Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Bun For A Bottomless Pit...

My roughly half year stint of cooking for big, tall, white boys (other than the Man) is coming to a close, and I've discussed some of the inherent challenges of cooking for them here.

While (some) big, tall, white boys are disadvantaged by the limitations of their palate, they have a distinct advantage in sheer body area over which to spread the calories they consume. Unfortunately for me, in accommodating their 6'3" corn-fed palates, I have corn fed my 5'3" ass to the point of muffin tops and cottage cheese thighs. And since I'm being kept for the time being by a very patient man trying to complete and publish my e-cookbook, I hardly think it appropriate or fair to blow money on a new wardrobe. As such, a reversion in eating habits seems to be in order.

I've always been a high volume eater (my co-workers from a past corporate life used to call me The Bottomless Pit). In years past, that volume used to come in the form of fresh fruit and salad. In the past 6 months, however, I have probably eaten more bread, rice, pasta and potatoes than in the 2 years before it. And while I have enjoyed every bite of my carb-loaded meals, I realize it's time to reduce the starch and up the roughage if I don't want to be making a fashion (don't) statement of stretched out yoga pants and the Man's XL beer tees.

One of my favorite high volume meals is bun (pronounced boohn) or Vietnamese noodle salad. Just a handful of rice noodles (or angel hair pasta in a pinch), a modest portion of grilled Vietnamese pork chop (it's also commonly made with other grilled proteins and/or spring rolls), sliced into bite-sized pieces, and a whole mess of fresh, crisp veg and herbs including lettuce, cucumber, bean sprouts, cilantro and mint, topped off with the sweet and sour crunch of quick-pickled carrots and radish, and lightly dressed with a fish sauce-based dressing called nuoc cham (noohk CHAHM).
Light, refreshing, flavorful and super satisfying... 
This dish naturally works well with this recipe for thit heo nuong (Vietnamese pork chops), but Korean BBQ would make a really good substitute.

VIETNAMESE COLD NOODLE SALAD

- grilled Vietnamese pork chops (or Korean BBQ works too), sliced into bite sized pieces. the salad tastes best when the meat is still warm while the other components are still cool and crisp
- cucumber, cut into matchsticks
- lettuce
- fresh bean sprouts
- cilantro
- mint
- pickled carrots and/or radishes (You'll need white vinegar, sugar and salt)

- bun (Vietnamese rice noodles) or angel hair pasta, cooked per package instructions

- nuoc cham (fish sauce dressing/dipping sauce - see Steps 1 & 2)

1) Prepare grilled pork and dressing following the recipes here.
2) Add two tablespoons of water to the dressing. (This isn't exactly a traditional nuoc cham recipe, but the flavor is quite close, and using the marinade as a base for the dressing makes for efficient use of effort and ingredients.)

3) Cut 1 carrot into matchsticks and toss with 2 tablespoons white vinegar, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt and let pickle for at least 15 minutes.
sweet & sour crunch
4) Assemble the salad. No precision here - just a handful of noodles, a modest portion of meat sliced into bite-sized pieces, as much veg and herbs as you like, all tossed with about 3 tablespoons of the dressing to start. (You can always add more.)

I like to add a squeeze of sriracha and fresh lime for some added zip and zest. Composed bites of noodle, veg, herbs and meat together create a delicious balance and contrast of flavors and textures that is super satisfying to the palate.

For me, eating high volume food that's naturally healthy and wicked tasty is sooooo much easier than counting calories and opting for low-fat, low-flavor (and likely highly processed) diet food.
Too bad (some) white boys...
...prefer pizza and hot dogs.
shinae

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

DEEPLY FRIED - MILs & Empanada Wrappers...

When you believe that each person who crosses your path has a lesson for you, it's hard to regret their role in the play that is your life, whatever it be. Generally speaking, I think the bigger the part and the longer the scenes before the exit, the greater the lesson (or the more pigheaded we are about learning it)...

They say men tend to marry their mothers and women their fathers. And though I would have liked to believe this wasn't my truth, after 11 years of what some would call an *unbalanced* marriage, a nasty divorce in the aftermath of what I call a *LONG AND EPIC PERSONAL BREAKDOWN*, and a few more years of oft painful reflection, I have to admit that it was very much my truth. Staring me in the face for 13 years through the eyes of a hard-working, well-meaning, self-sacrificing but very passive aggressive and hugely enabling little Ecuadorean woman, were some of the biggest lessons I needed to learn before I could step forward into a mutually loving, caring, nurturing and respectful partnership - one that I would proudly model for both my son and daughter.
Picadillo empanadas.
As with almost everything deep fried,
they are insanely tasty. :)
In moments of judgment, I saw her as a self-made victim of Latino machismo who quietly went along with her Cuban husband's chest pounding only to turn around and curse it in whispers under her breath. I would wonder in frustration why she didn't just tell the man to his face that he was full of mierda when he made whales of some of the minnows he fished out of life. (To be clear, I have a lingering love and affection for both of these complex people who loved me like the daughter they never had.)

But in moments of empathy, I understood exactly why she didn't. She didn't because she, like I, came from a culture, nature and history that made us want to protect a man's ego, and our perception of that man (no matter how deluded), at all cost. Obviously at cost to the woman suffering a man who needs big praise for little deeds, but also not so obviously at the cost of true growth for the man too easily and eagerly resting on that praise. And so in my own marriage, save the contemptuous whispers, I often found myself doing the very thing for which I criticized my mother-in-law: preserving my husband's ego at the cost of my own sanity, well-being, and sense of truth.
No delusion here - just tender,
flaky, delicious pastry...
Lest I should be misunderstood, I don't think it admirable what we did. Understandable, perhaps even forgivable, yes. To be emulated, absolutely not. Because good intentions mixed with a bad case of delusion can create a vicious cycle within which the enabler unintentionally chips away at their own ability to respect the enabled. And the enabled, despite the natural urge to accept praise, presumably believes at their core that, being so enabled, they were never worthy in the first place.

I don't fault her the whispers. I think that if I'd stayed married, I would also have found a quiet way to process my feelings. I've never been much for screaming matches nor for Western psychology's notion that we can pay a disinterested (and likely uninterested) third party to somehow stoke the flames of lasting inner growth that we lack the desire to make on our own. 

But with due respect for the life the ex MIL continues to live her way, I like to think that I exited stage left from her son's life because I was fortunate and able to learn a lesson that perhaps her circumstances did not allow: that a painful severance grounded in reality is ultimately better for the soul than a lasting union based on delusion.


We don't talk very much any more, our relationship a casualty of the tension between me and the son she is compelled to continue enabling. But the last time we had a heart to heart, I told her why I'm not going back. She teared up momentarily for the loss of so many things I'm sure, but then nodded and said "I understand." And in that moment, it was as though we had both fulfilled our biggest purposes in each other's lives - both as mirrors of our selves and as windows offering a glimpse of what lay, or could lay, ahead, for the choice to see, and act on, things as they are and not as we hope or pretend them to be.

If I have rejected some part of her in walking away from a life with her son, I still remember fondly, albeit sometimes sadly, the many moments of real warmth and affection shared between us, mostly in the kitchen, that are not likely to ever happen again. But in addition to her blessing to move on to a better life, she gave me a rich legacy of delicious foods I never knew existed until I married her son.

Empanadas are my favorite of all of her dishes because they're such crowd pleasers. Savory picadillo with bits of salty, briny olive and a sweet surprise of the occasional raisin - all wrapped in a delicious, deep fried pastry. Too hot fresh out of the oil, so you chat and wait and chat a little more until they're ready to bite into...


She likes to use the frozen Goya wrappers, or discos, as they're called in Spanish. But one of those inspired, DIY, elbow-grease-y moments sent me on a search for a perfect empanada pastry recipe, and I found a near-perfect one on epicurious. Just a couple of modifications produced a lightly sweet and oh so tender yet flakey pastry that works well with both sweet and savory fillings.

It's not a difficult recipe, but you do have to commit yourself to the time and effort it takes to make, chill, and roll the discos. A lazy weekend afternoon with a nice, chilled glass of pinot grigio and some Gipsy Kings is probably not a bad way to go about it.

EMPANADA WRAPPERS (DISCOS PARA EMPANADAS)
Adapted from this GOURMET 2004 recipe. My additions in italics.
Makes 12 to 15 wrappers.

- 2+1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1+1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup ice water
- 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon cold (solid) chicken fat (or 1 extra Tablespoon butter - I always have chicken fat left over from making stock, but the chicken fat does give it a different flakiness. Worth the modification if you've got it, but not a huge biggie if you don't.)

1) Sift flour with salt into a large bowl and blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal with some (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. If you don't have a sifter, just grab handfuls of flour and sift them through your fingers from 6 inches above the bowl. Do this about 10 times, and your dry ingredients will be incorporated and aerated.
2) Beat together egg, water, and vinegar in a small bowl with a fork. Add to flour mixture, stirring with fork until just incorporated. (Mixture will look shaggy.)
3) Turn out mixture onto a lightly floured surface and gather together, then knead gently with heel of your hand once or twice, just enough to bring dough together. Form dough into a flat rectangle and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, at least 1 hour. If you're in a hurry, 30 minutes in the back of the freezer will do.
If it's a warm day, I like to keep the dough I'm not currently working in the fridge. The butter can melt quickly and make the dough challenging to work with.

4) Cut dough into equal sized cubes (about 1+1/2 inches) and roll into balls. Leave 3 or 4 out to roll, and put rest in fridge.
A baker's dozen here, but I can actually
squeeze 15 to 18 (and get a less doughy center)
out of this recipe if I roll real hard...
5) Roll into 4"-5" discs, depending on how big you want to make your empanadas.
Roller is in storage. This worked swell.


Par for the course, I take measurements for one thing, and forget them for another. Will try to get some filling recipes up shortly.

shinae 

06.10.11 - Picadillo recipe posted here.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Don't Know What You Got - Spicy Thai Seafood Stew...

Growing up in a culturally diverse place like Orange County (CA), one starts to take for granted the markets in Little Saigon and Koreatown, which are always brimming with fresh, if not live, seafood. One tends to forget what an incredible deal it is to find live Dungeness crab on sale for $3.99/lb or live Maine lobster for $8.99/lb. One forgets how hard it is generally to find fresh, live, seafood until one moves to a place in the desert where a lot of one kind of people move to escape from all the alien people of other kinds who eat weird things like fresh seafood. And also to find parking spaces big enough for their VERYBIG trucks.

For the time being, I live in just such a place.  And between the big box chains, a single Trader Joe’s and the Wednesday so-called farmer’s market, the only live fish I’m likely to find is swimming in a guppy bowl at Petco. And since I don’t eat those, I am SOL for fresh seafood during the week.

But on the weekends, we make the 90 minute drive to visit my parents in OC, and when we make a grocery run, I feel like a kid in a candy store perusing all the produce, spices, condiments and proteins - especially the ones from the sea – that I’ll never find at the Ralph’s or Super Walmart down the street.

Truth is, even if I still lived in OC, I wouldn’t buy the crab and lobster all that often. In my own quirky logic, I think there is a discipline to being easily pleased. And that such discipline is practiced in part by making an occasion of indulgence and a habit of restraint, even when it comes to the food about which I am so passionate. But occasions do arise, like Mother’s Day a couple weeks ago, and there seemed no better time to indulge in some seafood so fresh it was still breathing, crawling and pinching.

My mom had bought some baguettes from the boulangerie earlier in the morning, so a rich broth in which to dunk that crusty bread was definitely in order. I made a tom yum inspired soup as a base so I could ladle off a bowl for Joey, who loves tom yum but hates seafood (hopefully this is a temporary malfunction of an otherwise well developing young palate), and steamed the goods in the broth, making this Spicy Thai Seafood Stew.
I also made some Spicy Basil Fried Rice with Shrimp but forgot to take measurements. Oops.

SPICY THAI SEAFOOD STEW

For 4 adults, I used:

- 1 whole Dungeness crab, shelled and quartered for fast steaming
- 4 very large Cherrystone clams – Wash your clams well.  Sand in your food sucks bivalves.
- 16 medium sized Manila clams
- 2 pounds of crawfish (live ones are in season now, but a pound of good sized shrimp will work even better now that I think about it)
  
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1/2 cup chopped shallots (6 or 7)
- 1 garlic clove, smashed
- 6 or 7 thin slices of fresh ginger
- 2 or 3 Thai bird chilies, in 1/4-inch slices (or more if you like it XXX spicy like I do :))) )
- 2 to 3 stalks lemon grass pounded to release the oils and cut in 2 inch segments (If you can’t find lemongrass, a teaspoon of lime or lemon zest will work in a pinch.  Not quite the same, but a good approximation.)
- 6 or 7 stems cilantro, chopped in 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
- 4 cups unsalted chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
- 1 cup coconut milk

1) In a large pot, sautee shallots in butter and oil over medium high heat until they become translucent and some bits are golden brown.

2) Add in garlic, ginger, chilies, lemon grass, cilantro and curry powder, and sautee another 2 minutes or so to give those elements a roasted flavor.
3) Add in chicken stock, fish sauce, sugar, lime juice and coconut milk, and bring to a gentle boil. Then turn heat down to medium and simmer for about 5 minutes. At this point, the broth is ready to serve as a soup.
4) Add seafood, turn heat back up to medium high, and cover to steam, about 15 minutes, depending on what you're steaming and how much.  
When your clams are open, and the shellfish have just turned a bright red/orange color, you are good to go. Protein from the sea usually cooks very quickly and can go from tasty to rubber in no time.
Everything I photograph in my mom's kitchen looks
sooooo ORANGE.
And no, I don't want to Photoshop it. :)
You may find that you need to adjust the broth for the natural salt that will come from your seafood.  If so, try adding 1/4 cup of water and a pinch of sugar to mellow out the salt.

Serve with some crusty bread or some steamed jasmine rice or the fried rice I don't have a recipe for:  

Off to make tonight’s empanadas. :)

shinae

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

DEEPLY FRIED - Lemon Vanilla Fritters With Fresh Strawberry Jam

Living in a desert clime since January, I’ve been enjoying the past few days of relative cool, some clouds and even a bit of rain in the mornings. While most people seem to perk up with the rays of the sun, I find there’s nothing like a little gray to give me pep. Maybe it’s because I’m a water sign (Fish) that the prospect of precipitation always gives me extra ambition for the day.
 
These days, while *working* from home (that’s what we’ll call it for now, my little pipe dream of making a modest living as a literal hermit turned virtual cooking teacher without flashing my white meat and/or being a vapid famewhore) extra ambition often means an extra experiment in the kitchen to see if I can make something delicious with whatever I’ve got on hand. When a rainy day coincides with the experiment, I find myself thinking about what I’d like to make for my kids with the hot chocolate they love to drink on just such a day.

So yesterday, I set out to make a deep-fried something sprinkled with powdered sugar and came up with these Lemon Vanilla Fritters using my Can't Bake For Shit mix (aka Bisquick). The fritters fry up quickly and taste like a lighter, crisper, fluffier miniature buttermilk bar with hints of lemon and vanilla. I purposely made them lightly sweet in anticipation of the powdered sugar dusting.

Deep fried delicious...

A quick strawberry jam from a handful of reject berries in the basket made a really delicious accompaniment, the leftovers to top a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream some day soon.

LEMON VANILLA FRITTERS WITH FRESH STRAWBERRY JAM
Makes about 20 two-bite fritters

It’s a good idea to make the strawberry jam first, as you don’t want to have to wait too long after the fritters are done to eat them.

Strawberry Jam

- 1 Cup sliced strawberries (5 to 6 medium)
- 1/3 Cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons water
- pinch of salt (a gentle shake’s worth)





1) Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over medium low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

2) After 10 minutes, mash large strawberry bits with a fork. This will release more of the pectin from the fruit and help thicken the jam.

3) Simmer another 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is the consistency of thick syrup.

Fritters

- 2 Cups Bisquick
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 Tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped lemon zest (If  you don’t have a microplane or zester, just run your vegetable peeler over the lemon, removing 2 or 3 strips of the rind, and chop into fine pieces. Try to avoid getting the bitter pith (white part) with the rind.)
- 1/2 Cup + 1 Tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 2 Cups oil for frying (canola, vegetable or light olive work)

- Powdered sugar for dusting

1) Combine all dry ingredients (Bisquick, sugar and lemon zest) in a bowl and stir to incorporate.

2) Add wet ingredients (milk, vanilla extract and melted butter) and stir just enough times to incorporate all the dry ingredients with the wet.


3) Preheat the oil over a slightly higher than medium flame until a small piece of batter thrown in fries and bubbles gently.

4) Using two teaspoons (the ones you eat with, not the dainty little ones that came with your mother's china set), form a heaping teaspoon of batter into a football shaped fritter, and gently lay into oil, frying no more than 4 at a time. (After 3 or 4, you need to start flipping.) 


These should take about 1 minute per side to reach a golden brown color and ensure the batter is cooked all the way through. If they are browning too quickly (which they did with my first batch), turn the heat down a touch and wait a minute or two before frying again.

5) Rest fried fritters for 2 to 3 minutes on a double layer of paper towels to absorb oil and cool a bit.


6) Dust with powdered sugar and serve with strawberry jam.

frittery...

...goodness.

Oh, and coffee. NEVER. FORGET. COFFEEEEEEE...

shinae

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Thit Heo Nuong is Vietnamese for...

..."GRILLED PIGS (is delicious)."

I am big on pig, so it’s a lucky thing I come from two cultures that make such good use of it. As with chicken, I don’t really care for the white meat parts. But since most of my fellow Americans seem to love the super sanitized, boneless, skinless, fatless, flavorless, can’t-tell-what-animal-it-comes-from cuts of meat I generally avoid, I eat my dark meat in good conscience, knowing that my habits bring with them a sort of equilibrium to the consumption of pig parts in the USA.

You could try making these Vietnamese Pork Chops with a leaner, whiter chop. But then you’d miss out on those delightfully charred and caramelized bits of pork fat that - when mixed with the sweet/savory/aromatic of the marinade and the nutty foil of steamed Jasmine rice - send you momentarily to a hog heaven nearly impossible with a skinny cut of pig.


So I’ll urge you not to dietize this recipe the first time you make it and to use fattier, darker, but thin-cut (no thicker than ½ an inch) pork, preferably with a bone attached. (Look for “pork loin chop”, “butt/shoulder steak”, “sirloin chop”, or you could even cut boneless “country style ribs” into ½ inch thick steaks for this recipe.)

I like to serve these with a Spring Green, Cucumber (I like Persian or hothouse) and Cilantro Salad dressed with a Lime and Sauteed Shallot vinaigrette which uses a couple of tablespoons of the pork chop marinade as a base.

VIETNAMESE PORK CHOPS (THIT HEO NUONG) 
(tiht HEYo noohng)
Serves 6

- roughly 3 pounds bone-in (or at least darkmeat) pork chops or steaks

- 1/4 cup fish sauce (Tiparos is a widely available brand that I’ve seen in the Asian foods aisle of major chain groceries)
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 green onion, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon lime zest, finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1+1/2 Tablespoons water (Why not just less fish sauce? Because water dilutes and rounds out the mild bitterness/ saltiness of the fish sauce.)
- 2 tablespoons oil (something neutral like canola or vegetable)

1) Mix all marinade ingredients together in a small mixing bowl and stir until brown sugar is completely dissolved. If you’re going to make the salad dressing (instructions to follow), reserve 2 tablespoons of marinade in separate bowl.


2) Work marinade into chops and let marinate for at least 45 minutes, up to 2 hours, redistributing the meat 2 or 3 times to ensure even seasoning.


3) Bring chops to room temp (at least 30 minutes out of the fridge) and pre-heat grill to medium high. (Make sure the grill is hot enough to make the meat sizzle as it hits the grill. If you place the chops on the grill before it’s hot enough, they won’t sear properly and will slowly leach out all their juices by time they’re done. :( )

These really are monster chops.
I usually get smaller ones.

4) Grill each chop 7 to 10 minutes per side, depending on size and thickness, flipping once only, until juices run clear. If the meat is still sticking to the grill when you try to flip it, it’s probably not done on that side yet.


You may think those charred edges of fat are too burnt to eat, but the flavor and texture of that crisped and caramelized fat with the meat are a thing to be experienced...

5) Serve with steamed jasmine rice and salad if you’re so inclined.

SPRING GREENS, CUCUMBER & CILANTRO SALAD WITH LIME & SAUTEED SHALLOT VINAIGRETTE

I chose this selection of greens because they go well with Vietnamese dishes, and the added layer of aromatic flavor that comes from sautéing the shallots always gets thumbs ups.

- Spring Greens
- 1 Persian or Pickling Cucumber, sliced into thin discs
- 6 or 7 sprigs’ worth of cilantro leaves (you could just chop the sprigs, but the leaves picked off make a prettier presentation)

Awww... Will ya look at all those
adorable little cilantro leaves.

- 2 Tablespoons Vietnamese Pork Chop marinade
- 1 Tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons thinly sliced shallot, sautéed in 1 teaspoon oil
- 1/2 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice
- 1 Tablespoon oil with neutral flavor

Combine all ingredients in small mixing bowl and stir or whisk until brown sugar is completely dissolved. This should easily dress an entire standard 8 or 9 oz. package of salad greens with a few other veggies tossed in.


Hope you like. :)

shinae 

Saturday, May 14, 2011

DUDE FOOD (again) - Pulled Pork With Strawberry Chipotle Sauce

Seeing as I just wrote a Dude Food post, I was going to hold off on this recipe until sometime next week or so. But a couple of my Facebook friends requested it off of this album, and, well, we all know comments, feedback, and requests especially, are like rainbow crack sprinkles to a foodblogger…

The sweet-tangy flavor profile in this recipe and the chicken wing recipe I just posted falls into what I like to call the cheat flavor pile. Some other flavors that fall into this pile are bacon, butter, brown sugar and chocolate. The reason I call them cheat flavors is that they’re so broadly appealing that you almost feel like you’re getting away with something when you use them and people say your food tastes good. Like half your job as a cook was done for you the moment you decided to mix something sweet with something tangy. Like the sweet was Milli and the tangy Vanilli… You know what I mean.

But, whatever way you shred it, this dish is easy, inexpensive, and tasty. And with the meatiness of the pork and smokiness of the chipotle sauce, it’s a shoo-in for Dude Food Installation #2.
A little sweet, slightly tangy,
and fairly schmokayyyyy...
PULLED PORK WITH STRAWBERRY CHIPOTLE SAUCE

Serves 6 – 8 depending on who’s eating, but the recipe can easily be halved without sacrificing flavor.  A 2 pound butt would be cut in half and cooktime would remain the same.

- 3.5 to 4 pound pork shoulder/butt (Get a well marbled piece – the fat will keep the meat moist during cooking, and what’s left can easily be removed during the shredding process.)

Rub

While I usually prefer fresh garlic and onion, there are a few instances where dry is better. BBQ rubs, sauces and marinades often benefit from dry garlic especially because fresh garlic tends to burn quickly and taste very bitter.

- 1 Tablespoon granulated garlic
- 1 Tablespoon granulated onion
- 1 Tablespoon paprika
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1 Tablespoon black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon salt

  
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir to incorporate evenly.

Sauce

This recipe calls for shallots, and the distinct flavor of shallots really does make a difference. But if they’re not handy, red or brown onions can substitute in a pinch. You might have to add a pinch of salt or so to adjust for the water content of the onions.

- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 1/2 cup strawberry jam
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon oil
- 2/3 cup thinly sliced shallots (8 to 10)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp rub
- 1 tsp chipotle powder

Roasting the pork…

1) Cut the pork butt into 4 equal pieces and season well and evenly with the rub mixture, literally giving each side a few good rubs to work in the seasoning. (This should use up a little more than half the total rub.)
2) While the meat is absorbing the seasoning and coming up to room temperature (at least 30 minutes out of the fridge), preheat the oven to 425 and make the sauce. (Directions to follow.)

3) Roast the pork in a single layer in an oven safe dish for 25 minutes at 425, flipping the meat halfway through. This high temperature will sear the outside and help keep the juices in for the rest of the roasting time.

4) Reduce the oven to 375 and roast another 60 to 80 minutes, flipping the meat about halfway through, until the pork shreds easily with a fork FROM EACH PIECE. The variance in time is due to variations in texture, density, fat content of the meat and the temperature of the meat as it goes into the oven.
5) Remove pork from the oven and pull apart into large chunks using two large forks and pulling in opposite directions.  Doing this will help the cooling process.  Allow the meat to cool 10 minutes or so before shredding (unless you have asbestos kitchen hands and want to tear into the task right away).

6) Shred the pork and dress with warm sauce. The pork and sauce will have cooled to room temperature by the time you finish shredding, and you want both components warm when you dress the meat so it can soak up the flavors that much better. You can microwave the meat for a minute or so and reheat the sauce on the stove on medium heat, which should take no more than 2-3 minutes.
Making the sauce…

- 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 cup strawberry jam
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon oil
- 2/3 cup thinly sliced shallots (8 to 10)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon rub
- 1 teaspoon chipotle powder

1) Heat 1 tablespoon oil to medium high in a small pot or saucepan and sautee the shallots until they are translucent and about half of them are golden brown.
2) Lower heat to medium and add jam and brown sugar and stir until sugar is completely dissolved.

3) Stir in vinegar, salt, rub and chipotle powder and simmer another 2 to 3 minutes.  Sauce will likely cool before you’re done shredding the pork.  Reheat for 2 or 3 minutes over medium flame before dressing the pork.
This pork is super tasty with a side of coleslaw or potato salad, and leftovers make easy sandwiches on burger buns with coleslaw and/or dill pickle chips (and a slather of mayo, if you're like me).

shinae