Pork and Pancakes for Christmas

I know most food blogs post lots of recipes over the holidays for the benefit of their readers.


With baby Rachel: check out those aunt-ing skillz

Well this blog is for me, and I was busy. This is not to say you should not read my entires. In fact, I welcome it, and it truly encourages me. However, if I thought about this blog as a responsibility, it would never have lasted as long as it has. When I get busy, the blog takes a backseat. When I am bored, it keeps my occupied. The most important part of all is it keeps me cooking, and maybe...just maybe it gets you to cook too. Like this:



I usually stay pretty busy when I come to Florida for the holidays. I try to spend some quality time with my friends and family that I rarely get to see during the year. This Christmas, I got to see my whole Puerto-Rican Style family for Christmas Eve and then my brother's family for Christmas Day. I even got to spend some time with my boyfriend's family the day after. Nothing made me happier than to see so many people I love in the short time I have here. A highlight included my aunt Janet's new fluffy black dog, Diva. See if you can spot her sandwiched between our dark curly hair in the pictures below:




My Aunt Janet makes flavorful, tender Puerto-Rican style pork every year for Christmas Eve dinner, but this year was absolutely, by far THE. BEST. PORK. I. HAVE. EVER. HAD. I couldn't stop eating it. I wish I could pass along her wisdom with a simple recipe and a little story, but this is something that comes with years of practice, trial, error and patience.

We had another pork the next night for Christmas night which we shared with my sister-in-law's wonderful family. Then it was time for dessertland.



Geeze.

Now, I have never bothered to includes ads on my blog because I don't know that I have all that many readers. However, I am going to go ahead and personally endorse my first product.



Without this product's knowledge or approval I am going to crown it the official pancake accessory of Bite Me Food Blog. It was gift for my sister-in-law who makes pancakes about 100% more than I ever do. The pancake pen jumped out at me when I was skimming through a magazine one day months ago. It worked far better than I ever imagined it would, and it was a blast to use to amuse my 4-year-old niece:




Check out the cutie presenting the plates with her sister's name on them. Poor Charlotte's name is too long so she just got a "C".

She was super impressed up until the point where I could not be precise enough to give Minnie Mouse a bow between her ears; she had to settle for a blue berry bow after being plated.

I am not going to supply you with a fantastic pancake recipe here because to be honest, I cared very little about the taste of the pancakes and more about the fun we would have making them. I used the "just add water kind" and attempted to cover it up with an array of toppings and mix-ins. I call it "pancake bar": chocolate chips, blueberries, bananas, pecans and any combo you can think of. I ended up with a choco-banana-nut pancake, and I must say the letter "A" (or whatever letter I had) never tasted so good.

I don't really have a recipe for you, just a couple tips. Consider them a late Christmas present: #1 buy the pancake pen if you or someone you know have kids who could get a kick out of it and #2 make the lost of your left overs.



Number 2 might hit home specifically to my brother and sister-in-law who like us, must have at least 4 to 5 pounds of pork left over from Christmas dinner. Of course, you don't want to get stuck eating the same thing every night just to avoid the guilt of throwing something perfectly good away later. It is important to get creative with leftovers, especially when you have a ton of the same thing (this might be a familiar Thanksgiving situation including turkey instead of pork). This year, I decided to use some of the pork leftovers to make BBQ pulled pork sandwiches.



It was simple to shred the meaty pieces into smaller ones and reheat with plenty of brown sugar BBQ sauce, slap it on a bun, and call it a good ole' American meal. Another use of the pork was just as part of a salad that included dried cranberries, feta cheese, apple slices and walnuts. Considering we originally enjoyed the pork as an authentic Puerto-Rican style dish, the variations so far have been different enough to keep the meal "fresh" in my mind. What's next? Pork enchiladas? sweet and sour pork? Pork Pancakes?

Colorado Pasta Salad - a Guest Blog by Jeano

I know I have already introduced my lucky readers to my Uncle John (aka Jeano).



But I think you could all stand to get to know him a little better. And what better way to explain my good humored, lovable uncle then by letting you in on his email to me about wanting to be a guest blogger:

From: John
To: Lindsey
Date: Tue, Jul 6, 2010 at 4:48 PM

Subject: I want to be a guest contributor

Signed-by ymail.com
Details 4:48 PM (18 hours ago)

I want to be a guest contributor to your Bite Me food blog. Since I am still starting up you do not have to compensate me financially for my contribution. So here's my new creation, let me know if it made the cut.
Jano

Uncle John loves Colorado. He spent some time there last year, and he was always emailing the family pictures of amazing views. Everything looked like it belonged in a car commercial. Basically, snow makes everything more beautiful.

I told my uncle that my only regret in posting this recipe is that I wish he had sent it to me sooner so that it could have been a part of my 4th of July BBQ (post to come).

Colorado Garden Pasta Salad

This is a healthy pasta salad that can be enjoyed anytime, it is quick to make, simple and tastes better as a leftover. So go ahead and make lots of it and feel free to modify it to your taste.

Ingredients:
1 box 14oz of whole wheat pasta, I like Rotini since I can pick it up in fork easily. Hey when I am hungry I want to eat and not play with the food
1 red bell pepper
1 can of sweet corn or equivalent frozen sweet corn
1 can sweet peas and carrots or equivalent frozen sweet peas and carrots
1 can of black beans.
1 whole rotisserie chicken
1 large bundle of broccoli
handful of shredded cheese
salt and pep to taste

Cut red pepper into small cubes.
Rinse black beans and add to red peppers

Debone the rotisserie chicken and add to pepper and black beans

Boil broccoli until done and add along with corn, peas and carrots to the salad mix.
Mix well and add salad dressing of choice along with some salt and pepper to taste.
I prefer balsamic vinegar and olive oil but you can use what ever you like.


Chill and serve.

BBQ Country

This is the kind of place that sells great B-B-Q sauce.



We were planning a trip to San Francisco for Sube's wedding last summer. We knew we wanted to spend a day in wine country while we were there so I started investigating places to eat, taste wine and sight-see in Sonoma weeks before the trip. If you know me, you know I like to come up with very specific itineraries for trips...even trips I am not going on. I love to suggest restaurants and places to stay with the authority of a travel agent.

Angelo's Wine Country Deli hit up my radar pretty quickly when I visited my trusty travel companion website, Yelp.com. My mouth started watering just reading the reviews posted about "all the beef jerky tasting you could ever want." They had several varieties, and you could taste them all for free...as much as you want: Teriyaki, Pepper, Hot Pepper, BBQ, Cajon, Garlic, Plain and "VIP." You could also order nice thick deli sandwiches which is something I am always in the mood to eat.



I really recommend this place if you are cruising through the area. It will fill you up so that you can feel, well...safe...tasting all the lovely wine when you make your way through the wineries.



We came away with two bags of beef jerky, two sandwiches and a bottle of Angelo's Famous Italian BBQ sauce. It turns out Sonoma was just as much BBQ Country as it is Wine Country. This little stop prepared us for the wonderful afternoon of wine, champagne, olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting throughout the countryside. And then it was back over the bridge (of course we sang the Full House theme song the whole way over).



The wedding was perfect. It is one of the most satisfying things to go to a wedding for two people who so obviously belong together. That might explain why this next recipe works so well.

BBQ sauce and meat.

Never did two things go so well together, especially when it is Angelo's famous Italian BBQ sauce. This particular recipe combines another great American love with the already happy couple, Coke.

BBQ sauce, meat and Coke. I can see you just nodding your head in complete agreement.

I have been making this recipe for about a year now (ever since Zach's mom gave me a stack of Pillsbury Magazine recipe books during the Holidays last year), but it became especially delicious when I started using this particular barbecue sauce. I think you have to find one that works for you. I am a sweet-sauce person through and through, but I imagine you could use a traditional tangy or even spicy Barbecue sauce for this recipe if that is what you prefer.

And since you know how much I love combined words:

BarbeCoke Chicken:

(a Pillsbury recipe - makes 12 servings)



1 1/2 C barbecue sauce
2 tbsp dried minced onion
12 oz (1 can) Coke (or Pepsi)
12 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Pour barbecue sauce, coke and dried minced onion in a large plastic ziploc bag (I only used one small one because I cut the recipe down for 2 instead of 12, but you should use as many bags as your need depending on how many servings you make). Shake the ingredients in the bag until combined thoroughly. Add thawed out chicken breasts to the bag and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours (mine were in there for 24 hours). Turn the bag ever once in a while so that all sides are marinated evenly.
Heat up a gas (or charcoal grill). Remove chicken from marinating bags, and pour the leftover sauce from the bag into a sauce pan. Grill the chicken breasts over medium heat until cooked all the way through (about 12 minutes).
While the meat is cooking, bring the sauce in the pan to a boil and then continue to simmer (stirring occasionally).
When chicken is cooked all the way through (no longer any pink inside of the thickest part), plate them and pour the sauce right over the top to coat.



*I cut this recipe wayyyyyy down for 2 people.

We're Gonna Make You Feel Good

Some of you from the Southeast may recognize this slogan as the jingle for Sonny's Real Pit B-B-Q. Sonny's is the only B-B-Q restaurant I ever went to on a semi-regular basis when I lived in Florida. You really need to be in a particular mood to go there. While the slogan says, "We're gonna make you feel good", what it really means is "It's going to taste really good, but you will be sorry later thankyouverymuchXOXO". I would always order the pulled pork sandwich which is served with crinkle cut fries (my favorite).

I cannot say for sure since I was never really diligent about exploring the BBQ world in Florida (it was just easy to hit up Sonny's for a BBQ fix), but I don't remember there being a lot of options for great BBQ joints in either Tampa or Gainesville. Sonny's pulled pork was my introduction to pork and the only relationship I had with it until I moved to Los Angeles.

When you move to a new place or even go on a long vacation, there are restaurants and even little local shops you miss from the town you are leaving. Sonny's was towards the top of my list of places I missed being able to go when I moved out of Florida about two years ago. Other things I still miss include Moe's, Publix, Flacos's (in Gainesville), sweet tea and Carrabbas. But life goes on. When holes are left in our hearts, we try to fill them by finding things to take up the empty space. This natural process prompted my search for Los Angeles BBQ joints in need a rebound. I was skeptical, but hopeful, hopeful because Los Angeles has a little bit of everything and skeptical because, well, it is Los Angeles...not exactly the kind of place I would expect people to be patient enough to cook meat for long periods of time since our patience is pretty much spent on others activities. CanIgetanAMEN?. We may not have the very best of everything as far as food is concerned, but we come pretty close. I found we come dangerously close to the best (certainly the best I have ever encountered) in BBQ with places like Dr. Hogly Wogly's Tyler Texas BBQ and Kansas City BBQ. With the discovery of these restaurants (among others) and the following recipe, the empty space in my heart where Sonny's used to be has been filled and then some. I guess in that sense they really have made me feel good.

Fell Good Pulled Pork (from the "Better Homes Cookbook")

8 servings

1 2-3 pound pork sirloin roast
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp cooking oil
2 medium onions (cut into thin wedges)
4 C root beer (do not use diet root beer)
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 C chili sauce
1/4 tsp rot beer concentrate (optional, found in the spice section at the grocery store)

Trim fat from meat, and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Be sure the meat will fit into your slow cooker; you may need to cut it into two chunks.
Heat cooking oil in a large pan and brown the meat by searing quickly (about 30 seconds on each side). This will work to retain the juices inside the meat in the slow cooker by sort of sealing up the outsides.
Transfer meat to a slow cooker, add onions, 1 cup of the root beer, and garlic; cook on a low setting for 8-10 hours or on a high setting for 4-5 hours.

For the sauce:
In a medium saucepan, combine 3 cups of root beer and the chili sauce. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat.
Boil gently, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes (or until mixture has reduced to 2 cups).
Add root beer concentrate (optional) to the pan and remove from heat.



When the pork is finished cooking, simply pull apart and shred it using two forks. It should be very tender and easily fall apart. At this point you can do one of several things, depending on how you would like to eat it. My favorites include in a sandwich or with black beans and brown rice. If you eat the pork in a sandwich, I suggest smothering it in the root beer chili sauce and putting a pile of it on a toasted hamburger bun. If you would like to prepare it with black beans and brown rice (as pictured above, I would use the sauce to taste (probably not as much as you would use in the sandwich). You can eat it for dinner one way and then the leftovers a few days later another way.