New Website!!!

Hello friends! As you may or may not know, my brand spankin' new, beautifully designed website is now up and running!!! All of my recipes from this blog and new ones are now available at http://www.jillskitchenkc.com/

There are several new features for you to check out including tons of food pics you have never seen before, and a few you have. There is information about me and my life as well as and entire section dedicated to people and things that inspire me to hopefully inspire you.

My homeboy and webmaster, Cody "Cdog" Snodgrass designed and engineered a fantastic representation of me and my mission: to feed the world, or at least get you to cook something new tonight :)

So what are you waiting for??? GO CHECK IT OUT!!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you <3<3<3<3<3

Happy Birthday Daddy!!!!

Gotta give a shout out to the man that helped make me who I am today.

Happy Birthday Daddy, I love you more than words can say. <3

Not My Abuela's Pork Chile

 I only have one speed: go go go ~ and there are few things in this life that can stop me in my tracks. Pork Chile is one of them. "Black" by Pearl Jam is another.

When I was a kid I was terrified of pork chile. My Ito Marcello would eat plate after plate of this stuff all while constantly wiping sweat from his brow from the heat of the chiles. More often than not there was multiple super hot salsas on the table that he, my Dad and my Tios would spoon over everything. I was terrified of pork chile.

My Great Ita made a pork chile that could stop the world on it's axis. I do not claim to stop anything w mine, but I stop everything to make it. 

There is not too much about my recipe that is like her's but the end result is reminiscent enough that it feeds me from my roots up. She used to spend hours over a hot stove to make the pork chile, beans, and rice. I do not have hours to spend, not that she did either, she was just better at managing her time. I also only cook for 2 people. She cooked for hundreds. Yes, that's right, hundreds. There was almost no end to the people that would come and go through her house on any given Sunday. It was usually a standing room only or cop a squat on the floor in a corner type of soiree. The elders got the chairs, the women mostly served everyone else and us kids got yelled at for running in and out of the house, "Hey! Stay in or out!!! And don't slam the door!"

I don't know who I would be without my memories. Hmm. That would actually be true, but I meant it metaphorically. My memories are my lifeline on so many levels. I have had to live my life through my memories. What I mean to say is that I remember things... lots of things. Almost everything. And it is those things that I try to share w Chris and now w you. It is those things that help define me. I remember lots of things.

I started making pork chile for the exacts same reason I made anything from my Great Ita's table: I missed her. I wanted my house to smell like her's did on a Sunday. By then I was an accomplished pork chile eater. I too would wipe the sweat from my brow. So what if it took me until my 20's to try it. At least I did and now I can't live without it.  This is the super quick version of my quick version of pork chile. I used leftover pork so that cut the whole thing is half right there. I know that I take lots of liberties w my interpretation of pork chile w beans and rice but I triple dog dare you to try it ~ it's fresh, it's lightened up and it's super yummy.

 I like to use a variety of fresh chiles. My G store had these beautiful Anaheim (Very mild. I like to use these instead of green bell peppers in some dishes. I can't stand green bell peppers! But these are a super tasty substitute!), jalapeños, and Serranos. The heat of a chile pepper lives in the ribs and seeds. I find the seeds to be a nuisance mostly, so I chuck them from the Anaheim and the jalapeños, but the Serrano were so small that I only cut them in half and then sliced them. I finely chopped the rest of the chiles and a medium white onion.

I used my garlic press to crush the garlic really fine, sending it through twice. I don't have a mortar and pestle. :/

 I don't mean to sound like a broken record but I love pork.

 I roughly chopped up the leftover pork.

I add it to a hot pan w oil in it.

This is a very important flavor step. How much oil you use is up to you, that's the beauty of doing it yourself. I stir it around and reheat it thoroughly letting it get nice and crispy. 

In go all the goodies: the chiles, the onion and the garlic.

I bet you have been wondering when I was gonna season this bad boy. That would be now. You have very good timing my friend. Salt, pepper, cumin, and Adobo. I also sprinkled some garlic powder and onion powder over it. I freaked out when I found that I was out of Mexican oregano but used the regular (Greek) dried oregano instead and I barely noticed a thing. OK, I didn't notice it at all but Great Ita used Mexican oregano so that is what I use. But at least now I know I can substitute one for the other in a pinch.

And yet another use for the handy dandy can of diced tomatoes & green chilies. I actually used both the can you see below and my favorite one w the lime and cilantro. I used some of the latter in the rice of course and the rest of it in the pork chile.

I strained the can and reserved the juices. I added the "original" style can of toms & chiles in to the pork and veggie mix. I stirred them around while letting them cook up for a minute.

I usually use a mix of chicken broth and beef broth, but I was out of beef broth so just chicken this time. I add enough of the broth to cover the pork and veggies by about half.  I make sure the heat is turned to high and get to simmering.

Remember this? Well, I use it here too. Just a spoonful does the trick, right Great Ita? ;)

I didn't have any tomato paste or puree so I improvised: I reserved enough of the tomatoes & chilies w lime and cilantro for the rice and then put the rest in a small saucepan. I seasoned them w salt and pepper and brought them to a boil, then simmered them over med-low heat until they were soft.

Then I pureed them in my blender until smooth. It was just the amount I needed to help give the pork chile some body.

After mixing in the tomato puree I put a lid on it and turn the heat to medium, letting it simmer and really letting all the flavors come together in a very happy harmony.

As I mentioned earlier, I do everything in a fast forward motion. I can't stand to stand still. I can't sit for more than a few minutes before my body gets so restless that I usually have to find something else to do. I'm afraid that I have taken a fast forward approach to my cooking as well. I don't like to wait for anything. If a restaurant has more than a 10 minute wait, we will go some where else, or more than likely back home so I can just cook the damn meal anyway. He hates when I do that. :)) Well, I don't wait for beans either...

In a small saucepan I heat some oil over high heat and add some of the diced onion, chiles and garlic. I saute them until they are soft and super fragrant. I season them w salt and pepper and turn the heat down to medium.

This part may actually make my Great Ita roll over in her grave or at least roll her eyes. But I am not scared to tell you that I short cut this part of the meal almost every time I make it and I am never sorry that I do. Nothing compares to the slow cooked dry beans w salty ham bones and onions that Great Ita used to make, but as I said fast forward... I had to come up w something I could do after work. So I did. I use canned beans. I drain and rinse them first, of course. And no, I don't re-fry them. Ever. "Lo siento abuela, pero éstas son bastante sabrosa." I am sorry Grandma, but these are pretty tasty.

I add the drained and rinsed beans right into the saucepan.

I add enough chicken or beef or both broth to just cover the beans. I season them w the Adobo, salt and pepper, garlic and onion powder and some cumin. I cover it w a lid and turn the heat down to med-low and let them simmer until the liquid has reduced by about half.

We are nearing the end of this culinary journey. The final flourishes are ready to be added in: lime zest and the juice of course. And chopped fresh cilantro. Cilantro is one of those herbs you either Love or Hate. There is very little gray area here. I Love cilantro and luckily, so does my husband. {Lucky for him ;)}

All of a lime's essential oils live in the skin so by zesting it adding it to the mix it really kicks up the freshness factor.

I made rice just like I did for the Poor Man's Tacos , except this time I did have the freshly diced chiles to throw in w the onion and garlic. To finish the rice, I add a small handful of cilantro and small pinch of the zest. I squeeze just a little of the lime juice in too. I use a wooden fork to fluff it up and to taste it.

The beans thickened up beautifully and tasted almost like they'd been cooking all day.

Stop. Throw in the remaining chopped cilantro, lime zest and the juice into the pork chile. Stir and get your mouth ready for a party.

Do you know what this is? This is an immersion blender. It's a blender you stick into things instead of a blender you stick things into. Get it? It's awesome. I use it for a million and one things. I use it to puree my beans! No re-frying, just pureeing.

I am very careful to not over puree them. I love having about half of them still whole. And I don't want them too soupy. If you find they are too thick add some more chicken broth and bring back up to heat.

This is not the best picture, but you can see the whole beans and the creaminess of the puree. I totally ate that bite. Oh yes I did :)

Here's a tip on how to keep your fresh herbs looking fresh!

Lay the fresh herbs (I like to keep the rubber band on) on a damp paper towel and roll it up like a cigar.

Then you can use a baggie, or the bag you picked it up in at the grocery store like I did, to wrap the whole thing up. It will keep for about a week in your refrigerator's crisper. Plus if you forget about it and it goes rancid, you can just throw the whole shabang away w no mess.

Rice. Arroz. Sopa, as my family calls it.

Beans. Frijoles. Either way they are better w cheese. :D

Pork Chile. Delicious in every conceivable way.

Stop everything and eat. Serve w some warm tortillas. Homemade if you are lucky enough to have them.

I find it easiest to load it all up and eat it like a taco. My Ito used to tear his tortillas into wedges and used them as a scoop to get as the perfect bite. Nobody eats this w a fork. It's just there to get it into the tortillas. Just make sure you get some rice, some beans, and some pork chile in each bite.

 

Stop what you are doing right now and go COOK something new for dinner!!!!!

Tender and Tangy Pork Pot Roast, an alliterative abundance of absolute deliciousness

What is it about pork that makes me start to salivate before it's even hit the pan? I could literally eat a pork product for every meal and be totally happy about it. It is just so versatile! Now,  I could go on and on like Bubba on the many ways to use pork but instead, I'm gonna share two recipes for using a pork butt roast... and there's no barbeque sauce in sight.

First, we'll make this terrifically tasty slow-cooker roast together, step by step. And then I will follow it up w another Garcia family tradition: Pork Chile (chee-lay). It will change your life.

Remember these guys from my Meatloaf post? I can't thank the Pioneer Woman enough for giving me the courage to try using frozen roll dough. They really are every bit as delicious as my made from scratch ones, but I can knock these out on a Wednesday night after work and before Modern Family comes on. You can't beat a "super time saver"!!!!!

I buttered the heck out of each muffin cup before inserting 2 frozen balls of dough into 6 of the muffin cups. Then I covered them w a tea towel and set them in a warm dry place to rise for 2 hours. This gives me plenty of time to either move on w the rest of the meal or go do something else, like write this blog! If I were making this dough from scratch we would just now be proofing the yeast. Yikes. Tick tock, tick tock...

I moved on w the rest of the meal. Once the rolls had doubled in size, I stuck them in the refrigerator to prevent them from rising any more until I was ready to bake them.

Plug in your slow cooker turn it on high and let it get hot.

The list:

pork butt roast, yellow onion, garlic

red potatoes, fresh green beans

fresh basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary

sea salt, black pepper, onion and garlic powder

pork seasoning blend

chicken broth

Good Seasons Zesty Italian dressing mix

 
Why choose a pork butt? Well, actually it's a shoulder. It's a fattier cut of meat and therefore much more flavorful than say a loin. This link takes you to an interactive butcher chart for a pig. You can click on any cut and it will tell you all about it. Very informative and useful :) http://www.askthemeatman.com/hog_cuts_interactive_chart.htm

I used a simple blend of sea salt, fresh ground black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and a pork seasoning blend. Not sure what all is in it but I can definitely taste sage, thyme and some lemon zest. I mixed these all up in a ramekin first to make it easier to apply to the roast. Be sure you pat the roast dry w some paper towels before you apply the spice rub. Wet meat will not sear!

Speaking of searing... heat up some oil in a frying pan, I used my cast iron skillet because it gets the hottest.

Generously coat the entire roast w the rub mix. Notice I kept it all tied up. It comes in handy throughout the cooking process. Nice.

Begin by searing the roast on all sides. I mean really let it get crusty. If your meat was dry when you started, you should be very successful.

and I do mean

on all sides

even the ends

until it looks about like this:

{Did you notice how I used the string to maneuver the roast during the frying process? Sure does make it easy.} The, I removed the roast to the slow cooker leaving all the grease and juices in the skillet to make the gravy later.

Ok, so here were are face to face w a packaged product. Usually things like this make my blood pressure spike just looking at them. Why am I not a fan? SODIUM!!! You don't need it to make food taste good. Especially if you are seasoning your food w salt. There are a bazillion little packets out there all boasting to liven up your dishes w flavor but what they really do is make your extremities swell and increase your risk for heart disease and diabetes. So, read the labels and be aware of what you are about to put in your food. Stepping down from my soap box now... Back to this little packet. It was all I needed to complete the Italian flavors I wanted w out using wine or beef stock. I wanted something different. This is what I came up w and I am sure glad I did. I'm not sure I would use it for a dressing seeing as how all the goodies are dehydrated and a bit peaky looking. But after a long, slow cooking they were the perfect compliment to the roast.

tick tock, tick tock...

Once I put the roast in the slow cooker I poured in enough chicken broth to cover about half of the roast. Then I added the packet of Italian dressing mix and stirred it around to combine.

Then I quarted the yellow onion and peeled and cracked four cloves of garlic.

Tossed 'em right in. They were so happy to be joining the party in the hot tub ;)

I love the way fresh herbs worked in this roast. I try to keep some on hand at all times. If you keep them wrapped in a damp paper towel and put them in a baggie they will last much longer and stay greener for you. Below you will see oregano, basil, thyme and rosemary. A sweet quartet of aromatics that rocked this roast right into radness.

I put them in whole, this was one of the easiest roast I've ever made. Why make things tougher by chopping everything up, it all falls apart in the tub.

I made this picture bigger because it's pretty :)

Now here is the tough part for me: put the lid on and w a l k   a w a y . . .

After one hour I turned it over.

After 2 hours I turned it over again. The liquid has increased by about half and it smells so good I had to taste it. Very nice...

After 3 hours I turned it again and it sang to me. "Hello my friend, hello"...

After 4 hours, I quartered the red potatoes and toss them in.

At the 4.5 hour mark, I checked the potatoes to see if they were almost fork tender. They were :)

Time for the green beans to get a trim.

I like to line up the curly ends and cut off the stem end.

I put them in the slow cooker and press them into the now almost full pot. Can you see how rich that broth looks? My tastebuds are remembering... mmm... ahem.

Now, since the beans only needed to cook for about 15 mins so that they stayed just a little crisp and retained their bright green color, I went straight for the rolls. Truth is I pulled them out of the fridge when I grabbed the green beans, so that they could come to room temperature. I also preheated my oven to 350°.

I brushed the rolls w softened sweet cream butter and then drizzled them w honey. Whaaaaaaaaaaaat???

You were totally not expecting that move. I know right? But, I thought the sweetness would compliment the pork. And it did. Ahem, again.

Once the rolls were tucked safely in the oven and baking according to the package directions, which I can't remember right now but I think it was for probably bake at 350° for 12 - 15 mins or until golden brown, yadda yadda yadda... I used a large slotted spoon to fish out all of the veggies. The potatoes were really tender and I didn't want them to fall apart under the weight of the roast so I pulled them out first and let them drain.

Using the string and my tongs, I pulled the roast out and placed it in a shallow bowl.

Then I carefully poured the remaining contents of the slow cooker into a strainer over a bowl. I threw out the stuff and kept the rich, brown broth for the gravy. Oh my word, the gravy... how I love thee.

DING!!! And there they are... puffy, golden, sticky and wonderful. In case you noticed and were wondering, I did leave two rolls "un-honied". I thought just in case Chris didn't like them so sweet. He love them and the only two left were the two without the honey, honey. But, no worries, I ate those the next day.

What is gravy? Gravy is a gift from God. Whoever invented gravy was most definitely divinely touched. It is made from the drippings of meat a starch or gluten, usually flour, and a liquid. A few things my Grandma Muriel taught me about making gravy during that fabulously famous family recipe lesson: 

Always start w more fat than you think you need. You can always add more flour.

Use cold stock or broth, using hot can make the flour clump up.

Once you start stirring, you cannot stop until the gravy is done. Do not walk away.

Start and finish w a little pat of butter ;)

Into the skillet w drippings and grease from searing the roast, I added a pat of butter over high heat.

Once the butter melted and quit bubbling, I add an equal amount of all-purpose flour. I always eyeball this part like Grandma taught me to. If you are worried about it, go ahead and remove all the dripping and the grease to a measuring cup, then pour it back in, add 1-2 tbsp of butter and then an equal amount of flour. But I say you pull on your adult sized apron and eyeball it. This is all about technique and learning to trust your instincts when you cook. Go for it. If it doesn't turn out this time, try it again. Learning to make a good gravy is imperative to survive in this country. Everything is covered in gravy.

Whisk the flour and fat together rather quickly to combine them and then slow it down a trick to a nice steady pace. You need to cook the flour before adding the liquid or it will taste like flour. Yuck. So whisking, whisking, whisking... when the roux (that's what you just made! aren't you fancy??) turns the color of peanut butter go ahead and add about 1 cup of cooled broth from the slow cooker. Keep whisking!!!

Whisk quickly until it just starts to come together and thicken up. Then slowly add some more broth. Keep whisking and keep slowly adding broth until it starts to resemble gravy.

Whisking, whisking, whisking without whining!!!

When the gravy has come together perfectly and it is simmering nicely, go ahead and pull it off the heat and add one more small pat of butter. It gives it a little sheen and that's what Grandma Muriel said to do, so do it. If you don't do it you'll be, and I am quoting Grandma Muriel here, a moron. Don't believe me? Ask my sister Juli. It happened.

Seriously, would you look at that gravy. Not a lump in site. And of course I seasoned it w salt and pepper to taste and I also threw in one heavy shot of Worcestershire sauce and a pinch of the pork seasoning blend. Season it however you want, just season it. And TASTE it. You'll love it so much you will taste it again. And again. And oops, did a piece of that roll just fall into the gravy? Oh no! Better taste that too!

I kept it pretty basic on the presentation. I used a couple of large serving forks to break the roast up into large chunks of super tender, tasty, tangy and 'talian tidbits. Then I cradled the pork w his best friends the veggies and poured gravy over the whole freaking thing.

The rolls were a home run for sure! A little sweet and a little sticky, they really were a great pairing w the savory pork. Over all I'd have to give that little packet a passing grade. It added a lot of flavor and just the tang I was looking for to make this a springier version of pot roast.

Obviously we had about half the roast left over. I try to get 2 meals out of each meal I make using what I call do-over recipes. As I mentioned at the beginning, I will be following this post up w that do-over recipe for the left over pork roast in the very near future. Until then, get to cooking!!!! :)