Nothing could be finer....

     "Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina..."  so the song goes.  And one of life's finest comfort foods is North Carolina Pulled Pork.  I have found a wonderful recipe for an authentic pulled pork from the Tar Heel State that creates a succulent, smoky meat with a tangy vinegar-based sauce.  The secret to the recipe, claims America's Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Revolution cookbook, is to cook the pork with smoked ham hocks.  

     Here is the recipe:

North Carolina Pulled Pork

6 Tbsp dark brown sugar (divided)                      3 smoked ham hocks, rinsed

1/4 cup sweet paprika                                           2 cups low sodium chicken broth

2 Tbsp chili powder                                               1 cup cider vinegar

1 Tbsp ground cumin                                            3/4 cup ketchup

salt & pepper                                                          1 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
                                           1-5 pound boneless pork butt roast
                                           trimmed and quartered

1. Combine 3 tablespoons sugar, paprika, chili powder, cumin, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 tablespoon pepper in bowl.  Using fork, prick pork all over, Rub sugar mixture over pork, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 8 to 24 hours.

2. Place ham hocks in slow cooker.  Unwrap pork and place on top of hocks.  Pour broth over pork, cover, and cook until pork is tender, 9 to 11 hours on low or 5 to 7 hours on high.

3. Transfer pork and hocks to large bowl, let cool slightly, then shred into bite-size pieces, discarding skin, bones, and excess fat; cover to keep warm.  Let braising liquid settle for 5 minutes, then remove fat from surface using large spoon (or fat separator-Vinny note).

4. Strain liquid into medium saucepan and simmer until thickened and measures 1 cup, 20 to 30 minutes.  Whisk in vinegar, ketchup, liquid smoke, and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and bring to simmer.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Toss shredded pork with 1 1/2 cups sauce; add more sauce as needed to keep meat moist. Serve with remaining sauce.

5 Good Reasons

     I've been given the task of preparing enough Carolina Pulled Pork for 40 people who will be attending a retirement party this Friday.  Initially that sounded like a pretty tall order.  But with my trusty crock pot it will be a breeze.  Last week the website HellaWella gave 5 good reasons to love your crock pot.  Here they are:

1.  Versatility-You can cook just about anything in a Crock-Pot, from French dip and pulled pork sandwiches, to turkey breasts, to soups and stews.  The slow cooker knows no bounds, leaving you free to explore and invent new recipes as you go.

2. Melt-in-your-your mouth meat-Operating a Crock-Pot on low heat over a prolonged period of time produces tender meat that hasn't dried out in a blazing hot oven.  You can cook large cuts of meal all day in slow cookers, using the higher setting only when you need to speed things up.  The result: easily shreddable chicken breasts or short ribs so tender that the meat falls off the bone.

3. The lazy man's kitchen appliance-By and large, using a Crock-Pot is quite the laissez-faire endeavor.  Popular with moms (and dads) the world over, it allows you to play a spectator role in the cooking process, simply requiring a stir here or a basting there.  So turn it on and go about your day -- you won't be spending it in the kitchen.

4.  Awesome flavor-Cooking dishes for six or eight hours melds flavors together in a way that just doesn't happen if you're rushing through the cooking process.  This is especially true of dishes like chili, which often taste better on the second day.

5.  Less mess-Crock-Pot cooking usually involves, well, throwing all the ingredients into a giant Crock-Pot.  No need for saute pans or soup pots cluttering up the stove.  And as every home cook knows, the one-pot method is a godsend when it comes to cleaning up.

Tomorrow:  My recipe for a tangy Crock Pot North Carolina Pulled Pork!

Slumgullion

     On Friday I posted about winter stews and was intrigued by one of them.  I had never heard of slumgullion before and over the weekend did some research on the topic.  It seems that Colorado miners were not the first to use the term for the meal that reminded them of the muddy deposits remaining at their mining sluice.  The English and Irish also used the term as did Pirates and Pioneers to describe what they considered an unappetizing liquid concoction similar to what we know as goulash today.

  Apparently the root "slum" is akin to our word "slime" and "gullion" translates roughly to "cesspool."  So it is safe to say that the term, otherwise used to describe the watery refuse of blood and oil that drains from whale blubber as it is being processed, is a pejorative term for for a stew.



     No single recipe stands out for this creation.  Rather, it is a "clean out the refrigerator, everybody in the pool" sort of dish.  Whatever's on hand will suffice.  I have reviewed recipes that call for rice or potatoes, or pasta that can be boiled or baked, and includes any number of meat possibilities.  Here are two interesting options:

Moose Slumgullion

In a large skillet or kettle brown 1 1/2 pound mooseburger and one large minced onion, seasoned with a good sized slug of garlic salt and enough salt and pepper to suit.

When meat is nicely browned, add a #2 1/2 can of tomatoes or tomato puree.

Simmer about an hour and add one package of previously cooked spaghetti or noodles.  

Season to taste and serve.

Redfern Slumgullion Stew

1 large onion, peeled & chopped                             1 can tomato paste

4-6 cloves, peeled &  chopped                                4 slices bacon, cut into small bits

1 med size yellow beet, peeled & chopped            4 Tbsp olive oil

4 med size yellow potatoes, peeled & chopped    6 cups chicken broth

6 carrots, peeled & chopped                                   1 pkg Asiago fennel chicken sausage

salt and pepper to taste                                                  cut into bite sized pieces

Start with olive oil and uncooked bacon bits in a pot.  heat on medium heat until bacon starts to release its fat.  Add all peeled and chopped vegetables. Saute till lightly browned.

Add tomato paste and chicken broth.  Simmer for several hours until vegetables are done.

About 20 minutes before serving, add sliced Asiago fennel chicken sausage and salt and pepper.

Serve with baking powder biscuits.

 

 



In a Stew

     Winter is a great time to make stew.  First it warms the kitchen with a delightful aroma and then it warms the body as the family gathers around the table at mealtime.  Beef stew is perhaps the most familiar winter classic.  But there are many others that vary by both ingredients and geography.  Cook's Country magazine in its December/January issue describes five regional favorites:

Mulligan:  The catchall term for catchall stews.  "Mulligan" has imprecise origins.  Mulligan stew's similarity to Irish stew (mutton, potatoes, and vegetables) suggests a connection to Ireland, where "Mulligan," according to linguist Henry Hitchings, is used as a generic (and often negative) term for Irishmen.

Brunswick:  Towns in Virginia, Georgia and North Carolina all lay claim to this stew.  But food historian John Egerton has dismissed them all.  "there was Brunswick stew before there was a Brunswick."  Native Americans have been stewing squirrel, rabbit with other ingredients for centuries.

Burgoo:  A Works Progress Administration study set this Kentucky's stew's origins in the 19th Century, hailing a crafty Confederate army cook who put "potatoes, tomatoes, onions, some cabbage, twenty-nine blackbirds, three crows, a goose, several hens, and a shoat (a young pig)" in a powder kettle and set it to simmer.

Booya:  Walloon speaking Belgian immigrants settled the area around Green Bay, Wisconsin in the 1850s where they started serving this stew of oxtails, beef, chicken, cabbage, beans, kohlrabi and rutabaga.

Slumgullion:  Miners in the Rockies called their stew slumgullion, a word also used to describe the muddy slough left behind after gold panning.  In Colorado's San Juan Mountains a slow-moving landslide so reminded miners of the stew that they dubbed it Slumgullion Slide.



A Resolution for the New Year

     As we pass from one year to the next we look forward to doing better and being better.  And to that permit me to add "eating better."  For anyone wanting to hit the reset button and establish a more rewarding approach to food I would recommend a new cookbook and guide, Clean Slate.  The premise of the book is as much about how we eat as what we eat, since both affect our overall well-being.

     Focusing on whole (not processed) foods-- fresh produce, whole grains, and lean proteins--is a proven route to good health.  But eating clean also means preparing meals from scratch--and taking the time to savor them, without distractions.  That's the emphasis that the book is making.  It provides delicious, nutritious recipes organized into chapters, such as Replenish (breakfast), Reboot (juices and smoothies), Recharge (lunch), Reenergize (snacks). Restore (dinner), and Relax (desserts).

     Give yourself a present as you begin the New Year and go out and purchase Clean Slate.  It will be a new resource to help you make the healthiest choices, form healthy habits and enjoy a healthy relationship with food in 2015.

And now the Pans...

     There are many excellent food venues within the Disney complex in Florida.  But there are also some to avoid.  On my first evening there I had dinner reservations at an Irish themed restaurant, Raglan Road, over at Downtown Disney.  Even though I have to admit that I have never had a good meal in an Irish restaurant/pub, I thought that I should at least see what spin Disney put on that cuisine.  They say that first impressions are lasting, and mine was not a positive one.  The place was loud and crowded, two things I do not like when I dine out.  We were shown a small cramped table up against the far wall.  I guess that was due to our request to find a quieter space.  That theory didn't work well.  It took too long in my estimation for the server to arrive at our table to acknowledge our presence. That was probably because she had too many patrons to accommodate.  When I finally did get the menu I decided to order something authentic, like fish and chips.  That proved to be a bad move as well.  The high volume kitchen was using decidedly old oil in which to fry the fish and when it finally arrived at my table it was a sodden and soggy mass of fish mush accompanied by chips (fries to us in America) that were barely lukewarm.  Perhaps the good news was that since the portions were impressively small there was little to leave on the plate after deciding not to waste my time eating them.

     On another evening I was excited to try a different cuisine at a high end maritime restaurant, Narcoosee's.  Upon examining the menu I knew right away that it was high end when I saw the prices listed for the entrees!  Wow!  I didn't expect to be shelling out (no pun intended) $42 for grouper.  And when I saw the size of my portion I was even more dismayed.  Big plate, small meal.  It was barely larger than what I would anticipate for an appetizer.  Oh, the appetizers included shrimp and grits for $18.  And if I wanted "enhancements"with my fish I would have to pony up an additional $9 for mashed potatoes and an incredible $18 for lobster mac & cheese.

     

     It wasn't a large restaurant, seating only about 170 people, and shaped in a semi-circle in two tiers with windows looking out over one of Disney's lakes on the property within the Magic Kingdom.  That should have been a red flag.  Magic Kingdom=kids...lots of kids.  If there was any dinner music playing I wasn't able to hear it over the shouts and cries of all the infants and toddlers all over the place.  When the manager came over to inquire how I was enjoying my dining experience, I replied that it was like eating in Romper Room!



     But the absolute worst culinary misadventure occurred at the French pavilion in EPCOT.  Those wishing to dine a la Parisienne know to make reservations at the chic second floor Monsieur Paul restaurant.  But after climbing the stairs and affirming both our reservation and our dining discount plan we were escorted to a table so very close to another on each side.  So close in fact that I could have counted the grains of salt in the shakers on those tables.  The servers were snooty and condescending when we asked to confirm our Disney dining discount that had been accepted at every other food venue all week long.  They informed us it was not accepted in their restaurant.  It was at that point that I decided I wasn't interested in their Ballotine de poulet (chicken) for $39 or their Pot-au-Feu St. Jacques for $42.  Disillusioned by the pricing and the attitude, I walked out!

     The night wasn't a total loss, however.  Not far away a brand new restaurant was celebrating their opening night.  Trattoria al forno was more than happy to see us and equally glad to honor our "Tables of Wonderland" meal discount.  We had an interesting meal that began with a prosciutto & shaved fingerling potato pizza for two and then a whole roasted fish filleted at the table by our waiter.  No less than 3 managers stopped by the table to insure that we were pleased.  And we were.



Picks and Pans

     Previously I mentioned the myriad of seemingly endless possibilities of food options at Walt DisneyWorld in Florida.  On my most recent visit I enjoyed a mere baker's dozen meals while there. But some were decidedly better than others.  First, let me begin with my picks:



     You can hit the ground running at WDW and I did with breakfast reservations each morning at 7:30am.  My absolute favorite place is the Kona Cafe located in the Polynesian Village.  Despite the fact that the entire atrium of the building is shrouded in construction tarps (that seemed to be a reoccurring theme all over the parks), the Kona Cafe was welcoming with a cheerful and friendly staff.  It was more than the standard polite greeting.  The head hostess chatted it up with us for some time as we awaited our order.  Even though normally pancakes are not at the top of my list I couldn't help but choose their pineapple macadamia nut fluffy stack.  Served with Kona coffee and a sausage link it was the fuel I needed to prepare for the day.



     Another breakfast spot that I would recommend is the Whispering Canyon Cafe in the Wilderness Lodge, a recreation of the famous Old Faithful Lodge at Yellowstone National Park.  While some of their menu items can be overwhelming, there is an interesting a la carte menu that is kinder on the stomach (and the wallet).  So I ordered up some gravy and biscuits and shared an order of sausage.  Even with a smaller breakfast I still carried one of the biscuits with me.  And again the service was cheerful and friendly.  



        And given my penchant for buffets, one of my favorite dinner destinations was Boma- Flavors of Africa located in the Animal Kingdom Resort.  A bit pricey (and even more so with a seasonal bump) it was worth the splurge with authentic dishes like Mater Paneer, Bobotie and Harira Soup.  And for the less adventurous there were more familiar dishes like mac and cheese, salmon, roast beef and chicken.  It was an all you can eat event and in order to say I had tried a little of everything I cleaned 3 plates of African (and American) fare, not including desserts.



     Another good evening meal was to be had at the 50's Prime Time Cafe located in Disney's Hollywood Studios.  The decor was like going back to my mother's kitchen!  And all the menu items were the comfort foods that we enjoyed growing up.  I couldn't help but order the fried chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans.  And it was as good as mother used to  make!