Pork Tamales

Another "hats off" to the Mexican culture. This is one of the most economical meals, yet pretty labor-intensive. It's fun, and worth the effort if you have a Sunday to spare! I made the pork a day in advance, so I had plenty of time to assemble and steam the tamales.

Tamales are like mini cornbreads that are stuffed with meat and/or cheese, then wrapped in corn husks and steamed.

Shredded Mexican Crock Pot Pork

(1) 2 lb pork butt
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 poblano peppers, roasted and peeled
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 TB of adobo sauce
2 1/2 cups of water
1 cup chicken broth
Squeeze of 1/2 a lime


Heat a cast iron pot on med-high, and coat the bottom with olive oil. Sear the pork butt on all sides, and place into the crockpot.

Place the rest of the ingredients into the crock pot and set on LOW for at least 7 hours. Shred with fork when cooled.

Tamales
adapted from Joy of Cooking

• 1 - 4oz package of corn husks
• 3 cups of Masa flour
• 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 to 1 cup of shortening
• 2 1/4 cups of chicken broth, warmed
• 1 1/2 cups of shredded chihuahua cheese or queso fresco

In a large saucepan, add the husks and water to cover. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat. Weigh the husks down with a heavy plate to keep them submerged. Let sit for 1-2 hrs until pliable.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the masa flour and the baking powder. In another large bowl, beat the shortening until fluffy. About 2 mins.

Gradually add the masa mixture and beat on high speed. Slowly beat in the chicken broth, use about 2 cups. You may need more. Continue beating until dough looks like mashed potatoes, about 2 mins. The dough is ready when a 1/2 tsp of dough dropped into a glass of cold water floats.

Season with 1 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste. Cover the mixture until the husks are ready.

Drain the husks, let dry. Set aside 16 of the biggest husks.

Place a steamer insert in the bottom of a deep stockpot. Fill the bottom with water to fill about 1 inch. Water should not touch the steamer. Line the bottom and sides of the steamer with more of the husks.

Start assembling the tamales by laying the husk rough side up on a work surface, with the pointed end closest to you. Spread about 1/4 cup of the masa into a 4-inch square, leaving a 1 1/2 inch border at the pointed end and a 1 inch border on all other sides.

Add some pork over top of the masa. Sprinkle with cheese. 

Fold the left and right sides, the fold the pointed end up, and tie with a strip of husk.

Stand the tamales upright in the steamer, and repeat with the rest of the husks. Leave room in the steamer for expansion, and cover the tamales with husks. Cover the pot, bring to a boil, and steam over med heat until the husks peel away from the filling. 1 to 1 1/4 hours time. Add more water to pot if necessary.

 

 

Remove from heat, let stand covered for 5 mins. Serve!

 Freeze for up to 1 month.

Lasagna with Besciamella and Sausage

 

This lasagna sure was time-consuming, but worth every minute! It's a mish-mash of a few different Lidia recipes from Lidia's Family Table. I did not make my own pasta for this, simply because it would have added even more time to the process. But, I did pick up some wonderful fresh pasta sheets from Carlino's Italian Market. They worked wonderfully with this dish.  

I also went for an extra layer this time, and added Besciamella sauce. It definitely added a wonderful creaminess to the meal and it wasn't very hard or time-consuming to make.

What you'll need:

• Pasta sheets, cooked
• 1 cup Italian sausage, cooked
• Simple Tomato Sauce (recipe to follow)
• Besciamella sauce (recipe to follow)
• 3-4 TB of butter (for the baking dish)
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 6-8 oz of shredded mozzerella cheese
• 8 oz fresh ricotta
• 1 egg

Oven at 375F.

Prepare the sauces first, set aside to cool. 

Remove the sausage from the link casing, and cook until brown and crumbly. Mix the ricotta with the egg, and set aside. 

Prepare the pasta sheets, and cool in ice water. Spread them onto a cookie sheet that is lined with a kitchen towel so the water absorbs.

Grease an 8x8 or 9x9 square baking sheet with the butter, on all sides. Set up your "station" and get ready to assemble.

*Note, you can also use a 9x13 pan and increase the ingredients just a bit. The pasta is cut to fit this size, anyway. But I always find that a 9x13 pan makes way too much for a small household.

 

Layer the bottom of the pan with a little bit of sauce. Drizzle with the Besciamella.

 

Layer with pasta sheets, and spread on the ricotta/egg mixture.

Next, a layer of sausage.

Layer with more tomato sauce, bechemel, and the 2 cheeses...

 

 Repeat the layers until the pan is full, folding over the pasta is needed: 

Ready to bake...

And done. Let sit uncovered for 20 minutes to settle before cutting into squares and serving.

Simple Tomato Sauce 
Good with: Pastas, Gnocchi, Baked Pastas

by Lidia Bastianich

• (2) 35oz cans of San Marzano Tomatoes
• 1 large onion, chopped in small pieces
• 1 medium carrot, chopped in small pieces
• 1 rib celery,  chopped in small pieces
• 6 TB olive oil
• 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 2 cups water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp dried peperoncino (red pepper flakes)
• 1/2 tsp honey

Sieve the tomatoes through a mesh colander, pushing the flesh through, scraping against the sides to extract all pulp and juice.

Put the chopped onion, carrot, celery pieces into a food processor to finely mince.

Pour oil into a sauce pot, stir the vegetables over med-high heat. Add salt. Cook 3 mins or so to let them soften, but not brown.

Pour the tomatoes and juices into the pan and stir with the veggies. Rinse the bowl and the tomato cans with the water, and pour this into the pan. Stir in bay leaves, honey, and peperoncino. Turn up heat and cover. Bring sauce to boil, stirring, and check frequently.

Adjust the heat to maintain an active simmer. Cover and cook for 45 mins, stirring occasionally.

Remove the cover, raise heat to gradually reduce. Cook for another hour, stirring often to ensure no sticking. Turn heat down as sauce thickens. Add more salt if needed.

When sauce has reduced by about a quarter, and is concentrated but still pourable, remove from the heat. Let cool. Remove bay leaves.


Besciamella --- Bechamel, or Cream Sauce
by Lidia Bastianich

•  2 cups milk
• Pinch of kosher salt
• Pinch of white pepper
• Pinch of grated nutmeg
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 TB butter
• 2 TB all-purpose flour
• 2 TB freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Pour milk into saucepan; add the seasonings and bay leaf. Bring almost to a boil and keep hot.

Melt butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. When butter foams, put in flour and whisk to form a roux. Keep whisking 3-4 minutes until the roux darkens a bit.

Pour in hot milk in a stream, stirring to mix the roux into it. Stir constantly until sauce boils. Adjust heat to keep a steady bubble as the sauce thickens (about 3 minutes).

Pour the sauce through a fine sieve, and add the grated cheese.

Can be used within 3-4 days. Do not freeze.

Mango Salsa (and how to cut a mango!)

This salsa didn't last long. The flavors all mend together so perfectly...I served this with my homemade baked tortilla chips.


1 mango
½ cucumber, diced
¼ red onion, diced
½ jalapeno, diced
1 TB lime juice
⅓ C cilantro, chopped
salt/pepper to taste

Peel and chop the mango. Toss with remaining ingredients.

How to cut a mango:

Slice the "cheeks" off the sides, and cut criss-cross marks into the flesh. Invert the slice, and trim the cubes out.

Parma Rosa Veggie Pasta

A quick, successful meal! 

• 1 lb penne or pennoni
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1/2 package of your favorite frozen veggies
• 2 TB tomato paste
• 1 tsp oregano
• salt/pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup light cream
• 1 frozen basil cube
• 1 3/4 cups of chopped tomatoes
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta and drain. Heat olive oil in a stainless skillet. Add onion and saute until translucent.  Add the frozen veggies and saute briefly. Add tomato paste and oregano, salt, pepper, and basil. Cook about 5 minutes. 

Add the pasta, cream, tomatoes, and cheese. Toss and serve immediately.

V-Day Menu featured in CCCN

In print! This was a fun project...hoping to work with Mary at CCCN again soon :)

Kid-Friendly Cavatelli with Chicken, Peas & Carrots

This was adapted from a Giada recipe. Get the original recipe here. I kept mostly everything the same, except I used mini cavatelli, and added some grilled chicken for protein. Lilly gobbled this up, but I thought it was missing something. Maybe that's why it's kid-friendly! Anyway, it gets great reviews on the site, so enjoy!

Valentine's Day Menu

 

This is a very special entry for me! I was called upon by the fabulous Mary Bigham of WC Dish to create a menu for Valentine's Day. This menu will be featured in Wednesday's edition of Chester County Cuisine and Nightlife. Thanks for another great opportunity, Mary!

Valentine's Day. Even if it is a Hallmark holiday, it looks like it's here to stay - and with it comes expectations...am I right?

I wanted this menu to appeal to those who wanted restaurant quality food, without the hassle of reservations, babysitters, parking, crowds, prix fixe menus, not to mention the $$$$. It also works well because the courses are rich in taste, but light enough to avoid any after-dinner food comas!

I suggest cooking the meal together, after all, this is Valentine's Day. But if one person insists on taking over, let the other person be the taste-tester, bartender, and do easy jobs like slicing bread, assembling apps, etc.

On with the food!

Sparkling Pomegranate Fizz

• 1 Bottle Prosecco
• 1 Pomegranate
• 2 oz of POM Pomegranate Juice (or you can choose to juice the pomegranate seeds)
• 2 champagne flutes
• cocktail rimming sugar, or 2 crushed red lollipops 

If using cocktail rimming sugar, dampen the rims of each flute, then dip into the tin and rotate. Add 1 oz of POM to each glass, then fill with Prosecco. Garnish with a few pomegranate seeds.

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Love Tap App: Fig, Chevre and Honey Creme
on Crunchy Baguette

While you two lovebirds are working closely in the kitchen, make this appetizer to munch. Figs and honey are known aphrodisiacs, so watch out for those love taps!

• 1 baguette (Toast the slices, or serve fresh!)
• 1 package of a local artisan goat cheese (Carlino's has a great selection.)
• 1 jar of honey cream
• 2-3 figs cut into wedges (or 1 small jar fig preserves)

Slice the baguette on an angle, into 1/2 inch slices. Spread goat cheese, then honey cream. Top with figs.  

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"Oh Baby, You're So Fresh!" Salad

Baby Spinach, fresh (enough for 2)

3/4 cup of POM pomegranate juice

1/4 olive oil

1/4 orange juice

3 TB of a good quality red wine vinegar

1 tsp orange zest

1/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese (Support local!)

1/4 cup of pine nuts, toasted

1/4 cup pomegranate seeds

kosher salt, pepper (to taste)

Toasting the pine nuts: In a dry skillet over medium low, add the pine nuts. Shake frequently to ensure even browning. Remove, set aside to cool.

The dressing: Place the POM in a saucepan over medium high heat, and reduce until it measures about 1/4 cup. Remove from heat, and whisk in the olive oil, OJ, vinegar, orange zest, salt & pepper. Continue whisking until blended into an emulsion. (You'll probably have extra to save for later.)

Mix it up: In a mixing bowl, add the greens, and drizzle dressing just to coat. Toss. 

Plate it: Plate the greens, and top with the gorgonzola, pine nuts, and pom seeds.

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"Love Me Tender" Pork Loin

Ingredients (4 servings):

2-3 lb center cut pork loin

1 small yellow onion (peeled and slice in half)

1 fennel bulb (coarsely chopped) - Save stalks.

4 carrots (peeled, cut into large chunks)

5 red potatoes (cut into large chunks)

1 small sweet potato (peeled, cut into large chunks)

1 bottle of white wine (Choose one you'd drink!)

2 tsp Herbes de Provence

Kosher salt and cracked pepper to taste

Olive Oil

1 TB cornstarch

Preheat oven at 350°F.

Get a skillet hot over medium-high. Rub the pork with olive oil, salt, pepper. Add about 1 TB of olive oil to the skillet and add the pork to sear until browned on both sides. 

Grease the bottom of a roasting pan. Place the fennel stalks in the center of the pan (your pork will rest on this). Place the seared pork on top of the stalks, and arrange the onion halves on either side. Add 1 cup of the wine to the pan. Cover with foil, and bake in oven for 45-mins to 1 hour, depending on the size of your roast.

Meanwhile: Toss remaining vegetables with olive oil, salt, pepper, and Herbes de Provence.

Remove the pan from the oven, and check your wine level. If it seems dry, add more. Add the vegetables to your pan and return to the oven for approx 45 mins, covered. Remove the roast from the pan, wrap in foil, let rest. If there are a lot of pan juices, remove them and set aside.

Raise the oven temp to 400° Leave the vegetables uncovered in the pan, and return to the oven for browning. Bake for another 20-30 minutes, tossing occasionally.

While the veggies are roasting, heat the pan juices in a saucepan over medium-high. Mix the cornstarch with 1 TB of COLD water in a glass, and add to saucepan. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat, stirring until thickened. 

Slice the pork, and serve with the gravy and the vegetables. Use the rest of the wine to drink with the meal. Leftover pork is great for sandwiches for the week!

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My Love is Hot Like Lava Cakes

Ingredients (4 servings):

6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips (or use a 70% dark chocolate bar)
1 1/2 sticks salted butter (diced, room temperature)
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
Butter for ramekins

Powdered sugar for heart design (optional)






Preheat oven to 350°F

1. Melt chocolate on low flame in double boiler. Remove from heat. (If you don't have a double boiler, improvise by placing a glass bowl over a small amount of boiling water in a pot.)
2. Stir in diced butter, until melted and creamy.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar until blended.
4. Stir in melted chocolate. Gradually add the flour, stirring well.
5. Butter 4 individual ramekins (Tip: Use the butter wrappers!)

6. Pour the chocolate mixture into the ramekins, leaving a little room at the top.
6. Cook for about 10 minutes.
7. Tip ramekins upside down onto dessert plates and serve, or serve straight from the ramekins.

Optional design: Cut out a heart stencil from any kind of paper or doily, and place atop the dessert. Add powdered sugar into a sifter and sprinkle over the stencil.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

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Shopping List

Prosecco

White Wine

Pomegranate

POM Juice

Baguette

Goat Cheese

Gorgonzola Cheese

Honey Cream

Figs

Pine Nuts

Pork Loin

Baby Spinach

OJ

Fennel

Sweet Potato

Herbes de Provence (spice aisle)

Pantry List:

Olive Oil

Salt/Pepper

Rimming Sugar (optional) or 2 lollipops

Red Wine Vinegar

Onions

Carrots

Potatoes

Cornstarch

Baking chocolate

Butter

Eggs

Sugar

Flour

Powdered Sugar (optional)

Ice Cream (optional)