Rachel's Weeknight Braised Pork Shoulder en Crock Pot:

 There's more rain in store for us.  The skies will cloud in a few days and this brief respite of sunshine will seem like a distant memory.  To combat the drear of storms to come, I offer you this honest comfort food straight from my heart.  It's delicious, easy, nutritious and almost a meal in itself.  Actually, it is a meal in itself if a little crusty bread is served to sop up the juices.  This pot roast makes fantastic shredded pork sandwiches or pork tacos if there are any leftovers.  I hope you enjoy!


Rachel's Weeknight Braised Pork Shoulder en Crock pot:

 
5-6 pound pork butt/shoulder/Boston bone in or out
1 medium-large onion, sliced thin
2 large carrots, diced
2 large tomatoes diced or 1 can diced tomatoes in juice
3" sprig of fresh rosemary
5 whole garlic cloves, smashed with the side of a knife
2 dried bay leaves
2 cups red wine
3 cups chicken stock or broth
2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Season the pork generously on every side with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and sear the pork on every surface until nicely, deeply browned - (don't cut corners here, properly searing the meat really makes the dish shine.) Remove the pork to a plate and pour off any excess oil from the pan leaving around a tablespoon of drippings. In the same pan, saute the onions, garlic and carrots over medium heat until the onions begin to turn color. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the wine, chicken stock, bay leaves, cooked onion vegetable mixture, tomatoes and rosemary to a crock pot and set on high. Add the pork roast to the crock pot, fatty side up. A portion of the pork butt will remain above the liquid. Set the crock pot to cook on high for 8-9 hours. (I do this in the morning before leaving to take the kids to school). The pork will be fork tender and falling off the bone after 8 hours. Serve over egg noodles, rice, mashed potatoes or simply use a loaf of crusty french bread to sop up the amazing juices.  Meal #2: shred the pork and add a little smoky B-B-Q sauce and you've got yourself some killer "pulled pork" sandwiches.  Meal #3:  Shred pork, toss with finely diced onions and cilantro and serve with salsa verde, cheese and all the fixings for over the top chili verde pork tacos.  

Ethereal Simplicity: Swiss Chocolate Meringues

Ethereal and lighter than air, home made meringues are an easy treat that will delight the senses.  Basic meringue has endless uses but one the most straight forward, is the meringue cookie.  The recipe below uses basic pantry staples and can be flavored in countless ways.  It can also be piped in to any design imaginable.  My son Michael age 9, actually piped the meringues in the picture using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip.  He was positively in orbit that he could make what he called "professional grade cookies" with a simple twist of his wrist.  However, if you do not have a pastry bag, please don't fret.  Meringue cookies can be made by simply plopping lofty dollops of batter on to a parchment lined baking sheet.  The only piece of equipment which I might argue is necessary to make these cookies, is a mixer.  That being said, if you have Julia Child's guns, you could probably get away without using one.  Please find my Swiss Chocolate Meringue recipe below.  And for Patti, Please know that you can substitute your sweetener in place of the sugar in the appropriate proportion.

Rachel's Swiss Chocolate Meringues

7 large egg whites at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup really good quality cocoa powder

pinch of cream of tartar (optional)

Preheat your oven to 225.  Whip the egg whites and a pinch of cream of tartar, using a mixer on medium high until medium peaks form.  While the mixer is running on low, slowly pour in the sugar and then the cocoa.  Mix on medium until glossy and fully incorporated.  Fill a pastry bag and pipe in desired shapes or simply dollop in small mounds on a baking sheet lined with parchment.  Bake for 1 1/2 hours until completely dry to the touch.  Allow to cool and store in a single layer.

Depending on the size of each cookie, this recipe makes around two dozen.

      

Kiwi Sorbet With Whole Fruit Lemon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Kiwi Sorbet: green, sweet, tart and a cinch to make.  As if that weren't enough, kiwis are packed so full of nutrition , I think it can be argued that they're a super food.  If you take them from a fresh state and freeze them with minimal processing, you can preserve this nutrition indefinitely.  My kids happen to crave sour fruits which would include kiwis so we keep them around at my house whenever they're in season.  We recently purchased a giant bag of the little fuzzy fruits during a trip to the market.  My seven year old Jason says they're his favorite, so we bought a zillion of them.  Unfortunately, they were not such a favorite that he could devour them all in a timely fashion.  Not wanting to let the softening fruit go to waste, I decided to make a kiwi sorbet out of them.  If you start off with hard kiwis the recipe below will be on the tart side.  When kiwis are picked, the brix level begin to elevate.  This recipe is ideal using semi-soft kiwis because they're at their sweetest but they will need to be used quickly or spoilage will quickly set in.   The olive oil and sweetener in the recipe are both optional.  I hope you enjoy!

Kiwi Sorbet With Whole Fruit Lemon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

6 cups fresh peeled, chopped ripe kiwis, semi-soft and very sweet
1/4 cup agave nectar, honey or sugar (optional)
1/4 cup Whole Fruit Lemon Extra Virgin Olive Oil (optional)

Put the peeled chopped kiwis in the freezer 1/2 hour before pureeing them.  Put the chilled kiwis in to a blender along with the sweetener of choice, if using.  Blend to a puree.  With the motor running, pour in the olive oil to somewhat emulsify and pour in to the ice cream machine.  If necessary, chill the bowl ahead of time.  My ice cream maker has a built in compressor so I typically skip this step.

Makes 6 1/2 cups of sorbet or approximately 12 servings. 

   
 

The Trader Joe's 30 Day Health Challenge

My good friend Akiva, chef and owner of The Cookie Department along with his girlfriend Tallulah, have taken on the dubious challenge of eating nothing, and I mean nothing for 30 days except prepackaged foods sold at Trader Joe's.  Their goal in this endeavor is to "...eat their way to hotness and health".  It just so happens they're willing to keep us all entertained by blogging about the experience.  Good luck Akiva and Tallulah!  Please let us know how it all pans out in your blog memoir Trader Joe's 30 Day Challenge .

Calling All Coffee Fanatics: Latte Cupcakes with Mocha Frosting!

Good things do come in small packages, sometimes.  I've been a fan of Starbuck's Via Instant Coffee packets for some time now.  Yes, yes...I still lovingly grind and brew my own fresh beans when I have time but if I'm in a hurry and need a strong cup, I reach for a packet of Via.  However, if you want to know where this instant coffee really shines, try it in your next batch of chocolate chip cookies or ice cream. 

Ya see, it dawned on me that if I wanted a clean, prominent coffee flavor minus the extra liquid of coffee or espresso, these packets would nicely do the trick.  One of the things I love about them is that they can be dissolved in to ANY liquid even if it's stone cold.  It only takes about 10 minutes to dissolve them in cold milk for instance.  Using them as a foundation, I have made delicious coffee ice cream, fudge, cookies and all manner of confections.  After trying both, I have chosen to use the "Bold" red packets which have a more intense flavor.  Last night I whipped up some Latte Cupcakes with Mocha Frosting using a couple of Via packets as my secret ingredient.  The recipe is as follows.

Rachel's Latte Cupcakes with Mocha Frosting

For the Latte Cupcakes:

1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temp. (1 stick)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup low fat buttermilk
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 packet Starbuck's Via Bold Instant Coffee

For the Mocha Frosting:

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 packet Starbuck's Via Bold Instant Coffee
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 oz. semi sweet chocolate finely chopped or in chip form
pinch of salt

Grease or line 12 muffin tins with paper cups.  Preheat the oven to 350.  Place the buttermilk and one packet of the Via Instant Coffee in a small bowl and whisk.  In a mixer set on medium-high, whisk butter until it is creamy and fluffy.  Gradually add in the sugar.  Continue mixing for about two minutes until the butter and sugar are "creamed", ie. light in color and fluffy.  In a separate large bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  With the mixer still running on medium, crack the eggs in to the creamed butter and sugar allowing each egg to mix in thoroughly before adding the next.  Whisk the buttermilk, vanilla and coffee to dissolve.  Add the flour in three parts alternating with the buttermilk mixture.  Fill the muffin cups and bake in the center of the oven for 35-40 minutes.

For the frosting,  heat 1/2 cup of cream in the microwave on high for a minute.  Add the semisweet chocolate and allow to sit and melt in the hot cream.  After about three minutes, stir the chocolate in to the cream to fully melt.  Add one packet of Via Bold to this mixture, whisk and set aside and cool to room temperature. In a stand mixer, whisk the beat the cream, adding in 1/3 cup of sugar and a pinch of salt.  When soft peaks begin to form add the cooled chocolate coffee mixture to the mixing bowl and continue to whisk on medium-high until the frosting becomes thick and spreadable. Allow the cupcakes to fully cool before frosting.    

Makes 12 Cupcakes     

This Recipe Will Self Destruct in T-10 and Counting

The chili verde recipe below is one that I make only on special occasions.  It is a true labor of love.  It also happens to be one of my most heavily requested.  Until now I have guarded it selfishly, like a country might covet its' top secret weapons program.

A sudden epiphany or mathematical equation rather, made me rethink my miserly behavior.  My analytic process follows:  I love to cook.  Cooking has always been an expression of my love.  Loving surely does not prohibit sharing, therefore: cooking + loving = sharing.  I've never been one for math so please forgive my little foray and just roll with it.  Should you choose to accept the following culinary mission, I hope you find it as rewarding as I have.    

Rachel's Outrageous Chili Verde

5-7 pound pork shoulder roast
4 - pounds tomatillos
3 - large onions
8 - Poblano peppers
2 - Serrano peppers
2 - jalapeno peppers
8 - cloves garlic
2 - bunches cilantro, stems trimmed
8 - quarts chicken stock or broth
2 - Tbs. cumin powder
2 - tps. Mexican dried oregano
1/4 cup sweet chili powder
kosher salt & fresh pepper
1/4 cup neutral oil for frying such as Safflower

De-bone the roast and trim off any excess fat.  Cut the pork in to 2 inch cubes.  Season the pork liberally with salt and pepper.  Heat the oil in a large skillet.  Fry the pork in batches without overcrowding the pan.  Brown the pieces deeply on each side to create a dark crust on all surfaces.  Remove the pork and reserve.  Peel the tomatillos and place them along with the peppers on a sheet pan.  Broil them until they are blistered and charred, turning them to allow for even charring on all sides.  Alternatively, you can roast them on the grill.  Once the vegetables are nicely charred, remove them from heat.  Meanwhile finely chop the onions and garlic.  Over medium heat saute the onion and garlic mixture in the same pan as the pork scraping up any browned bits from the bottom.  Add the cumin and oregano and chili powder to the pan and saute for another minute.  Once cool enough to handle, peel the peppers (you may want to wear gloves here).  In a food processor, add the peeled peppers, tomatillos and cilantro in batches until finely pureed.  In a large (12+ quart) stockpot heat the chicken stock.  Add the tomatillo/pepper/cilantro mixture to the stock.  Adjust the seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.  Add the pork cubes to the stock pot and bring to a simmer, partially cover and cook over low heat for a minimum of four hours until the pork is fork tender and falling apart.  This recipe is damn good the day you make it but is outrageous the day after.  Serve over rice.  

Serves 10-12 generously with leftovers