Nothing says Sunday like a big barbecue and some tasty beverages in the afternoon.
First some steak
That is a good looking piece of meat
Now for chicken
The skin is so tasty
A little bit of the ocean
If only walking the plank could mean this
Don’t forget the pig
Really, those babies are almost all pink, talk about permeation
Maybe if there is room after all the meat enjoy a veggie
That corn is a yellow belly
And dessert
This tastes much better than sweet vermouth
More barbecue sauce is always a good idea
Pulled pork is probably one of the easier ways to serve smoked pig. It also works well for a large gathering. Serve it with lots of extra barbecue sauce and coleslaw. Depending on your location the coleslaw can either be in the sandwich or on the side.
The best piece of meat would be a pork butt, also called a Boston butt or picnic roast. A pork loin will also work, but the fat content is much lower so make sure to really smoke the meat at a low temperature or it will dry out. For steps on smoking go here. For a barbecue sauce recipe go here. Below is one more of my time-tested secret barbecue spice rubs.
Pulled Pork Spice Rub
Mop Sauce
Grind all ingredients except sugar to a fine powder. Add sugar and mix well. Rub spice rub into all sides of the pork and let the meat marinate for two hours in the refrigerator. Save two tablespoons spice rub for a mop sauce. To make mop sauce mix spice rub, water, cider vinegar, vegetable oil and some hot sauce in a pot and bring to a boil. remove from heat and let cool. Set pork out to come to room temperature 30 minutes before cooking. When fire is ready, smoke meat, coating it with mop sauce every hour. When meat is done let it rest for 15 minutes then take two forks and shred it into thin ribbons. Mix the pork with barbecue sauce and serve on hamburger buns.
What a pretty plate
With spring here so are fresh fava beans. After they are shelled though what to do with all the pods? Normally I make a vegetable stock. Then I thought why not use them like other beans. Of course you can add the whole pods with the beans to stir frys much like snow peas, but what about just the skins. So I sliced the pods into thin strips and sauteed them with onion and carrots. The flavor is fantastic, think green beans but with a slightly fuzzy texture. The texture was a problem for Katherine but I liked it. Then I thought why not use them as a base under steamed mussels. The result was perfect. You can substitute green beans if fava beans are not available.
Steamed Mussels over Fava Bean Pods
In a large stock pot heat 1 tbsp olive oil and saute garlic and onion chunks until they begin to brown. Add wine, water, lemon juice and lemon, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Add mussels, cover pot and turn heat to medium low. Steam for 5 minutes then stir mussels. Recover and steam 2 minutes more then remove pan from heat and let sit for 10 minutes covered. In a frying pan heat 2 tbsp butter and saute red onion slices over medium heat until they begin to brown. Add carrots and cook until they soften then add fava bean pods. Saute until the pods turn bright green and then remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. Strain mussels reserving the broth. Remove mussels from vegetable matter and discard any that did not open. To serve spoon fried vegetables into bowls top with mussels and pour broth over top. Serve with thick toasted bread.
This is tattooed on my bicep too
We always like to see what Shaun the Bartender is shaking up over at Your Home with Karie Engels. This drink was inspired by his Caribbean Sunset. We made ours less sweet, replacing the sodas with sparkling water. But it still made for a nice drink to sip (or guzzle) while playing croquet. Now if only we could remember where we put those wickets… (Also Shaun, our apologies for bastardizing the name, but that is where folks in our neck of the woods like to vacation and the Caribbean is pretty hoity-toity.)
Redneck Riviera Sunset
Pour all ingredients in a tall glass with ice. Slosh around to mix. Top with soda water. Repeat.
Look it’s JB Prewitt the greatest hand model in the world
The first of the garlic scapes have begun to sprout out and I cannot wait to cook them up. Scapes are the shoots that come out of the center of a garlic plant signaling the garlic will soon be ready for harvest. By cutting them off the plant is forced to put more effort into the garlic bulbs creating a bigger end result. They also are very tasty, like a green bean that tastes like mild garlic butter. For one way to cook them try this. Other ideas to come later.
Speaking of forcing plants to put more energy into the food it is also time to start plucking the flowers from the arugula. Like basil and cilantro, arugula likes to send up flowers and stop making leaves. By nipping them in the bud, the harvest increases for each plant. If you knew that was were the phrase came from then give yourself a big gold star.
Funny how it looks like a thistle
Spring flavors for everyone
Nothing says spring like fresh fava beans. I love these things so much that this winter they are going to be an addition to the garden. Before I get to the delicious risotto in the photo though there is a controversy to settle: To shell fresh fava beans or not.
Believe it or not there are people foaming at the mouth over this issue. Now dried fava beans need to be shelled because the tough outer skin is unacceptable. Fresh fava beans are much smaller( no larger than 1″). If they get bigger then they should be dried. There are many people who like to remove the outer skin of the fresh bean and they do this for two reasons. One they look brighter green when cooked. In the photo above I did not remove the outer skin and as you can see the beans are a dull green. The second reason is flavor. The outside shell has most of the bitter taste that make fava beans so complex. Some people do not like the taste as much and, with the skin removed, the beans are much sweeter, like green peas. Of course the price you pay for fava beans means you should like the added bitterness, otherwise just buy green peas. After all they are much cheaper.
In the end the decision to shell the beans twice is up to how they are going to be used. If you are going to eat them raw, which is a really good way especially paired with a sharp pecorino cheese, then leave the outside shell on. The look is still bright green and the loss of flavor is unacceptable. When it comes to cooked fresh beans then it’s up to you. They will look far greener shelled and if mashing the beans to a puree the skins will get in the way a bit. For most other dishes though I prefer to lose some color and gain more flavor. If you do want to shell the beans the easiest way to do it is a quick parboil for a minute and then straight to ice water. It is very labor intensive to remove the skins as well. Now to the dish.
For this risotto, I made a vegetable broth using the discarded fava bean pods, bits from the red onion and then added some carrots, celery and parsley. This created a red colored broth due to the onion which in turn made the risotto a pinkish color. If you prefer the risotto to have a whiter color then use a sweet yellow onion in the broth. I also did not shell the beans, but if you want a greener color or prefer the fava beans to be sweeter then by all means go for it. I felt the extra bitterness helped to offset the lemon and mint very well and really made this risotto scream spring. When buying fava beans expect four cups of pods to equal one cup shelled beans. For those folks new to risotto go here.
Lemon Risotto with Fava Beans and Mint
Heat butter in a large saute pan. Fry onions over low heat until caramelized, about 20 minutes. Add rice and cook over medium until the edges begin to turn clear. Add lemon juice, wine and zest. Cook until absorbed then add broth 1 cup at a time, stirring often until risotto is soft and creamy. Add beans and another cup stock and cook until beans are done, about two minutes. Add cheese and mint, remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Serve with a good dry white wine.
Three different kinds of sugar is always a good way to start off the day
Strawberry week is officially over, but we had one more recipe to get out of our system. This is such a simple way to put a spring spin on pancakes.
Strawberry-spiced Pancakes
Strawberry Topping
For topping: Mix berries with sugar and syrup, set aside while making pancakes.
For pancakes: Mix dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and add wet ingredients. Stir to incorporate. Cook on a griddle or a hot frying pan. Cook in batches, pouring about a quarter cup of batter on at a time. When you start to see bubbles flip. Cook until golden, about two minutes on each side.
Notes: If you don’t have buttermilk, you can put a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar in your measuring cup and fill it the rest of the way to the one cup mark with regular milk. Let stand for five minutes before using.
