Pork cacciatora

We are getting into the school year with soccer practice, band rehearsals, running kids to school events and of course, work.  I picked up the cookbook "The French Slow Cooker" with the idea that we can shorten our dinner prep and steer clear of fast food.  For us, so far, making the dinner the day before has been best.  I have to be at work for the next couple of months at 5:30 in the morning.  I can barely get my coffee and myself dressed that early, so needless to say, I am not getting up to saute some meat and veggies to go in the crockpot.  Instead I do it when I get home at 2.  It is then finished about the time Sanford gets home from work, so he can do the finishing touches.  Any way that you do it, I am happy to bring the crockpot back out.

We changed up this recipes a little, using what we had on hand.  We got home last night at 8:45, everyone was starving, so no time was taken to get a picture.  This was really tasty.  The recipe calls for country pork ribs, but we had thawed some pork shoulder so that's what we used.  It would also be good with chicken thighs.

Dry 3# pork shoulder.  Cut into slices about 1 inch thick, 1 inch wide and 4-5 inches long.  Brown in 2 tbsp olive oil.  Put in slow cooker.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pour off all but 2 tbsp fat (I didn't have more than that) and brown 2 onions, thinly sliced.  Cook 10 minutes.  Stir in 1 cup tomato puree, 3 minced garlic cloves, 2 tbsp tomato paste, 1/2 tsp herbes de Provence and a pinch of ground allspice.  Bring to a simmer, stir.  Pour over meat.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.  Add 8 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms in the last 30 minutes.  Discard any bones, skim any fat and serve hot, sprinkled with parsley.  Serve over polenta.

Overnight pizza dough.

Here's another pizza dough which I am in love.  This one requires a little more preplanning since it is made overnight.  But, the recipe is so large that it makes 6-7 12 inch dough balls, so I have some in the freezer.  This crust was different than the last one I blogged.  It's hard to tell all the difference, because one was cooked on the grill and this was in the oven.  I still think the other pizza dough is great if you want pizza in a couple of hours, but if you have the time and are looking for a thin cracker like crust with a little chew, then this is the one.

This recipe comes from the book Rustic Italian Food.  I used King Arthur all purpose flour.  I think this flour has improved all of my breads/pizzas.  It is recommended.  If you don't have that available the book says to choose a high protein flour.  Also, I know that salt kills yeast, but I never applied that fact when baking.  I have always added the salt shortly after adding the yeast.  That is a no no.  One last thing, I measured my ingredients by weight instead of using measuring cups.  I think this is better too and thanks to my scale from inlaws, I can do it much more accurately now.

Romano Pizza Dough

Mix 750grams flour, 25 grams sugar, 3.5 grams instant yeast, 355 grams cold water, and 60 grams extra virgin olive oil in the bowl of your kitchenaid.  (you can mix and knead this by hand).  Using dough hook mix on low about 4 minutes.  Increase to med and mix another 4 minutes.  Add 15 grams of salt and mix another 3 minutes.  Dough should be very soft and stretchy.  

Cut into 6 or 7 pieces.  Put on a floured board, cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

At this point, I wrapped some in plastic wrap and they are stored in the fridge.  Let pizza that you are using sit at room temperature for an hour.  Roll out pizza to 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick.  Top and bake as you like. 

I baked the pizza at 500 degrees (preheated for 30 minutes with stone in oven) for 7 minutes.  Probably could have upped it to 9-10 minutes.

Pizza crust

My father-in-law made this pizza crust when he last visited us.  It was truly some of the best pizza crust I have ever had.  Last night we decided to try it again, but this time on the grill.  I loved it.  Here's his recipe

Put 2 1/2 cups bread flour, 1 tsp yeast and 2 tsp salt in the food processor and pulse a few times.  With the motor running, add 1 cup warm water and 2 tbsp olive oil.  Let blend 30 seconds.  Knead on a lightly floured surface for about a minutes.  Let rise 2 hours.  We divided it into 6 dough balls.  Let rest about 5 minutes.  Roll out the pizzas.  Brush with olive oil.  Place olive oil side down on hot grill.  Let cook a couple of minutes.  Flip, brush with olive oil and add toppings.  Grill a couple of minutes with the lid down.

Quick scones

The boys had a sleepover so I wanted to make a quick easy breakfast without going to the store.  These scones were not pretty, but surprisingly easy.  (The pretty ones were eaten before I got the chance).

Preheat oven to 425

Mix 2 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt.

Mix in 4 tablespoons very soft butter.  Mix with your fingers until crumbly.

Add 1/3 rounded cup sugar and stir.  

Add 1/4 cup butter milk and form into a ball.  Press out until about 3/4 inch thick.  Cut into circles with a glass.

Put on a oiled and floured pan.  

Brush the top with heavy cream and sprinkle with a little sugar.

Bake 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned.

Quick and easy ciabatta

This recipe came from the website www.peasepudding.com  This turned out a beautiful crusty ciabatta with very little effort.  It was so easy I am making it again tonight.

Ciabatta

In a bowl mix 500g of flour, 1/2 tsp sugar and 1 1/2 tsp yeast.  Mix.  Add 450ml warm water.  Mix with dough hook for about 5 minutes.  (I added this step so that the yeast can get incorporated into the dough, so that the salt won't kill it)        Add 1 1/2 tsps salt.  Stir with dough hook for 5-10 minutes.  It's pretty soupy at this point.  Then pull on the dough and slap it back down.  Continue to do this for a couple of minutes, to create air pockets. (If you wet your hands first, instead of flouring them, the dough sticks a little less)   Pour about a tbsp olive oil over the top and allow it pour down the sides of the dough.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise one hour or until doubled in size.  Fold into a ciabatta loaf, gently, and place on floured parchment paper.  Let rise another hour, covered with a towel.

Preheat oven to 395 degrees for 30 minutes.  Bake 30-40 minutes.

More Cuba

I am inspired by our dinner party to make more Cuban food.  The recipes for the next few days are from The Cuban Kitchen.  These recipes are a good start, but I like a little more pizzazz from my food.

Black Bean Soup at Victor's Cafe:

Wash and soak 1 pound dried black beans with 1 green bell pepper, seeded and halved in 10 cups of water overnight.  Cook the beans in the same water (remove pepper) for 45 minutes.  ( I pressure cooked them for 3 minutes).  In a different pan heat 1/4 cup olive oil.  Fry 4 minced garlic cloves, 1 med chopped onion, the bell pepper, chopped and one bay leaf.  Add the cooked black beans with the liquid to the onion.  Add salt to taste (it took a lot), 1 tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp dry white wine.  Simmer for another 30 minutes.  ( I let it go for about an hour to help develop some flavor)

Red Beans

Wash and soak 1 pound of dried red beans with 1 green pepper, halved and seeded in 10 cups water overnight.  Cook beans in same water for 45 minutes.  Add  2 cups peeled and diced potatoes and 1/2 cup chopped butternut squash in the last 20 minutes.  (I put it all in the pressure cooker at the same time and cooked for 3 minutes.)  Chop the green pepper.  In a large pot, heat 1/4 cup olive oil.  Saute 4 minced garlic cloves, 1 med onion, chopped, 1 chorizo sausage, peeled and sliced and a bay leaf.  Cook for about 7 minutes.  Add the beans.  Stir.  Add salt (again quite a bit) to taste, 1 tbsp sugar, and 2 tbsp white wine.  Simmer until done.  (I let it simmer for about 1 hour)

Beans and Rice

This recipe is supposed to be traditional, but when I make it again I will use more of the soup. The recipe is the same whether you use the red or black beans.   It was a little dry.  Tonight with leftovers I will pour some of Tracy's mojo sauce on it (from yesterday's blog).  I made a different recipe for the mojo.  Hers was much better.

Strain 2 cups of either of the above soups.  Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in pan.  Put in 2 whole garlic cloves.  Cook them until golden, then remove the garlic.  (I might just mince the garlic the next time and leave it in).  Add 2 cups of rice.  Stir 30 seconds.  Add 2 cups water and the liquid from the soup to the rice along with salt to taste.  Stir.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover for 20 minutes.  Add the reserved beans from the soup and stir.  Cover and cook another 10 minutes.  Garnish with lemon.

Roast Pork

Cut an 8 pound pork shoulder roast into 2 pieces.  Make slits into the roast all over.  Make a marinade with 8 garic cloves, salt, pepper, 2 tsp dried oregano, 2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tbsp olive oil.  Rub into roast.  Pour 2 cups juice from sour oranges and marinate 2 hours or overnight.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Drain the pork, reserving the marinade.  Put roasts in roasting pan.  Cook for 1 hour, turning.  Reduce oven to 300 degrees.  Put 1 thinly sliced onion on top of the roast.  Pour reserved marinade over the top.  Cover with foil and bake another 1 1/2 hours.  Remove foil and cook another 30 minutes.  Let stand 15 minutes. 

Sunday Night Supper Club: Cuba

Katie and Andy's empanadas.  Recipe to come.

and their delicious dipping sauce.

Ellen's grilled eggplant and zucchini

 

 

 

Chicken Fricasse. 

Chicken consomme:  Put in 3-4 pounds chicken pieces (I used a bunch of chicken backs that Sanford has been saving) in a large pot along with 1 peeled and chopped onion, 2 cups peeled and chopped carrots, 3 garlic cloves, 6 med tomatoes, peeled and chopped, 1 seeded and chopped green bell pepper, 1 tsp pepper and salt, 8 cups of water and a pinch of paprika.  Let set for 30 minutes.  Then bring to a boil and reduce heat.  Simmer partially covered for 40 minutes.  Strain and set aside.

Chicken Fricassee:  Mix 4 pounds of chicken parts (we used legs) along with the juice of one orange, one lemon, 3 minced garlic cloves and refrigerate for 2 hours.  Heat 1/4 cup oil and brown chicken in batches.  Add marinade to oil.  Put chicken back in the pan.  Add 1 med chopped onion, 1 seeded and chopped green bell pepper, 1 spring chopped parsley.  Stir and cook for a couple of minutes.  Add 1 cup tomato sauce, 2 cups of the above chicken consomme, 1 cup diced city ham, 1/2 cup rinsed capers.  Stir and cook for a couple more minutes.  Add 1 cup dry white wine and salt and pepper to taste.  Add 1/2 pound peeled and diced potatoes.  Cover, bring to a simmer and reduce heat.  Simmer about 45 minutes.  I then took the cover off and reduced it a little.  Serve over white rice.

Perfect Cuban white rice:  In a med saucepan heat 1 tbsp veg oil.  Add 2 garlic cloves.  Saute until golden.  Remove garlic and add 1 cup long grain rice to oil. Stir and cook 30 seconds.  Add 2 cups water and 1 tsp salt.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer.  Cover and cook for 25 minutes.  Fluff and serve.

These recipes all came from The Cuban Kitchen

Yucca and mojo

Yucca:  Cook yucca in salted water until tender, about 30 minutes.

Mojo sauce:  Mix 1 cup sour orange (6 oz orange juice and 2 oz lemon juice) with 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 tbsp melted butter, 4 minced garlic cloves, 2 tbsp minced onion, 1 tsp salt, pepper to taste and let sit for one hour or longer.  (I think this mojo should be a staple in your kitchen)

Cuban Rum

These are Kurt's tasty Cuban sandwiches.  I want to take these in my lunch every day.

Mango salsa.

Josie's Cuban bruschetta:  Cuban bread with cream cheese (I think) and roasted red pepper and avocado.

Sam's rice pudding.  His recipe:  "It is just milk and rice.  And cinnamon"

This was a tasty, spicy pork dish.  Please put the recipe in the comments!

Mary Beth and Pete's shrimp casserole can be found at:     http://www.tasteofcuba.com/shrimpcasserole.html

Sleeping Olive.

Lucky to have Kemper in town!

Alex and Tracy left with a little of Kemper's work.

Popping shoes.

The last of day of Sammy's stache

Girls

Emma Jo

Boys outside.

Dri

This led to a very big headache.

Laura

Fun to meet new people!

Theo

Great night!

Aftermath

On the way to supper club.

This month's supper club was hosted by the lovely Werths.