Tag Archives: mom

Hannibal’s favorite

22 Jun
I got fresh fava beans this week. Hannibal Lecter likes to eat his with liver and a nice Chianti, but frankly I can’t stand the consistency of organ meat, so we settled instead on red snapper, which I’ll explain below.
Turns out, fava beans are a lot of work for little yield. You have to remove the beans from the pod, then on remove the beans from a little white sheath. We had a big handful and ended up with just a tiny amount.
  
The beans are tough, so my mom suggested to first blanche them, which essentially means to drop them into hot water with salt just before it boils, then leave them in about 2-5 minutes, until the beans turn bright green, then drain them and shock them in a bowl of cold water. This method works well on just about any green veg, and you can leave them in a little longer if you want a more cooked vegetable with a retained crunch.
I didn’t end up with a lot of beans so I also blanched some fresh English peas I had lying around. Meanwhile, I heated up 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 cloves fresh garlic, diced, and sautéed the favas for a few minutes until they were on the crunchy side, then I threw in the peas right at the end to warm them.
It also happens to be fresh fig season, which I’ll write about in more detail later. But I had a package going bad in my fridge, so I chopped them up and threw them on top of a filet of red snapper that had been smeared with a table spoon of olive oil, salt and pepper. I broiled it for about 10-15 minutes, then squeezed on some fresh lemon.
Not bad, and also not criminal. Andrew did bring Chianti home for dinner, though. Clariiiiicceeeeee ….

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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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