3eme soiree du porc

this recipe is for the weekend, as it takes up a large chunk of your day, but it has a pretty high upside. this is my take on the traditional mexican stew, posole - essentially a pork and hominy stew. i had pork neck bones in the freezer, as well as some pork ribs, and it all went in. i specifically chose cuts of meat with bones, for better flavor, and it definitely paid off - this is a hearty meal, with delicious porky flavor and a bit of sweetness from the corn. in the matchup between pork neck bones and oxtails, the former are a clear winner. for a really cheap cut of meat (granted, most of it is bones), you can't get more tender meat, with a slight slick of unctuous texture from the neck bones.

i also threw in a bunch of cabbage that was leftover from the pulled pork - i chopped it, sauteed it in bacon fat and pulsed it in the food processor to get it fine enough to go into the posole. it adds body and is healthy, too, with lots of vitamin k and c, and a good amount of dietary fiber. i left the cabbage out of the recipe, but in case you want to add it, i put in about two cups of food processed cabbage at first, then ended up adding the rest in after we'd had maybe a quarter of the stew for dinner, for a total of 1.5 small heads of cabbage.

we had this with cornbread, braised kale (i was distracted, so the kale was pretty bland, but good with the posole), and "guacamole" (insofar as mashed avocados with lime juice can be considered guacamole).

posole

2-3T vegetable oil

3-4 lbs pork neck bones

2 lbs pork ribs (country style, bone-in)

2T olive oil or rendered pork fat

1/2 head of garlic, minced

4 large onions, diced

1 package fresh oregano, chopped

3-4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

2 dried pasilla peppers

1 carton of chicken broth

1 carton of beef broth

cabbage (optional)

32 oz canned hominy

zest of 3 limes

1. in a large, not non-stick pot, heat the oil on medium-high heat. sear the pork neck bones on each side, in batches, taking care not to crowd the pan. set aside on a plate to rest.

2. add the olive oil or pork fat to the pot, let it heat over medium, and then add the garlic, onions, and oregano. stir together and let cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and the garlic is slightly golden, about 10-15 minutes. scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to make sure the browned bits don't burn.

3. while the onion mixture is cooking, chop the pasilla peppers and chipotle peppers, and stir in 1/3c of chicken broth. microwave on medium for 2 minutes, then put through a food processor or blender. add this mixture to the onions and let cook a few minutes.

4. add the neck bones back into the onion mixture, and add enough broth to cover the meat. let simmer on medium (turn down the heat if it boils vigorously) for at least an hour, stirring occasionally to make sure nothing burns.

5. remove the pork neck bones and put on a plate in one layer to cool, and put the pork ribs into the broth-onion pot to simmer on medium to medium-low. when the pork neck bones have cooled enough to touch (about 15 minutes), shred the meat off the bones. put the shredded neck meat into the pot and discard the bones.

6. let the mixture in the pot simmer for an hour (45 minutes if you're in a hurry) and remove the ribs. let cool 15 minutes, or until cool enough to touch, and shred the meat off the bones. return shredded meat to the pot and discard the bones.

7. drain the liquid from the hominy and stir it and the lime zest into the pot. let simmer for at least an hour, until reduced and stewy in consistency.

8. serve immediately with cornbread or rice.

[serves 10-12]

bacon-scallion cornbread

1c cornmeal

1 1/4c flour

1/4c sugar

2t baking powder

1t baking soda

4 slices bacon

1 pkg scallions or 3 large onions

2T chives (optional), chopped

1c buttermilk, or a mixture of yogurt, cream, or milk

3 eggs

6T butter, melted and cooled to room temp

salt and pepper to taste

1. preheat oven to 350F and butter a 9" square pyrex pan. in a medium bowl, stir together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda.

2. cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy, then remove and drain on paper towels. pour off all of the fat except for 1T; heat on medium and add the scallions or onions. cook the scallions until just wilted, about 10 minutes, or if using the onions, cook until caramelized, about an hour. remove from heat and let cool to room temp.

3. meanwhile, whisk together the eggs and buttermilk. add the butter and whisk together. chop the bacon into bits and stir bacon and scallions into the flour mixture. stir in the chives, if using.

4. add the wet ingredients to the dry, and stir just until the mixture is completely combined. scrape into the pan and bake 25-40 minutes, until golden brown on top and a tester comes out with a few crumbs adhering. let cool slightly, then serve.

[serves 6-8]

take this easy path to pork heaven

i have fond memories of the pig 'n' pepper fair in westford, ma, from my childhood. my best friend's mother ran the pepper tent, where people entered pepper products to be judged, and we helped out and ran around the fair. one of the staples of running around was getting a pulled pork sandwich from redbones for lunch: a soft bun containing a small mountain of pork, liberally doused with bbq sauce. a few months ago, while at star market, i saw a good-looking pork shoulder and snapped it up. it languished in our freezer until i finally thawed it and popped it in the oven.

it's nice to know that slow-cooker recipes also work without the slow cooker. really, it's a logical conclusion, but i guess that it's hard to leave the oven on overnight. i would be on board with a pressure cooker - i find that pretty intriguing - but slow cooker, not so much. i try not to use more exotic appliances unless i really need to, since i don't have a kitchen aid, pressure cooker, slow cooker - any of the really big-ticket items. i do, however, have pretty much everything else, and i make good use of my roommates' kitchen appliances.

anyway, this pork is great, and the easiest thing i've made in a while. you just pop a pork shoulder in the oven and cook it at low heat until it's done. i did actually let the oven cook it overnight, and it was fine, safety-wise - after all, 235F is not a particularly high temperature. the meat near the bone and under the fat cap is the most flavorful and tender, while the meat closer to the baking pan's surface adds a bit of chew. shredded together...mmmm.

i love condiments, and i served this to my friends with a few different salads, including a bit of watercress to add a bit of balance to the richness of the pork. i had some potatoes on hand, so i made a mustardy potato salad; the coleslaw was also mustardy and tangy, since i swapped out some of the mayo for yogurt. serve this with whichever condiments you like, and you and your guests will be very happy.

note: the yield of this recipe depends on how hungry you are, and how much people like condiments. i had a pork shoulder that was about 8 lbs. the pork stretches further if you balance it with condiments (and just don't eat ridiculous amounts of meat in the bun). the size of the bun also limits how much pork people tend to put on the bun. anyway, i had 10 people over and a few people went back for seconds, just so you get an idea of how many this will feed.

pulled pork

1 7-10lb pork shoulder

salt and pepper

buns

1c bbq sauce

whole wheat hamburger buns

condiments: mustard, coleslaw, bbq sauce, watercress, carrot slaw, potato salad

1. preheat the oven to 235F. rinse the pork shoulder and pat dry with paper towels, and season with salt and pepper.

2. place the pork in a roasting pan (or on a foil-lined baking sheet) and roast for 8-12 hours, overnight. your pork is done when when it's starting to fall apart and the fat cap is browned.

3. remove the pork from the oven and cool until it's not too hot to touch. shred the pork with forks or your hands, discarding bits of fat and gristle. stir in about a cup of bbq sauce (see previous post), to keep the meat moist. cover with foil until ready to serve. (refrigerate if not serving that day; reheat in the oven.)

4. serve on toasted buns, with condiments.

[serves 8-12]

liquid smoke v. EU

i made this bbq sauce to go with the pulled pork i was making last week, and along with the pork, it's quite a winner. it's mild in your mouth with a bit of a fiery kick at the end, and pairs well with pulled pork and other things you might want to barbecue (chicken wings, etc). it mellows as you let it stand, so try to make this a day before using it.

i've adapted the recipe a little bit, as the original recipe called for liquid smoke. according to wikipedia, liquid smoke is "a substance produced from smoke passed through water," and apparently, carcinogenic compounds such as tar and ash are removed in processing the liquid. however, i just can't get on board with semi-artificial ingredients like this - who knows what went into this stuff, anyway? also, the EU version of the FDA, which has higher standards, is currently investigating liquid smoke, so that's good enough for me - no liquid smoke. instead, i swapped in smoked salt that i got from the whole foods bulk section in tribeca. you'll get a bit of smoky flavor from the chipotle peppers, too; i found that this sauce was plenty smoky enough.

the original recipe also called for just combining the ingredients in a pot, but i sauteed the aromatics (onion, garlic, allspice) before adding everything else, for that added dimension of flavor. it's likely that i can't taste the difference, as my palate isn't sensitive enough, but i like any adaptations that have the potential to add more flavor.

perhaps i should have paid more attention to molasses, which is also a processed food, but i didn't. i did use the "robust" flavor of molasses from the supermarket, which is what we had lying around. don't use blackstrap, but if you have something that has slightly more bite than typical molasses, that's probably perfect for this sauce.

i am not particularly well-versed with southern, mexican, or south american cuisine, so i don't know if canned chipotles in adobo sauce count as heresy. sorry if they do, but they're important to this sauce. i even found them in the international foods aisle of star market - a welcome surprise, since i was shopping at 11:30pm the night before people were coming for dinner.

finally, with respect to ingredients, i used fire-roasted tomatoes. if it were the season, i would have used real tomatoes, but as they're still out of season, i substituted muir glen tomatoes. the tomatoes even have little black flecks in them, which actually creeps me out a little bit - somehow it looks like black confetti added in at the last moment, rather than being the product of fire-roasting. however, i do trust muir glen, so it is what it is.

bbq sauce

2 28-oz cans crushed tomatoes (2 28-oz cans fire-roasted muir glen)

9-12 ounces molasses ("robust")

1/2c orange juice

2T worcestershire sauce

4 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped (or more if you want a hotter sauce)

2 medium onions, diced

2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

2t allspice

1T olive oil

1/2t smoked salt, plus more to taste

pepper

additional equipment

immersion blender (a regular blender is fine too)

1. in a large saucepan, heat the olive oil on medium heat. when the oil is hot, add the onions, garlic, and allspice, stirring to combine evenly. cook 10 minutes, until the onions are glossy and the garlic is slightly browned, then add the tomatoes, molasses, onion, sherry, worcestershire sauce, chipotles, and 1/2t smoked salt. bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.

2. reduce heat to low and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes - stir occasionally to make sure nothing's sticking to the bottom of the pan. take the pot off the heat and use your immersion blender to blend the mixture into a homogenous sauce. simmer, stirring frequently, for at least 45 minutes longer (i simmered mine for about 4 hours, all told). see step 3 before adding additional salt and pepper.

3. if you are roasting a pork shoulder while making this sauce, add any rendered pork cracklings (the shiny, crispy, dark brown stuff stuck to the bottom of the roasting pan) to the pan. if you, like i had when i made this sauce, made pork belly recently, add the pork jelly (the brown liquid that renders from the belly, minus the fat) to the sauce as well. the cracklings and jelly are salty and will add body and a slightly meatiness to your sauce. if you are using cracklings, make sure you don't add additional salt beyond the smoked salt until after you add the cracklings.

4. when the sauce is reduced to the amount you want (in the neighborhood of 2 quarts), take it off the heat and let it cool. transfer to an airtight container and store for up to a month. this sauce also freezes well.

[makes 1.5 to 2 quarts of sauce]

bacon bread

i'm unable these days to really take on any big cooking projects, due to exhaustion from school. anything that requires more than an hour is pretty much out of the question right now, unless i don't have to babysit it - making chicken stock comes to mind. in the past few months i've either split any slightly involved projects over multiple days, or more likely, i just haven't thought about them seriously at all.

i've been thinking about this bread, though, and talking it up enough since it came out in bon appetit a few months ago that i finally decided to make it. that is, a week ago i decided to make it, while shopping for dinner with mary. i made the bacon-onion-dried pear mix actually about 10 days ago (maybe i shouldn't be telling you this, but there you go). and i had bought the dried pears about 3 weeks before that. so this bread has been in the works for a while.

i finally went to look at the recipe on epicurious, only to find that the reviews were less than stellar - people complained that the bread was dry and bland. multiple people offered suggestions for substitutions, which i duly noted. i mean, if you're going to go to all the trouble of procuring bacon, cheddar and dried pears, all at the same time, it better be good, right? beyond the rarity of all of those stars aligning (the only place at which i have found dried pears is arax, where we happened to stop by after brunch at delux town diner one day), there's the expense of the ingredients.

i was determined to ensure that this bread was neither dry nor bland, so i made quite a few alterations to the original recipe, none of them based in the science that is probably well documented in on food and cooking. first, i replaced the olive oil with melted butter - this was suggested by a few of the reviews, and i agreed, as i have often found that olive oil-based cakes are oddly on the dry side. to bolster any lingering dryness issues, i increased the milk to a 1/2 cup and added a stonyfield container's worth of yogurt (it was fruit on the bottom, so i added everything except the fruit jam). i threw in a bit of extra cheese - i got an 8-oz brick of cabot seriously sharp, and threw in the ounce and a half i had left of an extra-sharp brick. to balance the savory ingredients, i added a little dark brown sugar. i used rosemary instead of sage, because that is what we had on hand when i was making dinner with mary - you must make sure that it is very fresh, so it's still soft. i increased the amount of pears and threw in some onions for good measure.

the result is a long list of ingredients, but i promise you that it's worth it. this bread comes out a crusty golden brown at the edges and on top from the cheese - a slightly flaky, browned cheese type of golden brown. the crumb is very moist and soft - you might not need all of the yogurt - but holds up well to the "fill." i imagine that it would taste good toasted, since the edges will get even crustier. and, quite honestly, this bread is more than the sum of its parts - i had tasted the dried pears they tasted a bit vinegary to me, but that just meant that they go well with the bacon. typically i use whole foods maple-cured bacon, but this time i got niman ranch bacon because it was slightly cheaper. i hate to encourage the crazy yuppie foodies who insist on everything organic from a farmer whose name they know, but the niman bacon is actually better than the whole foods stuff - its flavor just permeates whatever you put it in. i think it was even better in this bread than it was when we ate some after cooking it. do make sure that you use a good thick-cut bacon when you make this, as opposed to a typical thin-cut supermarket bacon.

p.s. i know you would all love to see photos - because, face it, we're all much more likely to make something if we can see what it can and should look like. when i get my life back, consider it a done deal that there will be more photos.

bacon-cheddar-pear bread
1 3/4c flour
1/2t salt
1/4t pepper
1/4c dark brown sugar
1T baking powder
1 c cheddar, grated, plus 1/2c cheddar, in 1/4" cubes (8 to 10 oz)
3 eggs
1/3c yogurt
1/2c whole milk
1/2c butter, melted and cooled to room temp
8 oz bacon
1c diced dried pears
1/2c onions, diced
1/2t fresh rosemary, chopped fine
1/4t dried thyme (optional)

1. heat a large skillet on medium; cut the bacon slices in half and cook until crispy, 15-30 minutes depending on the thickness of the bacon. remove from pan with tongs and drain on paper towels. pour off all of the fat except 1 tablespoon and add the onions, rosemary, and dried pears. while the onion mixture is cooking, cut into small pieces with kitchen shears or a knife, then add back into the onion mixture. cook until onions are cooked all the way through and transfer to a bowl to cool. (this step can be done in advance; cover the bowl and refrigerate until using, within a week.)

2. grease two 5"x9" loaf pans and line with parchment paper. preheat oven to 350F. in a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper, dark brown sugar, and baking powder, stirring with a fork and breaking up any lumps of brown sugar. add grated and cubed cheeses and stir with a fork or your hands to mix completely, making sure that the cheese doesn't clump together.

3. in a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs until well. add whole milk and yogurt and whisk until combined. to add the butter, pour in a slow stream into the egg-milk mixture while whisking. add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix just until completely combined. the batter will be on the wet side. add the bacon-onion mixture and thyme (if using) and stir until thoroughly combined.

4. using a rubber spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pans and bake 45-55 minutes, until golden brown on top and a tester comes out with a few crumbs clinging to it (make sure to test in the batter, not in a piece of cheese or pear). serve immediately, or toast the next day.

[makes 2 loaves, about 15-20 slices]

the real ham king

lindsay: would you like to try some of this?

buster: [tasting] so watery...yet there's a smack of ham to it.

lindsay: ...it's hot ham water!

--

in warren, john and i drove by a place called "ham king II." unfortunately for our curiosity, but more fortunately for our stomachs, we satisfied ourselves with a slow driveby of the fairly dilapidated storefront - plastic tarp for windows, dinginess abounded. we also passed "ham cafe," which we also graced with a driveby, but no economic patronage.

instead, star market got my economic patronage when i returned from warren, interested in making a ham (not just for my own curiosity, but also for keith, whom i imagine subconsciously pining for ham over any other form of pork save bacon). well, just you try getting a ham in july. they're not so much in demand in cambridge, at whole foods, harvest, or star market. i had intended to do a ham for july 4, but ended up doing barbecued ribs instead because i couldn't find a ham. a week later, i still couldn't find a true, thanksgiving-style ham, so i settled for a bone-in smoked pork butt from star market.

the ham that keith always mentions is one i made for lmf diner de noel back in maybe sophomore year: a traditional spiral-cut ham, baked with slices of pineapple applied liberally. i didn't quite want to do just a pineapple ham, despite some great comments in pineapple-based ham recipes on epicurious: "my son even asked for more pineapple because it was fruit that tasted like ham!" and it's been a while since i've made a ham, so i felt a little like i should match my ham recipe to my oh so sophisticated adult life that i lead nowadays. i still went with epicurious - a honey-thyme glazed baked ham, which called for steaming it for a while, then glazing it for a while. i felt like the ham should still have some pineapple in it somewhere, so i steamed the ham in a couple of small cans of pineapple juice, then later used the pineapple-infused pan juices with the leftover glaze to make a gravy/jus of sorts.

the final product was pretty good. i wish it had been a bit more tender - somehow the exterior wasn't that tender, despite the steaming it got, probably due to the lack of fat layer over the top of the ham. the glaze was good - not too sweet, and not too thyme-y. i think i would add more cider vinegar, though, to balance out the honey flavor a bit more. the smoked flavor of the ham was also a good balance for the sweetness of the glaze, i think. i would have to try it again with a more traditional ham to know the effect of the smoked pork butt for sure. we had enough ham for six people, plus leftovers for a couple days.

i often overdo dinner when i have people over, but this time i seem to have calculated more effectively, adding simple accompaniments to balance out the ham. for drinks, aviators on request (or rather, to inflict on test subjects) and peach iced tea (harney + sons from last season, lightly sweetened and lemon-ed). for sides, mashed potatoes (california white - i like using the waxy potatoes for mashing) and creamed peas that i started in a bit of bacon fat and finished with shredded basil. all in all, an excellent success - the sides + ham were a more harmonious trio than i usually manage, and not overwrought at all. for the peas, i mixed frozen petite peas with some real english peas, partly for novelty and the hope that fresh peas make a difference flavor-wise, and partly because i really enjoy shelling peas. i would normally do dessert, but haven't had the endurance to do it in addition to dinner for a while, so mary brought an excellent blueberry-plum buckle.

honey-thyme glazed ham

16 oz pineapple juice

1 smoked pork butt, approximately 6-10 lbs, preferably bone-in; or get a spiral-cut ham

4 1/2 T butter

3T chopped thyme

1/2c cider vinegar

3/4c mild honey

2t worcestershire sauce

1. preheat the oven to 325F, positioning the rack in the bottom third. peel off rind or skin from ham, leaving a quarter inch of fat on the ham, at most (there was not cap of fat on the pork butt i bought; if this is the case for you, just pull off excessive fat). score a diamond crosshatch pattern into the fat without cutting into the meat. put ham on a rack in a large roasting pan, pour the pineapple juice into the pan. put a piece of parchment paper on top of the ham, then cover the ham + pan with foil so it's one closed entity. bake for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

2. while the ham is baking, make the glaze. melt the butter and thyme in a small saucepan and let foam for about 10-15 minutes. boil the cider vinegar in another saucepan until it's reduced to a couple tablespoons. remove from heat and whisk in the honey, worcestershire sauce, and thyme butter. you might have to whisk it for a bit to get the whole thing to emulsify together. let glaze stand while the ham finishes baking.

3. when the ham is done steaming, remove from oven (keep the oven on though) and discard foil and parchment paper. brush the glaze on the ham and return to oven, reducing temperature to 300F. bake for another hour, re-glazing every 10 minutes or so. after the hour is up, remove ham from oven and move the ham to a serving platter; let stand at least 15 minutes before carving. pour all pineapple liquids and glaze drippings to a saucepan and reduce until it reaches a syrupy consistency. skim the jus and serve in a bowl with the ham.

[serves 6]

creamed peas

4 slices of thick-cut bacon, cut in half

4-5 cups petite peas, frozen or fresh

a handful of fresh basil leaves

1/3c to 1/2c light cream

1. put the bacon in a skillet and turn to medium heat. cook the bacon until crispy and fat is rendered, about 15-20 minutes. leave the fat in the skillet. pat the bacon dry with paper towels or napkins and eat it. go ahead, eat the bacon. you deserve it.

2. add the peas. cook until the peas are almost all cooked through, about 10 minutes or so. add the basil and cook a few more minutes. add the cream and cook until the cream reduces a bit, about 10-15 minutes, but watch it to make sure your peas don't get mushy. the idea is to add enough cream to coat the peas, but not so much that they're swimming in it. then the basil, cream and peas all meld together with some smoky, bacony overtones; the cream will also make the peas stick to each other a bit, making them easier to eat.

3. you can keep the peas on low to keep them warm for up to a half hour.

[serves 6]

exhausted (pork v)

i am exhausted.  i have been sleeping poorly all week, probably from attempting to wake up well before my body really wants me to.  so then i'm half asleep for anywhere from half an hour to three hours, and i'm sure it's messing up my sleep cycle.  i should really learn to leave well enough alone.

but more to the point, i was going to make the hainanese chicken recipe from mark bittman's column last week, but decided against it because it would take too long.  of course, i still ended up cooking for a good three hours or so, roasting pork v.  nothing too fancy, just regular dinnertime fare.  

i'm being facetious.  it's true that it wasn't that fancy, but it also wasn't regular dinnertime food.  it was friday night relaxation cooking: roast pork tenderloin stuffed with sage and coriander seeds, and wrapped in bacon; roasted potatoes; sauteed spinach; and pumpkin pie.  this sounds a lot more involved than it was, really, and i've made all of these things before so that's where it's not so fancy.  nothing experimental, nothing i hadn't tried before, because i really just didn't feel like i had that much energy to expend.  the biggest flourish of the meal was the pumpkin pie, which i decided to make as i was lying on my bed working during the day, since it was cold and rainy outside.  

i love fall and winter because they're the cold months, and i actually prefer the comfort factor of cold-weather foods to the abundance of produce you get in the summer.  i mean, i like a real tomato just like all of the other food snobs out there, but it's just not as good as getting home when it's really cold outside and having something warm to eat or drink.  winter is full of hearty foods - stews and mashes, things simmered for a long time over low heat, pies and roasted things - and the weather forces everyone to huddle around in blankets on the couch.  the smell of fall makes you think of pumpkin pie, and all is good in the world.  i guess that since the fall and winter are occupied so squarely with thanksgiving and christmas that i associate them more closely with family and camaraderie, for lack of a better word, than i do the spring or summer.

a couple of notes on the other stuff - the pork was cooked just correctly, which was a surprise because my meat thermometer has gone missing (which is a real problem because it also goes high enough to candy-making temperatures) and i didn't know any other way to test if it was done.  i did the bacon-wrapped pork loin again, but instead of just putting sage under the crust, i also put a layer of sage inside it, with coriander seeds.  so i think that the middle layer is definitely a good thing, but in general i actually prefer pork sirloin to pork tenderloin, because it's just more savory.  i discovered coriander seeds when i made a slow-cooked pork shoulder with just onions, wine, and coriander seeds, and i like them with pork a lot; however, they weren't quite as good with pork tenderloin, probably because they need a longer cooking time.  last but not least - well, actually it was the least good thing - the spinach was cooked correctly, until it was just wilted enough, but i accidentally oversalted it because i wasn't paying enough attention.

so this was an informal type of thing, my usual friday cooking when i have time for it.  i really like the idea of making it a regular part of my schedule, where whoever is free just comes over on a given week, and have whatever i'm making.  kind of like a rotating supper club, because i need to cook, but then i also need people to eat what i've made.  the notion that people would just drop by is also inexplicably attractive; it's like we've reached that level of neighborliness that they know they can just come by.  it's like having all of your friends living not necessarily with you, but in the same general area.  the idea of people coming over and that there would be hot chocolate or tea-infused apple cider on the stove for them?  somehow very appealing.

so, to keep track, these are the things that remain on my food list to do when i'm feeling more adventurous:

1. puff pastry -> palmiers

2. successful popsicles

3. bacon-pear bread from this month's bon appetit

4. that hainanese chicken!  google it - it sounds really good

5. traditional steamed english puddings, like a sticky toffee pudding

6. winter pies: pumpkin, chocolate walnut, just any kind of wintertime pie.  but especially pumpkin pie.

there are more things on this list, but i've forgotten them.  as usual.

pork products (again)

just a brief rundown of recent dinners:

posole (pork and hominy stew)
buttery cornbread with caramelized corn and scallions
made this with c - she made the posole and i made the cornbread. one really shouldn't take as long making cornbread as i took, but i ended up making some caramelized corn/onions to add to the mixture, along with some chopped scallions. i also scrambled the extra egg white into the caramelized corn, so as not to waste it. the cornbread and posole went really well together, and make me wonder that i ever hated cilantro. fyi, i hated cilantro enough to pick it out of the batter my mother would use on homemade chicken nuggets. it's all very strange because now i love cilantro. back to the food: the posole awakened a love for hominy; i've had hominy before in cape verdean food, and i've liked it, but not as much as this. makes you appreciate having something to chew, in some odd, primal way. oh, also - i've adjusted the original cornbread recipe to reflect a little less butter, and do make sure you cook it long enough, so it's not doughy in the middle.

crispy pork (enough said)
c made this one night when i had dinner plans already; i ended up eating some both before and after my dinner engagement. oof. it was that good - essentially an easy version of carnitas. just envision this: pork fried in pork fat. yeah. i could never be a vegetarian 'cause i'd miss my pork products.

layered chicken enchiladas with tomatillo sauce
i made this last week, having made it once before many years ago when i was working in chicago. i remembered it as being excellent, and i think it was pretty good upon second try, though not quite all i wanted. i roasted my own chicken, but i suppose i'm just a pork product kind of girl.


adapted recipes below:

posole (pork and hominy stew)
1 large head garlic
12c water
4c chicken broth
4 lbs country-style pork ribs
1t dried oregano (preferably Mexican), crumbled
chili powder and paprika
1 1/2c boiling-hot water
1/2 large white onion
1t salt
1 1/2 30-ounce cans white hominy
about 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

potential accompaniments: diced avocado, thinly sliced lettuce, chopped onion, diced radish, lime wedges, hot pepper

1. peel garlic cloves and slice. in a dutch oven (c used a le creuset enameled cast iron one), bring water and broth to a boil with sliced garlic and pork. skim surface and add oregano. gently simmer pork, uncovered, until tender, about 1 1/2 hours.

2. transfer pork with tongs to a cutting board and reserve broth mixture. shred pork, using 2 forks, and discard bones if using bone-in meat. rinse and drain hominy. return pork to broth mixture and add oregano, chili powder, paprika, hominy, and salt. simmer pozole at least 30 minutes, until thickened.

[serves 8]

buttery cornbread
1 1/3c coarse stone-ground yellow cornmeal
1c unbleached all purpose flour
1/4c sugar
2t baking powder
3/4t coarse kosher salt
1c plus 2T buttermilk
7T butter, melted
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk, beaten to blend

1. butter a 9x5x3 metal loaf pan or a 9x9 pyrex dish. mix together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. add buttermilk, melted butter, and beaten eggs. stir with wooden spoon until well blended.

2. add any additional ingredients (scallions, corn, etc). let batter stand 30 minutes to absorb liquid; preheat oven to 375F.

3. pour batter into prepared pan and bake until browned around the edges and tester comes out clean, ~40 min. let bread rest 5 minutes, then turn out of pan and cool.

[serves 10-12]

crispy pork (carnitas con salsa de aguacate y salsa mexicana)
4lbs boneless country-style pork ribs
2c (or more) water
1 1/2c fresh orange juice
6 garlic cloves, peeled
2t salt
1t grated orange peel

1/4c brandy

warm corn tortillas
avocado salsa
fresh tomato salsa

1. cut pork pieces crosswise into thirds. cut off any big chunks of fat from pork and reserve; leave small pieces of fat attached to pork. combine pork, reserved fat, 2 cups water, and next 4 ingredients in deep 12-inch skillet (c used the dutch oven again). bring to boil. reduce heat, cover, and simmer until pork is tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour 45 minutes, adding more water by 1/4 cupfuls if necessary to keep pork partially submerged.

2. uncover skillet; boil pork mixture until liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. stir in brandy; boil until liquid evaporates and meat browns and begins to get crisp, stirring often, about 15 minutes. cool meat slightly; discard any loose pieces of fat. tear meat into strips; return to skillet.

3. season pork with more salt, if desired; transfer to bowl. serve with warm tortillas, avocado salsa, and tomato salsa.

[serves 6-8]

layered chicken enchiladas with tomatillos
2lbs tomatillos, husked, rinsed, halved (quartered if tomatillos are particularly large)
1 1/4c chicken broth
10 garlic cloves, peeled
2c sliced scallions
2c (packed) very coarsely chopped fresh cilantro (1 1/2 bunches)
1 large serrano chile, sliced (with seeds) (substitute 1 medium jalapeno without seeds for those who like less heat)

12 5- to 6-inch corn tortillas
1 roasted chicken, torn into strips (~4c)
1 lb whole-milk mozzarella cheese, cut into strips
1 cup whipping cream

1. reheat oven to 450F. in a large saucepan, combine tomatillos, chicken broth, and garlic cloves. cover and bring to boil. reduce heat; simmer gently until tomatillos are soft, about 10 min. transfer hot mixture to food processor. add sliced green onions, chopped cilantro, and sliced chile; blend mixture to coarse puree.

2. overlap 6 tortillas in 13x9x2-inch oval or rectangular baking dish (i used 2 9x9 pyrex dishes). top tortillas with half of chicken strips and half of mozzarella strips. pour 2c tomatillo sauce evenly over. top with remaining tortillas, chicken strips, and mozzarella. pour 1 1/2c tomatillo sauce over, then whipping cream. sprinkle with salt and pepper. bake until bubbling, about 25 minutes.

[serves 6-8]

top chef missteps, plus dinner

oh, top chef. who works on this show, anyway? i just watched the season premiere and the judges blasted a guy who had no idea what piccata was. true, he should have looked it up (and not made the thing that he made based on his childhood recipes), but then they should have blasted one contestant who made "parpadelle" and the one who used "halla bread" - both things that didn't exist last time i checked. what does exist is just this: papardelle and challah bread. boo on you, top chef!

so last night i made dinner with sonia. she had an avocado, so we made these lime-marinated pork wraps. i wanted to marinate the pork, so i made one based loosely (ok, very loosely) on an epicurious recipe for pork adobo, based on what i had on hand. the recipe is what i think the amounts were, since i just threw some stuff together. the wraps were great, though! we had ours with a bunch of condiments, which included julienned, slightly cooked snap peas, which gave them great crunch.

lime-marinated pork wraps
marinade:
2-3T cider vinegar
1T soy sauce
1T honey
1 - 1 1/2t black pepper, coarsely ground
1/2t salt
juice of 1/2 a lime
zest of 1 lime
1/4c cilantro, chopped fine

2 lbs pork sirloin or other dark pork meat, sliced thin (in whatever size/shape pieces you want to eat it in)
1 1/2T butter

1/2 large onion or 1 medium onion
1 large bell pepper of your choice
1 pkg (~1/2 lb) snow peas, julienned
2T butter or oil

1 pkg large tortillas (8)

condiments (pick your poison):
1 bunch cilantro less whatever you chopped up for the marinade
3-4 tomatoes
1c sour cream
1 avocado
1-2 blood oranges, segmented, skin discarded if desired
etc

1. mix together all of the ingredients for the marinade. add the pork and mix until evenly coated in a medium bowl. let sit 30 minutes to 2 hours. presumably you could marinate it for longer, but i don't know how much longer. probably up to a day. i tried to minimize the lime juice so it doesn't cook the pork (lime juice is used to make ceviche), but i don't know what effect it will have if you marinate it for a long time.

2. heat the butter in a skillet, and when it stops foaming, use tongs or something similar to add the pork to the pan, without the marinade.    brown the pork, then add the marinade and continue cooking until the pork is done.  the time for this part varies, but shouldn't be longer than 15 minutes or so.  transfer the pork to a bowl and cover with foil to keep warm.

3. heat the butter for the veg in the same skillet; when it stops foaming, add the veg.  cook over medium-high heat until cooked.

4. set all the pork, veg, and condiments out with a plate of warmed tortillas (you can microwave them for a few seconds or warm them in a skillet).  assemble and eat!

[serves 3-4]

a story about bacon

one day, a pound of bacon walked into the kitchen. it accidentally walked into a skillet, but jumped out after getting a little toasty. some onions took its place with a little thyme, and the whole group took a dive into pasta, finding eggs and cheese at the bottom. and the bacon liked the eggs and cheese so much that it jumped up and down so everyone could get eggs and cheese with their pasta.

it seems like many of my food stories are about bacon or some other pork product, huh? this will remain the status quo unless my roommates talk even more about anatomy classes and the resemblance of...yeah. no worries. i'm still a meatitarian, albeit one that very much likes vegetables.

this is the second time we tried a carbonara - the first time ending up not really that creamily eggy. this time, for some unknown reason, was pretty darn good - so good that i am even writing up the recipe! the basic procedure is to add the peas to the pasta when it's almost done, and i think that cooled the whole mixture enough to not curdle the eggs when mixed with it; then the hot onion mixture cooks it completely. that's my guess, at the very least.

the quality of the ingredients is key; we also tried to add enough veg to make it a little more balanced. this is not a carbonara with a whole lot of sauce - it's just sauce-y enough. we bought our bacon at whole foods.

carbonara with asparagus and peas
1 lb good quality thick-cut bacon
2 lbs onions (2-3 large onions), diced coarsely
a few sprigs thyme
1/2c white wine
1 bunch asparagus, chopped into 1" long pieces
1 bag frozen peas (about 2 1/2 cups)
1 pound pasta (shells, pipette, orecchiette, etc)
1c grated parmesan or other hard cheese (asiago, romano)
4 eggs
salt and pepper

1. fry the bacon on medium heat in a large (12") skillet. when it is done (chewy but not crispy), drain on a plate lined with paper towels. pour all of the rendered fat except for 1 1/2T into a bowl; reserve the fat in the bowl for future use. cut the cooked bacon into small 1/2" long pieces.

2. add the onions to the pan and saute until pale. add the thyme and continue cooking. when onions start to stick to the pan a little, add the white wine and let it boil off, stirring the onions occasionally.

3. whisk together the cheese and eggs in the serving bowl.

4. fill a large stockpot with water and heat for the pasta. add the asparagus and bacon pieces to the onion mixture and cook on medium-low. when the water boils, cook the pasta. when the pasta is about two minutes from being done, add the peas. when the pasta is done, drain, reserving about a half-cup of the liquid. turn the heat on the onion mixture to medium-high to keep it piping hot.

5. pour the drained pasta and 1/4c reserved pasta water into the egg mixture and stir thoroughly. add the onion and asparagus mixture and stir. if the mixture is too thick, add the remaining pasta water. season with salt and pepper.

[serves 6-8]

another foray into the world of pork

as you know, i like pork. last week carrien and josh had gone to market basket to procure beef to grind it at home for burgers, and they picked up some pork ribs as well. ...unfortunately, by the time that i actually had the time to cook it, it had gone slightly green and iridescent, a good sign for something, i'm sure, but not meat. luckily, i had bought extra pork ribs at star to augment the ones in the fridge, and not that many people came to dinner, so it was fine.

i've been a little scattered with respect to cooking, having not been in the mood to do anything all that adventurous. accordingly, i'm afraid i was a little bit neglectful of what i made on friday evening: barbecued pork ribs, cornbread with corn, corn on the cob, onions, and ham in it, peas with thyme and onions, and apple "strudel" (really, apple turnovers). most of the neglect came from not really planning it out with respect to timing - oops. luckily, it all worked out anyway. i would say that if i did it over again, i would pay more attention to the ribs. i had picked out a recipe i used some time ago (maybe last fall?) but i couldn't remember exactly how much of the recipe i had used until after i made them the second time... it turns out that while i stuck more to the recipe this time - basically, you steam the ribs en papillote with pineapple juice for an hour, then baste them with the glaze on a grill for a short period of time - as opposed to the last time, when i had no pineapple juice and not much honey, so i just roasted them in the oven and kept basting them. luckily, it takes rather a lot to ruin pork, so i would say that the disappointment i felt was really from the fact that my expectation of the final product was not what i actually got. but in fact, both versions were good: the original version i made was crispier on the outside and benefited flavor-wise by the basting, while the second version was more punchy with the flavor and was really tender from its steaming in the foil packets. i would say that you would want to use a medium-fat pork rib if you're going to steam them, otherwise the fat doesn't have enough time to completely render out of the pork and they end up a little greasy. i would say that the consistency of the glaze was also a bit gloppier than i wanted because they were in the oven and not on a grill; also, i had added the pineapple puree to the glaze after i strained out the juice to steam the ribs in, which i think made the glaze slower to cook and crisp.

luckily the evening was not without a culinary hit - the strudel was really quite good. i didn't have a recipe except for the basics: apples for the inside and phyllo for the outside. making real strudel dough is fun, but really only if you have many people or it gets old quite fast. as a rule, i don't like adding spices to apples, which generally make them taste less like apples and more like canned apple pie filling, so all i did to the apples was really toss them with sugar and lemon zest, and saute them in a bit of butter until they were browned. then i wrapped small handfuls of the apples in phyllo, two sheets to each handful. a sprinkling of sugar, then they went in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes - and presto! some really apple-y turnovers.

apple strudel
1/2 package of phyllo
6-8 large apples
~1/2c sugar - enough to coat the apples
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 stick plus 1 1/2T butter

1. peel, core, and slice the apples (the slices should be on the thick side). place in a bowl and toss with the lemon zest and juice. toss the apples with the sugar.

2. melt half of the 1 1/2T butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; when it foams, add half of the apples and saute until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 10-15 minutes. let the apples get good and golden brown - they'll taste better. repeat with remaining apples and butter. let apples cool to room temperature.

3. preheat the oven to 350. melt and cool the stick of butter. unroll the phyllo and mound some of the apples on the top sheet. brush with butter and roll/fold up, making sure that all layers of phyllo are stuck together with butter. try to work relatively quickly so the phyllo doesn't dry out, or rip from the moisture in the apples. use two to three sheets of phyllo per apple packet. when done wrapping, brush the packet with butter on all sides, and place on a baking sheet. sprinkle the top with sugar. repeat with remaining apples.

4. when done making packets, bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes, until they are golden brown. eat immediately. let any leftovers cool completely, then pack into an airtight container. to reheat, toast in a toaster oven - strudel can get soggy.

[makes 10-12 individual strudels]

pork + ricotta = love

if pork and quenelles had a love child, i imagine that it would be these meatballs. not that i've ever tasted quenelles (a delicate sort of french dumpling that is made of a mild white meat or fish, and poached), but i've always thought that they would be a much more sophisticated version of chinese fish balls. these meatballs arose from pure opportunity, as i had exactly the amount of ricotta needed leftover from the homemade ricotta.

this recipe is especially excellent because each of the ingredients plays a clear role (note: this analysis may or may not be exactly correct, but it is generally correct). the binding ingredients are the eggs and the parmesan, while the ricotta and pork combine for flavor and texture. notably absent in this recipe is breadcrumbs, which are typical in most meatballs. however, the strained ricotta replaces the breadcrumbs (this is why you have to strain it - so that it doesn't render your meatballs unable to stick together) and the delicacy of its flavor contrasts extremely well with the pork, which is truly the dominant flavor. have you noticed how meatballs invariably taste like meatballs? these meatballs still taste like meatballs, but they taste undeniably like pork meatballs - there's nothing to muddle up the flavor. the ricotta gives the meatballs a very light texture that's still meaty - ie, there's something to bite into. they're not heavy like other meatballs, and the ricotta renders the meatballs edible hot or cold (ie, right out of the refrigerator for breakfast).

so essentially these are meatballs for people who like pork, and don't like heavy meatballs (where heavy relates more to their weight in your stomach rather than their fat content). the other really great thing about them is that by some combination of the circumstances of their ingredients and the fact that they are rolled in flour, they brown extremely well and tastily, without those little bits of meatball that stick to the pan and get ripped away, then burn. so these are meatballs for people who like flavorful, non-heavy, and easy to cook meatballs. despite the lengthy directions, these are pretty easy to make, and rather more rewarding than is normal for an out of the ordinary recipe.

pork and ricotta meatballs (adapted from the new york times)
1 lb ricotta (storebought or homemade)
2-3T sour cream if you're using homemade ricotta
1 1/2 lbs ground pork, room temperature (this makes it easier to mix into the ricotta)
1c parmesan
2 eggs
1t salt
freshly ground pepper
1/2c flour, plus more if needed
vegetable oil or corn oil (not olive oil, which has a low smoking temperature)
~3-4c mild, homemade tomato sauce (so as not to overpower the meatballs; do not use any sort of jarred or canned sauce - we made ours as we waited for the meatballs to chill)

1. if you're using storebought ricotta, weight the ricotta overnight to drain it of most of its liquid. Layer cheesecloth in a colander and put the ricotta inside. tie the ends of the cheesecloth together and weight with a plate and something that's moderately heavy (like a pound of butter); put the colander on a tray to catch the liquid and refrigerate. the resulting strained ricotta should be like tofu in appearance. if you're using homemade ricotta, let the ricotta come to room temperature and mix the sour cream into it with a spoon or in a food processor, to get rid of the lumps.

2. mix ricotta, parmesan, and eggs in a large bowl until well mixed. add ground pork, salt and pepper and mix with your fingers (not a spoon, and yes, it is messy) until it's mixed together well. don't worry too much about overmixing. cover the bowl and chill for 1/2 hour.

3. line a baking sheet with foil and put the flour on a plate. shape pork mixture into balls (we did ours at about 1 1/2" to 2" diameter) and roll in the flour, tossing gently in your hands to get rid of excess flour. place on the baking sheet and repeat until mixture is all used up. cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and chill for at least half an hour, and ideally a full hour.

4. when you're ready to cook the meatballs, heat 1 1/2 to 2T oil in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat (if your smoke detector is sensitive like ours is, use the lower heat). brown the meatballs and remove to a plate; cover loosely with a piece of foil to prevent heat loss. continue until you're done with the meatballs, adding more oil as necessary. take care not to break the meatballs apart when you turn them.

5. return all of the meatballs to the pan and add tomato sauce; shake pan from side to side to coat. keep heat on medium and simmer the meatballs in the sauce for 20-30 minutes, until meatballs are completely cooked through. adjust the seasoning and serve with pasta (you can also make the meatballs smaller and make them as an appetizer).

[serves 4-6]

pork = love

after having dinner made for me on consecutive days (tuesday, bread pudding at 44, and wednesday, really excellent thin fettuccine with a roasted tomato and sausage sauce, at 24), i made dinner for 24 and 44. i wanted to do something fairly involved, so i did a chard tart from the joy that sonia had made a few months back - kind of like a quiche with much less egg and a whole lot of parmesan; braised pork ribs with sage and coriander seeds; arborio rice with onions and sage; roasted skinny asparagus; and a ginger cake with pears in a cognac-caramel sauce.

anyway, this was a totally unhealthy (ok, not that unhealthy, but it wasn't great for you either, what with the massive amount of parmesan and the ginger cake's caramel sauce) dinner, but it was really excellent - the coriander seeds and sage are a really excellent combination. after having made braised ribs more than a few times, they turned out especially well this time. and i think this was due to the cooking time, which was close to three hours. this is my favorite pork dish because it requires so few ingredients, and always tastes good, no matter what you do to it. this is essentially due to the cut of meat being pork that's bone-in - that's where all the flavor comes from. it's also a cheap dish to cook, as ribs often go on sale in all seasons, and are a cheap cut even when not on sale. add the onions and some herbs, and it's pretty sublime.

the chard tart was excellent as it was the other time i had it - it's a really easy thing to put together, like the pork - it turns out beautifully, as well, as it cuts neatly and is completely flat after being baked. the crust gets a special mention - the olive oil seems to make it extra crispy without generating too many crumbs - vaguely chewy and nicely crispy. the crust gets prebaked, and then baked with the filling inside. the filling is fairly dry for an egg mixture, so it doesn't soak into the crust too much, leaving the crust nicely crisp. even a day later, the crust is pretty excellent...mmm. this is one to make over and over again.

finally, a few words about the cake. i bought the pears at star market, and they were inauspiciously cheap (the cheapest, in fact) and pre-ripened. i wouldn't have bought pre-ripened fruit, but they were cheap...so i did buy them. but these pears turned out to be juicy even after sauteed, retaining their firm texture despite being cooked through. the cake was pretty good - not too heavy, and sufficiently ginger-y to overcome the molasses that provided much of the cake's moisture. it gets more gingery as time goes on, fyi. anyway, we had the cake with whipped cream - which, with the cake the pears with their caramel sauce is nothing short of a fantastic combination. i failed to read the recipe before i made it, and was expecting a cake that had the pears baked into it, but this was just as good. also, seemingly like everything else i made that day, really easy to make.

braised pork ribs
2T butter
1-2 T coriander seeds
1/2 package sage, chopped fine
3 large onions, halved and sliced into thin strips
chicken stock or water

2T butter
salt and pepper
2-3 lbs assorted pork ribs (country or southern style), bone in

1. pat the ribs dry and rub with salt and pepper. heat the butter in a large skillet and sear the ribs over high heat to brown. remove ribs to a plate with tongs.

2. reduce heat to medium-high. melt the remaining 2T butter in the skillet and saute onions, sage, and coriander seeds until onions are translucent and slightly browned, about 10 minutes.

3. add ribs and any accumulated juices back into skillet and add chicken stock/water until ribs are covered or skillet is almost full, whichever comes first. bring mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat and let simmer 1 hour. turn heat to medium and simmer 2 more hours. for the last 15-30 minutes, turn heat to medium-high to thicken the sauce.

[serves 4-5]

ginger cake with pears and caramel sauce
1/2c unsulfured molasses
1/2c sour cream
1/2c brown sugar, packed
1 stick butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 eggs
3T microplaned grated peeled fresh ginger
1t lemon zest
2c flour
1t baking soda
1/2t salt

pears with caramel sauce
8 medium pears
1T lemon juice
6T butter
3/4c sugar
12T water
3T cognac
12T heavy cream

1. preheat oven to 350F. butter and flour a 10-inch round baking pan.

2. in a bowl whisk together molasses, sour cream, butter, brown sugar, egg, ginger, and zest until smooth and add flour, baking soda, and salt. stir batter until just combined and spread in baking pan. bake 25 to 30 minutes until done.

3. peel, core and slice the pears into eighths. melt 3T butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat and saute half of pears until mostly translucent, about 5-8 minutes. add half of sugar and saute a few more minutes. remove pears with tongs or a slotted spoon to a bowl. add the remaining butter and saute remaining pears. add remaining sugar as before, and remove pears to bowl. caramelize sugar until dark amber. add water, cognac and cream; the mixture will foam and bubble frighteningly but will dissolve within a few minutes. let boil for a few minutes, then reduce heat to medium and add pears back in. simmer for 5 minutes, then keep warm over low heat.

4. serve slices of cake with pears and sauce, and whipped cream if you really want to punish your heart. if you like pears, you might want to up the pears per serving.

[serves 10-12]

consider pork sausage conquered

take a moment to ponder the following phrase: "sausages with sherry caramel glazed pears." have you ever heard anything more wonderful in your life? it was even better than i could have expected.

sausage? glorious. sherry? sure. caramel glazed pears? oh yeah.

then, i was walking across the street after exiting star when i realized i had no pears. i had three pounds of sausage (specifically pork sausage, none of that italian stuff), a package of sage (one can't cook such a quantity of pork without sage), two bags of peas and carrots, a box of chicken stock, but no pears. huh. i was too tired to go back, so off i went without the pears.

i had just come back from finishing a model, and before that i was at my full-time job, so you can imagine how i didn't particularly want to cook because i was incredibly tired. but i'd said i would, and invited people, and there's nothing you can do at that point. but by the end of the night - and i know this is really sappy - i had remembered why i like cooking so much.

i always hated those people who review recipes on epicurious.com, having changed virtually the whole recipe. then i did it myself, and realized that in some cases, it makes sense. i mean, i kept the idea of the recipe...i just changed most of it according to my tastes. and now i'm here telling you all about it, as if you have the same taste as me - which in my opinion is the only situation in which this recipe switcheroo works.

so i started with the sherry-infused caramel. you make a fairly dark caramel, and then add sherry (it was supposed to be sherry vinegar, but why use the vinegar when you can use the real thing? for 5 bucks, this stuff was probably fairly close to vinegar, anyway) so it stays a liquid. then you pour off the caramel into a cup, where it stays all amber and viscous. then the onions get sauteed in the pan with sage and thyme, then you add the caramel back in. meanwhile you brown the sausages, and then you simmer them in the caramel mixture. and the result is glazed sausages with just the right balance of salty and sweet.

dinner basically became a british affair: to go with the sausages, i did mashed potatoes with gravy (a chicken broth based gravy since there was virtually no fond from the sausage), and peas and carrots on the side. the peas and carrots were - gasp! - frozen, but to avoid the evil trap of boiled vegetables, i sauteed the onions and then added in the other veg. simple, fast, and serviceable. let me tell you about the sausages: the caramel sauce is admittedly slightly sweet, since it is caramel, after all - it's like maple syrup without the maple, but plus something else...the sage was definitely a good addition. and when you brown the sausages, then cook them in the caramel for a while - well, that is quite possibly the definition of heaven. they stay kind of crispy, but absorb caramel into the casing and turn a lovely brown. the mashed potatoes - made from yukon gold potatoes, per my preference and our available ingredients - are a fantastic and essential foil to the sweetness of the caramel, letting you taste the other non-caramel flavors a little better.

so dinner was a very enjoyable affair. one of the things i like best about cooking is being efficient with the ingredients, in particular, the residues: using the fond from something you just fried to flavor something else, or in this case, letting the caramel still stuck to the pan flavor the onions and sage. it may not be particularly healthy (much butter was sacrificed to this dinner) but it sure is satisfying to see your ingredients go so far.

sherry caramel glazed sausages
1/2c sugar
1/4c water
1/4c sherry
3/4c onions, halved and sliced thinly
1/2 pkg of sage (~1/4c chopped coarsely)
1T thyme leaves
1 to 1 1/2 lbs pork sausage (ie bratwurst)
1T butter
salt and pepper

1. combine the sugar and water in a 10 or 12 inch skillet and boil until it turns a deep amber color. add the sherry and let the caramel dissolve - the caramel will hiss and solidify when the sherry hits it, but you just need to stir it until the sugar bits dissolve. pour off the liquid into a bowl.

2. put the butter in the skillet and add the herbs when the butter is hot. add the onions and saute the onions until they're browned - the remaining caramel that coats the pan will dissolve from the steam generated by the onions.

3. meanwhile, brown the sausages in another pan. then put them into the pan with the caramel mixture and simmer on low heat for about a half hour, turning the sausages halfway through, until the sausages are cooked through and glazed. if the liquid runs too thick, then you can add some chicken stock to thin it (or water if you have nothing else).

[serves 3-4]