To stick to my resolution to try and keep this to a once monthly dinner, this month will be dinner with my family! Heading back home soon and cooking with my sister and brother-in-law will be awesome and I can’t wait. Stay tuned for the next dinner….
Ok, so its been awhile since I’ve posted! With the holidays, the food blog dinners sadly took a back seat. But now I hope to be back on schedule and doing these once a month again! Sorry about a lack of pictures on some of the recipes, my photographer was ill and couldn’t keep up :)
This time, I went with Mexican food. I know that some of these recipes seem a bit time consuming but trust me! Definitely worth the time. A lot of it is putting food on the stove and letting it cook.
Slow-cooked Shredded Pork
1 4-5 lb pork butt
2 quarts of water (or just enough to cover the pork)
2.5 tbls chicken boullion powder
1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes
20 whole garlic cloves
4 whole jalapenos
2 tea oregano
Combine all the above ingredients and simmer 3-4 hours or til the pork easily pulls apart. Strain the liquid into a bowl using a colander. Reserve the liquid and put back into the pot and back on the stove. Once the pork is cool, shred using a fork and throw away any large pieces of fat. I also threw away the jalapenos but you could dice them and mix them in with the pork. Put this into a covered container and spoon some of the reserved liquid on top to keep it from drying out until you are ready to serve it. I heated it up slightly in the oven just before we sat down to eat.
Refried Beans
2 lbs dried beans (I used a mix of pinto and black beans)
the reserved stock from the pork (see I told you to save it!)
1 small chopped onion
1 package of bacon, chopped
3 ribs of celery, chopped (you can add in the leaves if you like)
2 bottles of an IPA beer
Rinse the beans, picking out any stones that may be mixed in. Cook the beans in the leftover stock from the pork and add about 2 cups of water. I added water towards the end of the cooking a little at a time as I needed it. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 2.5-3 hours. When the beans are tender and easy to smash, they are done.
Separately, cook the chopped up bacon until crispy then add the onion and celery. Don’t drain the bacon fat! It will add more flavor to the beans. Cook until the onions until translucent.
You shouldn’t have a lot of extra water but if there is too much, you can drain a bit off but reserve it in case you need to add it back.
When the beans are soft, mash. Add the bacon, onion and celery mix and stir to combine. Lastly, add the IPA beers. Just before serving, reheat and any extra liquid the beer added should be absorbed without the beans being soup-y.
The Extras
I had decided when I planned this dinner to do tacos. Everyone likes different toppings on their tacos but I decided to keep it simple with sliced radishes, shredded cabbage, queso fresco and fresh lime juice. Obviously, if you can’t find any good Mexican cheeses at your local grocery store please substitute as you see fit.
I also made a bit pot of (brown) rice which I just added a bit of fresh lime juice, chopped cilantro and salt. This was mostly to taste, so experiment with what tastes good to you.
Of course, you can’t have tacos without salsa so I made….
Tomatillo Salsa
1.5 lbs of tomatillos
1/2 cup chopped white onions
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 tbls lime juice
1/4 tea sugar
2 jalapenos, chopped and seeded
salt to taste
After cutting your tomatillos in half, place cut side down on a baking sheet and roast in your broiler for about 5-7 minutes or until they are starting to blacken. Remove from the pan and place in a saucepan. Cover the tomatillos with water and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain, cool and add the rest of the ingredients. Blend in a food processor or blender. Salt to taste. I also added a bit more lime juice and some pepper.
The Salad
Of course, I always try and have some kind of salad, so here’s a really simple dressing to make. I served with romaine lettuce. If you don’t eat all of it right away, it should stay good in the refrigerator for a few days.
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp chopped, seeded jalapeno
The Dessert….Alfajores! (or Dulce de Leche cookies)
2 cups of flour
1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/2 tea salt
1 cup butter
1 can of dulce de leche
1/4 tea cinnamon
1/8 tea ground cloves
1/8 tea nutmeg
First, preheat your oven to 350.
In your food processor, combine the flour, sugar, salt and butter. Wrap or store in an air tight container for 20-30 minutes. Roll out and cut into circles (I used the top of a juice glass since the cookies should be pretty small). Bake each batch for about 15 minutes. They are really thin cookies so keep an eye out that they don’t burn.
Meanwhile, combine the dulce de leche, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.
Once your cookies are cool, use the mix you just made and sandwich two cookies together with the mix in the middle. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar and enjoy!
See you next time!!
So I realized that I never stated (and should have) that “basics” that I have around the house (eggs, oil, butter, spices, flour, sugar) are not always included in the under $40 cost. If I need an extreme amount of butter or a random strange spice I don’t have (allspice in October’s party) then I have included it in the cost.
If anyone is wondering, September’s cost was $34 and October’s was $41. Sorry I went over. That allspice is expensive ;)
So this month, we headed up to Greenpoint in Brooklyn to the fantastic Michele Rosenthal’s apartment. We had a few extra guests this time. One even wanted to come home with us!
The Appetizer
In honor of the cooler weather settling in, I tried to stick to a seasonal menu. We started with a spicy pumpkin soup which is great for a chilly day.
Spicy Pumpkin Soup:
4 tbls butter 3 15 oz cans pure pumpkin
2 med yellow onions 5 cups of chicken or veggie stock
2 tea garlic 2 cups of milk
1 tea crushed red pepper 1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tea curry 1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tea ground corriander salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tea cayenne pepper
Melt the butter and sautee the onions and garlic for about 4 minutes or until they are soft. Add all the spices.
Next, add the pumpkin and broth. If you want to use a real pumpkin, go with a sugar pumpkin (about 6 cups chopped). Bring to a boil and then simmer for 10-15 minutes.
If you have a food processor or a hand held blender, you can puree the soup at this point. I have a very tiny food processor and did this in batches but if you don’t mind a slightly chunky soup, just keep it the way it is.
Now pour the milk and bring back to a simmer. This is where you need to add salt and pepper. I also added more spices to kick up the flavor some but its pretty much ready to go.
The Main Course
Cranberry and Apple stuffed Pork Loin
and ready for the oven…
There’s two parts to this recipe: the filling and the pork loin. I made two of these for 10 people and it worked out perfectly but the recipe below is for one which should serve 4-5 people.
The Filling
1 cup apple cider 1 tbls grated ginger
1/2 cup cider vinegar 1 tbls mustard seed
3/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 tea allspice
1 large shallot, thinly sliced 1/4 tea cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cup apples, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
The Roast
2.5 lbs Pork Loin
salt and pepper
Put the pork in the freezer to start so that is easier to cut.
Bring all the ingredients for the filling to a simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes until the apples are soft. Strain the fruit and reserve the liquid. Return the liquid to the stove and reduce til its about half of what it started out (about 5 minutes). Put the mix sans liquid in a food processor and blend.
Preheat the oven to 350 and double butterfly the pork loin. Below is a good link for how to do this:
http://www.ehow.co.uk/video_2339546_butterfly-cut-pork-loin.html
Pound it flat after if necessary then season with salt and pepper on both sides. Spread out filling on roast until about 1/2” from the end. I had some leftover so don’t be worried if you do. Roll tightly and secure with twine.
Cook 45-60 minutes (or until meat is 130-135 degrees). Brush with glaze and cook 5 minutes longer. Rest 15 minutes and serve with remaining glaze (delicious!).
I also served mashed potaoes and kale.
The kale is super easy. I just took fresh kale, tossed it with olive oil, salt and pepper and baked it in a 350 degree oven until it started to brown (10 minutes at the most). Its great to save this and keep as a snack later if you have leftovers, almost like chips.
The Dessert
Apple Crumble
1 cup flour 1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup oats 1 tbls cornstarch
1 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup water
1 tea cinnamon 1/2 tea vanilla
1/2 cup melted butter
4 cups peeled apples (cored and sliced)
Toss the apples in the juice of one lemon (or about 2 tbls lemon juice), tea cinnamon and a tea nutmeg.
Combine flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and melted butter. Stir until crumbly. Press half of the mix into 9 x 13” dish and cover with apples.
In a saucepan, combine white sugar, cornstarch, water and vanilla. Cook until thick and clear, about 10 minutes. Pour sauce over the apples. Cover with the rest of the crumble mix. Bake 45 minutes until bubbly and golden. Serve with Ice Cream.
Enjoy with lots of friends and wine :) See you next time!
So for the first dinner party, my lovely friend Jana Phillips offered up her apartment to use. I live in a small basement apartment for now so we’ll probably be hopping around for awhile at least until we get a permanent home in January (when I’m moving). Anyone who would like to offer to host over the next few months, just send me a message.
This was my first time making pasta from scratch and my second time making ice cream. Yes, time consuming but delicious. Also, I stayed under my budget and only spent $30! Next time I’ll take a pic of the receipt as proof.
I’m attaching photos and recipes. If I found a recipe online, I’ll publish the link.
The beginnings of croutons…
The final product (thanks Jay!!)
The Salad & Accoutrements
The final product (thanks Jay!). The recipe for this and the Ceasar dressing I used are from Martha Stewart. The croutons are super easy and you can always add whatever spice you like to change them up (sometimes I use Old Bay seasoning). I used romaine lettuce for the salad but Boston Lettuce would work too.
Croutons:
2 tbls butter-melted
2 tbls olive oil
1 tea salt
1 tea pepper
1/4-1/2 tea cayenne
Preheat the oven to 450. Combine the olive oil and melted butter and toss with the bread. Sprinkle with the seasonings and bake 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Dressing:
2 cloves of mashed garlic 1/2 tea dijon mustard
1 tea salt 1 egg yolk
1 tea pepper 1 tsp worchestershire sauce
1 tbls lemon juice 1/3 cup olive oil
After mashing the garlic, whisk together the pepper, salt, lemon juice, worchestershire sauce, mustard and egg yolk. Add olive oil and whisk to combine.
The Main Course
Ahhh the pasta…Much thanks must go to Dave Kief for the use of his pasta machine. I found this recipe on an amazing site called “Working Class Foodies.” Follow the link to see the video:
http://www.hungrynation.tv/wcfoodies/episode/WCF_20110415/how-to-make-pasta-basic-pasta-recipe-101
For an appetizer, I also made a bean dip and served it with some toasted, sliced bread.
Bean Dip:
2 cans of white beans
1/2 a stick of salted, softened butter (I know, weird but trust me)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbls of lemon juice
2 tbls of chopped parsley
4 cloves of garlic, pressed
Look at that steam…
The Pasta Sauce
2 cans of tomato sauce 1 can of tomato paste
one whole roasted garlic clove 4 tomatoes, diced
a handful of fresh basil and parsley, chopped 1 tea paprika
one small red onion, chopped 2-3 tea cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tbls balsalmic vinegar
Sautee the onion and garlic until transparent then add the tomatoes. After the tomatoes are soft, add everything else. I let it simmer for about 45 or so. It really was just to taste so don’t be afraid to taste as you go.
The Dessert
The dessert started out of a desire to cook some butternut squash we had in our refrigerator. So I started by roasting the squash with nutmeg, ground cloves, ground ginger and cinnamon until they looked like this:
When I was a kid, my sister and I used to eat a lot of pumpkin ice cream. Butternut squash reminds me of pumpkin a bit so I just substituted and came up with this:
Roasted Butternut Squash Ice Cream
15 oz butternut squash 1 tea cinnamon
1 cup of cream 1/2 tea ground ginger
2/3 cup of half and half 1/8 tea nutmeg
2/3 cup of sugar 1/8 ground cloves
1 tea vanilla
Mash roasted squash by hand or in a food processor then add to an ice cream maker and churn until creamy. At the dinner party I served it with home made short bread cookies.
Short bread cookies:
2 cups of butter
1 cup of sugar
2 tea vanilla
4 cups of flour
1/4 tea salt
Preheat the oven to 350. Cream the butter and sugar then add the rest of the ingredients. Bake about 10 minutes or until bottoms are golden.
So that’s it.
Enjoy and see you next time!
