Author: Emily

Carnitas

/ Emily / 1 Comment

I cannot turn down a good taco. I’m not talking the crunchy shelled, “ground beef” varieties peddled by your corner Taco Bell. It’s the soft corn tortillas (perhaps doubled up), the pile of slow-cooked meat filling and those bright, fresh toppings that suit my fancy. Unfortunately we have not discovered our “taco spot” in town. It seems like everyone who is a fan, seeks out the place that becomes theirs. Taco trucks, taquerias, sometimes disguised in little tiendas- that is where you find the real deal. We are hopeful that we will find “our” place here someday. In the meantime, I can’t get too glum since I am married to someone who shares my love for tacos and has mastered cooking one of my favorite varieties: carnitas. I shadowed his process and documented it to share with fellow taco connoisseurs. This is a dish that you should cook on a Sunday when you are hanging around the house. It’s slow-going, but worth it in the end. DSC_0056

Carnitas Tacos

Ingredients

  • 2lb Pork shoulder
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • several dried chiles
  • 2 tsp. white pepper
  • 1 tsp. coriander
  • 2 tsp. paprika
  • 1 bottle Mexican Coca Cola
  • package small corn tortillas
  • cilantro
  • white onion
  • limes
  • pickled veggies (optional, link to recipe below)
  1. Heat oven to 200 degrees. Rub down the pork with the spices. Pour cola over top and add the chilies and garlic. In the picture you can see I used my enameled cast iron stock pot. This is the ideal dish to cook in, as you will be using the stove top after its cooked in the oven. If you don’t have something similar, use a glass baking dish (preferably with a lid) and then you can use a skillet for the end portion.
  2. DSC_0010Cook the pork for 4-5 hours. Once the pork is falling apart, it’s ready for the next step.
  3. If using a glass baking dish in the oven, transfer to a wide, deep skillet or stock pot. Place on the stove top over medium heat without the lid. Simmer until most of the juices and cola have evaporated, approx. 15 minutes.
  4. Once most of the juices have evaporated and what is left is a little fat, crank the heat up to high and “fry” for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom for those tasty browned bits. The meat should look moist, but not dripping.
  5. Steam corn tortillas in microwave or crisp in a skillet. Our method is wrapping about 10 tortillas in a wet papertowel and microwaving for about 1.5 minutes.

Top with your favorite toppings. We always have cilantro, diced white onion and limes. This time I made some quick pickled veggies (a la Muchas Gracias, for my Oregon friends). You can find the recipe I used here. http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2014/10/pickled-jalapeno-chile-recipe/

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Kyle chopping cilantro with one of his hand forged knives.

Peanut Butter Pretzel & Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Snow days mean something different to everyone. You see the die hard skiers cross county-ing across the park, kids flinging themselves into piles of questionable snow and others staying burrowed into their cozy homes. As many times as I experience the snow, it always feels like an adventure to get out there. Even if it’s just a trip to the store to get “rations” (sounds way cooler than groceries) I feel a sense of pride and rugged sensibility. But it is also nice to get home, cook a hot meal and stoke the fire. These cookies conjure up a similar feeling of comfort and adventure. Hope you enjoy these salty & sweet treats!

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Peanut Butter Pretzel & Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 1.5 cups broken peanut butter pretzels**

How to:

  1. Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
  2. Cream butter and sugars. add in eggs and vanilla, mix well.
  3. Gradually add in flour mixture. Stir in pretzels and chocolate chips. The pretzels may not want to totally incorporate, so as you are preparing to bake the cookies, try to integrate any pieces at the bottom into the spoonfuls. They will bake into them beautifully.
  4. Chill for 30 minutes.
  5. Drop by spoonfuls onto a cookie tray. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 8-10 minutes.

**Trader Joe’s sells peanut butter pretzels! If you can’t find peanut butter ones, just go for the regular pretzels, it’ll still give you the salty flavor & crunch!

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Berk loves the snow.

Bourbon, Apple Cider and Ginger Fizz

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Fall was here for about a minute. And like that, it was gone. The scraggly trees holding on to a few brown leaves are now nearly invisible in a sea of white. My coworkers and I got giddy with the prospects of this winter wonderland. Twinkly lights were strung and Christmas music was playing. But wait! It’s only November! Before I jump on the Christmas bandwagon (and oh, I will) I wanted to share this fall cocktail to keep you warm from the inside out. It is simple and not too overbearing with the fall flavors. I recommend enjoying it by a roaring fire cozied up with the one you love.

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Bourbon, Apple Cider & Ginger Fizz

Ingredients

  • 1 oz. bourbon of choice
  • 2 oz. Spiced Apple cider
  • 2 oz. ginger ale (like Reeds or Cock & Bull brand- the good stuff!)
  • wedge of lime
  • cinnamon stick
  • Slice of apple

Pour bourbon, cider and ginger ale over ice. Squeeze lime over top. Stir. Garnish with a slice of apple and use a cinnamon stick as your stir stick!

Pots of Chocolate-y Goodness

/ Emily / 1 Comment

You know that song about heaven missing an angel? I am pretty sure it was written about these. And before you say, “that looks too fancy for me to make” read the recipe and see how simple it actually is. Our friend and brother came to visit this weekend and luckily, these guys enjoy food as much as we do. Kyle planned on making a French inspired dinner so I wanted to make a complimentary dessert. I had planned to make creme brulee, but didn’t get enough whipping cream so I had to go back to the drawing board. The result was a super decadent to eat, impressive to look at and easy to prepare dessert.

Trust me…

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Chocolate Pots de Creme

makes about 6 individual 4 oz. servings

Ingredients

  • 8 oz. semisweet chocolate (2 boxes of the Baker’s brand bars or 1/2 bag of chocolate chips)
  • 1.5 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 6 egg yolks
  • 4 TBL sugar
  • pinch of salt

How to:

  1. Break up chocolate into pieces and put in your blender or food processor. Pulse it until it becomes like a coarse powder.
  2. Separate your eggs so you just have the yolks (save the whites for an omelet or something!), whisk in the sugar just until blended.
  3. In a saucepan over medium heat, whisk together milk, heavy cream, egg & sugar mixture and a pinch of salt. Cook this for about 5 minutes while stirring constantly. Watch the temp of your burner. You don’t want this to get to a boil. Just a very, very light simmer. Cook until your mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon (see photo). Take off the heat.
  4. Pour the mixture directly into your blender over that chocolate powder from earlier. Pulse your blender until everything is smooth and incorporated, scraping the sides if you need to. Divide among ramekins (6) and give each one a few little taps to get out the air bubbles. Put in the fridge to chill for about 3 hours.
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This is what “coating the back of a wooden spoon” looks like.

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Ready for the fridge.

Toppings (optional, but encouraged!)

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  • 1/2 c. whipping cream
  • 1 t. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
  • 1/2 Tablespoon powdered sugar

1. Whip it all together!

Fruit Topping

  • 2 heaping tablespoons cherry preserves (you could do raspberry, blackberry etc.)
  • splash of whiskey

1. In a small saucepan or skillet over medium heat heat the preserves. Once they start to bubble a bit, add the whiskey. Enjoy the poof of whiskey aroma as the alcohol cooks off and then let it simmer for just a minute more. Remove from heat.

The final moment…. Your pots should be set and firm. Top with the whip cream, add a drizzle of the warm fruit and then prepare to sit around the table in silence while everyone savors these pots of deliciousness!

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Side note: I have ramekins, so I used those. But since there is no actual cooking in the vessel, you could use tea cups, little jars, etc.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins

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Thanks to our bountiful zucchini plants this year, I have been challenged to get creative with this green vegetable. This recipe falls somewhere between a cupcake and a muffin on the treat spectrum. No sugary frosting, but enough sweetness (& chocolate!) to satisfy a craving.

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Decadent Zucchini Muffins 

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
  • 4 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup coconut oil (melted)*
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 14 ounces zucchini (about 3 to 4 medium zucchini), ends trimmed, grated on the large holes of a box grater (about 3 cups)
  • 1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

  1. Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange two racks to divide the oven into thirds. Line muffin pans.
  2. Mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk or sift to ensure there are no lumps. Set aside.
  3. In another bowl mix the eggs, sugars, oil, and vanilla in a large bowl and whisk until the eggs are broken up and the mixture is thoroughly combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour mixture until just combined. Fold in the zucchini until evenly mixed. Finally add in the chocolate chips. Be careful not to over mix.
  4. Fill the muffin wells about two-thirds of the way and cover the tops with the walnut topping. Bake about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool and enjoy!

Topping

  • 1 c. coarsely chopped walnuts
  • 4 TBL. Cold butter
  • ½ c. packed brown sugar
  • 1 TBL. Flour
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon

Chop the butter into little pieces. Mix all ingredients together by hand. Get in there and squeeze all the ingredients together like you are squishing one of those stress balls. Mixing by hand will incorporate the butter best. Alternatively, you could pulse it in a food processor until the butter looks like small beads (but be careful not to over do it and turn it all into a paste!)

**To melt coconut oil, just measure out one cup and microwave for about 30 seconds in a glass cup. When it looks like most of it is melted, but there are a few chunks just swirl in until everything is melted. This will ensure that you aren’t putting in molten hot oil. Alternatively, you can use vegetable oil!

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This is Berk. He is our charismatic coonhound. He can be found doing something silly or flashing his big eyes to get his way. It usually works… Here he is showing off his “I don’t like the rain, but could model for Pendelton” look.

The Soup that Made my Husband say, “I Like Kale”

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It’s raining out, getting darker earlier and the natural inclination to cook and do things indoors is taking over. I love hearty soups. Not really a fan of the pureed versions… Just doesn’t do it for me. This soup is really satisfying, flavorful and pretty easy too. Oh, and it’s true–this simple soup actually made Kyle say he liked kale– which means it must be good!

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Kale, Potato and Sausage Soup

Ingredients

  • Olive Oil
  • ½ lb Spicy Italian Sausage (ground)*
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 10ish crimini mushrooms (optional)
  • 5 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
  • 6 c. water
  • 1 Tbl. “Better than Bullion” chicken stock**
  • 5 medium red potatoes, cubed
  • 1 can Cannelinni beans
  • 1 lb. kale, chopped
  • salt & pepper
  1. In a large pot heat oil and add the sausage. Cook until browned. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon and set aside. Discard all the fat minus about a tablespoon.
  2. Add onion, garlic and mushrooms. Cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat, stirring.
  3. Add the water, bullion and potatoes. Boil until the potatoes are tender. Turn the heat down to medium so you have a nice simmer going and add the beans, kale and sausage. You now just want to cook it until the kale is tender enough for your liking. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Don’t overdo the cooking at the end or you will lose that beautiful bright green color in the kale! Top with fresh grated parmesan if you’ve got it!

*If you want to make it healthier, you can do ground turkey. If you go this route make sure to add more spices as the ground turkey can be a little bland. I’d recommend red pepper flakes, thyme, oregano etc.

**I like using the Better than Bullion. I think it gives great flavor and ends up saving tons of money on chicken stock (and space in the pantry!). That said, if you prefer chicken stock, I’d use one large container (usually 32 oz and then add 2 c. water)

Vegan Chai Cookies

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Tis’ the season for pumpkin everything. Don’t be fooled by all the fake-o flavors out there, most of the stuff doesn’t even have pumpkin in it! But rejoice, these do. And on top of that, they are layered with more fall flavors and happen to be vegan too! I don’t really aim to bake vegan, but these were a favorite cookie at the old coffee shop I worked at in college and they stood up to the chocolate chip heroes valiantly. I made some tweaks to the original and what came out was a super moist, cake-like and spicy cookie. Hope you enjoy!

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Ingredients

  • ¼ coconut oil (melted)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/4 cup applesauce
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • ½ cup chai concentrate
  • ¼ cup almond milk
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp nutmeg
  • ½ tsp dried ginger
  • 3 cups flour

Mix wet ingredients until well blended. In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Mix the dry ingredients in stages until everything is incorporated.  Scoop onto a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes or until tops rise and crack.  Cool and top with glaze.

GLAZE:

Mix until smooth:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp maple syrup flavor
  • 1/2 Tbs almond milk
  • 1/2 Tbs chai mix
  • ½ tsp ginger

I think the cookies are great without the glaze so if you want to keep it simple, omit it, the cookies will still shine. If you do want to go for the glaze, you can play with the  amount of powdered sugar. If you want a glaze that will sort of crystalize and stay on top of the cookies, make it thicker (add more powdered sugar).

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Good spices make all the difference! We use spices from our local Savory Spice shop. They are fresher, cheaper and the shop has a huge variety. The picture on the right is nutmeg before I grated it on the microplane. I didn’t like nutmeg until I had it fresh!