I have been recording Melissa d'Arabian's show (Food Network) because I watched this season's "...Next Food Network Star", and she was declared the winner. We definitely enjoyed her simple perfect crispy chicken a l'orange and cripsy potatoes. This time, I decided to try her Succulent Braised Pork with Black Beans. Melissa's Show is called "$10.00 Dinners", which many viewers (including me) thinks is a very risky title. I do think that the $10.00 price tag takes into acccount that many of Melissa's choices of ingredients should be items that would be in any kind of well-stocked pantry.
I confess-- I'm one of those OCD folks who doesn't like to run out of my pantry and refrigerator staples. I do shop once a week, and I always carry a list. The only thing I needed to buy for this menu was the pork butt roast...
...that happened to be on sale for $1.69 a pound. The smallest one I could find weighted 4 pounds.
Have you ever bought tomato paste in a tube? I always keep a box (or two) on hand. It's perfect when a recipe wants 2-3 Tablespoons of tomato paste. I no longer have to open a can of tomato paste and then try to figure out what to do with the rest--though, I've read that you can freeze it. The problem with that, is I forget they're in the freezer!
The rest of the ingredients were, indeed, in my pantry and fridge-- a mire poix (carrots, onion and celery), fresh garlic, salt and pepper, beef broth (you could use chicken) and red wine. Whenever I shop at Trader Joe's, I buy red wine (for cooking) for under $5.00 a bottle. I never buy cooking wine-- it's yucy and salty. Surprisingly, some of TJ's inexpensive wines are quite good to drink with dinner. (Then again, I'm not exactly a wine somelier.) Not pictured is flour, because I was too lazy to measure it. Ha!
Melissa's recipe calls for 2 pounds of pork butt roast. Fine, I'll freeze the other half for either a BBQ pulled pork recipe or even a Mexican themed pulled pork. So that means, I had about $3.50 invested in a meal for four. Not bad!
I cut one half into six large pieces... and chop the vegetables. It's time to sear the pork in olive oil. I adore my cast-iron Dutch Oven. It's heavy, but I love the way it sears and braises.
Back in the day, when I first started cooking on my own, I could never get that beautiful golden crust when I tried to sear meat. I finally learned that you MUST have the meat dry...no moisture on it, please. I also learned to get the oil HOT... I look for a rippling in the oil and just as it's starting to smoke, throw those puppies in the oil jacuzzi. Don't crowd them, either. Fortunately, all six pieces fit in the Dutch Oven just fine.
The next thing I finally figured out, is- DON'T PLAY AROUND WITH THE MEAT for at least 3-5 minutes. Oh, look! C'mon, isn't that pretty? Can't you hear it sizzling? Sear these on each side from 3-5 minutes and remove from the pan...
... and set these aside. I had to stand back and admire my Dutch Oven's work...
It's those beautiful brown bits (fond) that is going to give the veggies a wonderful flavor and color..
...like this. I cook these for about 5-7 minutes, until softened. Ready to build up more flavor? Garlic is always a great way to start. I used to burn garlic, until I learned to add fresh garlic at the end. Burnt garlic is bitter.
Using my Zyliss garlic mincer, I add fresh garlic... then the tomatoe paste and cook that for about 3 minutes. Next, the flour is added and cooked for a couple of minutes-- to get rid of the raw flavor.
I moved the veggies aside and added 1 cup of red wine... which sounded like s-h-h-h-h. This thickened up really fast!
This really smells fabulous! Next, the beef broth is added...
...then the seared pork is placed into the sauce, along with the juices. My oven is preheated to 325F. NOTE: You could, very well, use a slower cooker (or a pressure cooker) at this point. I happened to be home all day, so I didn't mind using my oven. I added a little more water, per Melissa's instructions-- just until the liquid reached the top.
Last, but not least, I cut some of my scroungy looking Italian Parsley and added some Bay Leaves. Into the oven for about 3 hours...
Now, here's where I deviated from Melissa's entire menu. Melissa made black beans (kicked up with vinegar) and drop biscuits with green onion to go with this. I found this to be an "odd" combination. I admit, that I'm not a huge bisquit fan-- but I'm also not from the South. I nixed the biscuits, and opted to make rice, flavored with fresh cilantro and fresh lime juice.
I read the reviews on her black beans, and they were so-so. So, I went back to my fool-proof recipe for black beans that are a little spicy. I was guessing that Melissa was trying to do some sort of Cuban/Latin menu-- so I figured that cilantro and lime would tie in well.
For the beans you can soak them and cook them according to package directions. Or, you can used canned black beans (and these are always in my pantry)...
...because I think they are just as good, much easier and I pay about $1.00 a can.
Drain them, reserving about 1/4 of the liquid. Rinse them well and put into a pot.
I use about 1/4 tsp of Chipotle Chile Powder (this stuff rocks, because it has a nice smoky flavor and it packs heat)....add more, if you don't mind having your tongue on fire. I use about 1 teaspoon of cumin and some kosher salt. That's it! Heat slowly and set aside... (before serving, squeeze a little fresh lime juice, if desired).
For the rice, I cook white (or brown rice) according to package directions. When it's cooked, about the juice of 1-2 fresh lime juice and about one cup of fresh chopped cilantro.
...2 1/2 hours later, the house smelled like something really good was happening.
OMG! This is comfort food! It's time to eat, and we're hungry.
You can see the rice peeking out from underneath this tender plate of braised pork.
The beans deserve a little Lite Sour Cream...
The sauce is amazing and non-greasy. My husband is anxiously awaiting...
Mmmmmmmmm. This reminds me of Osso Bucco... only it's a lot less expensive. In fact, I do think this entire meal stayed within $10.00-- excluding my pantry items I already had on hand.
I think that the braised pork dish would pair perfectly with polenta. It would soak up the sauce (and I would double it, it's that good) and that is exactly what I will do the next time I make this-- and I shall. Craig, who is stingy with rating recipes as "five stars" gave this one two eager thumbs up!
The black beans are delicious, but I don't think I'd pair them with this with this dish, next time. I think they are polar opposites-- the pork has a Parisian Bistro theme and the beans are more Latin inspired. But, that's me... maybe you'd like to try Melissa's version of black beans and drop biscuits. You can view her entire menu here.
What really made this dinner special is that-- after my whining that I didn't want summer to end-- we got a little unexpected rain. I have to say, that the sweet sound of rain made this wonderful meal really feel like a comfort food dinner. I hope that you try this dinner and that you enjoy it as much as we did-- and we shall, again and again.
Before I share how I found this recipe, how I made it and how much we liked it, please allow me to share with you a little bit about the climate where I life-- and how it affects what I consider to be seasonal items. Thank you.
I live on the Central Coast of California, nestled between San Francisco (125 miles to the north) and one of my favorite cities-- Santa Barbara--(230 miles to the south).
For the most part, I enjoy all THREE seasons in the Salinas Valley-- Spring mild temperatures with some strong infamous Salinas winds... SUMMER, where temps average in the 70's to low 80's (so air-conditioners are not in our homes) and FALL, which can be delayed until early November. Our Indian Summers are what I appreciate most-- which can last between August through October. The only snow that we see, is on the panoramic mountain tops that we can see on top of the hill in our back yard. That snowfall only lasts a day or two, but it is spectacular to see. We don't really experience true winter, except for the very cold frosts that kill off the last of many of my garden herbs and tomatoes. I'll stop now, or I'll start weeping. It kills me to buy commercial tomatoes, from Mexico. They're anemic and just aren't the same.
"The Farm" where I shop for locally grown, organic produce-- with the background of where I live.
So, what's my point? I'm glad you asked! I'm very stubborn about letting go of summer recipes. During my morning commute, I'm already seeing strawberry fields being plowed under, and early sightings of orange pumpkins, reminding me that the seasonal harvests are changing. No! I'm not ready! I need to race to my local farm stand to buy more strawberries. Now!
...until I read Vanilla Sugar's post on her Sweet Potato Hash. I had three sweet potatoes waiting to become something savory. I had just posted a recipe for making Perfect Crispy Potatoes so Dawn's Sweet Potato Hash recipe screamed out to me for breakfast. Honestly, I leaped out of my chair and made this recipe for breakfast. The ingredients were simple, and readily available-- onion, cut-up sweet potatoes, olive oil, a pat of butter, kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.
In a separate skillet, I began to caramelize half of a very large onion, and began peeling and chopping two sweet potaotes (3 seemed like too many for the two of us). In another oven-proof skillet, I began to saute' the sweet potatoes with a little olive oil, salt & pepper.
After a few minutes, I added 3 Tbsp. water, covered the taters with a lid and let them cook until the water was absorbed-- maybe 5 more minutes. About 15 minutes later, the onions were caramelized and I added those, a pat of butter and blended everything together. I wish I had used the entire onion, though...
After 15 minutes in a 375F oven, the potatoes were crispy on the outside, and soft in the middle. I cut fresh parsley and chives, from my summer herb garden (more sniffling, at the thought of it...)
The hash is garnished with fresh parsley and it looks and smells delicious!
Using the same skillet, I quickly fried an egg. Sunny-side up looked pretty on Dawn's photos, but we prefer over-easy. I snipped fresh chives, with scissors...
Craig cut in for his first bite (he loves sweet potatoe fries) and I yelled, "WAIT!" and took this shot. My husband is so patient with my food blogging addiction....
This is my first bite-- yummy!
You could certainly use any kind of potato for this dish-- I might add bacon, or even try a little balsamic vinegar, instead of Worcestshire sauce.
Thanks, Dawn @ Vanilla Sugar, this one is a keeper! This is for you:
There is nothing wrong with your vision. I know...the title says this is Ina Garten's Birthday Sheetcake. Instead, you are viewing a three-layer cake. You see, this week's choice for the Barefoot Bloggers comes from Susy of "Everyday Gourmet". Susy chose this recipe from Ina Garten's Cookbook, Barefoot Contessa Family Style (which I recently purchased), because it's her birthday month. Happy Birthday, Susy!
I admit, that I groaned when I first saw this recipe. Don't get me wrong! I love cake, are you kidding?! It's just that my almost-21 year old son recently moved out and I'm adjusting to cooking for two.
What to do? I decided to bake with two 9-inch round cake pans. My second dilemma is that -- are you ready-- I'm not a huge fan of dark chocolate frosting. I like milk chocolate, in moderation. I just couldn't muster enough enthusiasm to make Ina's ganache-style frosting, because dark chocolate frosting just isn't my favorite thing. I do, however, appreciate a moist chocolate cake with vanilla frosting-- like my Chocolate Bliss Cake. I admit that I considered using the same lemon that I used for the zest, in this cake batter, to make a lemon butter cream. On second thought, I figured I'd be deviating too far of a from Ina's recipe...so, I had to carefully think outside the box. I jumped in without any set idea of where I would end up.
I'll quit yapping, and get on with the show--
Thanking my lemon tree, I zested one lemon and brought the eggs and butter to room temperature-- all the while my wheels were spinning on how to tone down the chocolate in this cake recipe. I busied myself, gathering the rest of the ingredients and gathering my baking tools gadgets.
Oh, yeah! I forgot that I had purchased these cake bands when I took a Wilton Cake Decorating class in July! I read that these help cakes to bake more evenly. OK, I'll give it a shot! It's a good thing I couldn't miss this label, or I would have skipped an important step of giving these a good soaking.
I mixed up the dry ingredients and I started creaming butter and sugar for five minutes, then... adding sour cream...
Adding eggs, and then the dry ingredients. Hmmm, this batter seems pretty thick (my thoughts in my busy brain). Oooh! It sure tastes good!
Still, I'm thinking that this dough is kinda thick. I used an off-set spatula to even it out a bit. I had extra batter, so I grabbed a third pan and filled it.
Holy Smoke! Can you see the difference in layer height between the pan in front and the one in backwilt? I think these bands really do work! However, I now have two tall layers and one kinda shrunken and a browner layer...what will I do?
I love using Wilton's Cake release, too. I don't need to butter and flour-- I just brush this product on and the cake pop right out of the pan! I kept admiring how tall and even colored these layers are! Now, what do I do next? Think, think, think! I settled on making vanilla pudding, deciding I would use that as a filler instead of all chocolate frosting. I've made Ina's pastry cream for her delicious strawberry tart, but I'm just not in the mood for all that extra work-- because I still have frosting to make. So I grabbed boxed pudding-- the kind you cook and chill. Yes-- me, the person who strives to cook all things from scratch. Ha! I covered the pudding with plastic wrap and debated if I should make Ina's chocolate frosting, after all. I look at Ina's recipe and...
My decision is made. I'm making my own easy chocolate butter cream, using Dutch Processed Cocoa! My husband licked that beater blade clean, I'll tell you. He loved it. It's time to assemble the cake-- and I decide to grab a jar of my homemade raspberry jam. I'm thinking vanilla cake, vanilla pudding, raspberry jam and chocolate-- that should do it! I seriously wanted to call my cake baking/decorating diva and friend-- Monica, from "Lick the Bowl Good". I need ideas. I need support. Then, I realize, I can't find her phone number. I'm utterly alone and out of my comfort zone. I confess-- I never finished the Wilton Cake Decorating Class. I'm not very good at fancy cake decorating, and my Wilton roses look like cabbages. So, I forge on and put into practice a couple of very useful tricks that I learned.
I'm a kitchen gadget freak lover, so here's my Wilton giant spatula. No more breaking cakes in half, while transferring from a cooling rack to a turntable! Has that ever happened to you? Frosting can hide lots of accidents, you know. I did learn how to properly use a piping bag and I have an impressive ridiculous collection of tips. I haven't used all of them, but I grabbed a #21 tip and pipe a wall of frosting around my first layer. This prevents jam from oozing onto the sides. Next, I add a layer of homemade raspberry jam-- and I have, yet, to blog about how I made. Yummy!
So far, so good...
I have extra pudding and a lot of frosting...the moment of truth.. do I go for three layers? I rarely do this, and that's a lot of cake! With a courageous flourish, I add the third layer. I grab tip #789 which is a really wide tip that helps to evenly apply frosting on top of the cake, and along the sides. It's pretty cool!
I stand back to admire my leaning tower of Pisa cake. Yikes! What have I done? Because the cakes bake extra-high I have created a monster. Do I have enough frosting? I race to my laptop and send Monica a frantic email! She's the Queen of Mile High Cakes. Nothin'. She's probably enjoying some Texas Barbecue... I'm in it now, I sigh to myself. It's dinner time and I'm thinking of the Santa Maria Style tri-tip I needed to get on the grill... so, I didn't photograph the frosted cake. Instead, I remove food from the fridge to set the frosting, and we focus on the grill. After dinner, natural light is fading ...
...I carefully cut into the cake...
It's moist, but it has a dense texture. Personally, I prefer light and tender cakes. It's good... but this recipe doesn't earn my "OMG, this is fantastic!" The cake reminds me of Pioneer Woman's Strawberry Shortcake Cake. NOTE: After making this cake, I read the reviews. I wish I had done this in reverse order. This recipe doesn't have stellar reviews, but some folks said to reduce the baking soda down to 3/4 tsp.
I immediately freeze half the cake, to give to my son when he comes to visit-- which I suspect will happen once he's tired of eating Top Ramen and frozen pizza. The rest of the cake goes to my husband's office. I'm relieved, because I don't need that kind of temptation.
Overall, I made this cake more work than it needed to be. Sheet cakes are my lazy way of baking-- and I'm still in-love with Pioneer Woman's (Ree) Texas Chocolate Sheet cake, because it's so easy to make. Ree's recipe wins my OMG factor for chocolate ratio/moistness and ease to make-- (sorry, Ina). Overall, I much prefer a white cake that is made with only egg whites, and with a little hint of almond extract. I'm still searching for that perfect recipe.
Ina's recipes have never failed me, and I've posted several of her recipes. I wouldn't say this one failed me. It's just not one I would have personally chosen to make. Still, I enjoyed the challenge. Would you believe the next BB's recipe is another cake-- chocolate, no less?? You're killing me!
I've posted Ina's recipe and my chocolate butter cream a the bottom of this page. Thanks, Susy, for encouraging me to think outside the box. I can't wait to see what the other Barefoot Bloggers thought of this recipe. Come check them out, too. Join us, if you are a fan of Ina Garten. I've met some really nice people through this group. But, please, no more cake recipes for a while, okay? My bathroom scale thanks you.
