Delicious Ribs and Slow Cooker Fail

March 14, 2011 By Korena in the Kitchen 9 Comments

This morning I put ribs in the slow cooker to do their thing all day and be delicious and fall-off-the-bone ready for dinner. This is something I have done many, many times before with consistently awesome results, so imagine my surprise when I got home from work, lifted the lid to check on the ribs, and discovered that they were well on their way to becoming burnt. Luckily it was just the sauce that was turning black, so I put the ribs in a covered baking dish with some more sauce, stuck them in the oven to finish, and they turned out just fine.

Normally, the slow cooker works perfectly for these ribs, so I don’t know what the problem was. I think it might be time for a new slow cooker, because it was on low and the lid was on properly and everything. Anyway. The ketchup can be substituted for any tomato product (perhaps with an added dash of cider vinegar) – once when I was out of ketchup, I subbed in some cherry tomatoes from the overabundance growing on the porch, which turned out to be incredibly delicious. And if you don’t have a slow cooker (or just don’t trust yours anymore!), these can also be done in a covered dish in the oven….

Honey Mustard Garlic Chicken

March 8, 2011 By Korena in the Kitchen 4 Comments

My friend Cara makes delicious honey garlic pork spareribs, and I love how the honey and garlic caramelize in the sauce and get all sweet and sticky (or rather, even more sweet and sticky!) in the oven. This chicken dish sort of mimics that sparerib sauce, with the addition of Dijon mustard. I used skin-on chicken legs here, but it works equally well with chicken thighs, and the chicken pieces can be skin-on or off. The measurements are all “more or less”, so taste it before you add the chicken and adjust as you see fit. Use a baking dish that accommodates the chicken fairly snugly (it will shrink as it bakes), so that the sauce doesn’t dry out in the oven and the chicken stays moist. Serve with rice or some other grain to soak up the delicious sauce!…

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

February 27, 2011 By Korena in the Kitchen 2 Comments

Real Southern barbeque isn’t something that you get a lot of in Canada, but ever since Pig BBQ Joint opened up in town, I have developed a love for pulled pork sandwiches. I’ve made them a few times at home, and this time I sort of made it up as I went along. The results were really good, so I’m going to share it.

I use a slow cooker for this recipe, but you could just as easily cook the pork in a Dutch oven (see the recipe for details). The barbeque sauce is made from the braising liquid and juices from the pork, and relies on smoked salt and chipotle powder in the Brown Sugar Rub to get a slightly smoky flavour. If you don’t have smoked salt, regular salt is fine. The sauce as I originally made it was kind of ketchup-y, so I’ve modified the recipe here to show what I would do next time.

The buns and coleslaw play just as important a role as does the pork and sauce. The buns should be soft and slightly chewy, and not too grainy. The coleslaw should be creamy, crisp, and a little bit tangy. If you have a favorite coleslaw recipe, feel free to substitute it!

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Snow and a Quiche

February 24, 2011 By Korena in the Kitchen Leave a Comment

Yesterday we unexpectedly received rather a large amount of snow (we measured 21 centimeters at one point!), and in usual snowy Victoria fashion, the roads were terrible, life slowed to a halt, and neither Nate nor myself went to work. Instead, we spent the day on the couch watching season one of Mad Men, and I did some baking. Seeing as I had all day, I made a quiche, which I find inevitably ends up taking about three times as long as I think it will. I also tried to modify my usual fantastic, go-to banana bread recipe to be sugar-free, but it turned out to be not-so-fantastic sans sugar 🙁 Someday I’ll perfect the recipe and share it, but in the meantime, here’s my quiche recipe.

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Sunday Roast Chicken & Gravy

February 20, 2011 By Korena in the Kitchen 5 Comments

Last weekend, Nate bought me a car stereo as an early Valentine’s present, and he and Sam installed in on Sunday. I made a roast chicken dinner for them to show my appreciation – nothing like comfort food to say “thank you”!

There are a bazillion different methods for roasting a chicken, and this one is a pretty standard variation: start with a high heat, turn it down slightly when the bird goes is, rub the skin with oil to make it crispy, season the outside and stuff the cavity with aromatics. I have found that best roasting vessel is a large cast iron frying pan with the chicken on a circular rack, because that way you can simply remove the chicken and rack from the pan and use it to make gravy, without losing any of the drippings or pan juices.

What makes a roast chicken special is the gravy, and I can confidently say that I make a mean gravy. Mostly I owe this to my Dad, whose secret ingredient in chicken and turkey gravy used to be finely chopped dried, salted, Chinese blackbeans. I know that sounds totally weird and gross, but the salty, umami flavour that they imparted to the gravy was SO GOOD. I’ve taken that idea and run with it, only now my secret ingredients are soy sauce, Marmite, Worchestershire sauce, and balsamic vinegar instead of black beans. The soy sauce adds saltiness and umami and more flavour than just salt would. It also adds colour, which I think is just as important as flavour – a nice, rich, brown gravy is way more appetizing to me than a pale, thin-looking one. The Marmite also adds a bit of salt and a meaty, almost yeasty flavour. Even if you don’t like Marmite, you will like what it does for gravy. Worchestershire is a pretty standard ingredient and adds good flavour, but be careful not to add too much, as it can be overpowering. My uncle Mike gave me the idea of adding a small amount of balsamic vinegar to the gravy at the end, to brighten the flavours and cut through the richness with a touch of acidity.

The most important thing to remember when making gravy is to keep tasting it and to add liquid and seasonings in small amounts, as it is always easier to add more than it is to subtract!…

Pork Picadillo

January 31, 2011 By Korena in the Kitchen Leave a Comment

A blurry pork picadillo burrito

A few years ago my friend Lynette got me a year’s subscription to the Everyday Food magazine, published by Martha Stewart Living. I have a collection of about 20 issues now, and they all contain fantastically easy and delicious recipes that are great for a weekday meal (or a weekend meal, for that matter!). This pork picadillo from the June 2007 issue is a Latin-American/Mexican dish that can be used as a burrito filling, on nachos, in a quesadilla, over rice… you get the picture. I’ve only ever tried it in a burrito, but I can imagine that it would be just as good in any other application. I love the combination of smoky chipotle heat with a hint of cinnamon and cloves, along with the sweetness of the raisins. Sounds odd? Try it – it’s wonderful!

We had this in burritos along with cumin-spiced black beans, fresh Mexican-style farmer’s cheese (available at Fairways, of all places!), sour cream, salsa, lettuce, and cilantro. I am becoming a believer in the less-is-more approach to burritos – choose a few delicious toppings that compliment the flavour of the filling, rather than overwhelming it. It also makes the burrito easier to hold, fold, and eat!

The original recipe makes a lot, but it freezes well. I’ve reduced it by roughly half and adjusted the seasonings a bit. Usually the Everyday Food magazine recipes are available on the Martha Stewart website, but for some reason I can’t find this one

Pork Picadillo

(adapted from Everyday Food, Issue 43, pg 66, June 2007)

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 an onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

coarse salt and ground pepper

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 chipoltes in adobo, finely chopped (or about 1 tbsp chipotle purée)

1 tsp ancho, chipotle, or regular chili powder

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

just over 1 pound of lean ground pork (lean is important, otherwise you end up with greasy filling)

1 14 oz can of chopped or crushed tomatoes

1 tbsp cider vinegar

1/4 cup raisins, chopped

In a 2-quart pot or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until onion is soft. Add tomato paste, chipotle, chili powder, cinnamon, and cloves; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add pork and cook until no longer pink, stirring to break up any lumps. Add tomatoes, vinegar, and raisins, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partly covered, until thickened, 30 to 40 minutes.

Serve as a burrito or quesadilla filling, over rice, on nachos, in a stuffed pepper, over a baked potato… Makes at least enough for 4 burritos.

Delicious Ribs and Slow Cooker Fail

Honey Mustard Garlic Chicken

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Snow and a Quiche

Sunday Roast Chicken & Gravy

Pork Picadillo

Pork Picadillo

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