Last weekend, I hosted a wedding. The bride, of Mexican heritage, wanted food reminiscent of her childhood. The groom, a meat and potatoes kind of man, has milder tastes in food. As I was in charge of the kitchen, I opted for a happy medium that was gluten and dairy-free, without being obviously so, and…
Tag: pork
Spiced-rubbed Sichuan Roast Pork
I have a recipe for you. It’s not my own. But it is pretty delicious and inspired by the Sichuan peppers I ran across on my recent trip to China. Sichuan peppers, if you haven’t had them, are an interesting experience. I won’t say interesting flavor, simply because flavor is too simple a word for what…
Crockpot Cochinita (Puerco) Pibil: Yucatecan-style Pork with a Telenovela Twist
The last place I expected to find a good recipe for Cochinita Pibil, was in the comments of an English-language website that recaps Spanish-language telenovelas. If you’re asking yourself how I wound up reading the comments on that site, I have both an easy and a more complicated answer for you. The easy answer is…
Carlos’ Charro No-Bean Chili for Cinco de Mayo
My grandpa Carlos was quite the hipster in his day. He owned a nightclub called El Matador, drove a corvette, and loved his bling. Of course, this came later in life – after years of working hard for others.Less flashy, more family, he was also the cook in the house. Two of the recipes my…
Reinventing Chiles en Nogada Soup-Style
Deconstruct: To break something down into its component parts. For a recipe, this means looking at the recipe and determining the essential ingredients – the ones that make the dish unique, satisfying, and flavorful. Deconstruction is one of my favorite ways to reinvent a dish when I want to experience its flavors AND tailor the…
Crock Pot Pork Carnitas with Cabbage Lime Garnish
Cubes of pork shoulder marinated over-night in milk and quartered oranges. A 5-gallon pot with pounds of lard and the pork chunks heated to the brink of boiling, and stirred every so often by a 3-foot, home-made wooden paddle. Pork that is extremely tender, has a slight crisp to the outside, and can easily broken…
Pan-fried Chipotle Chops
I fire up the stove, preheating my pan to a medium-high heat – this is particularly helpful with stainless steel and cast iron. While it was getting ready, I butterfly the chops, cutting them on the side without the rind. By the way, I leave the rind on to keep the chops moist and to…
Celebrating Simple Meals That Delight: A Full Meal Recipe
I finished Nicole Mones’ The Last Chinese Chef last week – which I really enjoyed and recommend. Two ideas, in particular, from the book struck me. The first was the idea that food is often most delicious when it is simple – when it has no more ingredients than it needs and the essence of…
13 Heads of Garlic and Some Strung-out (up?) Pork
Tomorrow is another Iron Chef night. The ingredient: garlic. I have no idea what the complete meal will entail, but, as it is our turn to host, we are preparing the entrée. With vegetarians and omnivores and food-sensitive folks in attendance, we opted for a garlic and parsley pork roulade with a balsamic glaze, and…