The main recipe here is originally from the Portland restaurant Meat Cheese Bread. It was in our local paper, in the weekly food section. I saw it, made Homer Simpson type sounds as I thought about how good it must be, and promptly decided to give it a try.

That said, I tweaked it a bit. Not so much for taste or anything, more due to what ingredients I had and the level of time on a Wednesday that I had to devote to this. Mainly, I crock-potted it while working, so that when I came home, the house would smell so good that I would almost fall over after stepping through the doorway.

One Saturday or Sunday, I will try this in the oven but it did work pretty well for me to turn it on low in the AM before leaving for work (7:00 AM) and return around 5:00 PM to a crock pot full of fragrant, porky goodness.

That said, this isn’t a complete ‘pop it in the crock pot and forget it’ kind of thing. Well, okay, actually it is, but you need to do stuff before you get everything in the crock pot. Stuff like: sear the pork and briefly saute the onions and peppers. Then you pop it all in the crock pot and set it to low.

I’ve got both conventional oven and crock pot directions below. Pick your heat source and give it a try!

Cuban Pulled Pork in Orange Mojo
Adapted from a Recipe from Meat Cheese Bread, via Oregonian Food Day, September 22, 2009
2 pounds pork shoulder
Vegetable oil
1 orange (original recipe said to use one and a quarter oranges)
1 small onion (sweet, yellow or white), quartered
1 red bell pepper, stems and seeds removed, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tbsp firmly packed brown sugar
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 medium tomato
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
6 garlic cloves
3/4 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 cup white wine
8 6-inch hoagie rolls (or ciabatta rolls, which is what I used)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, unless you are doing this in a crock pot.

Remove excess fat from the pork shoulder and cut crosswise into 2-inch thick pieces. When I was doing this, I read it wrong and cut it into 2-inch cubes. So, I’m here to tell you that if you accidentally do that, it will still work. Anyway, heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, and coat bottom of pan lightly with vegetable oil. Sear the pork until browned on all sides.

While searing the pork, use a vegetable peeler to remove zest from the oranges. Reserve the zest and cut pith from the orange, exposing the orange pulp. I quartered my orange, although the original recipe said to leave it whole.

Oven: After pork has seared, add the orange quarters and orange zest, onion, red pepper, brown sugar, salt and pepper, orange juice, chicken broth, tomato, lime juice, garlic, cumin, coriander and white wine to the roasting pan. Stir well and cook uncovered at 375 degrees for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Check the braise occasionally to make sure it does not get too dark. If meat starts to darken, turn pieces over and push below liquid level. Remove from oven when pork pierces easily with a fork.

Crockpot: After pork has seared, remove it with tongs and add to the crock pot. Turn it on low. Return to the hot pan and add the onions, garlic and bell pepper. Saute for 3-5 minutes over medium until they start to get a little color. Add to the crock pot. You will notice all manner of tasty things on the bottom of the pan. Deglaze!

Add the wine and orange juice to the pan and use a wooden spoon to get up any brown bits.

Add all the pan contents to your crock pot. Next, add the orange zest, brown sugar, salt and pepper, chicken broth, tomato, lime juice, garlic, cumin, and coriander to the crock pot.

Put a lid on it and leave it alone for about 8-9 hours.

Oven & Crockpot, after cooking time:

Using tongs, carefully remove pork from the braise liquid and put on a carving board, allowing meat to rest for 10 minutes. Using two forks, pull apart the meat, removing any excess fat you come across. Place in a large bowl.

Purée the braising liquid (original recipe said “including the solids”, I opted to not use the whole orange pieces. After tasting the liquid, it seemed orangey enough to me), in a blender or food processor and adjust the flavor to taste.

When blending hot liquids, leave the lid insert off and cover the rimmed lid with a towel!

Add enough puréed braising liquid to moisten the meat well.

To assemble sandwiches, cut hoagie roll in half horizontally. Using tongs or a slotted spoon to allow some of the juice to drain, top bottom piece with roughly 1 cup of the pulled pork mixture. Repeat with remaining rolls. I added spinach leaves, tomato and sliced, smoked fontina cheese.

Leftovers

If you are not making 8 sandwiches, you will have leftovers. Here’s what I did — pork enchiladas!

I added some onion, yellow bell pepper, a diced jalapeno and some diced yam and sweet potatoes (all sauteed up for a few minutes in a pan with some olive oil), to the pulled pork and about 1 - 2 tsp of chili powder to the Mojo sauce.

I used the pork as a filling (added a little Queso fresco in there as well, along with about a teaspoon of sauce). The I wrapped the filling up in corn tortillas and covered with the sauce.

A little more cheese (okay, a medium-sized amount) on top and about 40 minutes in the oven on 375 degrees F.

Delicious with some diced avocado and some sour cream!

I made this the other night based on what I had in the fridge, freezer and assorted cabinets. Two cans of black beans? Check. Actually, I have five cans of black beans in the cabinet. Every time I go to the store, I can’t remember if I have black beans, so I buy another can. *sigh*

Anyway, to continue, a bag in the freezer of about 1 cup fire-roasted, diced tomatoes? Check. Jalapeno that I really need to use…? Well, you get the idea. For a things-I-need-to-use-in-the-kitchen project, it turned out really tasty!

Pretty Good Black Bean Soup
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp olive oil
3 slices Canadian bacon, diced (you can skip this, or substitute sausage, bacon, some other kind of pork product, etc…)
1 small white onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 cup fire-roasted, diced tomatoes (with juice)
1 jalapeno, roasted, peeled & diced
5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
juice of 1/2 an orange
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
salt & pepper to taste

Toast the cumin seeds in a small pan over medium heat. Just for a minute or two. Then, grind them in a spice or coffee grinder (a dedicated spice coffee grinder or a coffee grinder that you can wash the top part of). Set aside.

Heat a soup pot over medium heat and add the Canadian bacon. Cook for a few minutes and then add the onion and garlic. Cook it all for 6-7 minutes until starting to color and soft. Add the ground cumin, dried oregano, roasted jalapeno* and fire-roasted tomatoes. Stir to combine.

Next, drain one can of beans and add that. Rinse the other can and drain, then add that. I did this to get some of the salt from the canned beans out of the soup, but I still wanted a little bit of the canned stuff so that’s why I did it this way. You can rinse and drain both or not, whatever you want to do.

Add the stock next, as well as the orange juice and bring to a boil, Reduce and simmer for 30-60 minutes. I had time so I just simmered it for 60 minutes. If you want a thicker soup, use an immersion blender or a regular blender to break up some of the beans. Before serving, add most of the cilantro (saving some for a garnish) and add salt and pepper to taste.

You can also garnish with sour cream, cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, etc…

* To roast a jalapeno, put it under the broiler, turning as needed, until it is all black. Put it in a small paper or plastic bag to steam for about 5 minutes. Then, you should be able to peel the blackened skin off easily. Cut the stem off, slice in half nd remove most the seeds ant the ribs. Dice.

So, I originally made this one night for dinner when jwa was off doing some kind of geekery after work. Mainly, because he is not crazy about chili and is super picky about seafood. I tried this because I had frozen shrimp and bay scallops to use up and it sounded like an intriguing way to do that. But, wow, it was really good too!

I tweaked it a bit (original recipe was from the foodnetwork.com site), mainly by omitting clams, and adding the orange zest/juice and chicken broth. This is also a great use of frozen and defrosted bay scallops, as they are not being seared or anything, just cooked in the tomato-y broth.

Seafood Chili
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large white onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed and minced
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced
4 tomatillos, papery skin removed, diced
1 tsp grated orange zest
1 tbsp crumbled dried oregano
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chipotle pepper flakes, or to taste (optional)
1/3 cup dry, white wine
1 bay leaf
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
1 can black or kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Salt
1/2 pound shrimp, shells removed
1/2 pound sea scallops, rinsed, patted dry, and cut into halves, depending on size
juice of 1/2 an orange (the one you zested)
Super Important Garnishes: diced avocado, diced red onion, crumbled Queso fresco and lime wedges

Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium high heat. When hot, add the onion, garlic, bell pepper, tomatillos, oregano, chili powder, cumin, orange zest, and chipotle pepper.

Lower the heat to medium low and saute, stirring often, until the onions and peppers are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the wine, turn up to medium high, and stir for about 2 minutes.

Add the bay leaf, chicken broth and tomatoes, turn the heat down to medium and simmer gently, covered, about 20 minutes.

Stir in the beans, and add the shrimp, and scallops and cook just until the shrimp are bright pink and the scallops are white, and no longer glossy, about 5 minutes.

Add in the orange juice and the cilantro. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with all the garnishes.

Weekend Wedding in Downtown Portland!

We went to James and Shirin’s wedding Saturday and had a lovely time — Persian traditions, sherry toasts, smoked salmon, lamb stew, cupcakes and the the safety dance. It was a lot of fun! jwa was a groomsman and did a great job with his toasts and making his tux look all nice!

The aftermath of a rose petal toss on the sidewalk, after the happy couple made their getaway…

I really like listening to The Splendid Table Sunday nights while I make dinner. A few weeks ago, I heard this recipe and could not wait to make it. I just did and wow, so good. jwa was raving.

Close-Roasted Pork with Mole-Inspired Spice Rub
from The Improvisational Cook by Sally Schneider, as heard on the Splendid Table
2 1/2 tbsp Mole-Inspired Seasoning (recipe follows)
1 tbsp plus 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp sugar
3-1/2 pounds pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat, tied to make a compact Roast (bone-in is preferable, though boned is fine)
1 head of garlic, broken into cloves but not peeled

In a small bowl, combine the mole seasoning, salt, and sugar. Rub all over the pork shoulder and place on a plate. Marinate for 1 hour unrefrigerated, or 2 to 24 hours refrigerated.

Preheat the oven to 275 F. Place the pork in a Dutch oven or deep-lidded roaster just big enough to hold the roast snugly. Scatter the garlic cloves around the roast.

Place a large piece of aluminum foil over the pot, then press the lid down securely. Alternatively, wrap the meat in a tightly sealed foil package (make sure the seam is at the top so the juices don’t leak out) and place the package in an ovenproof skillet or casserole.

Roast the pork until very tender and practically falling apart, 3-3/4 to 4 hours. Transfer the roast to a platter and cover with foil. I was actually a little afraid that I would have no liquid in my pot and my pork would be all dried out and ruined. As you can see, totally not the case. Yay!

Pour the juices into a sauce boat and place in the freezer for 10 minutes. Spoon off the fat that has risen to the top. Pull the meat apart or slice it across the grain and arrange on a platter. Pour some of the juices over and pass the rest. Save any remaining juices for heating up leftovers.

We had our pork with homemade tortillas, avocado, grilled peppers, onions, tomatoes and some cheese. So good. We plowed through about a 1/3 of it that night for dinner (although we each could probably have eaten more) and then the leftovers got stored in the fridge freezer to make a tamale filling later in the month. Now I just have to think of something to put my leftover spice rub on. Oh, I’m sure I’ll find something…

Mole-Inspired Seasoning with Ancho, Cinnamon, and Cocoa
Makes about 1/3 cup
3 tbsp Ancho chili powder and/or pimentón de la Vera (I used 2 tbsp chili powder blend + 1 tbsp smoked paprika)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried oregano

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. For each pound of meat, combine 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon grated garlic, and 1 to 2 teaspoons spice mixture.

First off, can I just say that I am looking forward (I think!) to Nov 5th? I am getting sick of having to obsessively check wonkette, fivethirtyeight and google news > elections like 50 times per day.

::sigh::

Anywho, this recipe is from Food & Wine, via Bobby Flay, and it was super good. I changed some things so I’m going to say that I adapted it from Bobby Flay. We like the Mahi Mahi as you can find it at Trader Joe’s, frozen, for about $6-something a pound. Woo-hoo! I’ve seen it both plain and marinated in a chimichurri-type marinade. This was that variety — I just wiped off the extra marinade after defrosting it.

If you have leftover pesto it is excellent with pasta, chicken or, uh, a spoon.

Rub
2 tbsp smoked Spanish paprika
1 tbsp chile powder blend
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp dark brown sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

Mahi Mahi
Four 1/2 pound mahi mahi fillets
2 tbsp olive oil

Cilantro Pesto
2 large yellow bell peppers — peeled, seeded and chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/4 cup walnuts
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
3 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Make the pesto by placing the peppers, garlic, nuts, cilantro and Parmesan in a food processor and pulse until combined. With the machine on, add the oil and process until emulsified.

Season with the salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Okay, now make the rub. Basically, mix all the rub ingredients together. Done!

Now, heat a pan (a grill pan or regular skillet) over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil. Rub each fillet with the "Barbecue" Rub and cook until a bit of a crust has formed, to 3 minutes. Turn the fish and grill for 3 to 4 minutes longer, or until cooked to medium doneness.

We had this with some cheddar polenta (make polenta, add a bunch of cheddar cheese to it), tomato slices and black beans. And of course the cilantro pesto.

Super good and tasty.

We are having a dessert baking contest thing at work next week (at the Halloween Party) and I am trying to come up with an idea. Well, I have some, but we really haven’t gotten any specifics yet on the contest. So, I’m not sure if it can be any baked item or a specifically Halloween-themed thing. I have two contenders. I will decide this weekend I suppose. After making them each to taste test. Yeah.