A Belly Full of Pork

What happens when your Cuban-Spanish hubby abides by your vegetable eating habits day after day?

A darn gone crazy hankering for animal meat is what happens.  That's how he woke up this past Sunday morning.  With meat on the brain and a little piggy whispering in his ear.  Immediate attention needed to be paid. So no time was wasted.  We hopped into the car with a serious plan to calm the urge.  Luckily for us one of the best places 'round these parts to buy good meat is literally down the street at our local Italian market. We love their fresh, top quality products, but truly despise the lines and long wait. Efficiency is not their strong suit. Quality is, so we wait.

With carrots, celery, tomatoes and the all important pork chops in hand, we headed home.  JuanCarlos' plan was to make a pot full of pork goodness to fill his belly aching.  The ingredients might be familiar as this dish employs the same basic premise as Osso Bucco, or stew or any slow cooked one pot meal. The art of cooking it a long time allows all the flavors to melt down into magic.  It is an easy, cut 'em up, cook 'em, one pot wonder. 

In true team sport form, JC and I took turns prepping the dish and taking the pictures. So enjoy both our hands in the shots.  It was a fun way to start our Sunday together.  This recipe makes enough for 6-8, so super good fortune that my sister was coming for a few days.  Tasty pork chops for lunch and dinner.

Ingredients  

2 racks of pork chops
2 large onions, cut in thirds
3-4 carrots, large dice
3-4 celery stalks, thick slices
5-7 Campari tomatoes, cut in half
3 garlic, smashed and chopped
1 c fresh parsley, rough chop
1 c San Marzano whole tomatoes
8 oz water
3/4 bottle wine (Red and/or White)
1/4 c fresh sage, rough chop
Magic 3 (olive oil, salt, pepper)

 

Instructions

Prep all your ingredients. Add oil to the large dutch oven or heavy duty pot and toss all the vegetables in (onions, carrots, celery, garlic, fresh tomatoes).  Sauté all them for 5-7 minutes. 

Season the pork with salt and pepper and sage.

Once the vegetables have softened slightly, add the canned tomatoes, wine and water then nestle the pork in this flavor filled bath. Add the chopped parsley. Raise the heat and let it come to a boil.  Once at a full boil, cover with the lid remove from the stove top and place in a 325 degree oven for 2 - 2.5 hours. 

The vegetables will get soft and almost dissolve to become part of the rich and sweet tasting sauce.

The pork will be fork tender. You can serve it family style in a large platter floating among all the vegetables and juices.

Or plate it up with a side of greens such as broccoli rabe, or broccolini. 

For a starch, go ahead and make some pappardelle or mashed potatoes.  This is a hearty, rich dish and it deserves to be adorned properly.

I sound like a broken record but this is an ideal dish to make for a dinner party as it feeds a hungry group. Can be made ahead and will be loved by all. And if you need an alternative to lamb for Easter meal, maybe give this a go. It will resolve any need for a belly full of pork.

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Jammin' Onion Jam

The Power of the Onion – And I don’t mean Odor
 
Onions; oh, the sheer beauty of them. Now, before you get all crazy on me and say that they give you bad breath and gas, please remember that they give you so much more.  Their versatility spans from the savory to the sweet. With layers upon layers of translucent rings, they are a super hero of flavor.  They come in all sizes and stamina. And as if that weren't enough, they are a powerful anti-inflammatory with the hallmark flavonoid antioxidant, quercetin. What the heck is that?  I'm not exactly sure but it sounded interesting and important.  Seriously though, they are really good for you.  Don't take my word, and to avoid getting all scientific technical on you, check out this link for more health info.
 
As a supporting team player, adding onions to a dish can really boost up the flavor.  I add them to so many of my dishes, but I also feel that they can be the star, too.  Here is one of my favorite ways of serving onions. Jamming up the onions to make them sweet. (I bolded that line because you will probably read it again and again with future onion ideas, as they are like children, there really are no favorites, I love them all the same.)

Onions are made up of almost 90% water with 4% sugar and 2% fiber.  We are going to take full advantage of that 4% sugar and help it along to make jam.  Of course, we'll need a few other items to coax them along, but not much more. Plus it  hardly takes any work to make these onions delicious.

It doesn't take many ingredients to make a condiment that will steal the show.

Ingredients

3-4 onions*, thinly sliced (approx. 5 c)
2 cups or about 1/2 bottle red wine
1/2 c red wine vinegar
3/4 c honey
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
2 T olive oil
* You can use yellow onions or red, and even mix the two, as I did this time around.  

instructions

Thinly slice the onions and sauté them in a large pan in oil with salt/pepper for about 8-10 minutes until they sweat. 

Just let the onions cook down a bit until slightly soft.

Once they are slightly soften, add the wine. (I usually make onion jam when I have a leftover bottle of red bottle hanging around. For two reasons; one, you always want to use a wine that you would drink and two, this is a great way to use a wine before it might have to go down the drain.) Cook over low heat until the onions cook down and absorb the wine. Since these are cooking over a low flame, it will take some time; between 1 - 1.5hrs

Pour in the good stuff, red wine makes it better.

Once the wine is almost completely absorbed and the onions are saturated with wine, add the vinegar and let cook for hour until most of liquid is absorbed.  Next add the honey, bringing it to a rolling boil for a few minutes, then turn down the flame to low and let it all get nice and cozy together.  

Pour in some acid to balance the sweet.

I warn you now, to get it jammy you will need to let this cook down for quite some time, approximately another hour or even 2. Good thing is, you don’t have to stand over it.  Just stir every now and then. At the point when there is a small amount of liquid left bring it back up to a rolling boil for 5 minutes.  The onions will get soft and the liquid turns thicker and more jam-like.  

Dark and rich with sweet, sticky goodness.

Let cool and store in a glass jar or air tight container.  These will last for a couple of months.

I love serving them as jam in a sweet little bowl.  Maybe one I’ve picked up at a garage sale or specialty store and adding it as the star to pair with cheese.  The earthy, robust yet sweet flavor of the jam makes it a perfect complement to cheese.  

Cheese board filled with sweet and savory.

Need some more nifty uses:

• a sweet topping for grilled/roasted chicken or pork

• swap out caramelized onions with onion jam to top some sliders with cheese. 

• try it in salad such as baby arugula. It's the right amount of sweet to balance that peppery green. 

• Hey, what about potatoes, purple kale and onions, topped with more onions - jam.

Pork loin, basmati rice with onions and Enoki mushrooms, Haricot verts and pan seared tomatoes.

Sautéd purple kale, onions with pan seared potatoes topped with onion jam.

Grass fed hamburger sliders with Gouda cheese, onion jam on a bed of baby arugula.

Alright, go ahead and test it on everything until you find something that it doesn’t work well with. (And then let me know.)  Some suggestions on serving this.  Use cold or at room temp when pairing with cheese. Warm it up slightly when using it with warm food.

Enjoy the power of onions.  I promise these won’t give you bad breath or drive away friends.  In fact, I would wager to say that you will actually make a few. 

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Roasted & Spiced Cabbage Slabs

Sometimes plain. Sometimes not.
Sometimes spiced, making it hot.

This little rhyme reminded me of an old commercial for chocolate bars. 
'Sometimes you feel like a nut. Sometimes you don't.' 

I realized it's exactly the same when adding spices. Sometimes you feel like spicing things up a bit while others times not.  It got me thinking about the last few recipes I posted.  In the category of 'sometimes plain', my recent post for a quick, pull together stir fry didn't utilize any spices. That recipe was all about letting the vegetables do the talking.  In the 'sometimes not' category, my recipe for cauliflower was all about zinging up the veg and making them sing.

Although I'm not feeling like a nut, I am definitely yearning more spice lately.  It could just be 2018, as many things are being spiced up for me this year. My 2017 was a bit bland, but 2018 is shaping up to be banging.

So with that, here's another spiced up idea for slabs of vegetables.  Given the recent slabbing of cauliflower and dousing with spices, the heads of cabbage were destined to meet the same fate.

Normally, my first 3 thoughts for using cabbage are:

1. Slaw
2. Soup
3. Stir fry

On first viewing, I see cabbage and think of slaw. Hence being at the top of the list.  Then soup, then stir fry.  Since slaw is usually cold food/warm weather food- scratch that.  Number two on the list is soup and that completely fits the cold weather/warm food criteria, and was actually my intention when I bought them.  However, I just wasn't feeling soupy. And third on the list was stir fry.  And as you know, of the three cabbages I bought, the Savoy cabbage actually did make it into the stir fry recipe. But now I had two other heads staring back at me.  My need for variety coupled with my recent desire for spice was screaming at me, 'You can't make stir fry again!'   

Which forced me to add #4 to my hit list...

Roast it, baby!

Hey, this is not such a far fetched idea.  I roast everything.  Much like the cauliflower, it was time to heat things up both in temperature and flavor.

Once again, not wanting a big fuss because I had no idea how this would turn out or what I would serve this with, I kept the prep fairly simple.

Ingredients

1 small purple cabbage, cut in 3/4 - 1" slabs
1 small green cabbage, cut in 3/4 - 1" slabs
1 rounded t each of cayenne, turmeric, paprika
1 t salt
¼ t red pepper flakes
1 heaping T freshly grated ginger
1 heaping T grated garlic
4-5 T olive oil

Instructions

Cut the cabbage in thick slabs and place them on a baking sheet and drizzle with 2 T oil.

In small bowl, mix the cayenne, turmeric and paprika. Then sprinkle the mixture on both sides of the cabbage slabs.

In another small bowl, grate the ginger and garlic, add the red pepper flakes, salt and oil.  Mix and then brush on each slab.

Roast in a 425 degree oven until soft in the middle and a little crisp on the edges, turning them to ensure they are well roasted on both sides. 

Once they were done I will admit I wasn't sure what I would do with big spicy slabs.  Certainly, they could be served as a side dish with jasmine rice and grilled chicken or fish.  This would be great with Tikka Chicken and a cucumber yogurt sauce. But I didn't have any of that made, so I packed them up and stored them in the fridge.  As the next day dawned, these spiced cabbages solved a lunch dilemma.  I decided they would be the feature in Indian inspired tacos.  I sautéd some spinach and warmed the cabbage. Grilled corn tortillas melting some cheese on them. Then filled them with the vegetables and topping it with sour cream.  Quite the tasty bite.

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Sardinian Style Spaghetti

Rich with flavors from the sea balanced with sweetness from the tomatoes paired with Spanish wine from Menica, Petalos

One Sunday morning after getting home super late from a wonderful night out with friends, we rolled out of bed at 10am. Indeed, we slept in uber late, waking up still sleepy and without much motivation for anything. But given that we hit our pillows at 3:30a, I feel you understand. We ain't no spring chickens anymore.

So after our morning coffee and a little work, starving pangs hit our stomachs and brains at the same time. JC was jonesing for pasta, and no big surprise, so was I. It was Sunday after all.  Our pasta day.  I do feel quite responsible, and delighted at the same time, as I take full credit for conditioning him to crave pasta on Sundays. The two just go together.

We truly had zilch in the house. Not even parsley, which is considered a constant round these parts. I do, however, try to keep some staples in the pantry for just these occasions.  Knowing we had anchovies, sardines, garlic, red pepper flakes, I suggested a Sardinian style pasta from our stash. When I yammer on about creating something from nothing, this is exactly it.  Scrounging around the pantry, and fridge to see what might be viable options.  It's moments like these that having quality pantry items can be your hunger pangs' salvation.

JC was up for the challenge and immediately ran to carry out our plan.  I must say, he executed this perfectly, creating a spicy, salty mix reminiscent of that sexy Italian island.

Now, there are tons of recipes for Sardinian style pasta.  Some incorporate raisins and spices and other combinations which are all fantastic. And I implore you to experiment with them. But when you want pasta fast, easy and without having much in the fridge, but still delivering bold flavors, then try this one.  It will knock your socks off.  Again, the key is the quality of the canned ingredients. The ones we used truly enhanced this dish to the max. Since I work at Despaña, I have access to some delicious products. (And you can too, the website here ships all across the country.) These tiny tins pack so much flavor that you barely need to add anything else.  I will say that both the Spanish and the Italians have a knack for producing some of the best jarred and canned products. 

JC and me in the Italian countryside. Montespertoli, Tuscany

So with Spain providing a healthy boost to create the sauce, and Italy providing the idea of combining them together for pasta, it was a lovely marriage that resembles the one between this Italian American gal and her spicy Spanish man.

These Spanish fishes are canned at peak freshness and are absolutely delicious.  Despaña carries them both in their stores and website.

Ingredients

1 - 4 oz. tin sardines in olive oil
1 - 4 oz. tin sardines in hot sauce
1 - 4 oz. tin Baby Surimi Eel
2-4 anchovies, optional
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3/4 c roasted tomatoes
1 T capers, drained and wash in water
pinch red pepper flakes
pinch dried oregano
2/3 c olive oil
1/2 lb spaghetti

 

 

Instructions

Start by slowly heating up oil, red pepper flakes, oregano and garlic.    

Add the two tins of sardines with their liquids and eels, but draining the tin of baby eels first.

Add the roasted tomatoes and let the sauce warm through.  That's all it takes.  You should not need to add salt to this dish, but always taste and season according to your taste bud.

This may look strange, but these roasted tomatoes keep in the fridge for weeks due to the amount of oil.  It keeps them cured as it congeals protecting them.  Use some of that oil in the sauce, too.  

Spoon some of the sauce on the bottom of the bowl, swirl the spaghetti on top, then spoon more sauce and add grated cheese.

Honestly, this couldn't be simpler. It's all about using a few good ingredients and warming them up so they can swim together.  Pour yourself a big glass of red wine. We choose a Mencia wine, Petalos from the Bierzo region of Spain. This was the perfect way to stave off the hunger pains and soothe our European souls.

Viva Italia, and ok Spain helped too.

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P.S. Happy birthday to my fellow Piscean friend, Dianne., who is loyal reader and supporter. And although she may not be a fan of sardines, it's still appropriate in honoring the glorious versatility of fish!

Sunday Brunch - Part Homemade/Part Not

A bounty of yum.

Hosting a brunch can be easy, or a lot of work.  It can be made up of all the usual suspects, or a mash up of the expected and the unexpected.  I am never one to shy away from hard work, but I am also a huge fan of working smarter not harder.  So the idea of creating a sumptuous brunch spread that would serve up that mix with as much ease as possible was what I was aiming for.

One of the keys to achieving success; a good mash up of homemade items with banging good store bought items.  This greatly cuts down on the amount work.  Another huge help is asking guests to bring an item or two.  I'm sure your guests, as do ours, always ask, "what can I bring?" This is the perfect time to say "Bagels, or lox".  Or both!

Such was the case when we hosted a Sunday family brunch.  Our guests provided the bagels, lox and cream cheese. While we prepared the remaining dishes. 

For me, the perfect brunch is a like a moveable feast.  As with any party that isn't a sit down meal, there should be a decent variety of items ranging in temperatures and protein choices. A to and fro of movement.  Nibbling here, picking there. Foods that can last for several hours of conversation without too much fuss.

Here is what we offered up, and what was consumed with zeal.

• some from scratch (Warm Items)

  • Pork Belly

  • Roasted eggplant with feta gremolata & roasted tomatoes

  • Apple Tart

• others partly homemade (also warm)

  • Lentils

• the rest, some assembly required (Cold & Room Temp)

  • Cheese/Charcuterie Board with grapes, figs, olives, marcona almonds

  • Boquerones

  • Sardines with cucumbers/tomatoes

  • Salmon sashimi

• Graciously Provided by Guests

  • Bagels

  • Lox with onions & capers

  • Cream Cheese & creme fraiche

When you buy quality products, the best plan is to let them shine with maybe just a few embellishments. That was the case with all of the "some assembly required" items. The Spanish sardines were enhanced with cucumbers and tomatoes. 

Spanish sardines with cucumber and fresh grape tomatoes.

Cucumber slices bring a crisp, freshness to the intense sardine.

Plate them simply and use the rich oil they are packed in.

You've seen me use boquerones before. This brunch crowd loves them so, of course, I would serve them.  These fresh anchovies dressed with chopped garlic and parsley and good olive oil always get gobbled up.

I selected fish shaped dishes for these two under the sea selections. I love the shape and cobalt color. I've had these dishes for 30 years. Yes, you read that number correctly.

Cheese/Charcuterie platters are another easy to assemble ahead offering that everyone loves.  And a perfect brunch item.  So go ahead and create one chock full of your favorite combinations.

It's always good to have a full board of charcuterie and cheese mixed with fruits, olives and nuts.

The lentils were partially homemade, in that I used delicious precooked lentils that I get from Despaña but enhanced them by sautéing onions, carrots and celery then adding the lentils to warm through.  That simple.

This group of guests hadn't had my Eggplant Gemolata dish yet, so why not make it again. I did alter the feta topping, keeping it simple and not using the sun-dried tomatoes, olives and lemon zest but adding oven roasted tomatoes to finish the dish.  It was a huge hit with no left overs. This is one of those dishes that you can prep, then cook right before serving.  The flavors are powerful and beautifully melded. It has never let me down, no matter the event or the guest.

Eggplant with feta gremolata.

A little something for the meat lovers. Pork belly, lovingly prepared by JuanCarlos, cut in bite sized chunks and simply served on a wooden board.

Pork belly does take some time, as it is twiced cooked. Slow oven roasted to render the fat, then seared crispy in a skillet.

The usual brunch suspects, bagels, lox, cream cheese are always welcome and always the perfect Sunday comfort food.

Bagels, lox, cream cheese, capers. Also served was Sushi grade Salmon Sashimi.

Eggplant, lentils and a bowl of the extra oven roasted tomatoes.

Make your life easy with the table setting.  Throw a graphic cloth down the middle as a landing strip for all the dishes. Then a simple stack of all the right plates, bowls and utensils in an easy to grab fashion keeps the laid back feeling going.

Finish with a little something sweet, Apple Tart.  And that's how part homemade/part not is done.

Create the vibe you want by selecting food that fits that mood.  A spread that spreads love.  One that invites conversation and fills their bellies and their souls.  What a great way to mark a Sunday, or any brunch day.