SPICY PULLED PORK - Pioneer Woman Cooks PARMESAN-ROASTED BROCCOLI - Barefoot Contessa

Another yummy shredded pork dish.  Not too saucy but I think that's because I should have doubled the ingredients since I practically doubled the amount of pork used.  But, it was delicious and not too spicy.

Spicy Pulled Pork - Pioneer Woman Cooks

Ingredients

• 4 pounds (up To 7 Pounds) Pork Shoulder (I used a 12 pound Pork Shoulder, had tons of leftovers)
• 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
• 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
• 1 Tablespoon (to 2 Tablespoons) Salt
• Pepper To Taste
• 3 cloves (to 4 Cloves) Garlic
• 1 Tablespoon (to 2 Tablespoons) Olive Oil
• 2 Tablespoons (to 3 Tablespoons) White Wine Vinegar
• 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
• 1 whole Onion
• Lime Wedges

Preparation Instructions

Rinse and pat dry the pork shoulder.

Add dried oregano, cumin, chili powder, salt, black pepper, garlic, olive oil, white wine vinegar and brown sugar into a food processor or blender. 

Cut one onion into quarters and put it in the food processor with the spices. Blend mixture until totally combined and then pour it over the pork shoulder.

Rub it into every nook and cranny of the meat, tucking it under folds an in crevices.

Place the pork into a roasting pan or Dutch oven and add a couple of cups of water. Cover tightly and roast pork at 300º for several hours, turning once every hour.

When it is fork tender, crank up the heat, remove the lid, and roast it, skin side up for another 15 to 20 minutes to get the skin crispy. When it’s done, let it rest for 15 minutes before shredding.

Shred the pork shoulder (two forks work well). When it’s all shredded be sure to pour the juices all over the meat.

The broccoli wasn't quite the hit I had hoped for.  It was waaaay too lemony.  Next time I would skip the lemons altogether.  Garlic, parmesan cheese, pine nuts, and basil were enough of a pick me up to the broccoli and the lemon was just too tart.  If I make it again without the lemon, I'll let you know.

PARMESAN-ROASTED BROCCOLI - Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients 4 to 5 pounds broccoli  4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced  olive oil 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper  2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (too much lemon zest for my family) 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (too much lemon juice for my family) 3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted  1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese  2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves (about 12 leaves)   Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.   Cut the broccoli florets from the thick stalks, leaving an inch or two of stalk attached to the florets, discarding the rest of the stalks.  Cut the larger pieces through the base of the head with a small knife, pulling the florets apart. You should have about 8 cups of florets.  Place the broccoli florets on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Toss the garlic on the broccoli and drizzle with  5 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper.  Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.Remove the broccoli from the oven and  immediately toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice, pine nuts, Parmesan, and basil. Serve hot.

LIZ'S BARBECUED RIBS

I've always found preparing barbecued ribs a little intimidating.  It's easy to get that gorgeous glazed look right off the grill but it's not so easy to make sure the inside is cooked without charring the outside.  My friend, Liz, makes a super easy version that doesn't involve a grill.  I made them this weekend for the dinner celebrating my sister's and brother-in-law's March birthdays.

Menu:

Liz's Barbecued Ribs
Mashed Potatoes
Salad (made by my sister, Lori)
Angel food cake with fresh strawberries

Ingredients for Liz's Barbecued Ribs:

Your favorite ribs
Mrs. Dash Original Seasoning
Your favorite barbecue sauce

First, I bought a huge package of pork ribs at Costco.  Then, after patting them dry with a paper towel, I doused both sides of the ribs with Mrs. Dash seasoning.  I cooked them on half-sheets at 250 degrees for 4 hours.  I removed the ribs from the oven and poured barbecue sauce over the ribs, covered them with foil, and put them in the refrigerator to soak up all of that yummy sauce.  I marinated these ribs for five hours.

Hours later, I pulled the ribs from the fridge and poured a little more sauce on top, put them back in the oven at 325 degrees for one hour.  The whole house smelled delicious.  After removing from the oven, I let the meat rest for 10 minutes, and then sliced the ribs with a sharp knife.  It's a pain but no way around this chore since you can't give your dinner guests a slab of ribs (well, technically you can but that would be oh, so tacky).  Then we ate them.  Oh, my heavens, these were exactly as I had hoped.  What's that saying?  "Finger-lickin' good!"  And since I made waaay too many, I stashed the rest in the freezer for a future dinner.

You can also make these ahead and freeze them.  Liz cooks them for 4 hours as described above, pours the barbecue sauce on top (her favorite is a blend of Bill Johnson's Barbecue Sauce: 1/2 original, 1/4 mesquite, 1/4 hickory) and then freezes the ribs with the sauce.  When she is ready to serve, she lets them thaw, and then cooks for one hour at 325 degrees.  Isn't she clever?

All photos by E. Rees

VINCENT'S CASCABEL CHILE HONEY GLAZED PORK TENDERLOIN

I can't believe I haven't posted this recipe before. It is one of my family's favorite dishes and I make it almost every Easter (except for last Easter which no one in my family can remember what I made). This glaze is sweet and rich and comes from Vincen'ts cookbook. Vincent Guerithalt is a local French chef with a great little restaurant in Phoenix. I especially like his tiny Market Bistro which serves terrific lunches in a setting that feels as if you are in Paris. And the prices are great (I promise).

Back to the glaze: you don't need much because there is so much flavor. I buy the dried Cascabel chiles at Penzey's but you can pick them up at a Mexican market super cheap.

I prepare the pork tenderloin one of two ways: either on the grill or roast in the oven. Either way I rub the tenderloin's (usually 3 pounds) with olive oil, salt, and pepper. If roasting, I set the oven at 350 degrees and roast for 50 minutes.
Brush the tenderloin with the glaze the last 5 minutes and then warm up the remaining glaze and serve with the tenderloin. You will love it!

Cascabel Chile And Honey Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:

4 Cascabel Chiles (found in Mexican markets or at Penzeys Spice in Scottsdale)
One cup Honey
1/2 cup Chicken stock
3 T Tomato puree
1 tsp. Paprika
1 tsp. Ground cumin

Instructions:
Rehydrate the cascabel chiles by soaking them in warm water for about 2 hours before using them.

Drain the chiles and place them with the honey, chicken stock, tomato puree, paprika, and cumin in a saucepan and simmer the mixture for about 10 minutes.

Remove from the heat and pure the mixture in a blender.

Brush on grilled pork tenderloin or grilled chicken.

Note: if jalapenos are used, roast them and peel, seed, and dice them before simmering them with the rest of the ingredients.

SWEET PORK TACOS & PINTO BEANS

Believe it or not I did make a Super Bowl dinner. Mostly for my brother-in-law, Steve. We had sweet pork tacos, pinto beans, salad, and a delicious coconut cake made by my sister, Lori (recipe to come).

For the tacos, I cooked a pork tenderloin in a cast iron pot for six hours. Everyone loved the tacos. And thanks to Jana, we had those really good uncooked flour tortillas you can get at Costco. You just place the tortilla in a nonstick pan and heat on both sides until browned--excellent.

SWEET PORK TACOS

3 lbs pork tenderloin

1 can tomato sauce

1 can El Pato tomato sauce (mexican hot sauce, yellow can)

1 cup brown sugar

The above ingredients went in to my 5 quart cast iron pot and into the oven at the following adjusted temperatures: 375 degrees for 30 minutes, 350 degrees for one hour, 300 degrees for one hour, and 200 degrees for 3 1/2 hours. It was perfect. I needed to keep adjusting the times since I was at church for 3 hours so I finished off the dish at the 200 degree mark.

PINTO BEANS

1 can refried beans

1 can pinto beans

garlic powder

cilantro

hot sauce or salsa

Mix the above ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 20 minutes.