A Long Time Comin' - The Pulled Pork Tacos

Photo Courtesy: Joe Bressler (I ripped it from Facebok)

Pulled Pork Tacos in my Grandma's Kitchen

A couple of months ago my Grandma Dody passed away.  It was a pretty sad time for all.  A lot of mixed emotions, or maybe I had a lot.  But there is always one good thing that comes from a loss of a family member: family comes together.  Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's scary, sometimes it's a learning experience - but no matter what it's good to be able to be surrounded by love. 

I used to talk to my Grandma a lot about cooking.  My Aunt Kelly and Aunt Chauna gifted me the set of her Julia Child's French Cooking books - notes n' all.  It was a great gift.  What was even greater was that I was able to cook dinner for my family in my Grandmother's kitchen.  I have never cooked in her kitchen, so it was fun for me and I think they all enjoyed it.  I think my Grandma enjoyed it.  So here is the recipe for all of you.  

Pulled Pork Tacos

(This is for a smaller portion - I made 6 pounds above and this is for 1.5 pounds)

1.5 pounds of Pork Shoulder Roast (can be boneless or bone in)

1 Pablano Pepper cut in strips

1 Jalapeno Pepper cut in strips

2 Tomatoes diced

1/2 yellow onion roughly chopped

3 whole crushed garlic cloves

1/4 cup of roughly chopped cilantro

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Cut the roast in half so it's in 2 slabs about 2" thick.  Put in a roasting pan/dish and liberally sprinkle with salt and pepper (about 1 tsp each). Add peppers tomatoes, onion, garlic,and cilantro on top of the pork.  Drizzle a generous amount of Olive Oil over everything (about 2 tblsp)

Roast uncovered for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes turn pork and putting the other ingredients around the pork and roast uncovered for another 20 minutes until the pork is a little brown on top.  

Turn the oven down to 375 and turn the pork one more time and cover the pan with either a lid (if the pan has a lid) or tin foil and roast for another 30 minutes. After 30 minutes the pork should be tender and will pull apart easily.  

Remove pork from the dish and into another dish to cool.  Next take all the remaining ingredients and any juice in the bottom of the pan and put in a blender or food processor and blend till a smooth sauce.  

Once the pork has cooled a bit (about 10 minutes) shred/pull the pork apart.  Next add the sauce to the pork and mix together. Serve with tortillas, shredded cabbage, or whatever you like.

In the photo above you will see cabbage, Mexican Crema (sour cream), guac, salsa... the works!  

Note: If you double the recipe, you can add about 5 minutes to each baking time.  

Well, it's been a long time coming!

Enjoy

Huevos Rancheros Frittata

I made this dish twice over the weekend. It is delish and very easy to make. It's a twist on the huevos rancheros/chorizo and eggs.

Huevos Rancheros Frittata

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
8 oz Pork Chorizo
1/2 bunch of green onions minced
2 garlic cloves minced
1 tomato diced
6 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Mince the green onions and garlic, dice the tomatoes, and chop the cilantro and set aside.

Over medium heat in a skillet, cook the chorizo for about 5 minutes. Add, all at once, the green onions, garlic, and tomatoes. Saute with chorizo, scraping the brown bits up from the bottom of the pan with the juice from the tomatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat the eggs and milk in a mixing bowl. Add salt and pepper to your liking and the cheese. Before adding eggs to the pan, push the chorizo/tomato mixture to the side of the pan and add butter and let it melt in the bottom of the pan. Once melted, mix with chorizo and tomatoes so that it covers the bottom of the pan. Next, pour eggs over the chorizo and tomatoes and let it cook for about 5 minutes shaking the pan like you are cooking an omelet. Take off heat and put it in the oven to bake for 10 minutes or until it is cooked and set throughout.

Serve with corn tortillas, avocado, and salsa... or whatever other accompaniment you would like.

It's been awhile

Honestly, I have no idea what I have been doing or where I've been. I haven't even been cooking all that much. Or painting at all. I did plant flowers on my deck and they look very nice. I will get a photo for you to look at.

I did cook a bit this weekend when the family came to town. And I do have a breakfast recipe to share - so don't give up on me!

It's BBQ Season and do not do....

In this month's issue of Bon Appetit they have an article called, "Let's Take it Outside! A Summer Cooking Manifesto"

I must share No.17 with all of you... it's really funny and I am on board!

"No. 17: Let's Please Never Grill Portobello Mushrooms Again.
Ad while we're banning things, how about we all agree to leave the following weekend-BBQ standards in the last century: cold fusilli salad with grilled vegetables; plain grilled chicken breasts; cheese platters going soft in the sun; crudites and dip. And no more skewers threaded with different ingredients requiring different cooking times. Those kebabs are always a disaster. Always."

Funny.

Starting Fresh

In my attempt to get me out of my cooking and, in general, creative rut - I will be cleaning out my cupboards and my fridge. I plan on creating a new pantry of great foods to have on hand and really will be trying to get rid of the junk and processed, high sodium, the high fructose corn syrup foods.

I am also going to make a serious effort at meal planning. It's been terrible how much I go to the grocery store and how much food is wasted - and how much money is wasted! If anyone has ideas, I welcome them!

GP Book Update

OK. I have started looking thru and reading the cook book by Gwenyth Paltrow. I think I might love it. There are a few variations I will make, as she doesn't eat red meat - but overall it is great and has a lot of healthy varieties. I'm really looking forward to cooking from it. It was just the cookbook I needed to help me get out of a rut. I also like that it has a section entirely devoted to breakfast. I love breakfast. But today I will be making 2 things from the book for a Mother's Day dinner for my friend. I will give my full report with photos.

I said I was going to do it... and I did

I bought it yesterday. I have no news to report to you on if it indeed is a good cookbook or not, but I will. Right off the bat, not crazy about the book cover - but I am overlooking that and not judging this book by its cover. (I know, I'm lame)