Sarmen (Pork Cabbage Rolls)

The holidays were hard. Really hard. And the new year feels bittersweet. On one hand, I’m looking forward to putting a painful year behind me. On the other hand, this will be a new year without my dad. 2015. A year that he’ll never see a day of. I’m moving into this new year without resolutions, but with purpose. I want to live fully and love deeply, like he did. Like he would want us to do. I’m going to focus on health and wellness, to get out and move around more. If I've learned anything in the last year, it’s that these bodies are the only ones we have, and they can break. Our bodies can betray us. The worst thing we can do with a working, healthy body is to take it for granted. 

The last few  months I’ve grappled with whether or not I want to continue blogging. My priorities just feel different now. Writing about the joy of a good cookie when my heart is breaking feels fake. But I also don't want this to be a sad place that brings you down with each new post. So, I’m still figuring it out. Figuring out how I want to use this space and the time and effort I put into this blog.

Carnitas (for tacos!)

I'm bad at a some things (including math, laundry, and singing), ok at a couple things, pretty good at a few, and absolutely, totally great at one thing. That one thing, my friends, is roasting pork. 

I'm not trying to brag or anything, but seriously, I'm really, really good at pork shoulder. It's a gift. It's my calling. I usually just throw stuff in without actually measuring, but for your sake, I finally measured and wrote stuff down. Please make these carnitas you guys, seriously. You need to make this pork. 

Also, tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo. You know, that one holiday in the US where we eat a ton of Mexican food and drink margaritas. Otherwise known as my favorite food holiday. I love everything about Mexican food. I could eat tacos all day long. Especially carnitas tacos. I judge taco places by their carnitas, and I would absolutely go back to a place that served my carnitas. 

This pork is tender and crispy at the same time. It's tangy and salty and a little bit spicy, with hints of cinnamon and citrus. Dreams are made of this stuff. 

When I'm doing BBQ style pulled pork, I use the slow cooker, but for carnitas, I like to use the oven. The pork gets tender and juicy, but the edges get crispy, which I think is what really make this pork awesome. 

Oh, PS… T-minus five months until my wedding! WHAT. I have a lot of spray painting to do. Any volunteers? 

Pork Carnitas (for tacos!)
Loosely inspired by this recipe

Be prepared for a couple hours of marinating, but if you're in a rush, you can just marinate for an hour and it will still turn out delicious! 

4-5 lbs pork shoulder

Juice from 2 large oranges (about 1 cup)

Juice from 1 lime

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 large serrano pepper, diced

1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate*

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon oregano

Fresh ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 bottle of light beer (Mexican beer like Pacifico)

Trim major fat off of pork shoulder (ok to leave a little bit, but get as much as you can), and cut pork into 4-5 big chunks. Put in a large bowl.

Whisk together orange juice through cinnamon, and pour over the pork. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the fridge for 2 hours to overnight. 

Preheat oven to 375.

On the stovetop, heat a large oven-proof stockpot over medium-high. Remove pork pieces and pat dry (reserve marinade). Sear each pork piece, just 1-2 pieces at a time, (too many in the pot will make it steam) on each side. Add all the seared pork pieces, reserved marinade, beer, and brown sugar to pot. 

Bake covered for 2.5-3 hours. 

Right in the pot, shred with a fork and stir into the sauce (remove any fat pieces that might be in there). The pork should be fall-apart tender.

To make it a bit crispier, I like to put it back in the oven for 10 minutes after shredding.

For tacos, serve in warm corn tortillas, with diced white onion, cilantro, and cotija cheese. 

*I use Tamicon brand, often found near the Mexican or Asian aisle in the grocery store. 

Ground Pork Ramen

Guys, 2014 has been rough! The day after Christmas I came down with the flu, and after a few days of fever and aches and pains, I was left with bronchitis for New Year's Eve. And then, lucky me, that morphed into an awesome sinus infection. 

I was finally starting to feel a bit more like a human, but then, last weekend, we flew to San Francisco for a quick weekend trip that had been booked a month or so ago, and not only did we have horrible travel luck (we had to land in San Jose because of fog, and ended up just renting a car and driving to SF, and had tons of crazy delays), but I had an insane burning in my chest and pressure in my ears, and felt like I was dying the whole time. Literally, I thought to myself "this is what dying feels like." Pro tip: if you have a respiratory infection you shouldn't fly. You will get an ear infection. In both ears. 

So: flu, bronchitis, sinus infection, double ear infection. That's been my last two weeks. Luckily the antibiotics are doing the trick and the pressure in my ears is subsiding enough for me to actually hear, but really, all I want is to stop coughing. If you have any home remedies, send 'em my way, because the cough drops, cough syrup, meds, honey, tea, water, vapor rub… it's not working. I even tried a home remedy I found online: boiled flax seeds, honey, and lemon. It pretty much turns into a snot-like consistency that's terrible and impossible to choke down. 

Needless to say, my appetite has been lousy (but, at least that counter-acts all the laying on the couch I've been doing!). I finally worked up the energy to get up and cook something, and all I could imagine eating was ramen. Traditional ramen, with it's flavorful broth, takes a lot of time to make, but I'm not opposed to quick at-home versions that you can whip up on weeknight. Or a sick night. 

I had a Thai soup recently with ground pork, and I thought that would be awesome in ramen, since I usually just see sliced pork. I ground my own pork, because that's how I do, then just added some aromatics, sesame oil, broth, ramen noodles from a Top Ramen package, bok choy, and a poached egg. Don't skip the egg! When you mix the yolk into the broth it gets all creamy and delicious. Totally worth it.

I'm hoping this soup puts me on the road to wellville, because I can't handle too much more of this crud. This soup, on the other hand…I can handle a whole lot more of this soup!

Ground Pork Ramen

Serves 4

1 lb ground pork

4 garlic cloves, minced

1.5 teaspoons fresh minced ginger

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 tablespoon sesame oil

6 cups low sodium chicken broth

Salt & pepper

2 packages of ramen noodles, seasoning packet removed (toss it)

4 eggs

2 baby bok choy, sliced

2 green onions, sliced

Sriracha or hot sauce of choice

Black sesame seeds

Put pork in a large bowl, and stir in garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and vinegar. 

In a large pot, heat sesame oil over medium, and add pork. Cook until done. Add chicken broth, and bring to a boil. Boil for a minute, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer. Taste, and add salt and pepper as needed. 

While soup is simmering, in a separate pot, cook noodles according to package, drain, and add to each serving bowl. 

Poach eggs. You can do this in a separate pot of simmering water, or you can poach them in the simmering broth (it will be a bit more difficult to scoop them out, with the pork in there, but it's easy enough. Just crack each egg into a dish, and gently lower into the broth. Let cook a couple of minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon, and put an egg in each bowl, on top of noodles. 

Divide bok choy among bowls, and then ladle on pork and broth. Top with green onions, sesame seeds, and serve with hot sauce.

Thanksgiving Stuffing Roundup

Thanksgiving is only two days away!? How did that happen? I had all these great plans for you. A few more T-day side dishes, some desserts, maybe even a cocktail. But then this crazy thing happened that fully derailed everything… I GOT ENGAGED. Our whole relationship has been a crazy whirlwind of excitement… we met, fell in love, moved in together, and got engaged. So fast.

 

Just kidding about the fast part… we’ve been together since spring of 2004, when we were wee little freshman babies in college. Most people probably think we’re already married. The general response to our engagement has been “IT’S ABOUT TIME!”

But more on that later, because it’s almost Thanksgiving! So, let’s discuss stuffing. Or dressing, which is technically what it’s called when baked separate from the bird. This is how I prefer it, because it’s not a soggy lump of a mess, but instead it’s crispy in places, soft in places, all around amazing. But I still call it stuffing.
 

First, the bread: start with super crispy dry bread, whether it’s 2-days old or popped under the broiler to crisp up. Try classic French bread, or mix it up with cornbread, ciabatta, or a combo! Second, the additions: I think there are 6 main categories here. Mushrooms, fruit (cranberries and apples), winter veg (squash, sweet potatoes), pork (bacon, sausage, chorizo), nuts (chestnuts, pecans, walnuts), and herbs (thyme and sage are classics).
 

Since I didn’t have time to make a million stuffing recipes for you, I scoured the internetz for some really tasty looking recipes that you can make as-is, or use for T-day inspiration! A little something for everybody. Happy cooking!

• Kale and Mushroom Bread Pudding via A Thought for Food: Savory bread pudding is a lot like stuffing/dressing, just a bit eggier. This one looks amazing.
• Apple and Herb Stuffing via Smitten Kitchen: Two of the main stuffing additions, together in one glorious dish.
• Andouille Sausage and Cornbread Stuffing via Food 52: This sounds like an amazing year round stuffing with a southern twist.
• Butternut, Sausage, and Fennel Stuffing via Gimme Some Oven: I want to eat this for every single meal this winter.
• Ciabatta Stuffing with Chorizo, Sweet Potato, and Mushrooms via Food 52: Another recipe that takes several of the addition categories and mashes them all together for perfection.
• Pancetta Sage Stuffing Muffins via A Cozy Kitchen: WHAT! Stuffing in adorable hand-held muffin form. Genius.

 

BBQ Pulled Pork Hand Pies

Since it's almost my birthday, we're going to focus on two of my favorite things. Evan and Biscuit. Just kidding. I mean, they are two of my favorite things. Not things, people. I mean... well, you know what I mean. But no, we're gonna focus on two of my favorite food things: pork and butter.

And not just any pork... today we're talking about sweet and spicy BBQ pulled pork. With pineapple. And we're not just talking about dipping that saucy pork in butter. This isn't the Paula Deen show for cryin' out loud. Side note, my favorite Paula Deen moment ever is when she dips a bite of her sandwich in a melty stick of butter and says "Oops, y'all, my bite fell in the buttah!" Amazing. 


But anyway, we were talking about pork and butter. Buttery, flakey pie crust, that is. Wrapped around BBQ pulled pork. In adorable, individual hand-pie form. Then dipped in butter. Just kidding. About the hand pies. No, I mean, about the butter dipping. Not about the hand pies.

My birthday dream food: BBQ Pulled Pork Hand Pies. Can I just have a stack of these with a candle in it for my birthday? Actually, that would be really cute, and I wish I had done it.

Plan ahead for this recipe (and read ahead). The pork takes less time than a whole roast (because I cut it into several smaller pieces) but still takes about 3 hours (to cook and cool), and the pie dough needs a few hours to chill. Also, so that my kitchen isn't all warm and toasty from the oven, I prepare the dough and stick it in the fridge prior to starting the pork (cold butter = good pie dough). This pork recipe will leave you will a bit of extra pork at the end. You can either make more pie dough, eat on sandwiches, or freeze for later. There's no such thing as "too much pork" in my book! 





BBQ Pulled Pork Hand Pies
Makes about 13 two-inch hand pies

1 recipe double-crust pie dough, chilled (see below)

1 recipe Sweet and Spicy BBQ Pulled Pork, cooled to room temp (see below)

1 cup shredded jack cheese

1 egg, whisked

Preheat oven to 425, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Roll the dough into a 18" by 18" square. With a pastry wheel (or pizza cutter!), cut out 13 3X2 inch rectangles. You may have a bit of extra dough, just roll that out into additional rectangles.

Add a bit of cheese to half of a rectangle, and top with about 1.5-2 tablespoons of pork, being sure to leave an edge. Dip your finger in water, and lightly wet the dough edges of the rectangle, and fold the top half over the meat mixture. Using a for crimper, press along the edges to seal. With a sharp knife, gently and a vent slice to the top of each pie, and brush with the whisked egg. 

Bake in 2-3 batches for 15-18 minutes, until golden. Cool on a cooling rack for a few minutes before serving. Can be eaten hot or cold. 

Pie Crust
Use your favorite pie dough recipe for a double crust pie. I used (and love) the all-butter crust from Smitten Kitchen. Prepare the dough and chill for at least 2 hours (while pork is cooking).

Sweet and Spicy BBQ Pulled Pork
5 lb pork roast (shoulder or butt)
3 slices smokey bacon, diced
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bottle of hard cider (12oz)
1/2 apple cider vinegar
6 oz tomato paste
1 tablespoon molasses
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup crushed pineapple pieces or chunks
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

Trim fat off pork, and cut into 3-inch pieces. Pat each piece dry with a paper towel, and salt and pepper each side. 

Heat a large dutch oven on the stove top, over medium heat. Add bacon, and cook until just crispy. Remove bacon and set aside, leaving grease in pot. Turn heat up to medium-high.

Add 2-3 of the pork pieces, sear each side, and remove. Don't overcrowd the pot, or you  won't get a good sear. Repeat with all the pork pieces. 

Once pork is cooked, turn heat back to medium, add onion and cook for a couple of minutes, until just starting to brown. Since the pot will be pretty hot from the pork, this won't take long. Pour in a splash of the hard cider (you'll get a lot of steam) to deglaze, and scrape the bits from the bottom of the pot.

Remove pot from the heat. Add bacon, pork, and remaining ingredients to pot, cover, and put in oven. Cook for 2-3 hours, until pork falls apart with a fork. Remove from oven, and with a fork, shred pork (right in pot) and mix together with the saucy mixture in the pot. Set aside to cool for 30 minutes to an hour. 

The Great Shrimp Tragedy

Our story starts a few months ago, in Seattle’s Chinatown/International District (known as the “I.D.” in these parts). My office is mere steps away from this mecca of hanging roasted ducks, big bowls of noodle-filled pho, salmon teriyaki bento boxes, and, most important to this story—slippery, salty dim sum.

It was at one such establishment, a crowded, rushed dim sum joint, that I first tried honey walnut prawns. Hidden between bamboo steamers of dumplings and plates of meat-filled buns, we discovered a dish of crispy fried prawns and candied walnuts, coated with a sticky honey-mayonnaise sauce and sprinkled with nutty sesame seeds. In addition to the amazing, sigh-provoking crispy-top shrimp buns that were devoured that day, honey walnut prawns became an instant obsession.

The fixation finally got the best of me, and I did what I do best—I tried to recreate the delicious recipe at home. Instead of frying, I boiled the shrimp (swimsuit season is fast approaching, ya know). I made a sweet but tangy mayo-honey sauce, and candied a tray of walnuts, which I tossed with the shrimp. Then, in an act of ultimate perfection, I showered sesame seeds and sliced green onions over the top. It was beautiful, it was fabulous, it looked even better than the sticky-shrimp-of-heaven from the ID.

Before digging in and savoring my masterpiece, I had to take some glamour shots. That’s where the pictures came from. All was going well—pictures were taken, the table was set, and I was seconds from serving the dish I had been dreaming of for months—honey walnut prawns. Then, as I carried the serving bowl from kitchen to dining room, everything went wrong. In one tragic moment, the serving bowl slipped from my eager hands, and, along with all that tangy, sweet, sticky, saucy coated shrimp, it went crashing to the floor. The bowl shattered in a million pieces, coating my beautiful, beautiful shrimp in shiny black speckles of glass. The entire kitchen—cupboard doors, floor, fridge, and oven—was covered with shrimp, sauce, and glass. Lots of glass.

It was…over. All my hard work, my anticipation, my black bowl—gone. Luckily, I had also made pork dumplings. This, my friends, is where our tragedy becomes a success.

To be continued...

And the award goes to...

For the Oscars, we decided to really class it up, go all-out glitz and glamour. In my mind, it doesn’t get much more couture than Coronas and carnitas—the absolute height of red-carpet sophistication and style. That’s right, I’m talking about the TacOscars.

The TacOscars, now in their first year, are a little mid-afternoon, happy-hour style, lazy Sunday Oscar watching fiesta... with delicious fixins for shrimp and pork tacos, chips, salsa, a pot of black beans, and lots of Mexican beer. And, really…is there a classier way to watch the Oscars than drinking beer and eating street-food style Mexican cuisine off of paper plates!? I think not. A group of about 10 or so friends came over for delicious feasting and hilarious fun.

We aren’t that serious about the awards. I mean, we watched, we cheered, we sneered… but we certainly weren’t checking a score sheet or debating the merits of the winners. We loved Jeff Bridges speech the most. We trash talked the crazy dresses, even though our red carpet best ran the gamut from UW sweatpants (Mike), to an old high school relic of a prom dress (Amanda). Our crowd, collectively, had maybe seen half the movies. Really… we weren’t in it for the prestigious awards… we were in it for the friends, the laughs, and most importantly, the delicious, comforting, and anything-but-prestigious eats.

The award definitely goes to the food. The winner for best shredded meat: carnitas served in a warm corn tortilla and topped with thin sliced radishes, Amanda’s pico de gallo, guac, and sour cream! An academy favorite, for sure. To make the pork (sorry, I didn’t write down measurements as I went) I coated large chunks of pork in a spice mix of cinnamon, chili powder, chipotle powder, garlic powder, cumin, salt and black pepper, then topped it with chopped onions and garlic, and cooked it low and slow in water and liquid smoke for hours. About an hour before the party, I shredded it and popped it in a hot oven to get crispy edges, and then served in its juices to stay tender. The pork was so flavorful and juicy, with just the right amount of contrasting texture. The crowd went wild.

The award for best grilled taco filling goes to… skewered garlic prawns! Brushed with cumin-garlic butter, barbequed to perfection, and served in tortillas with BBQ’d limes, pico, and Baja sauce, the prawns were sweet and delicious. I’d like to thank the Ev-acadamy for the expert grilling and skewering of this show stopper!

For best supporting role, the black beans definitely had it in the bag. Or the pot, as the case may be. Believe it or not, this was my first pot of black beans. And delicious were they ever! Simply flavored with onions, garlic, cumin, and cilantro, and topped with crumbly, salty cotija cheese, the beans were the perfect side to the two kinds of tacos. Thick and just a tad saucy, they would also be a perfect meal on their own. Or with a topped with a fried egg. Like I had this morning for breakfast.

And finally, to round out the night…for best sweet, spicy, and salty short, the winner is… mango on a stick dusted with chili powder and salt! I’ve been hearing about this street food favorite for awhile now, but as a mango lover, I was a little nervous about tainting the pure sweet flavor of a fruit I love so much. I’m glad I gave it a try, though! The chili powder and sea salt added depth and complexity… creating an interesting flavor play with something as a simple as a piece of fruit on a stick.

Now that's how you throw a real red carpet affair!

Oscar Nominated Black Beans

1 lb dried black beans- rinsed and picked through

Olive oil

1 large yellow onion-diced

4 cloves garlic- minced

Sprinkle cumin seeds

1 can (about 2 cups) chicken broth

1 bunch cilantro (about 1/4th cup)-chopped

Salt (a few teaspoons…to taste)

Soak beans in water overnight (6-8 hrs).

Heat oil over medium heat in a large soup pot or Dutch oven, and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until it begins to soften. Add 2 cloves of garlic and cumin seeds. Cook, stirring, about one minute. Add the beans and soaking water, plus can of chicken broth and a splash of olive oil. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer one hour.

Add the salt, 2 cloves garlic and cilantro (or epazote, which is said to reduce the negative effects of beans… so THAT’s how they’re able to eat beans all day down there!). Continue to simmer another hour to hour and a half. To thicken, scoop out about a cup and a half of beans, and blend or mash, add back in. Or, use an immersion blender.