Get Porked!!!

Back on March 9th, I did a post about pork called Pig Heaven and mentioned a technique called brining. Simply, the pork is placed in a salt water bath to help tenderize the meat, and to help open up the tissues of the meat to absorb seasonings. Pork roast itself can become tough when cooked and any flavor is usually on the outside of the meat itself. That is usually why the pork is cut up into slices or chunks before using; the smaller surface allows for greater coverage, and, therefore, flavoring.

I had found some small pork roasts on sale at the market, so decided to pick up a two pounder to try the brine method out on. The real test would be my husband, Roy, for I have not found a pork recipe he likes yet; well, except for my ribs that is; this was also another way for me to play with more Southwestern flavors. I am happy to say that hubby enjoyed this new dish and actually was looking for seconds - that is until he remembered we still had some bread pudding in the fridge.

Spicy Pork Stew


Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless pork roast, trimmed of fat
water
2 Tbsp fine sea salt
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into ½” cubes
1 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1 (15.5 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup green onion, ½ “pieces
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chiles (medium heat)
1 Tbsp each minced garlic, dried crushed oregano and New Mexico chile powder
2 Tbsp paprika
1 cup beef broth
Sour cream

Preparation:

Place the pork roast in a plastic container, add enough water to cover and sprinkle the salt into the water. Cover the container and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Next day, set a 4 qt crock pot on low and place all other ingredients, except sour cream, on list inside; mix together. Take the pork roast out of the salt water and immerse into the crock pot. Cover and let cook for 8 hours. Before serving, take roast out, shred and return meat to the crock pot. Serve stew with a dollop of sour cream.

Makes 6 servings.

Mary Cokenour
August 24, 2011

Turkey is not just for special occasions.

Now Roy and I wander around what is called the Four Corners area; basically where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona meet in some fashion. On our travels we like to try new places to have a meal and I'll write a review about it for my Restaurant Review page on this blog. While we love to try new dishes, we also test the merit of a restaurant by old favorites; in other words, if a restaurant can mess up something simple, then it's not worth the time nor money to go there.

Now I truly enjoy roasted turkey and my fave two ways of having it is either as a turkey club or a hot open face; both sandwiches in case you didn't know. I expect real roasted turkey just like the type you would get when carving up the turkey on Thanksgiving Day (American holiday that occurs in November). What am I getting though? Cold cut style pressed turkey...if I wanted cold cuts, I would have gone to the nearest Subway or purchased the meat from the deli section of the supermarket. I even ask the waiter or waitress, "is it made with real roast turkey or cold cut style turkey?" The response is always "real roasted turkey", but the item in the sandwich is always "cold cut style pressed turkey". So I have asked why and the answer is usually, "there's no call for it, folks are happy with what we serve or we don't have time to always serve the real stuff." Seriously? No call for real roasted turkey...I hate to think what they serve for the holiday itself then.

Sunday I decided to make a roasted turkey; a 12 lb beauty stuffed with our family's handed down through the generations stuffing. First I gave the turkey a bath in cold water making sure to pull out any missed feathers; and seasoned the inside and outside with a liberal amount of fine sea salt. After stuffing the turkey, I trussed it up, so the stuffing would not come out; and coated the skin with a mixture of melted butter and olive oil. Into the roasting pan it went with aluminum foil over top, so it would not brown too quickly and/or burn the skin. The oven setting was 350F and it would take 5 hours to get the turkey and stuffing to the properly cooked temperature and consistency.

The first 3 hours, the turkey was left alone, but then I took off the aluminum foil; gave it another basting of melted butter and olive oil; and left the bird uncovered. I repeated the basting an hour later and by the time the end of the 5th hour, the turkey was beautifully browned.

I served it with homemade mashed potatoes, gravy and mixed vegetables in a butter sauce. No, I was certainly not going the healthy meal route....I wanted a good old fashioned turkey dinner with all the trimmings.

The slices of turkey were so moist, you could see the juices flowing; the stuffing was also moist and so flavorful. Sorry though, I will not be sharing my stuffing recipe; it's a family secret that will be passed onto my son whenever he feels ready to have a turkey dinner of his own making.

Now before I forget, the turkey did come with the neck, heart, liver and kidneys tucked inside. Those were generously given to the garden shed cats, so they didn't have to worry about field mouse or bird hunting for awhile. Lets say that they had a very long and contented sleep in the grass after that meal.

Having a craving for real roasted turkey, don't deny yourself by waiting until Thanksgiving Day.

Mary Cokenour

Red Lobster is a feast in New Mexico.

Red Lobster

3451 E. Main Street
Farmington, NM, 87401

(505) 325-5222

                                                  Website: www.redlobster.com/

Main Street in Farmington is a busy and congested roadway on a Saturday; after all the shopping is done, a meal in a local restaurant is much desired.  Getting there by 4:30pm for dinner, there was already a wait list of approximately 30 minutes, but we were seated within 20 minutes.  Our waiter, Eddie, was quick to take our drink order and left us to look over the menu, including the new specials for "Crab Fest".

For appetizers, we decided on the Crab Stuffed Mushrooms; mushroom caps stuffed with chunks of crab meat and smothered in cheese.

Also the Parmesan Crab Dip; shredded crab in a creamy sauce and encrusted in a parmesan cheese layer; thin pieces of toast for either dipping in the crab mixture, or spread on with a knife.

Hubby and I were not in the mood for cracking crab legs, even though they looked very tempting, but opted for easier to eat meals. He had the Steak and Shrimp Oscar; a tender steak topped with shrimp and asparagus in a lobster cream sauce.

I decided to have the Wood Grilled Lobster Tail, Shrimp and Scallops; all perfectly cooked with the seafood succulent and seasoned well. The rice pilaf which came with the dish was moist and flavorful; the broccoli steamed, but still having a crunch to it.

Our waiter continued to be attentive, making sure our drink glasses were always filled, and that the food was very much to our liking. As much as we would have liked to have dessert, we were very content and happy with the appetizers and dinners we had just enjoyed.

Overall, the staff and atmosphere of this Red Lobster made us feel welcome and comfortable; a most definite "come back to" place.

Mary Cokenour

Remembering Childhood Comforts.

There is a thunderstorm brewing and I am suddenly taken back to a childhood memory. During such storms, I would put 4 chairs in a square formation, throw a large blanket over them and pretend to be camping outdoors. I would have my favorite stuffed animals as company, a flashlight to light the interior, books to read and a large bowl of one of my grandmother's home cooked meals. It could be spaghetti and meatballs, shrimps in sauce, or one of her many delicious soups. Whatever it was, it was wonderful and I would always sneak out of my tent (between thunderclaps) to get a second bowl.

Happy childhood memories are few for me and they almost all seem to revolve around food in some way. No wonder really, as food is comforting in itself. It fools you into believing that all is right with the world, well for that moment at least; and later on, if need be, the memory of it can soothe an unpleasant moment in time.

My grandmother's cooking was able to provide me with, not just comforting moments, but comforting memories to help me later on. One such dish was her Paste E Fagioli; a wonderful dish of beans, meat and pasta in a flavorful broth. The steam rising up from the bowl, so fantasy figures could be picked out, much like one would do when watching the clouds in the sky. The storm is passing as I write this, so I better get back to my Pasta E Fagioli before the wonderous memory passes also.

Pasta E Fagioli

A traditional Italian soup, its name meaning “pasta and beans”. While it is usually made without meat, ground beef or sausage can be used in the recipe.  My grandmother made this soup in a large soup pot on the stove, but I have converted it for cooking in a crock pot.

Ingredients:

2 lbs lean ground beef
1 large onion, diced
3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
4 celery stalks, diced
1 (14 ½ oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can tomato puree
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
2 (16 oz) cans white kidney beans (Great Northern), drained and rinsed
1 qt beef stock
3 tsp oregano
2 tsp ground black pepper
4 Tbsp dried parsley
¼ tsp cayenne pepper flakes
8 oz ditilini pasta, cooked

Preparation:

In large skillet, brown meat till no pink shows; drain grease.

Spray 6qt crock pot with non-stick spray. Mix together meat and all ingredients except the pasta. Set on low heat and cook for 7 hours; add in pasta and cook another 15 minutes before serving. If desired, grated parmesan cheese can be sprinkled on top of each serving.

Makes 12 - 14 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Classic Comfort - The Tuna Noodle Casserole

You can go back for generations and you'll find a recipe for this classic comfort food - the tuna noodle casserole. Tuna, egg noodles, peas (sometimes a peas and carrots mix), and a sauce made from scratch or using a cream soup such as celery, mushroom or a combination of both. It can be quickly mixed together, baked in no time and a real fill-you-upper kind of meal. It was especially found in households that practiced the "fish on Friday" requirement of some religions. While some children won't eat fish, the majority won't turn down tuna fish (the canned variety, not the fresh type).

The food companies even tried capitalizing on the love of this basic dish by selling a boxed skillet version which contained a packet of dry sauce and peas mix and a packet of noodles; just add tuna and water...bingo, bango...tuna casserole in a skillet. No, sorry, I don't think so; it's not that hard to make it from a recipe and use the oven to make a proper casserole.

There's comfort food and then there's "I'm really lazy food"; for me, I'll go the comfort route any time.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

 Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup each diced celery, onion and mushroom 

1 can (5 oz) chunk light tuna in water; undrained and flaked

1 can (5 oz) albacore white tuna in water; undrained and flaked

1 can (10.5 oz) cream of mushroom soup

1 can (10.5 oz) cream of celery soup

1 cup milk

1 cup frozen peas or peas/carrots mix

8 ounces noodles, cooked and drained

1/2 cup bread crumbs mixed with 2 Tbsp melted butter

Preparation:

In a large skillet, medium-high heat, melt butter; sauté celery, onion and mushroom until tender.  Combine this in a large mixing bowl with all other ingredients except the buttered bread crumbs.  Spread evenly in the baking dish; top with the buttered bread crumbs.

Bake for 30-35 minutes; until bread crumbs are browned and sauce is bubbling.

Makes 6 servings.

Mary Cokenour

August 18, 1982
 

Boredom plus Bread equal Bread Pudding.

Another boring evening of reruns, so I decided it was a good time to clean out the fridge once again. There were so many different bread products - hot dog, hamburger and sub rolls, pita pockets, English muffins and what did my wandering eye see, a forgotten loaf of Texas toast bread. Only slightly stale, therefore, still usable for some recipes: French toast, garlic toast, stuffing or something that I have wanted to make from scratch for a long while, but never got to it - Bread Pudding.

I had a few recipes, looked them all over to see what was similar and what was different, and then like Dr. Frankenstein in his lab, began to experiment. Making a vanilla sauce, so I don't want the bread pudding to be overly sweet; cut the brown sugar and granulated sugar down. Love the scent of baked items that have cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla, so lets up that a little more. Milk is just too thin while heavy cream is too thick; I'm going with half n' half. Eureka!!! It's alive, it's alive!!! I mean, "it tastes good!, it tastes good!", and it did. The bread pudding by itself is not overly sweet, but once the vanilla sauce is poured on...perfect, not to the extent of being sickeningly sweet either.

The moral of this story is, " to conquer boredom, become creative".

Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce

Ingredients:

6 slices thick white bread*, cut into cubes (16 per slice)
½ cup raisins
2 cups half n’ half
¼ cup salted butter
½ cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 Tbsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp granulated sugar

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease bottom and sides of a 1 ½ qt baking dish. Put bread cubes into dish and sprinkle raisins over top.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter in the half n’ half over medium-high heat; do not let it boil. While butter is melting, whish together brown sugar, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Slowly add in milk mixture to bowl, constantly whisking to keep eggs from scrambling. Pour this mixture over the bread and make sure to work the mixture between the bread cubes; press bread down to help it soak up liquid.

Sprinkle sugar over top; bake for 45-50 minutes; top will be browned and all liquid would have been absorbed. Serve with vanilla sauce**.

*Note: bread, usually called Texas toast style, should be slightly stale;

**Option: Whipped topping or vanilla ice cream.

Makes 6 servings.

Vanilla Sauce

Ingredients:

½ cup each of granulated and brown sugar
½ cup half n’ half
½ cup salted butter
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preparation:

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil; stir occasionally while letting mixture continue to cook for 5-8 minutes to desired thickness. Pour over bread pudding.

Makes 6 servings.

Mary Cokenour

K & A Chuckwagon looking to hit the trail.

K & A Chuckwagon

496 N. Main Street
Monticello, UT, 84535

(435) 587-3468

Website: http://www.facebook.com/pages/K-A-Chuckwagon/189141481120130

Another local establishment is looking to sell which gives someone new the option of being a restaurant entrepreneur in Monticello, Utah.  The Chuckwagon has been a staple of Monticello for many years and seeing it close down for good would be a shame; especially in a town which has so few businesses as it is.

Currently the business is only open during the warm seasons as it is an outdoor establishment; barbequed foods and sides of beans, salads, warm bread with honey butter being the primary faire. The potential is there to build and make it an indoor/outdoor facility open all year round that is available to locals, tourists and the thousands of travelers who come through the area. So all you would be restaurateurs and entrepreneurs, this could be another notch on your belt, or your first big step.

The owners are looking to sell to the person who would agree to buy for "the right price", so anyone interested should call them at: (435) 459-4961.

Mary Cokenour