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Slow-cooked pulled pork

17 Jan

My brother bought me a crock pot for Christmas a few years ago. For some reason, I thought only people who couldn’t cook used them for things I traditionally want no part of. Like those little hot dogs with the barbecue sauce, for example.

However, I recently discovered the Crock Pot is awesome. You can put something in there that would normally take hours in your dutch oven, and actually leave your home. This concept is amazing. So with that, for all you people out there who use these things, or have them and don’t, here’s a recipe for easy pulled pork that Mom suggested when I told her I had leftover pork shoulder.

Depending on the size of your crock pot you can make more or less of this.

Pulled pork

You need:

At least 1 pound of boneless pork shoulder

1 onion

1 cup broth, either veggie or beef

BBQ sauce. You can make your own, but since we’re going for minimal trouble here, Mom suggests buying Open Pit and Sweet Baby Ray’s and mixing them both. It works. It’s delicious. I’m not ashamed to say it.

Hot sauce

Dice the onion

Cut the pork shoulder into chunks

Add both to the pot and add enough broth to partially, but not totally, submerge the pork.

Salt and Pepper

Put the lid on and let it cook on low for about 7 hours. *Drain the liquid from the pork, using a strainer, then put it back in and seperate it with a fork.* From there, you can add the sauces directly, which is what I do, and cook it another hour or so, or you can mix up sauce and put on the side for people to add as they like.

Coleslaw

I hate mayo, so my Mom offered up this coleslaw recipe in exchange. It’s tart and delicious on a sandwich with the pulled pork.

You need:

Shredded carrots, white and red cabbage. I’d say a cup of each.

Here in New York, the land of you-can-get-anything, they pre-slice this for me at the vegetable shop near my house. (Thank you K&Y) But for you suckers who lack access to such decadence, you have to shred yourself.

Yogurt, about three table spoons

Sour cream, 1/2 tablespoon

Whole-grain mustard, 2 tablespoons

White wine vinegar, about a 1/3 of a cup.

Mix the carrots and cabbage in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix the dressing ingredients.

Pour into the shredded veg and mix:

I also make roasted brussels sprouts with this. Super easy. Heat oven to 400. Cut brussels sprouts in half

A light dusting of olive oil, salt and pepper, broil till brown and crispy, 30 minutes.

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Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

6 Nov

O.K. I know this site is technically about my mom’s cooking advice, but when you need baking help, the truth is, it’s really my grandma – my dad’s mom – who knows best. Mom’s side of the family is more about cooking from your gut, grandma likes specifics. The woman is a baking genius, and she has piles and piles of recipes she’s collected and perfected. Her Christmas cookies are legendary, just wait for those.

So anyway, here we are: I needed a recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies, and I called her. She dug around, called me back and said: “Now, these are really, really good. There are  few simpler recipes I pulled out in case, but these are the ones I always make.” I jotted down a few notes and behold! Grandma Long’s oatmeal raisin cookies.

What you will need:

Oven on to 375 degrees

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup regular sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg ground

3 cups uncooked oats

1 cup raisins

Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, the sugar, butter, egg and vanilla in the other.

Combine them and add the raisins.

Bake for 8-9 minutes for chewier cookies

Bake 10-11 for crispier cookies

FYI, my grandma likes chewier cookies.

Voila!