Savoury Slow Cooked Pork and Chickpeas

Another winner in the comfort food category, so succulent braised in white wine for a velvety "zumi" (sauce) with the creamy chickpeas.  Just delicious. The fennel seeds and bay leaves lend a very aromatic sense to this dish.   I made this with a large pork shoulder, but I can also imagine how nice this would be with a large grain fed chicken or chicken pieces, maybe bone - in thighs.

Pre-heat oven to 325F degrees

Crush together: (in a mortar and pestle or grinder, not too fine though)
1.5 tsp. crushed chili pepper flakes
1 tbsp. whole black peppercorns
1 tbsp. fennel seed
1.5 tbsp. course salt

Rub this mixture onto the meat covering all. I like to cut the meat into very large chunks so the seasoning gets onto more of the surfaces and into the crevasses.  Let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours if you can.

Brown meat on all sides in a large Creuset type pot that will eventually go into the oven. Once done, remove the meat from the pot and set aside. Discard most of the rendered fat and continue to brown:

1 large onion, chunked
1 whole head of garlic, cut in half crosswise
4 or 5 bay leaves

Once well combined and slightly golden, add the meat back to the pot and add:
2 cups of dry white wine and 2 cups of water. I like to spritz a bit of Bovril chicken stock into the "zumi" for depth. The meat should NOT be covered with liquid. This is a braise.

Cover the meat with parchment paper (push down onto the food, keeps steam in) and seal on the pot lid. Transfer the pot into the oven and let cook for about an hour. Turn the meat, and keep cooking for another 1.5 to 2 hours until the meat is pull - away tender. At this point, add 2 cans of chickpeas into the pot for another 15 minutes or so, till warmed through. You can mash them a bit before or keep them whole.

Serve this in bowls all by itself or on top of rice. Garnish with chopped parsley combined with tons of lemon zest. The "zumi" is fabulous, and could easily be sopped up by a nice baguette, or simply slurped.

Leftovers make a terrific taco filling!

I am salivating at the thought...

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Super Duper Double Cream Cheesecake

I know I already have the world's best cheesecake recipe somewhere in this blog, but this Double Creamer beats it.  As is is my husband's absolute favorite, as decadent as it is, we've made it a few times! And, it has been revived from the archives by my Mom, so it's even better!!  This is the all -time creamiest.  It's not too sweet so the fruit topping and nutty crust all make it come together in one blissful bite. And that's never enough...

Preheat oven 350F.

3 large packages cream cheese, softened at room temp

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
500 ml container sour cream 
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoon liquor like Amaretto or Rum, or almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. melted butter

With an electric mixer, blend the cheese, sugar, salt and eggs, combine until super smooth. Add sour cream, lemon juice, liquor, vanilla and butter and blend well.

Bottom crust:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup chopped almonds, or any ground or chopped nuts you may have, ex: pecan, hazelnut etc.
1/4 lb melted butter

If you have any cereal, this can also be used for crust, after a good whiz in the blender. 

Mix all together and gently press crumbs over the bottom and sides of a 9 inch spring form pan.

Pour the creamy filling into cookie crumb shell and bake for 45- 55 minutes.  Depending on your oven, you may need to start watching at 45 min.  If the cake jiggles too much, it's not ready.  But there is a fine line between under and over cooked.

KEY: leave the cake in oven with an open door for 1 hour to cool.  This way it won't crack.

Cherries: use 1 can of cherry pie filling.  Drain the cherries, conserving the glaze. Top with cherries and then spoon the glaze over the cherries. Strawberries, and/or rhubarb, and blueberries are also delicious. But, I love the cherries...very traditional!

Refrigerate for at least 4-6 hours before slicing. This cake is a family favorite and a pure delight. 

 

 

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Luscious Asian Lettuce Wraps

It's January...the feeding frenzy is over. Looking for good, low carb, filling meals, again!

Lettuce wraps are always delicious, made with any type of meat or fish, and tons of veggies and condiments. Here is one of my fave's, a kind of copy cat of P.F. Chang's finger lickin' wraps.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound ground chicken, or pork, or firm white fish
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon or more of freshly grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha, (optional)
• 1 (8-ounce) can whole water chestnuts, drained and diced- A MUST for texture
• 2 green scallions, thinly sliced
• Bit of salt and some freshly ground black pepper (watch the salt as soy is quite salty already)
• 1 head lettuce- butter, bibb or iceberg lettuce is best

Cook the meat or fish first, and then add all of the above to the mixture. Simple as that! The sauce ratio in this recipe is right on. You need large fresh crispy leaves of lettuce to hold the filling. I love to top with shaved carrots, snow peas, cucumber, radishes, scallions, any vegg that adds crunch and texture. This is really a great meal, easy and addictive!! Serve with Sambal Oleak sauce for extra spicy punch...unforgettable!

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Comforting Chickpea Leek Soup

This is our family go-to soup on a cool day, rainy day, any day! I always have a couple of cans of chickpeas around and I freeze cut up leeks to have them handy just for this soup. It's a riff on a Jamie Oliver's recipe and we've been making this soup forever. Share it with your family.

I like the canned chickpeas that have no salt. They just seem to be creamier.

Saute in olive oil and a hint of butter:
Throw in a sprig of fresh rosemary to sizzle and a pinch of chili pepper flakes
Add lots of leek until soft.
Toward the end of the saute, add 1 finely grated garlic clove.
Season with salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of cumin.

*Bacon is a nice flavour in this soup. In the same pot, cook a couple of rashers beforehand, then remove the bacon. Saute the leek
in a bit of the bacon fat instead of olive oil. Use the bacon as a garnish.


Add the chickpeas to the mix-1 or 2 cans depending on how much soup you are making.
Add enough chicken stock to cover the chickpeas. (vegg stock is an alternate)
Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 30 min.

** a small piece of Parmesan cheese rind while the soup is simmering adds a depth of flavour.

Take half of the soup out and with a hand held blender, whiz half.
Put it all back together, the texture is amazing once mixed.

Garnish this soup with Parmesan cheese...awesome! Make lots, it goes fast. I love it for breakfast!!

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Kickin' Korean Braised Chicken

I was recently inspired to try a new Asian dish while perusing a good friend's upcoming food blog. WOW! I am predicting that it will be one of those great blogs, complete with superb visuals and taste sensations. Rice&Spice. Crazy good!

This recipe caught my attention and with good reason. The Korean Gochujang paste is the star of the show. I had never used it before and wonder where the hell I've been?

In a bowl, mix and let sit:
3-4 garlic chopped cloves
2 tbsp. grated ginger (I like lots)
1 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 tbsp. mirin
1 tbsp. sesame oil

You will need a large skillet, preferably cast iron as this dish simmers on the stove for a while.
Saute a few pieces of chicken, Use thighs, either full with bone and skin or boneless without skin.
4-6 pieces is good for this recipe.

In the pan, brown the chicken on both sides and remove onto a dish. In the same skillet, with canola oil, saute 1 medium onion until soft and slightly golden, cut as you wish. I like large thin pieces.

Add sauce to the pan, place chicken in the pan over the sauce and bring to a boil. Then turn down the heat and simmer for about 25-30 min. At the end, on the side, add about a tbsp of cornstarch to a bit of sauce and pour back into the pan. Simmer for a couple of minutes and sauce with thicken slightly.

Garnish with scallions or any herb you may like. Serve with brown rice and peas!

This is an addictive winner!!!

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Giant Grilled Shrimp, Roasted Vegg on Creamy Mascarpone Grits

My father loved grits beyond. When we have them we think of him, and so we love grits too!

This is a rich, mouthwatering dish, full of depth of flavour from the grill, caramelized roasting and rich silky cheesiness. We had this meal in a restaurant and it was too delicious, we had to recreate it. 

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Best heat for caramelizing vegg. On a large baking pan, cut long strips of your favorite veg.  I like the combo of carrots, parsnip, beets, fennel and onion.  Olive oil and salt. that's it. Bake for about 45 min or until golden.

You will need giant shrimp, maybe Tiger shrimp if you can find them.  Just remove the shell and dry them. Then season with salt, pepper, paprika and chili flakes. Once grilled, a nice spritz of lime is yummy. They don't take too long to cook on a hot BBQ grill. You could also sear them in a very hot pan with a bit of canola oil as an alternative. But don't overcook, a couple of minutes on each side is much. 

White corn grits are hard to find.  Some Latino markets carry them but I get mine from Amazon, Bob's Red Mill White Corn Grits...delivered to my door. 

Combine in a medium pot:

1 cup of grits

4 cups of chicken broth, low sodium

Pinch of salt and pepper

Stir until it comes to a boil, then lower heat and continue to stir until cooked.  You can tell when seems like porridge, about 20 minutes. If you need more "zumi" (juice/stock) add until you like the consistency.  

Once cooked, add (this is not for the faint of heart) a large chunk of butter and half or so of a small container of Mascarpone cheese (about 1/2 cup)  

Assemble the plate with a dollop of grits, a generous helping of veg on top and then the grilled shrimp. These flavours combined are beyond description!

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Gorgeous Tomato Ginger Jam

We first had a taste of this delectable treat at a county fair food truck in Stowe, Vermont. A big yummy seared pork belly sandwich with this incredible jam, arugula and a bit of sriracha aioli. MY GOSH...my mouth exploded with WTF!!!

So simple, so incredibly delicious, hard to describe...here it is:

4-5 large ripe tomatoes, blanched, cored and skinned or 1 large can of tomatoes without the juice. Cherry tomatoes are amazing also...you can get them in a tin as well.
About 1-1/2 cups of sugar for a full recipe, or pair down if making less, needs to be sweet.

¼ c. g

rated ginger ( I like lots, gives a great bite!)
3 or 4 grinds of course black pepper
Big pinch of salt
At the end...1-2 teaspoons (or more) of freshly squeezed lime juice

Put the tomatoes in the saucepan and stir in the sugar, pepper, and salt. Add the fresh ginger. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently to ensure that the mixture is cooking evenly, until most of the liquid has cooked off. If foam occasionally rises to the top, skim it off. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice.

Storage:
The jam will keep for at least 6 months in the refrigerator, in jars or tupperware.

A  great condiment for turkey, pork or anything really. Makes the BEST side for a gorgeous cheese platter. Try on any sandwich. So beyond good!!

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