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BBQ Pork Shoulder, Carnitas-style

This is a loose recipe because, as we all know, Tyson can't be bothered with measurements and other amateur cooking implements that we mortals use.

Spice blend:

Salt
Pepper
Oregano
Cumin
Paprika
Orange Juice
Lime Juice
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Olive Oil

Big pork shoulder

Score the fat cap of the shoulder so that the fat can render off.  Rub it with the spice blend. 

Cook this on your BBQ at a constant 375 F degrees for about 5 hours, turning about once per hour.  Keep this on the indirect heat side (i.e., the side with the burner off/low or without any charcoal beneath). 

Serve it (shredded) with some spicy pico de gallo, lime wedges, corn tortillas, and lots of margaritas!

3 dried red chiles, such as Japones or Piquins
5 small shallots, peeled
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 chicken, cut into pieces, all rubbed with salt and pepper
Fish sauce to taste
1 head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled, finely chopped
2 cups coconut milk (made by soaking 1 cup grated coconut in 2 cups hot water or milk and straining it)
1 green onion, green part only, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
4 Kaffir lime leaves (or lemon leaves if unavailable)*
Black pepper

1. Soak the chiles in hot water for 15 minutes or until soft. Remove the stems and seeds. Using a mortar and pestle, pound the chiles and shallots together to make a fine paste.
2. Heat the oil in a wok, add the pounded ingredients and sauté them until they give off a good aroma after a couple of minutes. Then put in the chicken pieces, mix and stir. Add the fish sauce and garlic and stir until a good aroma is again given off. Add enough of the coconut milk to cover the chicken. Put a lid over the wok and cook until the chicken is tender, about 30 minutes.
3. Add the lime leaves and any remaining coconut milk, bring to a boil, and then remove from the fire. Add the green onion leaves and stir.
4. Transfer the chicken to a platter and garnish it with cilantro and black pepper.

Hearty Lentil Soup

This makes a lot of soup so either invite your friends over or have some freezer containers ready. 

2 cups green, brown, black beluga, or French du Puy lentils, picked over and rinsed
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 cup water
3 cups of a leafy green (chard, kale, spinach, etc), rinsed well, de-veined, coarsely chopped
black pepper

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan, add the lentils, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until tender. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat, then add the onion, carrot, celery and salt and saute until onions are tender, a few minutes. Add the chili flakes and garlic and stir 30 more seconds.  Stir in the tomatoes (with their juices), lentils, bay leaves and water and continue cooking for a few more minutes, letting the soup come back up to a simmer. Simmer for about 20 minutes.  Right before serving, stir in the chopped greens and wait a minute or two until the greens are cooked. Taste and adjust the seasoning.  At this point you can add some other flavors such as chopped parsley, chopped green onions, etc.  Be sure to serve with a drizzle of good olive oil. 

Served with a green salad and toasted bread (rubbed with garlic), this is a perfect meal.   

Lamb Country Style

Taken from The Talisman Italian Cook Book
by Ida Boni

This recipe calls for anchovies, lemon peel and fennel seeds.  If you don't have all of these, I recommend that you don't make this recipe because the combination of these ingredients is really the key to the unique flavour.  This comes from one of my favourite cook books, a no-nonsense Italian classic from 1950 that I bought at an antique shop a long time ago.  It's the kind of cookbook with absolutely no photos or fancy stuff, just great recipes.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds lamb shoulder, boned and cut into large cubes
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup butter
6 anchovy filets
1 clove garlic
1 Tablespoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, chopped fine
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 Tablespoon flour
1 cup stock or water

In a large frying pan or dutch oven, heat oil and butter over medium heat.  When hot, add meat and brown slowly.  In a small bowl, mix together anchovies, garlic, fennel seeds, lemon peel and vinegar.  When meat is well browned, pour off some of the fat, add salt and pepper and pour the anchovy mixture over the meat.  Mix well and cook until vinegar is almost all evaporated.  Sprinkle flour over meat, blending in well, and add stock or water.  Cover and cook over low heat until very tender, about 1/2 - 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  Serves 4.

Overnight Pizza Dough (a.k.a. the best pizza dough ever!)

This is a low-knead pizza dough but it takes 24 hours for the first rise so plan accordingly.  The recipe seems like it makes a lot of dough (well, it does) but you can keep the dough in the refrigerator for a few days.  Just let it come up to room temperature before using.

Adapted from a recipe on http://www.evilmadscientist.com/.

Ingredients:

6 cups bread or all-purpose flour (or 5 cups white & 1 cup whole wheat)
3/4 teaspoon instant yeast
2 1/4 teaspoons table salt
2 3/4 cups milk (whole is better than non-fat here)

Instructions:

1.  Whisk dry ingredients together, then pour in milk.

2.  Mix together and then fold over once or twice (yes, it is very sticky) until it combines to form a nice lump.

3.  Cover with plastic wrap (if it is not clingy enough, weight down with a dish towel) and allow to rise at room temperature for about 24 hours (you could probably get away with just 20 hours).

4.  After the 24 hour rise, scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured board and fold dough onto itself a few times. Cover again and allow to rise for 1-2 hours.

5.  Divide dough in two (or more depending on the size of the pizza you want) and place on a lightly floured board.  Roll into balls and let them rest under a clean towel for 15 minutes. 

6.  Then, start shaping into disks by slowly pulling and stretching.  You should stretch it until it's pretty thin.  I usually let gravity do the work by holding on the edge and letting it hang down as I slowly rotate the dough through my fingers.  Avoid using a rolling pin because you will pop all of the nice air bubbles around the edges.  Plus, I usually like the edges to be a bit thicker than the inside.

7.  Put a generous layer of cornmeal or flour on your pizza pan or peel before transferring the dough. Top as desired and bake at 450 (or higher if your oven allows it) for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crust has browned nicely.

Bulgur with onion, tomato, and feta

Adapted from original recipe found in Gourmet Magazine, April 2000

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped red onion
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup coarse (#3) bulgur
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon other dried hot red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 large ripe tomato, grated (see note, below)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth or water
1 cup crumbled feta (5 oz)
Garnish: chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Instructions:

Cook onion in oil in a 2-quart saucepan over moderate heat until softened. Stir in bulgur and chile flakes until coated. Add tomato, sugar, and broth/water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered, until bulgur is tender and creamy (like risotto), about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 3 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup feta and season with salt. Top with remaining feta and parsley.
Note from original recipe:

• In Greece, instead of skinning and chopping tomatoes, cooks cut them in half and grate them on the large holes of a four-sided grater. The tomato skins are left behind. 

Sue May's notes:

• I used fine bulgur and it worked out nicely, only needed about 10 minutes of cooking time (plus about 5 minutes of rest before serving).
• I didn't have a fresh tomato so I used two small canned roma tomatoes.
• This is great served with roasted asparagus!
• Next time I will add some pre-cooked garbanzo beans to make it a more substantial dish.

Mistral’s Chicken With Garlic

Adapted from “Bistro Cooking” by Patricia Wells (Workman, 1989)
Taken from the New York Times.

Ingredients:

1 3- to 4-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces, at room temperature
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
About 40 large garlic cloves, peeled (yes, that's forty cloves of garlic!)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock or canned broth

Instructions:

1. Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Place a deep, nonreactive skillet or Dutch oven over high heat, and add oil and butter. When fats are hot but not smoking, add chicken pieces skin side down and cook until skin turns an even, golden brown, about 5 minutes. Work in batches, if necessary, and carefully regulate heat to avoid scorching skin. Turn pieces and brown them on other side for an additional 5 minutes. Remove all of the chicken from the pot.

2. Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic cloves to the pot. Sauté, shaking or stirring pan frequently, until garlic is lightly browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Add wine and stock, scraping bottom of pan.

3. Return all of the dark meat chicken (i.e. legs and thighs) to the pot. Cover and turn to low so that the liquid is just at a simmer.  Continue cooking about 15 minutes and then add the breast pieces.  Cook until juices run clear when a thigh is pricked, 10 to 15 minutes more. Serve chicken with garlic and pan juices and, if desired, egg noodles.

Yield: 4 servings.