Puerco Pibil

My buddy Joe introduced me to a dish called Puerco Pibil. Ever since the first time I experienced it, I fell in love with it. It is a slow roasted pork that is so succulent and packed full of tastebud tickling flavor! There are a few shortcuts you can take with this dish but I guarantee you, it's worth the effort to make it this way for maximum flavor. It can be served over rice or in tortilla shells. I usually use the latter and top it with cheddar cheese and sour cream. I use and tweak a recipe from The Spice House Website.

Ingredients

• 5 lbs. Boneless Pork Butt, cut into 1"-2" cubes
• 5 Tbls. Annato Seeds
• 2 tsp. Cumin Seeds
• 1 Tbls. Whole Black Peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp. Whole Cloves
• 8 Whole Allspice Berries
• 2 Fresh Habanero Peppers, cleaned and minced
• 1/2 C. Fresh Orange Juice
• 1/2 C. White Vinegar
• 8 Garlic Cloves
• 2 Tbls. Salt
• 5 Lemons, juiced (Limes can also be used instead)
• 1 Shot of Tequila
• Banana Leaves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. In a spice grinder, add Annato, Cumin, Peppercorns, Cloves, and Allspice Berries and grind until very fine. It's important to grind it fine as the Annato Seeds are like tiny rocks and will give it a gritty texture if left too large. Set aside.
3. In a blender, add Habaneros, Orange Juice, Garlic, Salt, Lemon Juice, Tequila, and ground spices. Blend until smooth.
4. In a large marinating bag or non-reactive bowl, pour mixture over cubed pork and coat evenly. Secure or cover and place in fridge for 3-4 hours. 
5. In a 9x13x2 pan, lay banana leaves down one at a time so that it is draped over the pan and enough is leftover to drape back on top. Refer to pictures for details.
6. Pour Pork and all marinade in the pan on the banana leaves. 
7. One at a time and alternating leaves, drape them back over the the top of the pork like you are wrapping a package.
8. Once all leaves are folded back on top, cover with foil. It may help to wrap the entire pan in foil. Place on or above a cookie sheet and put in oven. Roast for 4 hours. 
9. After 4 hours, take out of oven. Pull the foil off and carefully "unfold" the banana leaves to reveal the pork. With tongs, break up pork so it "shreds". 
10. Serve over rice or on tortilla shells with Cheddar Cheese and Sour Cream!

Notes:

• Banana leaves are usually frozen and you can find them in specialty stores. They are not absolutely necessary but it does help add an extra flavor element you can't get without. The leaves are inexpensive and worth using.
• You can easily turn this into a crockpot meal. Simply add everything to the crockpot and I would cook it on low for 8 hours. 
• The habaneros are hot. However, by removing the seeds and ribs, it tones them down. The habaneros give the dish extra flavor and don't add that much heat. I am not a fan of "hot" food and I usually add just one and it comes out pretty mild. If you like spicy, add more habaneros.
• You can use limes instead of lemons. 

Puerco Pibil will make your house smell so wonderful. It is absolutely one of my favorite dishes. Please leave comments! If you have any questions, just ask! 

Pork Butt

All the spices

Habaneros and Garlic

Squeezing the Lemon Juice

Adding the Tequila

Adding the marinade

Banana Leaves

Lining the pan with the leaves

Adding the pork and maninade

Wrapping the pork and marinade with the leaves

All wrapped and ready for foil

Wrapped and ready for oven

Unwrapping

"Shredding" the pork

This is my favorite way to eat Puerco Pibil.

Need an excellent baker?

If you don't know already, I'm NOT a baker. I can make any kind of food you want, unless it is a bakery item. I burn store bought cookie dough. BUT, if anyone ever needs baked items, please check out my friend Molly!

Molly does fantastic work. She specializes in cupcake featuring unique flavors and decorations. Flavors like  Maple Bacon, Quadruple Chocolate Bypass, Triple Salted Caramel, Strawberries and Cream are just a few of the unique masterpieces she has created. Molly doesn't do just cupcakes though. She also makes cakes, cookies, pastries, and any other kind of custom made bake good you may need. Molly is located in Northeast, PA. You can check out her Facebook page and become a fan!

Here are just a few of her masterpieces:

These are AWESOME!!

Strawberries and Cream

Beer Cupcake sprinkled with Hops

Fancy Sugar Cookies

Fondant Cake

Rose Cupcake

Creamsicle Cupcake

Triple Salted Caramel Cupcakes

These are just a few of Molly's creations. For more pictures, descriptions, or to contact her, go to her Facebook page HERE!! Her contact information will be on there and she will be happy to answer questions and take orders! Let her bake you  a few spectacular treats for your holiday season.

Ever wonder why there is "Dark" and "White" meat?

Dark -vs- White Meat

So you're sitting at the table on Thanksgiving Day and a one of life's questions arises. White Meat or Dark Meat? What is the difference? What makes dark meat dark and white meat white? Look no further, I have your answer!

Muscles use a protein called Myoglobin to store oxygen when that muscle is used. The more that muscle is used, the higher the concentration of Myoglobin. The higher the concentration means darker the color. Since Chickens and Turkeys fly very little, if at all, the breast and part of the wing has a low concentration of Myoglobin. However, they do a lot of walking and running around which would give the legs and thighs a high concentration of Myoglobin. This also explains why ducks are all "dark"meat. They actually use the breast and wings to fly.

Other Poultry facts:

• The muscle tissue of poultry is similar to mammals except in the way it stores fat. Poultry doesn't have "marbling", it stores fat in it's skin, abdominal cavity, and the fat pad near it's tail.
• Poultry fat is softer and has a lower melting point than other animal fats.
• A flightless bird, such as an Ostrich or Emu, is called a "Ratite".
• To get a bird to cook evenly, truss it. Trussing is where you tie the legs together and the wings are tucked neatly behind the bird. This keeps the bird's legs and wings from overcooking.
• Tryptophan is the chemical in turkey that makes you sleepy.

I hope this blog post satisfies your curiosity if you've ever asked the question, Dark or White?

I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful holiday! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Chicken Puttanesca

A couple weeks ago, while at work, a fellow coworker was demoing Chicken Puttanesca. I've always wanted to make it and after trying his, I knew I HAD to make it!

Puttanesca is an italian sauce made of Tomatoes, Olives, Capers, Garlic, Onions, Anchovies, and Herbs. It's very simple to make and very quick. It is also very fragrant, which leads me to the origin. According to this website, there are mulitple translations as to how this dish was derived. The version I heard said that it was made in brothels either to lure men in with the aroma or to feed the men while waiting for their "turn".

But for whatever reason it was made, it is a very tasty and vibrant sauce that you can make quickly on a weeknight and put over pasta or chicken.

I added the chicken to a Pasta Puttanesca recipe from my fellow coworker, Damian.
The sauce recipe can be found on Epicurious:

Chicken Puttanesca
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 35 min
Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Dried Linguine
• 5 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Tbls Anchovy Paste
• 1/3 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 (28 oz) Can Tomato Puree
• 1/2 C Pitted Kalamata Olives, chopped
• 2 Tbls Capers, drained and chopped
• 3/4 C Basil, coarsely chopped
• 1lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
• Flour, for dredging
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 Tbls Oil, for frying (any oil you prefer, see step 2)

Directions:

1. Bring pot of water to boil for pasta.
2. While water is coming to a boil, Cut Chicken into 1/4" slices. Season with Salt & Pepper.
3. In a large skillet with deep sides, heat the oil for frying over medium high heat.
4. Dredge seasoned Chicken in the flour until slightly coated and shake off excess.
5. When oil is hot, toss in the floured chicken and cook until no longer pink.
6. Remove Chicken and set aside.
7. Add the Olive Oil to the hot pan. Add Garlic and Anchovy Paste and let cook stirring occasionally. It will look a little yellowish.
8. Add Tomato Puree, Olives, and Capers. Simmer until Pasta is just about al dente.
9. Drain pasta. Add Chicken, Pasta, and Basil to sauce and simmer for just a couple of minutes longer until the pasta is al dente.
10. Serve and enjoy! Goes great with Garlic Bread!

Seasoned and Sliced Chicken and Flour for Dredging

Dredging the Chicken

Frying the Chicken

Cooking the pasta

Pressing Garlic

Anchovy Paste and Garlic in the oil

If you don't have tomato puree, you can puree whole tomatoes in the blender.

Chopping the Olives

Everything in the sauce except the basil and pasta.

Everything mixed together, minus Basil. I used dried since I did not have fresh.

Finished dish

You can add or remove ingredients to you tastes. You don't have to add the flour, but it helps the sauce "stick" to the chicken better. 

As always, please feel free to leave any comments, positive or negative. I would love honest feedback on all my posts!

First Lunch Done!

Today was our first lunch! It went pretty well! I was the Kitchen Manager and Allison was the Front of the House Manager. A couple of hiccups but that was to be expected being the first one that we were in charge of.

First off I want to say thank you to all who came to help. Jameel, Amanda, Carol, and Emily, we appreciate all your help. To all my classmates, everyone did a great job!

So our theme was German Food. Just in time for Oktoberfest! We served Reisling, Lemonade, Water, Tea, and Coffee.

 Here is a picture of our menu:

My Menu

Allison's Menu

Now for the pictures!

Menu and Place Setting

Chilled Soups: Grape Gazpacho, Creamy Tomato Basil, and Butternut Squash.

 

Allison's Sauerbraten with German Fries and Red Cabbage

My Chicken Schnitzel Stapel with Potato Galette and Sauteed Brussels Sprouts

Special Dessert for my Sweetie!!

My Pistachio Cheesecake with Cherry Sauce and Chocolate Filigree.

Allison's Black Forest S'mores.

Excuse my appearance. Took a break to come out and say Hi to the family.

Overall, I think it turned out well. If you've never been to one of Mercyhurst University's Lunch Series, you must definitely come out and try one. Unfortunately, they are all booked up for this term.

Oh, and I forgot to introduce my partner, Allison.

Allison and Olive Oil

First Lunch Series to the Public

This Thursday is our first Lunch Series at school! I will be the Kitchen Manager and my partner, Allison, will be the Front of the House Manager. We made our own menu and will be serving it to the public for the first time! I am both excited and just a tiny bit nervous. I hope everything goes well. We were able to prep a lot of stuff yesterday and today. I will definitely get pictures of everything for you all to see.

A sneak peak of the menu is as follows:

Starter

Chilled Rustic Soup Trio

Grape Gazpacho, Creamy Tomato Basil, and Butternut Squash

Entrees

Chicken Schnitzel Stapel

Chicken Schnitzel, Ham, and Gruyere Stack, like a deconstructed German Cordon Bleu.

Served with Sauteed Brussels Sprouts (Recipe can be found on this blog) and Potato Galette

Sauerbraten

Marinated braised beef with a gravy.

Served with Red Cabbage and German Fries

Desserts

Pistachio Cheesecake with Chocolate Filigree and Cherry Sauce

S'mores

Made from scratch marshmallows, Made from scratch graham crackers, Chocolate Ganache and Cherry Compote.

It's been a lot of hard work but it will pay off in the end. And everything is made from scratch! Allison even made her own graham crackers and marshmallows! I can't wait to share our meal with everyone. If you haven't noticed our theme is German Food. Just in time for Oktoberfest!

Avocado Mac 'n' Cheese

My wife LOVES avocados and she found a recipe for Avocado Mac 'n' Cheese. So we gave it a try. Here are the results!

The recipe can be found at http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/stovetop-avocado-mac-and-cheese/.
I followed the recipe exactly except I used Dry Radiatore for the pasta and Heavy Cream for the Milk. It's a very rich and tasty meal!

I found that it made more like 8 Servings using the Radiatore. And it was very "saucy".

Grated Pepper Jack Cheese

Avocado

Avocado, Cilantro, Garlic, Lime Juice, and S&P.

All processed.....

Made a roux and added cream....

......then the cheese!

Mix everything together.

Voila!

Plated with Spinach and Giant Eagle's Red Wine and Garlic Chicken Sausage.

This Mac 'n' Cheese was one of the richest I've had in a long time. But it was pretty good! I will probably make it again. If you like this recipe, make sure you head over to www.twopeasandtheirpod.com and see what other recipes they have! Oh, and as always, please comment on any of my blog posts!