Cuisine: Tangerine and Cabbage Slaw

I walked in to the the produce market yesterday and was overwhelmed by the smell of the fresh tangerines. I knew immediately I needed to use them in a recipe for dinner. I had already decided I wanted to make Spicy Chipotle Pork Stew, and I was trying to figure out what would be a good pairing. Then, it hit me. Take the best of Curtido (a Latin American slaw) and add tangerines. It paired perfectly with the stew, adding a freshness and crispness to the palate. It would also be a fantastic pairing to any type of barbecue.

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Preparing the slaw:
1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
1/2 bunch Italian parsley, roughly chopped
1 1/2 jalapenos, cored, seeded, and sliced thinly lengthwise
1 head cabbage, quartered, cored, and sliced thinly lengthwise
3 carrots, shredded
1 1/2 onions, sliced thinly lengthwise
3 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients together and place in colander. Place colander in large bowl. Let drain for about 45 minutes. Make sure to pour out liquid. (Tip: If you are making Spicy Chipotle Pork Stew, reserve liquid and add to stew when you add the reserved liquid from the vegetable base and pork marinade.)

For the dressing:
3 tangerines, juiced
2 limes, juiced
2 lemons, juiced
4 tsp salt
2 dry roasted garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp smoked chipotle powder
2 TBSP good olive oil

Whisk all ingredients together.

Mixing the slaw:
2 tangerines, diced
1 lime, diced

Mix the prepared slaw, dressing, tangerines, and limes. Set aside for 15 minutes. Taste and add salt if needed. Let sit for another 10 minutes.

Serve with Spicy Chipotle Pork Stew, Mexican sour cream, and fresh tortillas.

Click here for a grocery list for the above dinner.

Cuisine: Spicy Chipotle Pork Stew

Yesterday, I was in a funk. So I decided to cook. This is what I created. It was the perfect remedy. It is very spicy and comforts the soul.

To make it less spicy, add less chipotle peppers and jalapenos.

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For the marinate:
1 small onion, diced
1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
1/2 bunch Italian parsley, roughly chopped
2 tsp. salt

Mix all of the above inredients together. Set aside for about 30 minutes. Drain and reserve any liquid.

For the rub:
1 tsp. smoked chiplotle powder
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp. spicy smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. ground red pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. ground corriander
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
3 lbs. tamale pork, cubed in large chunks

Mix dry ingredients and rub on pork. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Then mix with marinate. Set aside for another 15 minutes. Drain and reserve any liquid.

Cooking the pork:
2 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP safflower or other vegetable oil

Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat. Once oil is hot, add pork. Fry pork on all sides. Pork should brown, and there should be bits of seasoning stuck to the bottom of the pan. Remove pork from dutch oven (it will not be cooked fully) and set aside in a covered bowl.

The vegetable base:
1 red bell pepper, cut in large chunks
1 1/2 small onions, cubed
3 carrots, cut in large strips
2 1/2 jalapenos, cored, seeded, and diced
1/2 tsp. salt

Mix vegetables together with salt and set aside for about 10 minutes. Drain and keep any liquid.












Place vegetables in dutch oven after pork is removed. Cook vegetables making sure to scrape off burnt seasoning off the bottom for about 10 minutes on medium high heat. Not all seasoning will come off. Remove vegetables and set aside.

The stew base:
4 chipotle peppers (from canned chipotle peppers), cored and seeded, plus all adobo sauce
2 cans whole tomatoes, roughly chopped
7 cloves dry roasted garlic, sliced (This can be done over the stove in a dry pan with garlic cloves still in their skins. It takes about 15 minutes.)
1/4 cup water

Cook chipotle peppers and adobo sauce in dutch oven, scrapping the bottom to remove as much of the burnt seasonings as possible for about 5 minutes on medium high heat. Add tomatoes and all their juices. Continue scraping bottom of dutch oven and cook for another 5 minutes. Add all reserved liquids and cook for 5 minutes. Add garlic and water. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add vegetables and pork and cook for another 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

Beans and potatoes:
3 small potatoes, cubed
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp. salt

Mix potatoes and salt and set aside for 15 minutes. Drain all liquid. Add pinto beans and potatoes to stew once it has been removed from heat. Taste stew to see if additional salt needs to be added.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Cover dutch oven and cook for 1 hour. Mix twice as it is cooking. Uncover and cook for another 15 minutes. Sauce will thicken. Remove and cool for 10 minutes.

Serve with Cabbage and Tangerine Slaw, Mexican sour cream, and fresh tortillas.

Click here for a grocery list for the above dinner.

Grocery List: Spicy Chipotle Pork Stew and Tangerine and Cabbage Slaw Dinner

 

I didn't really know what I wanted to make for dinner. I knew I wanted something spicy, and I wanted pork. That's it. I let the freshness of the ingredients dictate what would be made. Spicy Chipotle Stew and Tangerine and Cabbage Slaw is what came through. If you want to make this delectable dinner, here is the shopping list.

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Produce:
6 carrots
4 small onions
3 small potatoes (white, red, or russet all work fine)
1 head cabbage
1 red bell pepper
4 jalapenos
5 tangerines
3 limes
2 lemons
1 bunch cilantro 1 bunch Italian parsley
1 head garlic

Canned goods:
1 can pinto beans
2 cans whole tomatoes
1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

Spices:
garlic powder
lack peppercorns
smoked chipotle powder
ground red pepper
ground corriander
ground cumin
salt (preferably Kosher)
 
Meat:
3 lbs. tamale pork

Oil:
olive oil
safflower or other vegetable oil

Dairy:

Mexican Sour Cream 

Other:
Fresh tortillas

Cuisine: Chocolate and Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bombs

I have tried a number of different combinations of these ingredients to make these cookies, and I think I've found the perfect balance. The cookies are crumbly, crunchy, chocolately, and most importantly peanut buttery. In a word, they are delectable.

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Ingredients:
1/2 cup - wheat flour
1/2 cup - unbleached flour
1 tsp - salt
1 tsp - baking soda
1 tsp - baking powder
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup - white sugar
1 cup - brown sugar
1 1/2 cup - reduced sugar peanut butter
2 eggs
2 tsp - vanilla
3 cups - slow cooked oats
1 - 12oz package mini chocolate chips

Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. In a separate bowl, mix together butter, sugars, peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla until well combined. Sift the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture and mix. Stir in oatmeal and chocolate chips.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough between palms in to balls and place on cookie sheet. Dough will be crumbly, so use the heat of your hands to help keep shape. Bake for 14 minutes. They should be a light toasty brown on top, and they will retain a ball-like shape. Cool on a rack.

Cuisine: The S. Kitchen presents... Mediterranean

Yesterday (September 20, 2009), John and I hosted the S. Kitchen presents Mediterranean. It was a truly glorious dinner with the fabulous company of Mary Kate and Ginger Snap. This is the first is what we hope to be a plethora of "social dinners".

The S. Kitchen was a monthly dinner party John and I hosted complete with elaborate themes. It was an opportunity to bring friends, family, and colleagues together and celebrate over food. You see, I love cooking and entertaining. It is a source of creativity, rejuvenation, and self-care. The S. Kitchen was an extension of that creativity and self-care. Guests always loved them and left feeling refreshed, satiated, and ready for the week ahead.


But with all good things, I got busy, and the S. Kitchen went away. I am horrible with a schedule and trying to keep it on the second or third Sunday of the month meant actually having to plan it, clean up for it, and host it. Trying to mix that in to an ever quickening schedule created stress. Yuck! It was just what I didn't want out of the S. Kitchen.


Enter the digital, social networking age. I love social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. It enables me to be connected and stay tuned with friends, family, and colleagues at my own pace. I can obsess as much or as little as I like. I can post as much or as little as I want. I feel connected and a part of something.

Social networking sites, however, are not the same as being together in communion over food. So, I have decided to marry the two things together to create "Social Dinners". Instead of having something regularly scheduled, I will make an announcement over at the S. Kitchen fan page on Facebook about an upcoming dinner and menu. If you are free, post on the wall and you are invited. I will also follow up with recipes and (in the future) pictures of the dinner. Then we can all share stories about the food, friends, and fellowship that happen in person in an effort to extend the in person to the online and vice versa.

Listed below is the shopping list and recipes from yesterday's dinner. I hope you enjoy them. And if you were there or not, take a moment and share a story about either this S. Kitchen or one from the past. I love stories, especially yours.


xoxo,
Jason


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Shopping List

Fruits, Vegetables and Fresh Herbs
5 medium sweet onions, such as Vidalia or Walla Walla
3 pounds zucchini, (approx. 6 medium)
2 small red bell pepper
2 - 3 lemons
1 head of garlic
basil
parsley
coriander leaves/ aka cilantro

Meat
5 pounds beef or lamb

Dairy
16 cups plain yogurt

Frozen Foods
frozen apple juice concentrate

Bread
Pita bread

Condiments and Dried Spices
kosher salt
whole black peppercorns (if you have a pepper or spice mill) or ground pepper (if you don't)
spicy smoked paprika
cumin
cider vinegar, small bottle
olive oil
tahini


Canned Goods
2 15oz Cans of Garbanzo or Chick Peas

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Kudban (beef or lamb skewers)

3 pounds beef or lamb cut in 1 inch pieces
3 medium onions finely chopped
2 T finely chopped parsley
6 cloves crushed garlic
3 T. finely chopped coriander leaves/ aka cilantro
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and let sit for three or more hours.

Soak skewers in water for 30 minutes to an hour.

Turn all burners on grill to high and let heat. As grill is heating, brush off excess marinade off meat and skewer four to a stick. Once all meat is skewered, turn burners to medium high heat. Place skewers on grill and grill two minutes per side (about 8 to 9 minutes total). Take off grill and cover for about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

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Hummus
6 garlic cloves, dry roasted for 40 minutes, minced and then mashed
1 medium onion, sliced and roasted in olive oil for 40 minutes (turn once half way through), then diced
2 15-oz cans of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed twice then boiled for 15 minutes in very salty water with two cloves of garlic, drain reserving water, then cool
2/3 cup of tahini (roasted, not raw)
1/3 cup (juice of 2 lemons) freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup reserved water from boiled garbanzo beans
1/4 cup olive oil, plus a few Tablespoons
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Combine tahini, lemon juice, cumin, paprika, pepper 1/4 cup olive oil and reserved water let set for about 30 minutes to an hour.

In a food processor, combine tahini mixture, garbanzo beans with boiled garlic, roasted onion and garlic. Add salt, pepper, and a little extra lemon juice (if needed) to taste.

Place hummus in a bowl and drizzle a few Tablespoons of olive oil over it.

***

Globe Slaw
3 pounds Italian globe squash, (sub zucchini) (3 medium), grated
2 medium sweet onion, such as Vidalia or Walla Walla, very thinly sliced
2 small red bell pepper, diced
3 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
1/2 cup cider vinegar
6 tablespoons frozen apple juice concentrate
4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Mix globe squash, onion, red bell pepper and salt together. Place mixture in a colander and set inside a large bowl and let set for at least 1 hour. Drain water occasionally.

In a separate container mix cider vinegar, apple juice concentrate, and chopped basil. Let sit for at least 30 minutes.

Mix two mixtures together and let sit for about one hour.