Slow Cooker Pork Shoulder

This 3lb Pork Shoulder cooked on low for almost 10 hours........let me repeat this -  COOKED ON LOW FOR ALMOST 10 HOURS. Got it? Can you imagine what your house smells like after those 10 hours? I'll tell ya, it smells like you are the most amazing cook in your part of town, that's what it smells like. It smells like sweet pork heaven has landed in your kitchen (or wherever you keep you slow-cooker, I'm guessing kitchen, but hey there are some food freaks out there! slow-cooker can be set-up right next to the bed for all we know, not that I know). I have some good news and I have some bad news....bad news first - I never got a picture of the final product, aka, the amazing-fall-off-the-bone-super-tender-cooked-on-low-for-10-hours-pork. Please keep in mind, it was late, I was tired, already in my comfies and I just wanted to get this pork into the fridge and clean up before bed. Ok, now for the good news (see good news last is better), I now have almost 3 lbs of slow-cooker pork to use however I want! And.....I took pictures of the entire process up until the pork went in for his slow-cooker spa day. Plus, if you just scroll down a bit, you'll see the first meal I made with this flipping amazing pork.

1. I started by creating a dry rub for the pork - 2 tbsp Brown Sugar, 2 tbsp Salt, 1 tbsp Pepper, 1 tbsp Paprika, 1 tbsp Cayenne Pepper, 1 tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar, 1 tbsp Honey and 2 tbsp Olive Oil. Coat the pork shoulder and let this marinate for 30 minutes, at least.

2. Add in the roughly chopped vegetables to the slow-cooker. I used - 1 Onion, 3 stalks Celery, 3 Carrots, 4-5 cloves Garlic. I added in 1 Vegetable Bouillon Cube, 2 dried Chilies, and 1 cup of Chicken Stock. Season with Salt & Pepper.

3. Add the pork shoulder to the slow-cooker. Turn to low and let this cook on low for 10 hours. Hubba Hubba Hubba.

Slow Cooker Pork Tacos

Ok, so since there was no after picture of the finished pork from the slow-cooker, I will make it up to you by providing the pictures & recipes of the meals I will/have used it in. Last night was the first dinner created from the pork shoulder.......hence the name Slow Cooker Pork Tacos - not very creative, but do you need to hear anything else besides Slow Cooker Pork Tacos, yeh didn't think so. Each little side dish I made to accompany the tacos will be used again for future meals; salads, sides, toppings for lunch tacos? It's all good, and the flavors only get better with time too. Well, not that much time, or it's goes bad. Ok, moving on, cause we're all here for 1 reason and it's not my babbling thoughts - it's da food!

 Shredded Pork in "My Simple BBQ Sauce" - I made a super quick version of classic bbq sauce, using what I had on hand - 2 tbsp Ketchup, 2 tbsp Brown Sugar, 1 tbsp Honey, 1 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar, 1 tbsp minced Garlic, Salt & Pepper. Mix the sauce into the shredded pork.

Black Bean & Corn Salsa - again my super simple version - 1 cup Corn, 1 cup Black Beans, 1 cup store-bought Salsa, Salt & Pepper. Mix to combine, easy right?

Crunchy Slaw with Chipolte Yogurt Dressing - it is basically these 3 ingredients - 2 cups store-bought Broccoli Slaw, 1/2 cup Plain Yogurt, 1 tbsp Chipolte Sauce, Salt & Pepper. Mix to combine. Yes, it's super easy, you can make this in your sleep people!

Queso Fresco - no recipe, just crumble up and enjoy.....enjoy it over everything.

Ahhhh.....Slow Cooker Pork Tacos with all the fixins!

Memorial Day BBQ

This past Memorial Day weekend, I truly got to relax - no driving, no traveling, no traffic, no stress - just hanging out and enjoying the company of family and friends while eating a variety of grilled foods and drinking ice cold beers (& wine too, of course). Each morning was spent waking up on my own with the sun shining in my face, no alarm clock needed. I cleaned the house and cleaned up the yard a bit, than off to the shower, quick trip to the grocery store or beer, wine, chips, or whatever else we decided to bring to the gatherings. It was a very stress-free weekend, needless to say. Thankfully, I remembered to bring my camera with me to my dad's BBQ on Sunday and get some great pictures of the awesome food! My uncle brought over some amazing steaks and sausages from a famous butcher on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, NY. If you are not familiar with Arthur Avenue, it is famously known for fresh breads, cheeses and meats. This section of the Bronx is mostly Italian, which is why the food is so good. I have yet to visit this area, but I will most certainly be checking it out very soon, I mean come on, for a girl who LOVES to eat, and who especially LOVES local fresh meats and produce, it's a damn shame I have yet to go.

Here we have Pinwheel Steaks and a fresh made Herb & Cheese Sausage.

The Pinwheel Steaks are thinly pounded flank steaks that are rolled up with proscuttio and cheese. I am not sure what the cheese was, but I'm thinking maybe fontina? or a very mild parmesan? Either way, it was yumm-mmmy! The fresh made Sausage was seriously delicious. The casing became crispy and had snap to it when you took a bite (this is a very good thing by the way, means the casing is fresh) and the inside was juicy and tasty!

There were also Pineapple Skewers that were grilled to perfection. The pineapple chunks were marinated in a combination of hot sauce, melted butter and honey. That marinade could be put on anything - chicken, pork, fish, vegetables, car tire? Seriously anything, it was simple and perfect.

Of course, awesome picture taking happens when you have awesome food placement.

Flip the steaks, remove the grilled pineapple and center the sausage. At this point the steaks were nearly done and your mouth was watering.

Remove the steaks and set aside to rest for a minute. NEED-WANT NOW-NEED IN BELLY-WANT. This is what was going off in my head while taking this picture.

Oh and of course........chips, no BBQ is complete without a bag of chips. Ruffles Ultimate Sweet & Smokin BBQ Chips. These. were. amazing. chips. especially. went. well. with. ice. cold. Sam. Adams. Summer. Ale. You get the point.

Everyone was happy with the meal. This is my handsome little brother Connor!

Buffalo (chicken) Sloppy Joes with Homemade Fries

This was "Sweet baby Jesus, I'm in love" type of good. I can't even remember the last time I had a Sloppy Joe, and from my faint memory, I don't think I liked it very much. I always thought of Sloppy Joe's, as very messy (of course) and also that the sauce was a bit too sweet for my taste, hence the reason I can't remember the last time I ate one of these. Well, this version has changed my thoughts completely. Instead of beef, I used chicken to keep this on the healthier side and I loaded up on extra veggies, so this sauce was much chunkier than the original mess-hall-soupy-slop-on-the-plate version. Of course, where there is chicken my buffalo sauce is not far away. I just love the flavors together, so.....Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joe's it is! And because I was feeling a little nostalgic with this dinner, I added a side of homemade fries, simply baked and simply delicious! It felt like I was eating a grown-up version of a childhood meal and that made me very happy. What also makes me very happy is the 3-day weekend that I have ahead of me! There will be backyard bbq's and Sunday brunch and relaxing and drinking. Day drinking to be exact and night drinking too :)

Happy Memorial Day! And a huge THANK YOU to all our veterans and soldiers. You are the reason we are free to celebrate and live our lives!

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Get all your veggies chopped so they can be added at the same time. To begin, start with the miropois - carrots, celery and onion, chopped, about 1 cup of each.

2. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add in the veggies and season with salt and pepper. Cook until tender about 5-7 minutes.

3. Next, add in 2 cloves Garlic, chopped and 2lbs of Ground Chicken.

4. Break up the chicken with a wooden spoon and cook until you get brown bits. Yes, this kinda looks like brains, it's not pretty, but it will taste good soon.......

5. After the chicken is fully cooked, add in the "buffalo sloppy joe sauce" -  1 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar, 2 tbsp Honey, 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce, 1 cup Buffalo Sauce, 1/2 cup Chicken Stock and 1 14oz Can Diced Tomatoes. Stir to combine and let this mixture cook for at least 1 hour on medium heat. Technically, you can serve it now, but come on.......let the flavors grow and become amazing.

6. While the buffalo chicken mixture is cooking, it's time to make the fries. Clean 2 Russet Potatoes. Cut into long, thin strips - fry shapes (very specific description, I know). Rinse the fries under cold water, until the water becomes clear and not foggy. Basically, you are getting rid of the starch in the potatoes. Too much starch = soggy fries. No starch = crispy fries. Ok moving on. Transfer to a baking dish, coat in olive oil, salt & pepper. Bake for 45 minutes, turning once. During the last few minutes, I toasted the buns......oooooo toasting my buns!

7. Serve and enjoy and Oooo and Ahhhhh - this shit is delicious!

Than, and this is a must, add on some Ranch dressing, it's only natural.

This recipe was taken from FoodNetwork.com - Rachael Ray's Sloppy Buffalo Joe's recipe

I changed it up a little, cause you know, that's how I roll

Panzanella Salad

"OH WOW, LOOK SHE MADE ANOTHER SALAD FOR DINNER! SO INCREDIBLY INVENTIVE THIS ONE IS". Is this what you are thinking? I hope not, but I can't blame ya. Yes, it's another salad post, but hey, this is my blog about food and this is what I ate for dinner last night. As you might already know, this is my favorite (well one of ok!) salad. Tomatoes, Mozzarella, Crunchy Bread, Basil and Balsamic Vinaigrette. I believe a traditional Panzanella Salad has shallots in it as well, but its my salad, and I didn't want shallots. Instead I added in olives, cause........it's my dinner! I also added in corn, because well, it was in the fridge and I ususally add in corn to any salad, it adds a sweet little pop of flavor!

So, whatever, this isn't some new-ground-breaking recipe, it's salad and it's what I had for dinner.

AND I LOVE THIS SALAD, SO GO MAKE IT AND YOU'LL LOVE IT TOO!

Balsamic Flank Steak with Garlic & Ginger glazed Bok Choy

Marinating flank steak in balsamic vinaigrette was one of the greatest things I have done with my life this week. Ok, that is a a bit extreme, but it has changed the way I marinate steaks forever. I always marinated steaks in a very conservative way - olive oil, salt & pepper - because I thought that the natural flavor of the steak should shine through, so instead of adding big flavors, I would keep it really really simple. Well, I threw that stupid rule out the window when I tasted this flank steak last night. When I initially added the balsamic vinegar to the bowl I was marinating the steak in, I was a bit taken back. I kept thinking, wow this has a really strong vinegar smell, what if the whole steak tastes like vinegar? What will I do if this steak tastes horrible? What a waste of time and money on stupid vinegar steak! Lucky for me, and my darling, it turned out to be just the opposite of my fears. There was a gorgeous crust as a result of the sugars cooking down in the balsamic vinegar and the steak was incredibly tender and juicy. Unless I find a new marinade that can compete, balsamic vinegar is the route I will follow from here on out. Sorry other marinades, you had your chance and you blew it! Ok, no you didn't blow it, I'll probably give you another chance, but I won't love you like I love balsamic.

And looky here, I took lots and lots of pictures for you! Dang, when I'm good.......I'm good. And when I'm bad, I'm.......well it's usually because I finished off an entire bag of Doritos after coming home from the bar :( Why does the drunk brain think shit won't get you fat when you eat bad late night?

1. Marinate the flank steak - 1 cup Balsamic Vinegar, 2 tbsp Olive Oil, 1 tbsp Brown Sugar, Salt & Pepper. Let this marinate for at least 1 hour. Next time, this steak will marinate for at least 6-8 hours, or overnight. It will be divine!

2. In a bowl, mix together the Garlic & Ginger Glaze ingredients - 1 tbsp Olive Oil, 1 tbsp Sesame Oil, 1/4 Water, 1 tbsp Ginger minced, 2 cloves Garlic minced, 1 tbsp Soy Sauce, 1 tbsp Brown Sugar, 1 tsp Red Chili Flakes, 1 tsp Pepper.

3. Clean the Boy Choy by gently separating the stems and running it under cold water. Unless you got this in some pre-packaged, wrapped in plastic wrap crap, there will be dirt in the stalks - it's ok, it means it fresh from the dirt.

4. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Because the stalks take longer to cook than the leaves, start by adding in the boy choy, bottoms first. I held them in for a few minutes before dropping them in.

*I asked my darling to take pictures of this process because I was using both my hands during this process. I said "can you get a few pics of this for me, please?".......he literally just took the pics, no zooming in on the boy choy, no editing out my entire body, including my fabulous pj shorts, no editing out the very clean and organized kitchen, he just took a picture like I asked him to do. Anywho, you get the idea, the very clear idea of what me and my kitchen look like while I cook!

5. After the bok choy have rested in the boiling water for 5 minutes, drain and run under cool water to help stop the cooking process. Lay on paper towels to dry. Don't they look so pretty!

6. In a separate pan, brown 2 slices of bacon, chopped. Drain the fat from the pan and set the bacon aside. At this time, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. It's almost time for the yummy steak.

7. In the same pan the bacon cooked in, you will cook the garlic & ginger glaze in. Add the glaze mixture to the pan and begin to reduce the sauce.

8. While the sauce is reducing to a glaze, heat your grill pan oer high heat. Cook the steak on each side for 2 minutes. I noticed the steak was burning a bit due to the balsamic vinegar, so I added a touch of water to the screaming hot pan, it helped calm the burning process a bit. Transfer to the oven and cook for 7-8 minutes.

Ahhh, that is a beautiful sight my friends........

9. While the steak is in the oven, it's time to finish the boy choy. I sliced each boy choy in half and added them in cut side down. I let them cook in the glaze for 5-6 minutes.

10. Remove the steak from the oven and let sit for at least 5 minutes. Now, just because this steak is already heavenly, doesn't mean you are free to just cut into it willy-nilly. The steak must be sliced against the grain. See the grain lines in the steak and can you see how my knife is going to cut against them....there you go, cutting against the grain. Don't say you didn't learn something today. And if you knew that little secret already, here's something new for you to learn today........I despise raw onions!

11. Ok moving on......here is the final presentation. Taken moments before we devoured this meal. It was delicious and dare I say healthy too? No carbs and no bad fats, ok besides the bacon, but come on!! 

And done.......

Food & Drink Samples - YES PLEASE!!

This past Saturday, I was lucky enough to attend an awesome, let's get this straight A-W-E-S-O-M-E, tasting event in NYC. It was the 5th annual "New Taste of Upper West Side" event and it takes place over the course of 3 days.

The first tasting event (held on 5/16), is called Vegetables at Dovetail - this is a sit down dinner where 5 chefs from their respected restaurants cook and present a 5-course dinner, all vegetarian, for you to enjoy. This organic-inspired dinner is held at Dovetail restaurant in NYC.

The second tasting event (held on 5/18), is called Comfort Classics - this is a food sampling event, where all the restaurants line their tables around the perimeter of the tented space and you walk around and get to taste a little bit of heaven from each table, with the wine, beer and liquor tables in the middle. The theme for this night is comfort food, obviously by the name.

The third tasting event (held on 5/19, which I attended) is called Best of the West - this is a food sampling event, same set-up as the comfort food classics one, but different restaurants and different foods. The theme for this event is celebrating all that is good about some of NY's most prestigious restaurants. All the restaurants that attend this event, and all the events, are located in or around NY's Upper West Side area, which ranges from 60th - 90th street. I have attended this event for a few years and it is the absolutely highlight of my food life (there is such a thing, I think, maybe I just made that up). I wish I had gotten more pictures for you to see, but I was too busy eating and drinking wine, can you blame me?

Chef Marc Murphy from Landmarc - Landmarc-Restaurant

Chef Michael Lomonaco from Porter House - Porterhouse New York

And my beautiful mother, eating an oh-so-flippin-heavenly Shake Shack burger - Shake Shack.   If you haven't tasted one of their burgers, go right now, go now, please!