Old Fashioned Pork Roast

The Complete Cook’s Country
TV Show Cookbook
America’s Test Kitchen

 

So I’ve made this a couple of times and I remember liking it better the first time around.  Maybe because I skipped the last step this time, or because it was a particularly fatty pork butt.  But it wasn’t horrible.  The taste was really good, it was just an exceptionally fatty piece of meat. But pork butts aren’t known for being lean.  So… while it wasn’t horrible, it’s not a favorite.  But I’ll share it anyway, because the flavors of the onions and the sauce are really quite nice.

So, here it is, I’ll give you the option of whether or not to give it a try.  😊

Note:  A heavy roasting pan with 3-inch sides is the best choice for this recipe, but a shallow broiler pan also works well.

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Ingredients

6 pounds boneless pork butt roast, fat trimmed to 1/8 inch, tied lengthwise and crosswise
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons peppercorns, cracked
1½ teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon fennel seeds, chopped
2 large red onions, cut into 1-inch wedges
1 cup apple cider
¼ cup apple jelly
2 tablespoons cider vinegar

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1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees.  Pat pork dry with paper towels.  Combine garlic, peppercorns, salt, rosemary, sage, and fennel seeds in small bowl.  Rub roast with herb mixture.
   
2. Transfer to roasting pan and cook for 3 hours.  Scatter onion wedges around roast, tossing onion in pan drippings to coat. (If roast has not produced any juices, toss onions with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil before adding to pan.) Continue roasting until meat is extremely tender and skewer inserted in center meets no resistance, 3½ to 4 hours. (Check pan juices every hour to make sure they have not evaporated.  If necessary, add 2 cups water to pan and scrape up browned bits.)
   
3. Transfer roast to large baking dish, place onions in medium bowl, and pour pan drippings into 2-cup liquid measuring cup, adding enough water to measure 1½ cups.  Let roast, onions, and drippings cool for 30 minutes, cover each with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
4. One hour before serving, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees.  Cut meat into ¼-inch slices and overlap in large baking dish.  Skim off fat from pan drippings and transfer drippings and reserved onions to medium saucepan.  Add cider, jelly, and vinegar and bring to boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to simmer.  Spoon ½ cup sauce over pork slices and cover baking dish with aluminum foil.  Place in oven and heat until very hot, 30 to 40 minutes.
5. Just before serving, reduce sauce until dark and thickened, 10 to 15 minutes.  Serve pork, spooning onion mixture over met or passing separately.

Creamy Mashed Sweet Potatoes

The Complete Cook’s Country
TV Show Cookbook
America’s Test Kitchen

 

Admittedly, I have never had much experience or exposure to sweet potatoes.  They just never interested me.  I’ve heard they’re good.  I’ve been told they’re good.  I’ve been encouraged to give them a try, a chance.  I don’t know why they cared so much, but I always let it go in one ear, and out the other.  It just wasn’t my thing.  And then recently, I was at a dinner, and they served mashed sweet potatoes.  I tried them…  and Oh, My Word!  They were amazing!  I now get why people were so insistent that I try sweet potatoes!  And they were so good, that I decided to hunt down a recipe of my own and try them at home.  Suffice it to say, they’re a new favorite.  And I’ll be making them more often because they’re that good.  And simple.  They were so easy to make that it was easy to make at the last minute (because I couldn’t decide what to make and I was sick of the same old things).

I’ve only made the simple version, but the book also included variations of the original recipe in case someone wants a little more flavor or a spin on the original.

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Ingredients

2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled, quartered, and sliced ¼ inch thick
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and Pepper

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1. Combine sweet potatoes, butter, 2 tablespoons cream, sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in a large saucepan.  Cook, covered, over low heat until potatoes are fall-apart tender, 35 to 40 minutes.
2. Off heat, add remaining 1 tablespoon cream and mash sweet potatoes with potato masher.  Serve

 

HERBED MASHED SWEET POTATOES WITH CARMELIZED ONION
If you prefer, substitute ¼ teaspoon dried thyme for the thyme sprig.
Add 1 sprig fresh thyme to saucepan in step 1.  While sweet potatoes are cooking, melt 1 tablespoon butter in 8-inch nonstick skillet and add 1 small onion, chopped, ¼ teaspoon sugar, and ¼ teaspoon salt.  Cook ever low heat until onion is cartelized, about 15 minutes.  Remove thyme and mash potatoes as directed.  Stir in onion and 1 tablespoon sour cream.

SMOKEHOUSE MASHED SWEET POTATOES
Add a pinch (1/8 teaspoon) cayenne pepper to saucepan in step 1.  Mash sweet potatoes with ½ cup shredded smoked Gouda cheese and cover with lid until cheese melts, about 1 minute.  Sprinkle with 6 slices chopped cooked bacon and 1 thinly sliced scallion.

 

Salisbury steak

The Complete Cook’s Country
TV Show Cookbook
America’s Test Kitchen

 

My family loves Salisbury steak.  Me?  Not so much.  But they like it, so I make it.  I usually juggle between a few recipes that I have among different cookbooks just to switch things up a little.  Each one is unique in its own way, so it makes eating something I don’t like a little more palatable.  And, of course, everyone has their favorite, so if I switch them out, everybody gets what they want.  Just not at the same time.  😁

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Ingredients

½ cup milk
7 tablespoons instant potato flakes
1 pound 90 percent lean ground beef
Salt and Pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, halved and sliced thin
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1¾ cups beef broth
¼ cup ruby port

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1. Whisk milk and potato flakes in large bowl.  Add beef, ½ teaspoon pepper and knead until combined.  Shape into four ½-inch-thick oval patties and transfer to parchment paper-lined plate.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.
2. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook patties until well browned on each side, about 10 minutes.  Transfer to plate.
3. Add onion and remaining 3 tablespoons butter to now-empty skillet and cook until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.  Add mushrooms and ½ teaspoon salt and cook until liquid has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes.  Stir in tomato paste and flour and cook until browned, about 2 minutes.  Slowly stir in broth and port and bring to simmer. Return patties to skillet, cover, and simmer over medium-low heat until cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes.  Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve

Huli Huli Chicken

The Complete Cook’s Country
TV Show Cookbook
America’s Test Kitchen

 

I found this recipe interesting because the glaze sounded so good, and I was in the mood for something different. But even though I followed this recipe more than I didn’t, I did make a minor tweak or two to suit those I would be feeding. Namely, the husband, and the father – who can be… picky, to say the least.

While the recipe calls for two whole chickens split in half, I went with one whole split chicken and then legs and thighs because Dad prefers dark meat, so I just catered to his preferences. And, full disclosure, I bought the chicken already split.  No sense making extra work for myself. 😁  The second adjustment I made was the chili-garlic sauce. The recipe calls for 2 teaspoons, but I cut it down to one because Dad is not a fan of spicy food and John likes adding his own heat to whatever he’s eating. Other than that, I followed the recipe to the letter and it did not disappoint. I’ll definitely be taking this one for another spin.

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Ingredients:

Chicken
2 (3½- to 4-pound) whole chickens
2 quarts water
2 cups soy sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

Glaze
3 (6-ounce) cans pineapple juice
¼ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup rice vinegar
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce
2 cups wood chips, soaked in water for 15 minutes and drained 

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1. For the Chicken    Using kitchen shears, cut along both sides of the backbone to remove it.  Trim any excess fat or skin at the neck.  Flip chicken over and using chef’s knife, cut through breastbone to separate chicken into halves.  Repeat with other chicken.  Combine water and soy sauce in a large bowl.  Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering.  Add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir into soy sauce mixture.  Add chicken and refrigerate, covered, for at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours.
   
   
2. For the Glaze    Combine pineapple juice, sugar, soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and chili-garlic sauce into an empty saucepan and bring to boil.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer until thick and syrupy (you should have about 1 cup), 20 to 25 minutes.  Using large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, wrap soaked chips in foil packet and cut several vent holes in top.
3. For A Charcoal Grill    Open bottom vent halfway.  Light large chimney starter three-quarters filled with charcoal briquettes (4½ quarts).  When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill.  Place foil packets on coals.  Set cooking grate in place, cover and open lid vent halfway.  Heat grill until hot and wood chips are smoking, about 5 minutes.
   
   For A Gas Grill     Place wood chip packet directly on primary burner.  Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot and wood chips are smoking, about 15 minutes.  Turn all burners to medium-low.  (Adjust burners as needed to maintain grill temperature of 350 degrees.)
   
   
4. Clean and oil cooking grate.  Remove chicken from brine and pat dry with paper towels.  Place chicken skin side up on grill (do not place chicken directly on top of foil packet).  Cover and cook chicken until well browned on bottom and thighs register 120 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes.  Flip chicken skin side down and continue to cook, covered, until skin is well browned nd crisp and thighs register 175 degrees, 20 to 25 minutes longer.  Transfer chicken to platter, brush with half of the glaze, and let rest for 5 minutes.  Serve, passing remaining glaze at the table.
   
   
   To Make Ahead
   Both brine and glaze can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 3 days.  Do not brine chicken for longer than 8 hours or it will become too salty.

 

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Ingredients:

Chicken
2 (3