 hours. If not, proceed.
2. When you're ready to cook, preheat oven to 450 F. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the thyme leaves all over the pork. Put the pork on a rack in a roasting pan, fat side down, and put in the oven. Roast for 20 minutes, or until the pork begins to brown, then lower the heat to 350 F and add one cup water to the bottom of the pan. Continue to roast, basting the pork with the pan juices and adding water to the bottom of the pan if it threatens to dry out, for about 3 hours, or until the interior temperature of the pork reaches 150 F on an instant-read thermometer. Let the pork rest for at least 45 minutes. (Or longer, since it is best served warm or at room temperature.)
3. While the pork cooks, prepare the beans. Put a large oven-proof skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Add onion and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they just begin to brown. Add the oregano, remaining ½ tablespoon of thyme, chile puree, and bay leaves, and stir. Then add the beans, stir, and add the stock. Put skillet in oven, and cook until beans are just tender, at least 1 ½ hours. The meat should be so tender that cutting it into uniform slices is difficult; rather, cut it as thinly as possible so that the meat is almost shredded.
4. Warm the tortillas, either by wrapping them in foil and putting them in a 300 F oven for ten minutes or by heating them individually in a large skillet over medium heat, flipping them when they begin to blister. Spread a portion of the beans on each tortilla and top with a portion of the pork. (You can add rice, sour cream or Mexican crema, guacamole, and pico de gallo, as you wish.) Roll up and serve.
I did the black beans in my cast iron skillet and let those cook on the gas grill because I have only one oven, and that was taken up with the pork roast. I also made lime-cilantro rice, guacamole and pico de gallo. I bought the largest flour tortillas I could find, some sour cream and a package of 4-cheese Mexican Blend.
Oh. My. God. Five of us ate, and there was enough meat left for another five people. I still can't believe I paid only $.99/lb for that beautiful piece of meat.
The beans, by the way, were *outstanding*, and could easily be made vegetarian with a good vegetable stock without any loss in flavor. The chipotles brought a nice depth and smokiness, and just the right touch of heat.
This is also great party food, because everything can be done ahead of time, including slicing up the meat. It can be kept warm without any loss of quality. Then just put everything out and let folks build their own burritos.
This evening we used up the leftovers.
The Recipe
From Mark Bittman's The Best Recipes in the World website.
Steve Els's Slow-Cooked Pork Shoulder Burritos
MAKES 15 BURRITOS
TIME ABOUT 3-½ HOURS, LARGELY UNATTENDED, PLUS OPTIONAL MARINATING TIME
This may sound oxymoronic, but the best fast food can take a while to make. Take Steve Els's killer burritos. Once you've prepared the components, the burritos themselves takes about a minute to assemble. But the reason they'll be some of the best burritos you've ever eaten is that the pork shoulder (one of my favorite cuts of meat) has spent three hours in the oven, getting tender and developing a swoon-worthy crust. The black beans get the oven treatment, too, which makes them unusually smoky and delicious.
2 tablespoons salt or to taste
1 tablespoon pepper or to taste
5 tablespoons finely chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo
1 (4- to 7-pound) pork shoulder (picnic or Boston butt), trimmed of excess but not all fat
1 ½ tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons corn, grapeseed, or other neutral oil
1 large onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound dried black beans, rinsed, picked over, and soaked in water overnight
1 teaspoon roughly chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons finely chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo
2 dried bay leaves
4 cups chicken stock
15 flour tortillas
1. Combine the salt, pepper, and 3 tablespoons of the chopped chiles. Pierce meat all over with the point of a knife. Rub the chile mixture all over the exterior of the pork; if time allows, wrap in plastic or place in resealable plastic bag and refrigerate for up to 48 hours. If not, proceed.
2. When you're ready to cook, preheat oven to 450 F. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the thyme leaves all over the pork. Put the pork on a rack in a roasting pan, fat side down, and put in the oven. Roast for 20 minutes, or until the pork begins to brown, then lower the heat to 350 F and add one cup water to the bottom of the pan. Continue to roast, basting the pork with the pan juices and adding water to the bottom of the pan if it threatens to dry out, for about 3 hours, or until the interior temperature of the pork reaches 150 F on an instant-read thermometer. Let the pork rest for at least 45 minutes. (Or longer, since it is best served warm or at room temperature.)
3. While the pork cooks, prepare the beans. Put a large oven-proof skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Add onion and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they just begin to brown. Add the oregano, remaining ½ tablespoon of thyme, chile puree, and bay leaves, and stir. Then add the beans, stir, and add the stock. Put skillet in oven, and cook until beans are just tender, at least 1 ½ hours. The meat should be so tender that cutting it into uniform slices is difficult; rather, cut it as thinly as possible so that the meat is almost shredded.
4. Warm the tortillas, either by wrapping them in foil and putting them in a 300 F oven for ten minutes or by heating them individually in a large skillet over medium heat, flipping them when they begin to blister. Spread a portion of the beans on each tortilla and top with a portion of the pork. (You can add rice, sour cream or Mexican crema, guacamole, and pico de gallo, as you wish.) Roll up and serve.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Crab Cakes with Corn and Avocado Salad
Crab Cakes
1 lb lump crab meat
4 medium scallions, sliced thinly
2 tblsp chopped fresh Italian parsley
1-1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 large egg
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup panko crumbs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
(note: if you can't get fresh lump crab, Costco sells 1 lb cans of Phillips brand lump crab for a very reasonable price, and it works beautifully in this recipe.)
Gently mix crab meat, scallions, parsley, Old Bay, bread crumbs and mayonnaise, being careful not to break up the crab meat. Gently fold egg into mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Divide mixture into 6 equal portions and form into cakes. Place on cookie sheet covered with waxed paper or parchment paper. Cover with another sheet of waxed paper or parchment paper. Chill for at least 30 minutes, up to 24 hours.
Put panko crumbs on a flat plate or pie plate. Press crab cakes on both sides into panko crumbs. Heat oil in non-stick pan over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Fry crab cakes until hot through, crisp and golden brown, about 5 minutes each side.
Corn and Avocado Salad
2 ears fresh corn; steamed, roasted or grilled, then cut from the cob
1 ripe avocado, diced
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 handful fresh cilantro, finely chopped
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 scallion, green and white, thinly sliced
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Combine all ingredients. Chill.
I took two ears of white corn and trimmed the tops and bottoms, then grilled over high heat on the gas grill, in their husks, for about 20 minutes, turning every five minutes, until the husks were charred. Cooled until I was able to handle them, then stripped the husks and silk, then cut the corn from the cob, then added to the bowl after the kernels cooled.
Grilling added a bit of smokiness to the corn. I think next time I'll shuck the corn and grill, letting the corn brown a bit. But this version was pretty good; the corn was sweet but still crisp, and it went beautifully with the crab cakes.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Seafood Pasta
I had sea scallops. I had prawns. I had spinach fettuccine.
Measurements are approximate.
1 lb sea scallops
1 lb raw prawns, shelled and deveined
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp unsalted butter
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp fresh basil, minced (or 1 tbsp dried)
3 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, minced
juice of one lemon
zest of one lemon
1/2 cup sherry, shao shing wine, or dry white wine
1 cup half-and-half
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
9 oz fresh spinach fettuccine
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Season scallops with salt and pepper. Sear scallops in olive oil, about 3 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and keep warm. Add butter to hot oil. When foam subsides, add prawns, garlic, basil and 2 tbsp parsley. Sautée prawns until nearly done. Remove from pan and keep warm. Deglaze pan with wine. Add lemon juice. Cook down until syrupy. Whisk in half-and-half and bring to a boil. Cook down, whisking occasionally, until sauce begins to thicken. Add lemon zest and pepper flakes. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.
In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta. As soon as pasta goes into the water, return scallops and prawns, along with any accumulated juices, to pan. When pasta is nearly done, using a pasta fork or skimmer, add pasta to pan with sauce and seafood and toss together until pasta is coated with sauce. Remove from heat and toss with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Garnish with remaining parsley. Serve immediately on heated plates.
Measurements are approximate.
1 lb sea scallops
1 lb raw prawns, shelled and deveined
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp unsalted butter
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp fresh basil, minced (or 1 tbsp dried)
3 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, minced
juice of one lemon
zest of one lemon
1/2 cup sherry, shao shing wine, or dry white wine
1 cup half-and-half
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
9 oz fresh spinach fettuccine
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Season scallops with salt and pepper. Sear scallops in olive oil, about 3 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and keep warm. Add butter to hot oil. When foam subsides, add prawns, garlic, basil and 2 tbsp parsley. Sautée prawns until nearly done. Remove from pan and keep warm. Deglaze pan with wine. Add lemon juice. Cook down until syrupy. Whisk in half-and-half and bring to a boil. Cook down, whisking occasionally, until sauce begins to thicken. Add lemon zest and pepper flakes. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.
In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta. As soon as pasta goes into the water, return scallops and prawns, along with any accumulated juices, to pan. When pasta is nearly done, using a pasta fork or skimmer, add pasta to pan with sauce and seafood and toss together until pasta is coated with sauce. Remove from heat and toss with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Garnish with remaining parsley. Serve immediately on heated plates.
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