The last few days we’ve had a little taste of summer, a welcome respite from “Storm Watch 2010″ and news of the deep freeze blanketing the rest of the country.  Walking my little Corgi in the neighborhood, the scent of grilling caused me to yearn for some good ole southern style pulled pork.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

This recipe utilizes the under-appreciated crock pot in place of standing over a hot, smoky grill for hours. Naturally, the slow-cooked grill or smoker method is more authentic and you’re welcome to do that if you have the time to tend  the grill.

2-3 lb. pork shoulder country style ribs or pork shoulder roast

Your favorite prepared BBQ sauce

Burger buns of your choice

Begin the day before. If you use a roast, cut it in half lengthwise (so its half the thickness). Brown ribs or roast on all sides in a dutch oven or large skillet coated with olive oil. Cook for 6-8 hours on Low in a crock pot. No need to add liquid – after a few hours the meat will be submerged in its own juices and fat. Refrigerate overnight – the main reason for doing this is to solidify the juices so you can remove the fat.  The next day, use a spoon to remove the solid white fat layer on top, retaining the semi-solid gelatinous meat juices.

Transfer the meat to a cutting board and shred or “pull apart” using a meat fork and your fingers. (This is why its called pulled pork.) Slather the meat with BBQ sauce and return to the crock pot to cook for another 5-6 hours on Low. If you notice that the meat is getting too browned, turn the heat down to the Serve setting.

Toast buns and serve with a spoonful of cole slaw on top (southern style) or on the side.  Cole slaw adds the perfect creamy, cool, crunchy complement to robust, spicy BBQ pulled pork.

Enjoy

Just as there are all kinds of BBQ: sweet, spicy, vinegary, with dry rub, without, there are variations in cole slaw.  A lot of people would probably like cole slaw better if they would prepare the dressing to their liking rather than purchasing sugary and mayo-laden supermarket cole slaw. We like ours crunchy (so prepare only  about 30 minutes before serving) and lightly dressed.  With a package of prepared tri-color slaw, it only takes a few minutes. Here’s how I do it:

Cole Slaw

2-3 T. low cal mayo

¼ c. milk

1 t. Dijon mustard

½ t. cayenne

½ t. sugar

Whisk ingredients in a glass bowl. Use ½ bag prepared cabbage & carrot cole slaw mix and blend well. Serves 4.

Sausage and peppers is a classic comfort food and it’s so easy to make. Sometimes I add chopped tomatoes to have more juice that soaks into the roll, mmmm. This time I added tiny portabella mushrooms because I had them in the fridge and they add a “meatier” taste – you know, cuz I’m trying to go meatless.  All the ingredients are from Trader Joe’s – they need to hire me – don’t you think?  I’m one of their best customers and promoters, yet Sprouts is opening in Huntington Beach on January 29th, so I might defect – hear that Trader Joes?

Sassy Sausage & Peppers (Vegan style)

1 pkg. Trader Joe’s Sausage-less Italian Sausage*, sliced on the diagonal

1 red pepper, cored and sliced

1 green pepper, cored and sliced

1 red onion, peeled and sliced

1 pkg. mini portabella mushrooms, sliced

2 T. olive oil, divided

1 t. butter

red pepper flakes

4 Panne Rustique Rolls (it’s all about the roll, folks)

Serves 4. * Of course, you may use real Italian sausage if you’re not vegan. I’ve had it both ways and its delicious either way!

Preheat toaster oven to 400 degrees. Cover toaster oven tray with aluminum foil and spray with oil so sausages don’t stick. Brown sausages in toaster oven turning once. Slice on the diagonal and set aside.

Heat 1 t. olive oil in large skillet, sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Add the peppers and onions and sauté, stirring every few minutes to evenly brown. Add more olive oil as needed to prevent vegetables from sticking.

Meanwhile, in a smaller skillet heat 1 T. olive oil plus 1 t. butter over med-high heat and sauté mushrooms, stirring to brown evenly, about 5 minutes or until the juices have cooked off.  (I do this in a separate pan because the juices from the mushrooms can make the pepper mixture mushy.) Add mushrooms and sausages to pepper mixture.

Warm the rolls in the toaster oven, slice in half and fill with sausage and pepper mixture.

It comes as no surprise that meatballs were declared “Dish of the Year” by Bon Appétit magazine – “with a return to homey, comforting cooking this year, meatballs made it big, appearing on restaurant menus and kitchen tables everywhere”.   In fact, as a regular happy hour patron it seems that no restaurant menu seems complete without a slider of some sort – from Kobe beef sliders to pulled pork.

I recreated  Meatball Sliders in the TM Kitchen after enjoying many restaurant versions and am sharing the recipe here because they’re affordable, easy to make, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a child or an adult who won’t inhale them –  an ideal dish for the home cook!

Meatball Sliders

I bake the meatballs- its easy, less mess and uses less oil.

1/2 lb. ground pork

1/2 lb. ground beef

1/2 c. grated romano cheese

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/4 c. fresh bread crumbs

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1/4 c. Italian parsley, chopped

1/2 t. red pepper flakes

1 t. salt

1/2 t. ground pepper

1/2 c. Italian bread crumbs

15 small rolls

Prepared Marinara sauce

1/2 c. grated cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (375 if convection).

In a large mixing bowl, combine the meats, cheese, egg, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, pepper flakes, salt & pepper. Use fork or your hands to mix all ingredients well.  Form into 15 2-inch meatballs. Roll them in the Italian bread crumbs. Spray cookie sheet with oil and bake meatballs for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, split the rolls horizontally and lightly toast in toaster oven. Heat the marinara sauce in a small saucepan.

Serve meatballs on the rolls topped with marinara sauce and sprinkle with Romano cheese.

Serves 4-6 (as a main course)

Must go to the store now, Patriots losing miserably to Baltimore and will have to find solace in food.

Eating Hoppin’ John blackeyed peas is a Southern New Years tradition to bring good luck and, with the addition of greens which represent money, prosperity in the new year.  According to Wikipedia these “good luck” traditions date back to the Civil War, when Union troops, especially in areas targeted by General Sherman, typically stripped the countryside of all stored food, crops, and livestock, and destroyed whatever they couldn’t carry away. At that time, Northerners considered “field peas” and field corn suitable only for animal fodder, and didn’t steal or destroy these humble foods.

I figured that posting a Hoppin’ John recipe as my first of  2010 was so very appropriate because: (1) blackeyed peas fit right in with a recession budget,  (2) good intentions to eat healthier, and (3) football.  How’s that, you might ask?  Well, black eyed peas are really beans not peas and beans, whether dried or canned, are very inexpensive.  Beans are also packed full of protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.  (If you’d like more specific information on the health benefits of beans and legumes visit the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.)  As far as (3) football, I’ve adapted this economical and nutritious dish to appeal to sports fans and folks who have only a fleeting interest in nutrition by substituting them for black beans in that all-time favorite:  NACHOS.

The Bowl games may be over but there’s plenty of football yet to come, so bookmark or print this to serve as one of your munchies during the  playoff games and/or the Super Bowl on Sunday, January 31st.

The addition of corn in a black eyed pea salsa recipe, aptly named Recession Caviar from Foodie with Family, works well for those unfamiliar with blackeyed peas.  Hoppin’ John is tasty served as a salsa or spooned on top of chips and sprinkled with cheese for nachos.

Hoppin’ John

1 cup blackeyed peas

1 cup frozen corn

2-3 fresh Anaheim green chiles or jalapenos* (or 1 – 4 oz. can)

1/2 red onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 T. chopped fresh cilantro

1 T. olive oil

1 t. chili or cajun spice

Juice from 1 fresh lime

salt & pepper

Seed and chop the chiles. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.  Allow flavors to meld for at least an hour.  Serve with tortilla chips as a salsa or spread salsa over chips, sprinkle with shredded cheese and bake at 450 degrees until cheese melts, about 10 minutes. (The salsa is vegan, the nachos have cheese, so are not.)

*use jalapenos if you like it spicy, green chiles for mild

Pork Ribs with Hoisin Barbecue Sauce

(adapted from Bon Appétit, July 2002)