Slow - Cooked Pulled Pork

For this recipe, you need:

2/3 cup of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup tomato ketchup
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 medium white onion, chopped
2 tbsp yellow mustard
2 tbsp white vinegar
3 1/2 pound boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into four pieces

That last part, the pork shoulder... it looks like this:


It's just, a piece of a pig. With the skin and everything. And I didn't really think about the boneless aspect, which was a big mistake. So I spent a good long time removing the skin and cutting the meat away from the bone, and trimming the fat. While this was most definitely disgusting, it also kind of made me smile, because I really felt like I was channeling my grammy. I could imagine her butchering a deer that one of my uncles had killed and then making stew or jerky. She wouldn't flinch. And somehow it didn't feel that gross to me.

So after I finished destroying that giant hunk of pork, I combined all the other ingredients into the crock pot.


Then you add the pork. While the recipe called for it to be cut into four pieces, I actually had to cut it into many more, since I was cutting it off of the bone. I probably had about 8 pieces. But I hoped this wouldn't make a difference.


Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. Luckily, I also received this crock pot from my grammy, and it was the perfect size.


After 8 hours, I removed the pork and used two forks to shred the meat, and then returned it and stirred it into the sauce.


I spooned about 1/2 cup onto a sandwich bun, and put it on a plate with some fun, picnic style sides; potato salad, macaroni salad, and some fruit.


And I'm happy to say, we are now 7 for 7. The pork was excellent. Dave put coleslaw on his sandwich, and inspired me to do the same, and I definitely recommend that as well. It gave it a nice crunchy texture.

Afterwards I thought it was only fair to let the pets lick the plates, since they had been tortured all day long with the smell of cooking pork shoulder (and since I probably had Sarah to thank for making me a little more comfortable with the pig skin thanks to her affinity for pig ears).


They were very appreciative.

Next week - double chocolate oatmeal cookies!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This recipe was apparently given to my grammy by someone named Margaret Doerflein. Here's what you need:

1/2 pound butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 pint sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

First, cream the butter. Oh, you have no idea what on earth that means? I didn't either. I found this great blog (for some reason blogger isn't cooperating and I can't hyperlink right now, so here it is - http://bakinglibrary.blogspot.com/2010/07/how-to-cream-butter.html) that explained it all to me, and even had pictures! Mine turned out like this:


It definitely had the mayonnaise texture (gross), so I think I did a pretty good job. You add the eggs to the creamed butter. In a different bowl, sift all the dry ingredients together. Then add alternately with the sour cream and vanilla.

You also need to mix up the ingredients for the topping. You need:

1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar


When you have both ready, you pour half of the batter into a buttered pan, then half the topping on the batter, and repeat.


Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.


Again, the smell was unreal. And it tasted excellent. The sour cream really adds something to it. I was pretty proud of this one; it really tasted like it was straight out of a legit bakery. Good job, Margaret Doerflein.


Next week - slow cooked pulled pork sandwiches!

Crab and Broccoli Casserole

I was looking forward to this one from the minute I looked through all the recipes, so I saved it for a special occasion: pretend Valentine's Day. (Since the boyfriend and I only see each other every other weekend or so, we designated this past weekend our official Valentine's Day.)

Here's what you need:

1 package of frozen broccoli
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 pound cooked crab meat (variation - ham can be substituted for the crab meat)

First cook the broccoli according to directions until almost done. Arrange it in the bottom of a 1-quart casserole dish. Like so:


Saute onions in butter and stir in salt and flour. I will admit I actually had to look up how exactly you saute, and learned that you cook the food using a small amount of oil or fat in a shallow pan over relatively high heat. So, that's what I did. You gradually add the milk, stirring constantly. Add the cheese and cook over low heat until thickened. Stir in the lemon juice and add the crab meat. Then, pour over the broccoli.


Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes until brown.


In all honesty, I'm not sure I've ever had a "casserole" before, so I'm kind of unsure if it came out exactly right. Is it supposed to keep its shape, like a loaf of something? When I spooned it out onto our plates it was more stew-y in consistency than loaf-y.


But the good news is, it was insanely delicious. I guess you can't really go wrong with broccoli, cheese, and crab meat. Definitely a successful dinner.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Next week - sour cream coffee cake!

Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Dip

Today I drank out of the Eagles glass i got from my Grammy, to get into the football spirit.


I went through the recipes looking for something Super Bowl appropriate; I was thinking maybe I would find a good wing recipe or something like that. When I saw the cheesy buffalo chicken dip I thought that might be perfect. I remembered my mom making it a couple of times and I had loved it.


My beautiful mom, Joann.

I also remembered trying to prepare food for my mom when I was a little kid. She was sick and wanted a sandwich. My first attempt was something along the lines of a ham and peanut butter sandwich with mayo. My poor mom probably held back some vomit and asked me to try again, this time with clearer instructions - just put a piece of ham between two pieces of bread. I did, but I thought it would cheer her up more if I also gorged out a smiley face in the top piece of bread and filled the holes with sprinkles. Needless to say, she ended up making her own sandwich.

What you need for this recipe (no sprinkles):

1 package of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
1/2 cup blue cheese dressing
1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot (I put that sh*t on everything!)
2 cups cooked chicken

Just mix all the ingredients in a pie tin (I used a regular baking dish). It looked like this:


Then bake for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven, until hot and bubbly. Stir everything together.


I packed it up and headed down to my bff Gretchen's to watch the big game. We broke into some tortilla chips and tried the dip. It was so good, but very spicy. I liked it, but if you aren't a huge fan I would recommend using a little less of the hot sauce (my mom warned me about that too when I told her I was making this).

And to really make the evening great, the Giants won. Yay!

I am still undecided about next week's recipe, so I guess it will be a surprise. Have a great week!