Tag Archives: The Nation Has An Appetite

I love pork. You should <3

Braised Short Rib with Panang at Lotus of Siam RestaurantToday's installment of pork = awesome features hoisin braised country style ribs. Country style ribs aren't really ribs at all, rather these delicious morsels are cut from the rib end of the shoulder and usually contain a bone or two. Slow cooking country style ribs breaks down the fat and connective tissue which creates a tender, juicy, and delicious final product. You'll need the following:

3lbs bone in country style ribs
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1/4 soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated ginger (you can substitute 1 tsp powder ginger)
2 cloves garlic smashed

Method: Put ribs into your crock pot. Cover with onion slices. Mix remaining ingredients in a small bowl and pour over ribs / onions.

Cover and cook on low for 8ish hours (you're looking for the ribs to be tender, the bone will probably fall out and the meat will be falling apart). Really, that's it. A few minutes in the morning and by the time you're home from work dinner is waiting.

Remove ribs from the crock pot and keep them warm. De-fat the pan juice and pour over the ribs, garnish with chopped cilantro.

I add some sliced peppers to the mix, jalapeno, poblano, anaheim, whatever I have around to Bam! it up a notch. I've accidentally omitted the rice vinegar from this dish and haven't noticed a marked decrease in deliciousness. A couple teaspoons of sesame oil will also add a bit of je ne sais quoi to this dish.

 

 

I love pork. You should two.

Best Breakfast in New MexicoCarne Adovada, pork marinated in red chili, is one of my all time favorite dishes. You can eat it topped with a fried egg for breakfast (or dinner for that matter), in a burrito, on corn tortillas, smothered in cheese with a side of sour cream, or, my personal favorite, stuffed into a sopapilla and drowning in red chili sauce. If you ever find yourself in Albuquerque I would recommend stopping by the Frontier restaurant for breakfast (order the number one with carne adovada) and then have dinner at el Patio (get yourself a stuffed sopa with red). This is not a dish for the faint of heart, but it doesn't have to burn you on both ends either. There are a ton of variations on making adovada that range from mostly canned to the totally-labor-intensive-but absolutely-worth-the-work version. After the jump I'll spell out a couple of fairly easy ways to make this delicious dinner or breakfast if that's what sets your hair on fire.

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I love pork. You should too. Sesame Pork Roast

Pork and Cider Sauce

This sesame pork roast is a family favorite at Casa de Carne for the left overs more than for the actual meal. I've made this so many times that I have lost the original recipe, but here is the most recent version:

Ingredients for the marinade

2 1 cups soy sauce (I use low sodium, I've found over the years that using low sodium soy sauce for marinades helps cut down on the salty bite, leaving all the other flavors to do their work_
3/4 to 1 tbsp dark sesame oil (or the hot pepper version if spice is your thing) (this is also a to taste kind of ingredient, more can sometimes equal too much of a good thing)
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 inch piece of fresh ginger root grated finely (ginger powder in a pinch, to taste)
dash of red chili powder
dash of red chili flakes
splash of lime or lemon juice
pinch of brown sugar (up to 2 tsp if you're using full strength soy sauce, helps cut down on the bite)

Combine all ingredients in a gallon zip lock bag and slosh them around to mix

I usually go for a center cut of pork tenderloin, but any meaty tenderloin cut will do here. Trim most the fat from the meat, but leave a little on for self basting purposes. Toss the meat into the marinade and let it soak overnight.

While the oven is heating remove the meat from the marinade and discard the liquid. Pat the roast dry with a couple paper towels and toss it into the oven. I keep a digital meat thermometer in the roast, and when the temperature hits about 135 I take the roast out of the oven and glaze it with a mixture of equal parts honey and brown sugar. I've found that coating the whole roast in sesame seeds after glazing helps keep the honey stuck to the outside of the meat, and not burning to the bottom of your roasting pan. Throw the whole works back into the oven 'til the thermometer reads 160 (or your preferred doneness level), remove the roast and let rest under a foil tent for at least 5 minutes, 10 if you can be patient, and then carve it up in thin slices. The preparation method is almost fool proof, but be warned, the glaze can burn pretty quickly and can be a bear to clean off your pan. As an alternate cooking method, I've had great success with this roast on the grill (with some apple wood chips added, the smoke marries perfectly with the salty and spicy marinade.... stoopid burn ban).

After eating this meal I dream about the roast pork sandwiches, spicy goat cheese and pork pizza with grilled onions and roasted poblano, and stir fry with a hoisin / chili sauce that will be made the next day or so.

 

Beaneater Bonanza: Dal Makhani

Now that the Bruins have brought championship pride back to Boston at long last, it seems fitting that we all celebrate. My notion is to fuel Vancouver's fires with some additional methane.

So, today's legume recipe is for a version of dal makhani. Traditionally, this is made with black urad dal (Vigna mungo), but, in a slight nod to the admittedly delicious Madras Lentils from Tasty Bite (which I've bought numerous times at Costco), I use plain ol' brown lentils.

My recipe goes a step further in that it is vegan, in recognition of my daughter's continued culinary crusade. The dish is better with the addition of some dairy (butter and/or cream), but is pretty good as-is too.
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Summer Salad Satisfaction

In Friday's CoC, Greek(??) was calling for recipes to up his veggie intake. The specific context was Indian food, but I was determined to have burritos last night, so the Indian recipes will have to wait.

Instead, I'm offering a refreshing, crunchy salad/salsa, easy to make and perfect to accompany something On The Grill (ahem -- consider that a Batsignal, Banjo).

Cucumber-Corn Salad with Chile-Lime Dressing

1 can sweet corn (or 2 ears fresh corn, preferably roasted, and stripped) 1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled and chopped 1 avocado, diced
1 tbsp chopped cilantro, with stems chile-lime vinaigrette to taste

for the dressing:
1 tsp ground chile (New Mexico or California, or paprika can substitute, 1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne
a big pinch of kosher salt and a few grinds of black pepper

1-2 cloves of garlic, smushed into a paste, 1 tbsp honey
juice of 1/2 lime plus grated lime zest, extra virgin olive oil

gently heat the chile, salt and pepper to "bloom" the essential oils (a quick zap in the microwave, or heat briefly in a small frying pan). Put into a small mixing bowl and combine with honey, then the garlic and lime. Whisk in olive oil until you've reached your desired consistency (about 1/3 cup of oil). Check for seasoning. If it needs more acidity, add a few drops of red wine vinegar or more lime juice.

gently combine all vegetables and dress with the viniagrette. Mix in the cilantro and serve. This works as a salad or salsa. Great accompaniment to grilled chicken, ribs, pork, fish, black beans...beer and chips.

Mango Chicken Sauté

The Twins have lost so many games that I've turned my attention back into the kitchen, and with the burn ban in effect here in Hades  I've had to search out some new recipes. Last week the Good Dr. and I made a rash purchase of mangoes which were on sale two for .88¢. I set out to find a savory use for these mangoes and happened upon this recipe for pan fried chicken thighs with mango, cashews, and rum. I was totally impressed with the complexity of flavor that this dish has with so few ingredients. You'll need to set aside about 40 minutes for prep work the first time out of the gate, but after the chopping is done the actual cooking only took about 20 minutes. Continue reading Mango Chicken Sauté

Winner, Winner, Chickpea Dinner

Afternoon baseball has a way of building an appetite while simultaneously sapping the will to invest the time and effort to make a complex meal. This dish tastes complex, but it's pretty simple to make, and takes only one pot (plus a pot for rice). The inspiration for this dish comes from here, here and here. It can be made with dried chana dal, but my kids actually prefer the quick version with canned chick peas (garbanzo beans).
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Comfort food — a plate o’ beans

It's an off-day today. Which doesn't really distinguish today from most of the days of the past month, really, now does it?

As the parent of a vegetablearian daughter (nay -- a vegan daughter!!!111one111!!), I'm always on the lookout for simple, satisfying and repeatable dishes that I can make for the whole family. Today's contribution is drawn from the very essence of simple, satisfying, and repeatable: pinto beans.

Yea, I know. Gloppy refried beans on your tray on "Mexican food" days in school. Ugh. But I'm here to tell you that, properly made, pinto beans are sublime. And really easy to make.

My recipe has three steps to it: soaking, simmering, and finishing. While I add some minor bells and whistles, the approach is simplicity itself. Anyone can make a great bowl/plate of beans. And trust me, these are deliciously creamy and flavorful. You will question why anyone would ever buy canned refried beans after making these.
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Chaat room: Pav Bhaji

It has been mentioned once or twice that this site could use more food posts. Never let it be said that Management is unresponsive. And consider this an invitation to all with authoring privileges to contribute to this intermittent series, The Nation Has An Appetite. (If you don't have authoring privileges and have a burning desire to contribute posts, talk to the Milkman)

I recently purchased from my local grocer a handful of foil pouch packages of heat-and-serve Indian dishes, one of which I had for lunch last week at work -- Pav Bhaji, or Mashed Vegetable curry, by Kitchens of India. It was among the better $3 I've spent recently, because that stuff was delicious.

Still, I knew that I could probably make a whole vat of bhaji (the "pav" part refers to the bread that is the traditional accompaniment) for about the same price as this single serving. My mouth has been watering at the prospect for days.
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