Slow-Cooked Carnitas

When you're around all day, but don't feel like actually cooking for Taco Tuesday; these pork carnitas are the move.  Slow-cooked in the oven (or on the grill) on low for 8hours.

Ingredients:

Serves: 4-5

3lbs pork shoulder (picnic or Boston butt) bone-in or out
The Ultimate Taco Tuesday Seasoning
3 TBS Minced Garlic
1 Onion roughly chopped
3Cup Orange Juice
3 limes (juice from 3 limes)
3 Chipotle peppers in adobo
4 TBS adobo sauce from chipotles in adobo sauce


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 275

1. Liberally season pork with Kosher salt and pepper.
2.  Cover the entire pork (skin and sides) with The Ultimate Taco Tuesday Seasoning
3. In a deep roasting pan place the pork skin side up.  Cook for 4 hours until a nice color forms on the skin.
4. At 3.5 hours make the braising liquid by combing orange juice, lime juice, onions, garlic, chipotles, and adobo in a bowl. 
5. Remove pan from oven and pour braising liquid over pigskin.  Cover with tinfoil and put back in the oven for another 4 hours until the internal temp of the pork is 190 degrees.

Sausages with Sweet-Sour Figs

Recipe by Penelope Casas:


"My guests at tapas parties praise this dish perhaps more than any other and always remember it as the highlight of the tapas evening.  Fresh figs, when in season, but at other times of the year I use bottled figs with excellent results."

1 1/2lb sausage (lean breakfast or sweet Italian)
1 tbs olive oil
4 tbs white wine
2 tsp tomato sauce
salt pepper

Sweet-Sour Figs

1c sugar
1c red wine vinegar
1 stick cinnamon
4 cloves
1 slice lemon
1lb figs (if in bottle syrup drained)

1. make the figs by combining all ingredients in pan and bring to a boil and simmer for 5mins
2.  Add the figs and simmer for 20 minutes if fresh and 5 mins if bottled.
3.  Cool the figs at room temp overnight 
4. Cook the sausage in the oil and white wine until the wine evaporates.  Remove sasuages.
5. Deglaze the pan with 4 tbs water and 2tbs white wine.
6. Add the tomato sauce, salt, and pepper and simmer uncovered, for 2mins
7.  Drain the syrup from the figs (the syrup will not be used).
8.  Add the figs and sausages to the pan .
9. Cover and cook until the figs are heated.
10. Cut figs in half or quarters depending on their size and place on top of sausage.  Secure with a tooth pick.
11.  Can be assembled in advance and reheated when ready to serve. 

Spanish Mushrooms In Garlic Sauce

 Based on Penelope Casas Recipe:

3 Tbsp. fruity olive oil
½ lb. mushrooms, stems trimmed, brushed clean, whole if very small, or cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. dry (fino) Spanish sherry
¼ cup veal broth, or a mixture of chicken and beef broth
½ tsp. paprika, preferably Spanish style
½ tsp. dried red chili pepper, seeded and crumbled, or ¼ tsp. crushed red pepper
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 Tbsp. minced parsley

Steps

1. Heat the oil in a skillet until very hot and stir-fry the mushroom and garlic over high heat for about 2 minutes. 
2. * Allow the mushroom to absorb all of the oil then reduce the heat to low and allow the mushrooms to release their juices again
3. *increase heat again and brown mushrooms 4-5min
4. Lower the heat and stir in the lemon juice, sherry, broth, paprika, chili pepper, salt, and pepper. Simmer a minute or two (may be prepared ahead to this point), sprinkle with parsley, and serve.

Lemon Goat Milk Pudding

If you ask me my favorite dessert it's simple: custard.  Pudding, custard, mousse, cream etc.  I was having a craving with no pudding cups on hand and decided to quickly make something to satisfy this craving.  I only had a couple of ingredients on hand so I used 00 flour and goat's milk instead of the traditional all-purpose flour heavy cream and whole milk.

This is a quick and delicious thick custardy pudding to whip up when you're craving something sweet.  I always have goat milk in the house because it's delicious, has less lactate than cow's milk, and is thick and creamy without as much fat.  I used this instead of whole milk and heavy cream to make this pudding.  I used fresh lemon for this one pot and one bowl easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Serves 1 1/2c serving

Juice from 1/2 a lemon
200ml of goat's milk
1/4 c of sugar
2 egg yolks
2 1/2 Tbs flour

1. Heat milk in a heavy bottomed sauce pan until slightly boiling and remove from heat.
2. Mix sugar, flour, lemon juice, and flour together until well incorporated in a large bowl.
3. Add slightly cooled milk VERY slowly in batches into the egg mixture while stirring.
4. Once incorporated add back into the sauce pan onto medium high heat.
**TIP** if your eggs cook from the milk and clumps of eggs form in the mixture use a fine mesh strainer to remove the eggs when returning it back into the pan**
5. Stir constantly and until thickened (about 10minutes)
**TIP** if you do not stir constantly the mixture will become clumpy and not smooth and thick.
6. Immediately remove from the heat into a container.
7. Top with lemon zest

Enjoy!!

Grilled Chicken Taco

This is such a simple and delicious Taco Tuesday meal and it's cooked on the grill so less dishes to clean up! 

Ingredients:

2 lbs chicken breasts
4 Tbs The Ultimate Taco Tuesday Seasoning
Salt and Pepper for seasoning

1. Grease the grill and heat it to high 
2. While the grill is warming up salt and pepper the chicken liberally
3. Liberally season the chicken with the Taco Tuesday Seasoning

3. Grill chicken about 6 minutes on each side until cooked through (165F)
4.  Cut into thin strips about 4 inches long and 1/2 inch wide
5. Serve with your favorite Taco fixings like Salsa Verde and Quick Pickled Onions

Enjoy!