Pork Chile Verde

It's Cinco de Drinko!, Drinko de Mayo!, or whatever you like to call the 5th of May.  I'm not quite certain what this holiday even celebrates.  All I know is that it's a great excuse to make some margaritas and guacamole, sit outside and enjoy this amazing weather we're having here in San Francisco.  

John and I are a bit sporadic about celebrating Cinco de Mayo, but this year we decided it might be fun to go all out and make one of his favorite childhood dishes, pork chile verde.  We pretty much winged the recipe going off of very vague instructions from his Dad, relying on our instincts and countless trips to the taqueria to get the right flavor profiles.  The results were much better than we could have expected.  

The salsa verde is bright and tangy, packed full of garlic with just the right amount of heat from a jalapeno.  We used pork shoulder for this recipe, which is a great cut of meat for stewing or braising.  It has a lot of marbling which keeps the meat from drying out while it's simmering in all that salsa verde goodness.  This recipe makes quite a bit, so make sure to invite all your friends over for a Mexican fiesta!  Oh yeah, and it also makes a great midnight snack, good for soaking up that bottle of tequila you polished off earlier.

Pork Chile Verde

Ingredients:

6 lbs. pork shoulder, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon pepper

1 tablespoon garlic powder

2-3 tablespoons canola oil

1 yellow onion

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

20 tomatillos, approximately 2 1/2 lbs.

6 cloves garlic

1 shallot

1 bunch cilantro

1 jalapeno, seeded

juice of 2 limes

In a large bowl coat cubed pork shoulder with 1 tablespoon each of salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate in the fridge for 2-3 hours.  While the pork is marinating make the salsa verde.

Peel and wash tomatillos to remove the sticky substance that is left on the surface after peeling.  Cut into quarters and put into a large blender.  The blender should be large enough to hold over 6 cups of liquid.  If you don't have a blender that large, make this in two batches.  Puree tomatillos.  Then add in garlic, shallot, 1/2 tablespoon salt, cilantro, jalapeno, and lime juice.  Puree until there are no large chunks remaining.  This will make a ton of salsa verde, approximately 6 cups.  You will only need about 3 cups of the salsa to braise the pork, so you can serve the rest with tortilla chips or save in the fridge until you make your next batch of pork chile verde.  

Once the pork is done marinating, remove from the refrigerator and let come up to room temperature.  Coat the bottom of a large soup pot with canola oil.  Heat the oil on medium high heat and sear the pork in batches until the meat is lightly browned but not cooked all the way through.  Once all the pork has been seared, sautee a chopped onion in the remaining pork fat until translucent.  Deglaze the pot with the chicken stock, scraping up all the good brown bits on the bottom of the pan.  Put all of the pork back into the pot and cover the pork with 3 cups of the salsa verde.  Cover and simmer on medium low to low heat for at least 3 hours until fork tender.  Serve on warm tortillas with a little bit of the remaining salsa verde, cotija cheese, guacamole, and fresh radish.

This Is Technically Food

There was a time when I’d come home from work, and there was only one thing I wanted to taste: the cold steel of a gun barrel. But don't worry! Now that I’ve discovered this recipe, there are two things!

If, like me, you think that trivialities such as dignity and self-respect are dispensable, this dish (Technically Food) is for you. Technically Food is truly a medley of flavors – the salty crunch of Fritos™ corn chips, the fresh-out-of-the-can chili and baked beans, the finest in boxed macaroni and cheese – they all come together to create something that, for better or for worse, words cannot describe.

The key to this dish is to start with only the finest ingredients. The macaroni and cheese layer is made with Safeway™ brand macaroni and cheese. I’ve used the instant microwave variety before, but here at Pickled Rose, we like to put our best foot forward. If you decide to recreate this dish, you could cut corners, but by the time you’ve actually committed yourself to making it, won’t you have already fallen far enough?

Technically Food

Ingredients

 

1 bag of Fritos Original corn ships

Sadness

1 can of bean-free chili

Self-loathing

1 can of pork and beans

1 bag of fancy shredded cheese blend

A six-pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon, a bottle of King Cobra, or anything else that will help you convince yourself that what you’re about to do is a good idea.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to whatever. Seriously, do you think the temperature matters? I think we both know that if you’re actually making this thing, nothing has mattered in a long, long time.

Spread a layer of corn chips about half an inch thick over the bottom of a casserole dish (preferably a clear one, so that you can gaze upon the beautiful intricacy of the layers).

Abandon all hope.

Cover the chips with a layer of shredded cheese, followed by the chili.

 

 

Don't ask, man. I don't even know.

Prepare the macaroni and cheese. The instructions can be found on the box. Or any episode of Sandra Lee’s show.

Spread a layer of macaroni and cheese over the chili. Spread the pork and beans over the macaroni. Finally, top it off with another layer of shredded cheese, and some crushed Fritos.

 

Yep, that sure is a color that has occured anywhere in nature, ever!

 

 Cook it in the oven until everything is melted and heated through.

 

Take it out of the oven, and "enjoy"…preferably off of a paper plate while standing over the sink.

On another note, I just noticed that today is April 1st, and that the one-year anniversary of the founding of Pickled Rose passed over a month ago, and we didn't even notice. Sorry about that, I guess. Rest assured, however, that we have every intention of sticking around for another year. Maybe instead of marking the anniversary of the founding of this blog, we'll start marking the anniversary of the debut of this amazing meal. Just FYI, that will be APRIL FIRST, 2013. Mark your calendar. 

Roasted Mediterranean Chickpeas

Chickpeas!!!  SERIOUSLY, chickpeas!  You may know them as garbanzo beans, disguised as hummus, or the lonely, untouched container at your local salad bar.  I am here to start a revolution for these, creamy, delicious, and underrated legume.  

My favorite way to eat them is roasted.  Let's face it, roasting makes everything taste better, and chickpeas are no exception to the rule.  This dish is adapted from a recipe I found on The Kitchn earlier this week, and it makes a great healthy snack.  The chickpeas are crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside coated in a mediterranean spice blend of sumac, oregano, cumin, garlic, mint, and lemon.  They are a great alternative to popcorn, and much more satisfying and flavorful at that.  Try swapping out your bag of microwave popcorn for a bowl full of these roasted chickpeas the next time you rent a movie.  

And trust me, make a double batch of this recipe because they will be eaten up as soon as you set them out on the table.  Viva la chickpea revolution!  

Ingredients: 

2 15 oz. cans of chickpeas

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon sumac

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 heaping tablespoon fresh mint, minced

1 tablespoon lemon zest

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Drain and rinse chickpeas.  Make sure to rinse them very well, until all of the protein bubbles stop forming.  Next, dry the chickpeas really well on paper towels and then place them in a single layer on a cookie sheet.  Cook the chickpeas for 20 minutes stirring them halfway through their cook time.  

While the chickpeas are roasting mix together the remaining ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl and combine the spices and oil into they form a slurry.  After the chickpeas have cooked for 20 minutes place the chickpeas into the spice and olive oil slurry and gently fold them in until they are thoroughly coated.  Put the chickpeas back onto the cookie sheet and cook for another 4-5 minutes until golden brown.  Make sure to let the chickpeas cool for a few minutes before serving, as the peas will crisp up as they cool.  These are best served warm.

Sorry About The Downtime

No, our site didn't crash because of overwhelming traffic (Ha! That was a good one, John. Thanks, Other John). I stupidly let our domain name registration expire.

So, if our site was briefly replaced with giraffe porn during the last week (and you could actually tell the difference), things are back to normal. For some of you, that may come as a disappointment.

I guess you'll have to get your jollies elsewhere.

'Sup?

Basic Sourdough Bread

This is a delicious and versatile bread. It has a strong, tangy flavor, but the sourness isn't overwhelming. It has a nice crust and a tender, uniform crumb.

It's great for sandwiches, croutons, or just toasted with butter and jam. If you're a novice when it comes to baking sourdough bread (or bread in general), this is a good recipe to start with.

Basic Sourdough Bread

• 2-3 cups bread flour
• 1 cup sourdough starter
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tbsp shortening

In a small saucepan, heat the milk and the shortening, until the shortening is melted and the mixture is almost boiling. Allow the milk to cool until lukewarm.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the milk/shortening, the salt, the sugar, and the starter. Put the bowl in the mixer, and attach the dough hook. Turn it on to low speed, and add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough comes together, and pulls away from the side of the bowl.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface, and knead for 5-10 minutes, adding small amounts of flour if the dough becomes sticky.

Form the dough into a ball, and place it into an oiled bowl. Turn the dough over a few times so it gets coated in oil.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise until doubled in size. How long this will take depends largely on how active your starter is, and the temperature and humidity in your house. I usally let it rise overnight. 

When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down, turn it to a floured surface, and knead for 3 minutes. 

Form it into a round loaf, put it on a greased baking sheet, and cover it with a large bowl. Let it rise until it doubles in size again - approximately 60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

After the dough has risen, cut a few shallow slashes into the top.

Place in the oven, and bake for about 40 minutes, until the bread sounds hollow when tapped.

When the bread is done, let it cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before slicing.