Tag: pork

Lasagna in un altro modo

Scott and I spent a month in Italy this year. We rented a cozy place in our favorite town, Lucca, which is within the Tuscany region. He made this amazing lasagna. Even the pasta was made from scratch.

The secret to this dish is the Lucchese Spice. He found it in Lucca, and the ingredients are mysterious but we are guessing it has nutmeg, cumin, and cinnamon in it.

Ragu-

Ingredients-

½ cup Celery, Onion, Carrot Diced      

½ lb. Ground Pork or Sausage

 ½ lb. Ground Beef

28 oz. Tomato Sauce (Puree, Whole, or Crushed) I recommend Cento

28 0z. Water

½ cup Red or White Wine

Salt & Pepper

Lucchese Spice

Oregano

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVO)

You’ll need a Dutch oven or pot big enough to hold 60 oz.

Directions–      

  1. Add Celery, Onion, Carrot to pot on medium heat in about 2 TBS. EVO with some salt to help the veggies sweat. Cook until soft.
  2. Add Pork and continuously break up pork until fine and cooked through. Don’t skip this process, patience is key. I usually do it on medium low and keep breaking it up until I like the consistency of the meat. You have to add some EVO if it looks like its drying out.
  3. Repeat the same as #2 with the Beef.
  4. Once the meat is finely broken up add ½ Cup Red (bolder flavor) or White wine, I prefer white. Cook until the alcohol smell is gone. 
  5. Add 28 oz. tomato sauce, fill can with water to extract the leftover sauce and add to pot.
  6. Add Spices to your desired taste, but, about ½ teaspoon Lucchese should be enough, you can always add more of anything if you need as the sauce simmers.
  7. Simmer Sauce for at least FOUR HOURS, I find the best sauce simmers for at least six hours. Add water if sauce looks to thick.

Besciamella-

Ingredients-

The simple equation to besciamella is 1 part flour to 1 part butter to 10 parts milk, and can be adjusted as you need.

5 tablespoons butter, (70g)

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour, (70g)

4 and 1/4 cups whole milk, (1 litre)

1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg

Parmigiano Cheese

Salt (optional) and pepper, to taste

Directions-

 I like to do this about 30 minutes before I am ready to assemble the Lasagna.

  1. Melt butter in saucepan.
  2. In a separate pan, warm the milk, do not boil.
  3. Once melted add flour and stir until mixed (no chunks). It should have the viscosity of Elmers glue.
  4. On medium high heat add in the milk and stir vigorously with a whisk until it begins to thicken like pudding.
  5. Add the nutmeg and pepper and mix well.
  6. Grate some parmigiano into sauce, amount depends on you.

Noodles-

Buy a box, cook them. Or I can teach you how to make the homemade version.

Layering-

Directions–

  1. Place a light layer of sauce or besciamella on bottom of casserole dish.
  2. Place a layer of noodles overlapping.
  3. Add ragu to cover noodles but not thick.
  4. Add besciamella and spread out with ragu. It ain’t gonna look pretty but will mix well.
  5.  Grate a coating layer of parmigiano over layer.
  6. Repeat until you get to the top or you run out of ingredients.
  7. The top should be a layer of besciamella, or just another mixture of the ragu and besciamella. At this point you might have a lot of one or the other left over. No need to make more. And of course you’ll be wanting to add more grated Parmigiano on the top.

Bake at 400 Degree for 25 minutes. You can always cook a few minutes longer depending on your desire. Another method is 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes.  

Pork Chili Verde

Our neighbors gave us an electric pressure cooker so this recipe was done in that cooker. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, not to worry, you can simmer it for a longer cooking time on the stovetop to get the same tenderness to the meat. It’s just going to be a longer cook time. I have directions for both below.

Picture above is my mom and my first child, Cassie, on the BCFerry to Vancouver Island in 2001.

Ingredients:

4 lbs pork butt, cut into 1 inch cubes

28 oz can tomatillo

16 oz verde salsa

Chicken broth – if being cooked on the stovetop

1 onion, diced fine

2 cloves garlic, minced

Cumin, salt and pepper to taste

1 Anaheim chili, diced and seeded

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Extra-virgin olive oil

Lime

Directions:

Pressure cooker directions:

Season pork with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil and brown pork on all sides. Add water from tomatillo with meat and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. Strain meat and keep the tomatillo water. In the same pot add oil and onions and cook until translucent, about 5-10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another 5 minutes.

Grab a blender or food processor and puree the tomatillos, add those to the onion mixture. Add pork, salsa verde, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup of the tomatillo water. Simmer for another 5 minutes until pork is fork tender.

Add cilantro and lime when served on tortillas.

Stove top directions:

Season pork with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil and brown pork on all sides.

Remove pork from the pan and place a bit more olive oil in there. Sauté the onions for 5-10 minutes. Add the garlic for another 5 minutes.

Add the water from the tomatillos but add some chicken stock so that there is enough liquid to cover t he meat. Add the cumin, cover and let simmer for 2-4 hours.

Grab a blender or food processor and puree the tomatillos, chili and the salsa verde. Add the puree to the meat and simmer for another 30-45 minutes.

Serve with cilantro and lime garnish when served on tortillas.

BBQ Pulled-pork Sandwiches in the Crock Pot

 

This is a super easy crock pot recipe that makes tender pulled pork every time. Don’t be put off by the cola because it simply develops a sweet crust on the meat. I found this recipe on Pinterest and don’t have the original site it was found.

Ingredients:

  • 4 lb pork shoulder
  • Garlic salt
  • 1 cup BBQ sauce, plus more for serving
  • Coca cola (or any other cola)
  • 1 onion, slices
  • Buns

Directions:

Season pork with garlic salt and place it in the crock pot. Add BBQ sauce, cola to cover meat and sliced onion on top. Cook on low for 8 hours or until pork easily shreds, discard liquid and shred pork to mix with BBQ sauce as desired. Serve on buns.

Slaughterhouse Five Ribs


This is the 2nd rib recipe I have placed on the website. The first called for most or all of the cooking time in the oven. This one is on the grill. BBQ weather has arrived and ribs are my all time favorite BBQ fare. This recipe is found in a BBQ cookbook called America’s Best BBQ. Slaughterhouse five ribs is a recipe feature from a restaurant called Oklahoma Joe’s Barbecue and Catering in Kansas City in the above described book. It’s a basic rub but has the best flavor I’ve tried so far.

Ingredients:

  • 2 TBS white cane sugar
  • 1 TBS light brown sugar
  • 2 TBS Hungarian paprika
  • 2 TBS Lawry’s seasoned salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp white pepper
  • 1 tsp finely ground black pepper
  • 2 slabs spareribs

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Remove the membrane from the ribs, season the slabs all over with the rub. Cover and let rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Cook the ribs using indirect method. They are done when you can easily tear or pull ribs apart.

Smothered Porkchops

I know I have been incognito for awhile but I am ready to get back to sharing recipes and cooking! I found this recipe on foodnetwork.com by Tyler Florence. They are really easy to make, tender and delicious. My son approves. My daughter has decided to become a vegetarian, so I will be trying to make more meatless dishes and sharing them with you if they are pleasing to the palate.

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 pork chops, 3/4-inch thick, bone-in
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup buttermilk
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

Directions:

Put the flour in a shallow platter and add the onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly. Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels to remove any moisture and then dredge them in the seasoned flour; shaking off the excess.

Heat a large saute pan or cast iron skillet over medium heat and coat with the oil. When the oil is nice and hot, lay the pork chops in the pan in a single layer and fry for 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove the pork chops from the pan and add a little sprinkle of seasoned flour to the pan drippings. Mix the flour into the fat to dissolve and then pour in the chicken broth in. Let the liquid cook down for 5 minutes to reduce and thicken slightly. Stir in the buttermilk to make a creamy gravy and return the pork chops to the pan, covering them with the sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes until the pork is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.