going South again

Pork, pulled or Shredded with

BBQ Sauce

2 lbs southern cut pork ribs

Cooking oil - enough to just coat pot

1 tablespoon of paprika

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups orange juice

1 tablespoon raw sugar

1/2 onion, minced

3 cloves garlic minced

1 Jalapeno, minced

2 Chipolte peppers, minced

1/2 teaspoon smoked salt

1 tablespoon dry orange zest

2 limes, juiced

6 oz tomato paste

sear the ribs in a large pot with a touch of cooking oil with salt and paprika

when brown to black, add onions and 1 garlic clove

cook till the garlic is brown (yes there is bitterness, you want that)

add orange juice, sugar, orange zest, Jalapeno and the remainder of the garlic.

Cover pot, set the heat on low and reduce liquid by half (~2 hours)

Remove ribs and as much fat as possible (discard fat)

Used a fork to remove any bones and the shred the pork.

Drain the fat and discard, but add any non-fat liquid back to the pot.

Add smoked salt, Chipolte peppers, lime juice and tomato paste to the liquid

cook on low until desired thickness (~30 minutes)

Middle Eastern

My mom's Parents were from Greece, one from Crete, the other Cyprus, so many dishes she created had that middle Eastern flavor.
I served these the other night, a complementary pair:  chicken and tabouli salad.

chicken Middle Eastern style

4 chicken quarters

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cumin

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup green peppers, diced

1/2 medium red onion, minced

mix garlic, onion, cinnamon, cumin, salt, cayenne pepper and dried parsley together

mix raisins, peppers and onions and spread them on a baking pan

rub each piece of chicken with this and set in the pan.

bake at 375 F for 30 minutes

Reduce heat to 225 till the internal temperature of the chicken is 160 F (~30 minutes)

Serve on a bed of cracked wheat or with a side of tabouli salad.

Tabouli

2 cups bugler wheat

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cumin

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon fresh parsley

1/2 cup green peppers, diced

1/2 medium red onion, diced

2 tomatoes diced

2 cucumbers diced

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup sesame oil

1/4 cup fresh mint, diced

2 cups plain yogurt

mix garlic, cinnamon, cumin, salt and cayenne pepper together with the dry wheat

Rehydrated the wheat mixture with 4 cups boiling water and then let cool 2 hours.

fluff with a fork after it is completely cooled

Mix in cucumbers, onions, peppers, tomatoes, mint and parsley.

Mix the sesame oil, lemon juice and yogurt  into the wheat mixture.

Chill and serve adding extra yogurt if desired.

clam, not so chowder

with our kitchen still in "progress", i have been cooking at one of our families other houses.
Thee are significant differences:
it is a large kitchen, with an electric stove and they do not have many of the supplies i normally use.
So i truck in stuff that i can find in the disarray at my home and hope i have not forgotten anything.

There are many dietary restrictions which people live with and i had to work with 2 people with an intolerance for milk products and one who has a very dangerous allergy to lobster, crab and shrimp and i wanted to do a chowder.
Additionally, i have never made a chowder before and so consulted the many recipe outlets on the internet.
Of course, not one had the kind of ingredients i needed and wanted to work with, but it gave me ideas.
As an aside, i do not like Manhattan clam chowder, so i was not going there either, but what i came up with was a success.

Joey's own Clam, not so chowder

1 pound of clam meat, minced
3 potatoes, cubed in half inch pieces
1 6 oz bottle clam juice
1 can vegetable stock
1 can cream of celery soup
1/2 cup corn
5 finger size carrots, diced small
1 white onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/2 cup scallions, green part diced
1 lb package bacon
flour, to make a roux

Cut up the bacon and cook it to crispy in a large pot
remove the bacon and cook the potatoes for 10 minutes on medium high heat (they should not brown, but should become soft)
Remove the potatoes and drain the excess bacon fat.
add onions, carrots, corn and garlic and just sweat the onions till translucent and then add the clam broth and vegetable stock
bring to a simmer and add back the potatoes, bacon, scallions and the can of cream of celery soup.
bring to a simmer and add the clams and thicken with roux.

serve with parsley sprinkled on top.
Pair with corn on the cob and garlic bread!

This is a full meal!