Grilled Corn Relish
August 17, 2011
Great corn is finally here. Though tomatoes top my list of most lusted after summer food, corn is a close second. This summer it seems everything is a bit late, so the wait for these iconic summer foods is all the more tortuous. Corn though, is now at its peak. The other day I loaded up on fresh corn at the local market. To my husband’s credit, he did not flinch when I presented him with an extra 18 ears of corn to grill alongside our dinner items for the night.
Grilled Corn Relish is a staple in our pantry. Each year I make a big batch and still end up having to meter it out over the course of the winter so that we do not run out. Grilling the corn adds a bit of nice charred flavor and some color to this sweet and tangy relish. You may also boil the corn if that is more convenient for you. Bag up any extra cooked corn you have and toss it in the freezer. It is a great addition to lots of other foods like these Cheesy Onion Corn Muffins or Chicken Tortilla Soup. If you do not want to process your jars, you can also keep the jars for months in the refrigerator.
Serve it with grilled meats, toss it with shredded cabbage for a quick and colorful salad, or use it to top soft tacos (our favorite).
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Chicken Satay
August 10, 2011
Though my time frees up in the summer when my day job as a high school science teacher takes a hiatus, somehow our dinners suffer. During the school year, time is so limited that a strict menu must be followed, the food shopping is completed on schedule, and for the most part we eat pretty well. During the summer though, I have the luxury to let loose. My kids and I bounce from one adventure to another and more than once we have found ourselves without a clue what to make for dinner. Or sometimes I spend the day canning and completely loose interest in preparing another meal when I am done. (I will not embarrass myself by sharing our dinner for tonight, except to say that it included refried beans, tortillas, and cheese and not much else- but beans are a vegetable right?) So you can see why when I find a recipe that is easy to whip up (especially in advance) and incredibly tasty, and yes, kid friendly, it quickly becomes a go-to recipe.
I first made Chicken Satay at the beginning of summer. We enjoyed it so much that it quickly fell into our program and has since graced our table a number of times. At once bold, yet not overwhelming, this mixture of spices is a tasty accompaniment to juicy chicken thighs. I modified the recipe to use Salt Preserved Lemons, instead of lemon grass, because I do not have a local source for the lemongrass and do have an abundance of lemons. The authenticity may suffer, but the flavor does not. The skewers cook up super fast on the grill, which keeps the oven off and the house cool. I usually serve this dish with a simple slaw, perhaps a mango salsa, and of course some sriracha for a spicy dip.
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World’s Easiest Carnitas with Grilled Tomatillo Salsa
July 14, 2011
Carnitas could easily claim their spot as my favorite food, especially when smothered in smokey, tangy tomatillo salsa. These “little meats” came late into my life, but over the last few years I have experimented with different methods of preparing them including on the stove top, in the oven, and most recently in the slow cooker. The slow cooker, as the name of this post suggests, is the easiest method by far.
Every busy household should have a slow cooker. During the school year, I rely on our slow cooker to have a hot dinner ready for us after my long day of work and my kids’ long day at school (especially on Mondays!). For the longest time though, I made the mistake of thinking that slow cookers are best used in the cool season months. I used it primarily for soups and stews, the kind of food we crave to warm us up in the winter. Recently though, I discovered that it is just as useful in the summertime to prepare dinner in the morning and have it cook all day. It does not even heat up the house, like the stove or oven would.
With dinner in the slow cooker, my family and I can head out on an adventure and not worry about having to be back to cook dinner for our nearly insatiable children. This worked out perfectly last weekend when we returned from a day on the river, hungry and wiped out from the sun and water, to find perfectly cooked carnitas waiting for us. I chopped up some cabbage for a slaw, warmed some tortillas, and dinner was served.
World’s Easiest Carnitas contains only five ingredients: pork shoulder, onion, salt, pepper, and oregano. You do not even need to add water. Just dice the pork, toss it in the spices, and place it in the slow cooker. The heat renders the fat from the pork and allows the meat to cook in its own lard. The top of the meat chunks that are exposed caramelize and brown beautifully. If you prefer to add other seasonings you certainly can. This method really highlights the taste of the pork, which I happen to like. These carnitas are more of the shredded pork variety than the super crispy nibble variety. If you prefer yours super crispy, brown them off in the oven just before serving. Serve carnitas with tortillas and grilled tomatillo salsa.
World’s Easiest Carnitas
adapted from Bon Appetit
serves 4
2 pounds pork shoulder, cut into 2 inch cubes
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons oregano
1 yellow onion, peeled and quartered
the garnish
corn tortillas
minced onion
cilantro
Grilled Tomatillo Salsa
Toss the meat with the seasonings and place in the slow cooker. Toss onion quarters on top. Cover pot and cook on low for 6 hours.
Discard onion. Remove meat with a slotted spoon and shred with your fingers. Serve warm with warm tortillas, minced onion, cilantro, and Grilled Tomatillo Salsa.
Note:
If you prefer super crispy carnitas, remove meat from the pot with a slotted spoon and spread out on a baking sheet. Roast in a 450 degree oven until crispy, about 10 minutes.
Grilled Tomatillo Salsa
inspired by Rick Bayless’ Mexican Everyday
makes 1 pint
1 pound tomatillos, husked and rinsed
4 garlic cloves
1 jalapeno
1/4- 1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
Place whole tomatillos and jalapeno over a medium hot grill. Grill, turning occasionally, until skin is blackened and beginning to split. Remove from grill. Place jalapeno in a plastic bag for 5 minutes or so to loosen the skin. Peel and de-seed pepper. Place tomatillos, garlic, jalapeno, salt, and 1/4 cup water in a blender. Blend until smooth. Add more water if it seems too thick. Taste and adjust salt to taste.
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World’s Easiest Carnitas with Grilled Tomatillo Salsa
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Roasted Garlic Lemon Chicken
June 5, 2011
What a fabulous week it has been. It is officially summer for me now. After my 17 years of schooling and then 8 years of teaching high school science, the rhythm of the academic calendar is deeply rooted in my bones. So even though the weather is unseasonably soggy and gloomy, deep down inside I still know that- School’s…out for summer!!! To make the upcoming break all that much more sweet, on my last day of school I found out that my Sausage and Kale Dinner Tart won the contest for the Best Dirt Cheap Dinner on food52. What an incredible honor! I am a huge fan of food52. It is one of my go-t0 sites for great recipes and culinary inspiration from the many fabulous cooks that contribute to the site. What a great way to start the summer and kick off my serious cooking and canning season!
As a celebratory meal, I made Roasted Garlic Lemon Chicken. I love how chicken is both a perfect special occasion meal, yet inexpensive and quick enough to be perfectly suited for a weeknight as well. This particular recipe is a regular in our rotation. It is easy to adapt by changing the herbs, I call for rosemary here, but you could also use thyme, oregano, basil, or forgo the herbs altogether and add a touch of curry paste to the garlic mixture instead.
Roasted Garlic Lemon Chicken can be made with any pieces of chicken you prefer. The original recipe calls for chicken thighs. Since I often buy chickens whole and part them myself, I have always made it with a whole parted chicken. When arranging the pieces in the pan, I put the breasts in the center and dark meat pieces around the outside. All the pieces cook up perfectly! Preparing this meal is incredibly simple. Spread garlic paste over the chicken pieces and under the skin, then roast the chicken until the skin is browned and crackly, but the meat is super tender and moist. The herbs perfume the meat and the lemon roasts and caramelizes lending a rich, lemony flavor. Degrease the juices and reduce to make a flavorful sauce to pour over the sliced meat. Dress it up or dress it down, this chicken is great for any occasion.
Roasted Garlic Lemon Chicken
adapted from Bill Devin at Fine Cooking
via The 140 Best American Recipes by Fran McCullough and Molly Stevens
Serves 6
the garlic paste
2 garlic cloves
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
Mince garlic with a knife. Sprinkle salt over the garlic and the flat blade of your knife to grind the garlic into a fine paste. Transfer paste to a bowl. Drizzle oil over paste slowly while whisking vigorously until mixture is uniform and emulsified. (If it does not emulsify, do not worry. The chicken will still turn out great.)
the chicken
1 5-pound chicken, parted
2 large lemons, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 bunch rosemary (6 4-inch pieces)
2 tablespoons white wine
freshly cracked black pepper
Rub the chicken pieces with the garlic paste thoroughly on both the outside and inside of the skin. Cover and let chill 2 hours to overnight. The longer you let it chill, the more flavorful it will be.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and set rack in the middle of the oven.
Using a 9 x 13-inch baking dish, lay lemon slices evenly over the bottom. Arrange rosemary sprigs over the top of the lemon and chicken pieces, skin side up, on top of the rosemary. The breasts should be in the center since they cook the fastest. Arrange the dark meat pieces around the outside.
Bake the chicken for 45 minutes or until the skin is browned and crisp and the meat is cooked thoroughly.
Transfer the chicken pieces to a platter and cover loosely with foil. Strain any accumulated juices into a small saucepan. Skim fat from the top. Heat remaining juices over medium to create a simmer. Add white wine and black pepper to taste. Simmer until sauce is reduced by 1/3. Serve meat as whole pieces or sliced with the flavorful sauce.
Here is a printer-friendly version of the recipe: Roasted Garlic Lemon Chicken
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Mexican Pozole Rojo
December 30, 2010
Following the excesses of the holidays, my family and I generally run for the hills. Nestled in the rain drenched Santa Cruz Mountains, we seek the calm and quiet that comes with solitude. We explore, rest, and reconnect as a family. We also nourish ourselves with simple foods.
The last few years, we have spent the first day of our vacation brewing up a rich pot of pozole. This traditional Mexican soup has largely been overlooked by the American mainstream. While burritos, tacos, and enchiladas enjoy widespread name recognition, pozole continues to be a bit of a mystery to many people outside the folds of a Mexican family. It deserves to be discovered! Like most great soups, it is composed of the simplest of ingredients that transform into a richly flavored, satisfying supper.
This is an all day soup, but do not let that discourage you! Just because this soup cooks all day does not mean that you are cooking all day. Plus, a pot simmering on the stove gives us a fabulous excuse to stay in on these cold winter days and spend the day in our slippers. The soup begins with a pork shoulder rubbed in Chile powder, salt, and pepper, then slowly braised until the meat is falling from the bone. The chunks of pork are added to a base of sauteed onion and garlic, dried chiles, and chicken broth. These ingredients are simmered together with tomatoes and hominy for as long as you can spare. Upon serving, the soup is topped with shredded cabbage, cilantro, serrano peppers, and minced onion. The combination of hot soup studded with chunks of pork and hominy, cold raw crunchy veggies, and tangy fresh lime juice squeezed over the top has won over my family. My little man gave it “100 thumbs up!”
Mexican Pozole Rojo
adapted from Michele Anna Jordan
makes 10 servings
the Rub
3-4 pounds pork shoulder or butt
2 tablespoons salt, plus more as needed
2 teaspoons Chile powder
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Pat the pork shoulder dry with paper towels. Mix together the salt, pepper, and Chile powder. Rub all over the meat. Place roast in a covered oven-safe dish, add 1 1/2 cups of water and bake for 4-5 hours until meat is very tender. Remove from oven, set meat aside. Allow liquid in pot to cool, then skim fat from the top. Reserve remaining liquid for the soup.
the Soup
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
Black pepper, freshly ground
2-3 dried chiles, preferably ancho/ pasilla, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes.
6 cups chicken stock or broth
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 28-ounce cans hominy, drained
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large soup pot. Saute onions, stirring frequently, until translucent and fragrant, but not brown. Add garlic and saute 2 more minutes. Add oregano, broth, tomatoes, and hominy. Once the chiles have been soaked and are pliable, tear them open and discard the stem and seeds. Using the back of a knife, scrape the inner flesh of the chile and add to the soup. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, then simmer partially covered for 45 minutes or so.
When pork is tender, chop into chunks of desired size. Add meat and reserved braising liquid to the soup. Simmer another 30 minutes or more if you have the time. Season again with salt and pepper.
the garnish
2 limes cut in wedges
2 cups green cabbage, thinly shredded
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup minced white onion
2 serrano peppers, thinly sliced
Corn tortillas- hot
Serve hot soup in individual bowls. Create a garnish platter for each individual to top their soup to their liking. Hot tortillas can be dipped in the soup or used to roll up the pork and hominy into mini tacos.
Here is a printer-friendly version of the recipe: Mexican Pozole Rojo
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