Pit Masters, Where Art Thou?

Pulled Pork

I blame Adam Richman, host and food challenge contestant on the Travel Channel show Man vs. Food.  We were watching Adam visit a barbeque restaurant this past week and both realized we were hankering for some good barbeque!  We searched our friend Google for a barbeque place in Central Pennsylvania (one that actually would have good barbeque – not a chain restaurant) and we came up dry!  The horror!  How can an entire area be void of a decent barbeque destination?!  We tried to put the thought of smoky, saucy goodness our of our minds, but were unsuccessful.  The thought that we couldn’t have it make the desire and NEED to have it that much greater!  So we went to the grocery store and picked up a pork shoulder.  We decided to satisfy our own craving; while we couldn’t smoke the meat, this pulled pork recipe sure hit the spot!  And since it makes so much, we are going to be able to satisfy any future hankering for finger lickin’ saucy goodness for quite awhile!

We’ve made this for a crowd in the past and it has always proven to be a huge hit!  We look like stars, but it is so easy to make!  Shhh!!!!

Ingredients

6 – 8 Pound pork shoulder (or butt)

2 Onions, chopped

1 Cup ketchup

2/3 Cup cider vinegar

½ Cup brown sugar

½ Cup tomato paste

¼ Cup red wine

¼ Cup paprika

¼ Cup Worcestershire sauce

¼ Cup yellow mustard

3 Teaspoons salt

2 ½ Teaspoons black pepper

Step 1

Place all ingredients, except pork, in a crock pot.  Stir the ingredients to combine.  Taste the sauce at this point and adjust according to your own taste.

 

 

Step 2

Add the pork to the sauce.  Coat with the sauce.  Cover the crock pot and turn to low for 8 – 10 hours.

Step 3
Remove the pork to a large dish.  It should be completely tender and will pull apart easily when using two forks.  If it does not, return it to the crock and cook for another half an hour before testing again.  If it does pull apart easily, turn your sauce up to high heat and leave the lid cocked so that steam can escape.  Skim any fat you can off the surface of the sauce.  While the sauce is reducing, pull the pork with the forks.  When completed, return the meat to the sauce.

Step 4

I like to make it a day before I will be eating it.  I cool it in the fridge overnight, and skim any solidified fat off the top.  Then, I heat it on high in the crock pot.  When it starts to bubble, I cock the lid again and let it thicken more, stirring occasionally.  Reduce the heat to warm about half an hour before serving.

Serve on a soft, fresh roll!

Masters Tournament Party

Masters Tournament Party

The Masters Tournament will be starting soon - April 7 to be exact.  Five years ago, if someone said this to me, I would have thought, “And you think I care, why?”  Funny how things change with marriage.  I found losing control of the remote meant I had to either learn to like all sorts of sports or watch DVDs on my computer…low and behold, golf has become a sport I enjoy!  I remember the first time I found myself thinking, “I wonder if there is a golf tournament on this weekend?” and actually WANTED the answer to be “yes.”  That’s when I realized either my interests had broadened or the prospect of a weekend of golf sounded better than football, hockey or some other sport. J  I’ve determined it’s actually the former!  Shock of all shocks, I actually like watching golf! 

Last year, we made golf-themed appetizers for the final day of the tournament…it was fun and actually worked!  Our favorite golfer, Phil Mickelson, won his second green jacket!  Needless to say, we will be honoring the Masters again this year in an attempt to help Phil do well (the sports superstitions have also become an integral part of my life).  We haven’t decided on this year’s menu, but I thought I would share last year’s dishes with you.

The first dish was "Golf Balls on the Green."  We made lamb meatballs, put them over basil pesto and grated fresh parmesan cheese on top.

The second dish was "Buckets of Balls."  For this, we made sushi rice.  Then we wrapped discs of rice with nori, leaving plenty of room at the top.  We filled the "buckets" with salmon roe.  YUM!!!!  I absolutely adore salmon roe!  The pop of saltiness is positively divine!!!

The final dish was "A Hole in one."  We made a hot crab dip (recipe follows).  We spread the crab dip on baguette slices.  We topped it with chopped chives, a slice of black olive (the "hole") and a flag.  We made the flags using paper glued to a toothpick. 

We had a great time thinking up dishes with a golf theme!  This year, I definitely want to make something involving peaches, since the Masters is in Georgia.  I will post pictures after the event…but let me know what you might do to celebrate the tournament!  I’d love to hear your ideas!

Here’s the Hot Crab Dip recipe, as promised:

1 Pound crab meat (shhh…but I use canned!)

1 Cup Pepper Jack cheese, shredded

¾ Cup mayonnaise

¼ Cup parmesan cheese, grated

2 Cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 Teaspoon Frank’s RedHot sauce (or more to taste)

½ Teaspoon dry mustard

Salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients together.  Bake at 325 degrees for 30 – 40 minutes.  Enjoy!

Easy Chicken Soup

Easy Chicken Soup (Adapted from Tyler Florence)

Chicken soup = the perfect comfort food when sick.  Period.  There’s an entire series of books that back me on this…it’s pure soul food!  As a child, when my sisters and I were sick, Mom popped open the Chicken and Stars (she is a great cook, but we were strange kids and preferred the canned stuff!).  The scent of that chicken broth just does something to the soul…one whiff and warmth spreads through the body…you can feel the healing power of chicken soup!  So when my husband came home sick last weekend, I knew it was time to make a quick and easy chicken soup.  Here’s how I did it:

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Medium onion, diced

3 Garlic cloves, minced

2 Carrots, peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces

2 Stalks celery, cut into ½ inch pieces

4 Sprigs thyme

1 Bay leaf

2 Quarts chicken stock

16 Ounces egg noodles (No Yolks worked great!)

1 ½ Cups rotisserie chicken, cut into ¾ inch cubes (Lemon Pepper was fantastic!)

Salt and pepper

Parsley

Step 1
I like to get the prep work out of the way, so everything else can go smoothly.  So let’s do that first, shall we?  Dice the onion, mince the garlic, prep the carrots and celery, chop the parsley and cube your chicken (if you prefer shredded chicken in your chicken soup, you may do that too!  I’m no chicken soup police!).

Step 2
With the prep work out of the way, we’re ready to get cookin’!  In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, thyme and bay leaf.  Cook for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 3

Pour the stock into the pot, cover, and bring to a boil.  When it is boiling, add the noodles and simmer for 5 minutes.

Step 4

Stir in the chicken.  Add salt and pepper to taste as well as some parsley.  Then remove the thyme stems and bay leaf. 

Feed your soul!  Enjoy!