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Browsing Tag: pork
Tonight, let’s go old school European with this famous Hungarian dish made with pork, paprika, caraway, and sauerkraut. I have found many variations of this recipe and this one from the Daring Gourmet is the one I found most interesting (and easily adaptable to Cooking for One and a Half). I like the simplicity of this dish and really doesn’t take much time to put together before it is slow simmered until done. Now this isn’t fast food either, it does take 45 minutes or more to simmer until done, but it is perfect for a simple weekend dinner served with a crusty bread and a salad. And don’t be turned off by the sauerkraut. It melds into the rich…
This week I tried a work night dinner that can cook all day and be ready when you get home for finishing and enjoyment. For this experiment, I tried the Kroger Cook-in-Bag Carnitas. The 32 oz package would be great for a family of four. The process for this experiment is simple; heat the water oven to 145 degrees F in the morning before you go to work, remove the labels, place the package in the water bath, and head off to work. When you get home, simply pull the package out, place the meat into a large bowl, shred it, fry it, and enjoy it on tortillas with shredded lettuce or cabbage, cheese, sauce, cilantro, etc. Add a side dish to complete the meal –…
Here is a recipe straight from my wife’s culinary repertoire – even if she has never made it before! After hearing all my friends rave about mofongo after their trips to the Dominican Republic – and hearing my wife describe the deliciousness of this dish – I just had to make it. Well, she had never made, so I took the challenge of perfecting this dish while she is away on a short trip. This dish relies on mashing the fried plantains in a mortar and pestle and my wife actually gifted me with one recently (Hmmm, maybe she knew I would be tempted to make this for myself!) There are several variations of mofongo based on substituting the fried pork rinds (chicharrón) with bacon…
Tonight’s dinner uses sous vide to easily cook a pork tenderloin to juicy tenderness that is difficult to do with roasting. By now you know the drill – season the meat, place into a vacuum bag, vacuum seal with a sealer or use the immersion technique, drop into a water bath at a specific temperature for a set amount of time, then finish with a sear when that time has elapsed. One of the aspects of this method of cooking I really like is the free time you gain while the dish cooks in the water bath. The results of preparing this meal using sous vide speak for themselves as I mentioned above. This sous vide twist on the popular German schweinebraten is a fabulous way…
Today’s dish is one that many people enjoy when ordering take-out or delivery Chinese food. This simple fried rice, usually with diced Chinese BBQ pork, scrambled egg, and peas and carrots, just satisfies a hunger like many other comfort foods. And that is a good way to look at this dish – a satisfying comfort food that you can make at home faster than your nearest joint can deliver! Using leftover rice insures it fries nicely without turning into a ‘stuck to the bottom of the pan’ mess. With just a few ingredients alongside the leftover rice, this dish comes together almost on its own. Are you ready to give your belly something you both will enjoy? If so, read on! Save Print…
While researching something new and different to make with pork tenderloin, I cam across this Serious Eats recipe for Daeji Bulgogi. If the description was not enough to convince me to try this dish, the pictures sure were. Also, this dish allows me to use my new Korean BBQ grill pan if the weather does not allow me to use the grill – which was the case. I really enjoyed this simple grilled pork tenderloin dish. The robust heat from the gochujang and kimchi paired very nicely with the briny sweetness of the pickled carrots. The lettuce made a perfect wrap while the rice added just the right amount of body to really satisfy. Overall this dish is super simple to make – provided you plan it a…
Here is a holiday meal that I believe is a wonderful change from turkey or ham. I decided to give this recipe a trial run (sorry holiday guests!) for my Christmas dinner. I figured it would make holiday cooking a bit easier as I could prepare the roast for cooking a day or two ahead, vacuum seal, and refrigerate it. Then on Christmas Day, I could cook it in a sous vide water bath and once done, it would only need to be seared before serving. The pinwheel slices are festive and special, especially when paired with this Balsamic Rosemary Cranberry Sauce. Is it a little bit more work than the average meal? Sure… but aren’t you and your family/guests worth that effort. This…
Tonight’s pasta dish is another one of those staples found in most Italian restaurants and has about as many differing recipes. I based my recipe on the America’s Test Kitchen version which uses three types of pepper to give this sauce its signature kick. According to my research, ‘arrabbiata’ is used to describe the spiciness of this dish, claiming it to be ‘angry’. Now I did not want the dish to be so hot and intense that all the other aspects of the dish are lost. I desired a notable spiciness with a subtle sweetness and fulfilling umami undertones to deliver a robust, flavor packed meal. The heat in this version sneaks up nicely on you and you know it…
Tonight’s dinner is an Italian classic – spaghetti alla carbonara. This dish of few ingredients produces a wonderfully robust meal. Like Pasta all’Amatriciana and Pasta Putannesca, this recipe is about quality ingredients and timing. I used David Leite’s recipe from his blog Leite’s Culinaria. He has an engaging post about the origins of this dish – rumored to have been created by coal miners – so I’ll defer to his research and expertise on that subject. But I will dive into this dish with enthusiasm. Getting the timing right on this recipe is not as hard as you may think if we use a little trick when cooking the noodles. I used a large skillet instead of a…
Tonight’s dish is the test for my new Loki Smart WiFi Meat Thermometer – a smoked pork shoulder. This dish is one that has many uses – pulled pork for sandwiches, pork fried rice, or even chili verde enchiladas. What would you like to see me make with this dish? I started with brining the meat like I did in this post, except I substituted 1 1/2 teaspoons of Berbere spice blend for the myriad of spices I used earlier. Now that the weather is getting warmer, I plan to spend more time smoking and grilling dishes, so you have been warned! But for now, let’s get busy on this smoked pork shoulder…. The brined pork shoulder has been patted dry, coated…