Braised Pork with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

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Braised Pork in Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
Braised Pork in Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Rick Bayless gave me this recipe when I asked him what his favorite easy to make Mexican pork recipe was. I made it and it was AWESOME. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

  • 3 1/2 lbs of Pork shoulder. Cut into approx 1″ cubes
  • 5 tomatillo outer husk pealed off
  • 1/2 of a large white or brown onion chopped (1/2 for browning and 1/2 for salsa)
  • about 6 sprigs of cilantro with the thick bottom stem removed (I used a little more)
  • 1/2 tsp salt, you can add more after you taste it if it is needed.
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, 2 for spicy (tip with stem cut off) I used 2.
  • 4-5 cloves of garlic

Directions

Roast the tomatillos and garlic under the broiler in the oven till spotted with brown and color changes from bright green to olive green color. While roasting the tomatillos roast the garlic also. It will cook quicker though and should be removed before it is black. Add the garlic, tomatillos, half of the onion, jalapenos, salt, and cilantro to a blender or food processor with about 1 cup of water and process till a chunky sauce. Brown the pork in a frying pan, don’t over crowd the pan or you will not be able to brown it quickly. Brown the other half of the onions in the same pan and add it all to a crock pot (pork, onions, salsa) and cook on low for about 8 hours.  I served it with corn tortillas that had been lightly sprayed with a little cooking oil and the briefly fried. You want the tortillas still soft but with some light brown spots.

Well Done Rib Roast

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Delicious Well Done Rib Roast
Delicious Well Done Rib Roast

With any Holiday coming up, you will want to cook a special meal. This rib roast is a real treat and will not disappoint your guests. The herbs form a crust on the roast and it is slightly crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. It will be especially loved by people that don’t want pink in the center of their meat. I have cooked this a number of times and it has always disappeared quickly, so you may have to cook a large one.

Ingredients

  • 3-4 lb Rib Roast
  • 4 tbsp Cracked Black pepper
  • 4 tbsp kosher salt or coarse sea salt
  • 3 tbsp Basil
  • 2 tbsp Rosemary
  • 2 tbsp thyme
  • 2 tbsp granulated garlic

Directions

Thaw rib roast completely and store in fridge till ready to cook. Take out of the fridge sprinkle and massage each ingredient one at a time in and then let set for at least 1 hour at room temp. Preheat oven to 450 and then put in roast and brown uncovered for 20 to 30 mins till outside browned. Turn oven temp  down to 300 and cook for 2.5 hours, then start checking internal temp every 30 mins till it is 140 degrees. Then Remove from oven and tent foil over pan and allow to cool for 30-45 mins, then serve.

Tacos Los Altos, Best Tacos in Flagstaff

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Sometimes the best food comes from the small hidden away restaurants that all the locals know about. I got lucky on my last visit to Flagstaff and found a place such as this. I have made many visits to Flagstaff over the years and have tried a lot of different restaurants there, but these are by far the best tacos I have eaten in the area.  I talked with the friendly owners, he is from California where he met his wife who was originally from Jalisco, Mexico. She told me she used to have her own taco stand there. She brought her recipes over with her and together with her husband opened a taco shop (Tacos Los Altos, Route 66) in Flagstaff and after years of success, they decided to retire, so they sold the restaurant. They soon became restless and decided to open another restaurant so they opened Tacos Los Altos – West Side. I have tried both restaurants and I like the food from the one run by them best (the West Side Location). My favorite menu item and their most poplar is the street tacos (Mini Tacos) and my favorite meats on them are the Carne Asada, the Adobada, and the Tripas. The Carne Asada is amazingly tender and juicy with a pleasant flavor from her special marinade. The Adobada is one of the best I have tasted, it has the great taste that Adobada marinade brings to the meat, but it is not too salty like most of them that I tried are. It is cooked so that the small chunks of meat have a slight char which imparts a great caramelized taste that blends in with the marinade and adds complexity to the taco’s flavor. The Tripas has no bitter taste, which I have have tasted in some that are not prepared correctly, and it is delightfully crunchy. They will ask how you like it prepared (crunchy or not). I really liked the spicy and flavorful red and green taco sauces from their salsa bar the best. They enhanced the flavor of the tacos, although the tacos were tasty enough on their own to be eaten without it. I usually don’t eat the Lengua tacos, but since it is popular with their customers, I decided to try it, and well I wasn’t disappointed, it also was very good. The meat was tender and had a deep beefy flavor. I ate so many of their tacos that I couldn’t cover any more of their menu, however I will look forward to going through more of it in future visits. If you are in Flagstaff for any reason, or live in Flagstaff, you need to add a visit to Tacos Los Altos into you agenda. Once you try it you will be hooked as I am. Here is the Location:

Tacos Los Altos (Google Maps Link)
2500 S Woodlands Village Blvd #1
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
 

Making Fresh Pasta

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Fresh Pasta
Fresh Pasta

Making fresh noodles takes some work, especially because you have to make twice the amount since everyone will want to eat much more than if they were dried noodles, but the result is always worth it. I often make them and yes they disappear quickly.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of all purpose flour
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp olive oil

Directions

On a large cutting board, pour flour into a pile and use your fingers to poke down in the center and form a crater, so it looks like a volcano. Break eggs one at a time in the crater you formed and use a fork to start mixing the flour with the egg until the flour absorbs the egg and don’t break the side of the flour pile or the egg will run out. After you mixed in the first egg put in the second until all 3 eggs are incorporated. then knead the dough for about 5 minutes until well mixed. Wrap in saran wrap and put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to rest. If you have a pasta roller (like HomeStart HST5018 Pasta Maker) you can use this to roll the dough.

With Pasta roller: Start at the thickest setting. Cut the dough into thirds and roll one piece through fold and roll through again 4 times. Go down one setting and fold and roll through the pasta maker. Do this 3 more times. Now go down 1 setting at a time folding over before rolling dough but only go through 1 time now till you are down to the thickness you want. Now flour both sides of the pasta sheet and run through the cutter onto a dish and toss in flour.

Without Pasta roller: Separate the dough into thirds. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a sheet on a floured cutting board. Fold over and repeat 7 times. Now roll to thickness you want. Add a lot of flour to the pasta sheet and roll up. Now with a sharp knife cut the end of the roll into the width noodle you want and repeat until the roll is cut. Unroll and toss in flour.

Then cook for 3 – 5 minutes in boiling water. Serve as spaghetti, or in soups, etc.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

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Sometimes the simple and easy things to make can taste really good and even be good for you. This cold, rich, creamy pick me up, is a way to get some of the daily fruit intake your body needs. I use a convenient little blender that I can put the ingredients in blend, then drink out of the same cup (Nutra Bullet) which makes it really handy and with very little cleanup. Before I got this, I rarely made smoothies because I had to get the blender out, make the smoothie, then clean up the blender and put it all away again. Now I just leave it on the counter make my smoothie rinse off and it is ready to go again. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

  • 5 strawberries stems removed (less if large).
  • 1 banana peeled
  • 2 or 3 ice cubes. (The smoothie maker above is powerful enough to use whole ice cubes)
  • 1 small container of yogurt (I used strawberry yoplait)
  • 1/4 to 1/3 cup of milk
  • Any Nutritional Supplements you want, if any. (i.e. Protein powder, bee pollen, ginseng powder, etc)

Directions

Add the above ingredients and blend till smooth. It will come out thick and rich and taste awesome.

From Scratch Spaghetti Sauce

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Rich From Scratch Spaghetti Sauce
Rich From Scratch Spaghetti Sauce

If you have the time to make this, you will really be in for a treat, and triple the batch size below, because you will want to have some for later. You can put the extra in a ziploc bag and freeze it or put it in the bottle and store it in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Ingredients:

  • 10 roma (plum) tomatoes – peeled, seeded and crushed
  • 1/2 small onion finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 pinch cinnamon
  • 1 good pinch of sugar

Directions:

Put tomatoes, onion, garlic, and olive oil, oregano, basil, pepper flakes, salt, black pepper, sugar, and cinnamon into a slow cooker. Cover, and cook 10 to 15 hours on low. For great taste cook it for 10 hours and it will improve up to 15 hours. You don’t want to go much over 15 hours since the flavor will begin to dull.

Homemade Lemonade

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Fresh Made Lemonade
Fresh Made Lemonade

Lemons have been in season for a while and now is a good time to make fresh Lemonade. It is very easy to make drink and tastes so much better when you make it fresh.

Ingredients

  • 1 to 2 lemons, depending on the size and juiciness.
  • 1/4 cup of sugar
  • 28 oz of water.
  • Lot of ice

Directions

Juice the lemons. I used 1 1/2 lemons since the lemons I had were very juicy. The lemons will become more juicy as they get more ripe, so when purchasing lemons it is better to get ones that are a little soft if you are planning to use them right away. I use a Mexican style juicer (Chef’s Star Lemon Squeezer , Lime Juicer & Citrus Press) since these are very easy to use and they extract all the juice very quickly. Add the juice, sugar and water to a pitcher. The water should be room temperature so that the sugar dissolves. Stir till the sugar is dissolved, then add the ice and stir again to cool the lemonade. Serve and enjoy you fresh home made lemonade.

 

Chipolte Black Bean Soup

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BackBeanSoup
Chipolte Black Bean Soup

This is a quick, easy to make, Healthy meal. Everyone that has tried it likes it. It can be made to be vegetarian or vegan also.

Ingredients

  • 1 can black beans
  • 2 chipolte peppers chopped finely (from canned chipolte w/adobo sauce)
  • 1/2 onion finely chopped in food processor
  • 1 carrot finely chopped in food processor
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • sour cream (optional)

Directions

Add olive oil to sauce pan and over medium heat fry the garlic, onion, and carrot for about 5-7 minutes until soft. Add in chicken or vegetable stock and black beans and chipolte peppers  and simmer for about 30 minutes. Using a stick blender blend the mixture until smooth. Spoon into a serving bowl and put a small dollop of sour cream on top.

Vegetable Stock Secrets

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Rich Vegetable Broth
Rich Vegetable Broth

I have made my own vegetable broth numerous times and after my first few attempts at making it and doing some research, I found out one of the secrets to making the stock is that when you first fry the vegetables briefly you can then add the water and it extracts the goodness from the vegetables much better. This may be a simple thing and makes sense but I still see recipes that just call for simmering without first frying the veggies.

Ingredients

  • 1 onion sliced
  • 2 to 3 stalks celery sliced crosswise
  • 2 to 3 carrots sliced
  • 1 tomato sliced
  • 5 mushrooms sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic sliced
  • 2 to 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tap pepper fresh ground
  • 1.5 qt water

Directions

Fry vegetables and salt in olive oil for about 10 mins. Then add water and pepper and heat almost to a boil and reduce heat and simmer for about 30 mins to 1 hour. Stain Vegetables from broth and use or freeze.
Recipe From: gastronomy.ddns.net

Jalapeno Wing Sauce

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I like buffalo wing sauce, but I tried the jalapeno wing sauce at Native Grill and I like it as much or better. You can’t buy this in the store and I had a fairly good idea of what the ingredients were from the flavor so I set out to make it myself. Here is what I came up with.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup of finely minced onion
  • 2 tbsp pickled jalapeno slices finely minced
  • 2/3 stick of butter
  • 1 whole raw jalapeno, stem removed, finely minced.
  • 4 cloves of garlic finely minced
  • 5 tbsp of the liquid from the jalapeno slices jar

Directions

Put the onion, garlic, and jalapeno into a food processor and chop until finely minced. On medium heat melt the butter and gently fry the  jalapenos, the onoin, and the garlic cloves for 10 minutes in butter, then add jalapeno pickling water. Use this as a wing dipping sauce or toss wings in it. You can also use it as a dipping sauce for anything else you like also.