Since parenthood came into my life, so has weight gain. It hasn’t been all that bad but I think I weigh a bit more now than I did in the days after I pushed that child out. Why? Because the gym is now a long-distant memory. Since we clearly like to eat, the gym was once my very good friend four or five times a week pre-child. Now, I’m lucky to even get a long walk to the park. If I still have energy after a day of chasing after a 1 year old, I’ll may pop in a yoga DVD, but I now realize that “5 Minute ABS” only works when you are doing more than just “5 Minute Abs”. I refuse to stop eating or drinking wine but I miss those carefree days of hitting the gym whenever I wanted to sweat off my stress and weekend steak and potatoes.

So how does Mariah Carey fit into this post? Well, recently, Mariah debuted her “post baby body” – a phrase I’m kinda getting sick of seeing on magazine covers. Yeah, yeah, she did it through diet and exercise and did gain like a million pounds while on bedrest with her twins but she has a FLAT STOMACH AGAIN! How about this chick - she did a Vickis Secret bra and panties modeling shoot a few weeks after giving birth. I was still wearing my “belly band” at that point.

But, it’s never too late to try and lose a bit of that baby weight, huh? This ceviche is the perfect way to attempt to do so without getting depressed that all you are eating is salad and brown rice. This ceviche is a bit different than the ones you may have had in the past. Normally, ceviche’s fish/shellfish is “cooked” by lime or lemon juice acid that it marinates in. This particular ceviche requires one to actually cook the seafood first. It is inspired by street food we had in Brooklyn several years ago. We have remembered it all this time – it was the type of NYC street food that is very hard to find these days (one that is probably illegal and delicious). With street food becoming a weird trendy thing, possibly because of the invention of the Vendy Awards and the infiltration of slick food trucks, it is sometimes hard to find street food that isn’t overdone or trying too hard. This particular hot summer day, we discovered a woman on her stoop with a little table containing a large, plastic vat, a tupperware filled with avocados and two bottles of hot sauce. For $2.50 we received half a perfectly ripe avocado filled with shrimp ceviche in a spicy tomato sauce. It was served on a white napkin with a plastic fork. The avocado skin served as it bowl. We happily sat on the neighbors stoop inhaling this amazing snack.

Five years later, we finally got around to trying our hand at the ceviche. After a bit of research, we discovered that this ceviche is closer to an Ecuadorian ceviche which is different from the Peruvian type most are accustomed to. The main difference between the two is 1) a tomato-based marinade with a “soup like” consistency 2) most often made using shrimp that is cooked/boiled first and 3) served with popcorn and fried plantains. We played around a bit with our recipe, adding some things that are probably not traditional. For instance, the tomato base of the Ecuadorian ceviche “sauce” is often made with ketchup and doesn’t have olives. We used some Goya tomato sauce and added olives for briny-ness. We also had some baby octopus that needed eating up, so we threw that in there too.

A few weeks of this as a weeknight meal and I may not have a stomach like Mariah or legs like that Victoria’s Secret model but who cares. It’s the trying that counts, right?

Even though mulled wine should remind me of being in the church choir as a cherub-faced youngster and singing Christmas carols with frosty breath overlooking a seasonally-decorated nave and a sea of pink-cheeked parishoners, it doesn’t. In spite of this being the way I was introduced to this most famous Yuletide beverage, my abiding memories of it from childhood (before I ever got to drink any, I should mention) are of a warm cinnamon-scented aroma spiked sharply with the acrid tang of disinfectant and the musty odor of old people. And this, perhaps unsurprisingly, had put me off it until comparatively recently.

You see, as part of the church’s annual carol-singing calendar, we choristers had to visit all the hospitals, hospices and senior citizens homes in town, and my sensitive smell-o-memory was scarred for many years by this revolting combination of smells. That was, until I visited a friend in the French city of Lyon around Christmastime a few years back.

As an icy mistral wind blew down the Rhône valley, vin chaud or hot wine was being served out of a deep cauldron to chilled shoppers perusing the seasonal wares of Lyon’s famed Christmas market in Place Carnot. And I found the atmosphere of seasonal bonhomie, red noses, black tobacco, and warm, spicy alcohol irresistible. I’m not sure whether it was the cold, the booze, or the giant cans of duck confit and cassoulet on sale that so moved me, but from that moment on, I have been hooked on mulled wine.

A Brief History of Mulling

In days gone by, wine went bad pretty quickly due to poor bottling techniques, so during the Renaissance period, spices began to be added – as they were to virtually everything else in that time – to both delay spoilage and make spoiled products taste less nasty. And since young wines were commonly bottled during the early fall, mulling (which originally only meant to ruminate or ponder lengthily) was necessary by Yuletide as some were beginning to turn to the dark side, and hence how the consumption of “mulled wine” became a holiday tradition.

The exact combination of spices varies from country to country and person to person, but, on the whole, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and bay are mixed into claret or another Bordeaux to form the basis of flavors. Variations (and there are many) include the addition of mace, juniper, black pepper, dry citrus peel or vanilla, and substitutions include honey or molasses for the sugar, cardamom for the cloves, and brandy, sherry, acquavit, brenivin, fruit wine or vodka for the red wine.

Mulled wine, aka vin chaud, gluhwein, glögg, vin fiert, vin brulé, quentão, is drunk in most European countries in some form or another around Christmas, but it is particularly associated with German and Nordic traditions where so-called “glogg” parties are a holiday season staple. At these shin-digs, the spiced wine is typically drunk with other Yule specialties including gingerbread, blue cheese and, perhaps rather curiously, rice-pudding.

In my house growing up, however, we only ever had mulled wine when we were expecting company because my father, who has something of an intolerant nose for anything strongly perfumed, can’t abide the stuff, and, it being during the early 1980s, it was accompanied by cheese and pineapple cubes on toothpicks, cocktail weenies (chipolatas), factory-made mince pies, and potted shrimp. All of which is perhaps another reason why I didn’t really catch on to the subtle flavors and myriad charms of mulled wine until I’d left home.

But, of course, now that I have, I’m almost obsessed with making it every year, and so impassioned am I about it, that I’ll frequently pour myself a large glass and then go and stand outside in the cold to drink it to try to recreate the Lyonnaise atmosphere of years ago. Of course, it doesn’t work that well, but it beats the shit out of taking my glass and hymn book to a seniors center and evoking older memories…

Happy Boozy Holidays to you all!

Jonny’s Holiday Mulled Wine (serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

• 2 bottles of red wine
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon of cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 star anise
• 4 sticks of cinnamon
• 12 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/3 cup of orange juice
• peel of 1 orange
• peel of 1 lemon
• 1 orange sliced in 1/4 inch rounds

What to do:

1. Optional: Tie all spices in a piece of cheesecloth using kitchen twine. You can skip this if you’d prefer to laugh at guests with cloves stuck in their teeth.
2. Heat wine in pot gently with spices/sachet and peel until aromas fill the room (at least 15 minutes). Do not boil, only simmer very, very gently.
3. Stir in sugar and orange juice. Taste for sweetness and adjust if necessary.
4. Place orange rounds in mugs and ladle in wine.
5. Stir and serve with a cinnamon stick and enjoy!

So, maybe I’m trying to blame everyone and everything else for this crappy attempt at cooking. Ok, I can’t believe I’m doing this, but I’m going to put a picture of my baking soda-less ‘cake’ here:

Delicious, right? Are you still there? Do you still love us? Could you possible forgive me for not knowing how to cook sweets? PLLLLEEEAAAASSSEEE, I’m on my knees beggin’.

Well, the next day I dusted myself off, wiped my tears and snot away and threw that flour-stained apron on for one last attempt. This time I’ll used the baking soda!! I also changed recipes. Pixie at You Say Tomato had a sweet idea to bake better and more easily – check off the ingredients you’ve used and the steps you’ve finished. Brilliant!! So, I did it. Here’s the result.

I used some Nigella Lawson icing recipe but I have to tell you that two days after I made the cake, alot of the icing actually was absorbed by the cake instead of staying on the cake. Maybe this is a normal thing and most people finish cakes in 2 days. Hey, there’s only two of us here! I was also able to use a bit more of the blood oranges from this post to color the icing a bit pink.

Anyways, I’m sure I haven’t inspired you to bake with this post, but I had to share the story of a “Girl Baker Gone Wild”. I may leave the baking to the husband from now on.

STRAWBERRY BUNDT CAKE WITH ROYAL ICING

Ingredients for Cake:

• 3 cups cake flour (or substitute 3 1/2 cups of regular flour with 1/2 cup corn starch to make 4 cups of the cake flour “substitute” – remember to only use 3 cups of it, though!)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (this is important, remember!!)
• 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 large whole eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup unsalted butter (divided)
• 10-15 fresh strawberries, sliced and mashed with back of a fork

What to do for cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan or tube pan. Tap out any excess flour.
2. Sift the cake flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of a standing electric mixer.
3. In a medium bowl, using a fork, beat together the sour cream, milk, whole eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla until very well blended and smooth. Add the butter and half the egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Beat at low speed just until thoroughly incorporated. Increase the speed to high and beat for 1 minute; do not overmix.
4. Add the remaining egg mixture and beat at medium-high speed until the batter is fluffy and smooth, about 1 minute longer.
5. Throw in the sliced/mashed strawberries along with any juice that was extracted and fold into the batter.
6. Scrape the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Rap the pan on the counter several times to remove air bubbles. Bake the cake in the middle of the oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until it is well browned, pulls away from the pan sides, and a toothpick inserted in the thickest part comes out clean.
7. Run a thin knife around the pan edges to loosen the cake if necessary, then invert onto a serving plate. Allow to cool before adding icing.

Ingredients for Icing:

• 2 large egg whites (or substitute powdered egg whites)
• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice plus 1/2 teaspoon blood orange juice (Feel free to just use 1 whole teaspoon of lemon juice if you don’t have any blood orange juice)

What to do for icing:

1. Combine the egg whites and confectioners’ sugar in a medium-size mixing bowl and whip with an electric mixer on medium speed until opaque and shiny, about 5 minutes.
2. Whisk in the lemon juice/blood orange mixture, this will thin out the icing. Beat for another couple of minutes until you reach the right spreading consistency for the cake. Should be stiff but able to run a bit down the sides of the cake.

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• LEBANESE-SPICED LAMB OVER CRISPY PITA WITH CHICKPEAS, PINENUTS, POMEGRANATE SEEDS SMOTHERED IN GARLIC YOGURT SAUCE
• CREAMY LEMON PASTA

I should’ve written this drunk, as it may be a funnier, better post. You see, like many of you out there, I tend to get loved up when I’m drunk. This is exactly why I was specifically told not to use the phone ‘back in the day’ after a night out on the piss (to quote my lovely British husband), fearing drunk dial’s to ex’s, or what I like to call the “heterosexual (or homosexual) friend drunk dial”. Now, before you get all scared, I’m sure you’ve done it too. You come home late night, drunk, alone. You have another. You watch TV or listen to some CD’s (sh&t, I’m aging myself, I mean you turn on your ipod). Next thing you know, you’re pulling out your photo albums and taking a trip down memory lane. As you laugh out loud to yourself and maybe shed some tears, you realize you’re beginning to look like a friggin’ Debbie Gibson video from the 80′s. You remember your friends, the good times. You eye the phone. Thus, the beginning of a “heterosexual/homosexual friend drunk dial” begins. You blubber on the phone, “Holllllyyyy shiiiiiit! How are you!? it’s been SOOOOOOOO long! I was just remembering _______________ (insert memory here)! I MISS YOU MAN!!”

Alright, maybe I’m slightly exaggeration here, but I have been known to (from time to time) place many drunk-dial texts, calls and instant messages to friends. OH, and now with Skype and a webcam, well I may drunk dial via internet phone. So, before I divulge even more embarrassing things out about myself (and I must make sure you know who the author is here, cause my husband would die if people thought it was him writing this – it’s Amy, the one who doesn’t write as well but is a hell of a lot funnier, right kids?), let me get to my point. A few weeks ago, our cyber-friends Diane and Todd, the White On Rice Couple, read a comment I left on their blog and emailed me. In the comment, I so nicely told them I hated them, was jealous of them, and more or less told them to go shove it (exaggeration, again) because they were so lucky to have such a beautiful and vast garden in their SoCal backyard. This jealousy was also fueled by the fact that I was in the throws of a “I’m Freaking So Sick of Winter, Let It Be Over Already” tantrum, so seeing these two frolic in the warm sun in their overgrown, colorful backyard was definitely bringing out my mean-spirited side. But they really are the nicest people and have a really awesome blog. It’s also great to see another couple share blog duties as Jonny and I do here.

Again, I’m losing my point. Diane and Todd emailed me to tell me they’d love to send us some of their blood oranges in the mail. I hope to pay them back by sending them some NYC love at some point. I guess my crappy Brooklyn-grown chives won’t travel well, but perhaps some whiting fish or bagels would do? Not sure if they’d ship well.

Last Saturday I was told that a package arrived for me. Excited like a 4-year-old on Christmas day (we NEVER get mail), I ripped open the box to find a bunch of beautiful blood oranges nestled snugly in a box with their branches and leaves padding it. Such natural, rustic and beautiful packaging! Alongside was another freebie… mexican freakin’ limes! So cool. All of a sudden I was feelin’ the love. We decided to make FABULOUSLY DELICIOUS Blood Orange Margaritas and were even able to use the Mexican Limes as well. After my second, I thought it was a perfect time to do what I do best, drunk email, which is how I thanked them. It was about 7 lines too long and I’m sure they got a bit creeped out, but Todd and Diane, if you’re reading, now you know a bit more about me. It was the tequila talking!!! But thank you again, so, so much. It is a great way for them to help bring this community together – I know they’ve sent other things through the mail to other food blog owners. Thanks again! Now get your arse down to the store and find yourself some blood oranges to make these awesome margaritas!!  And visit White On Rice!

BLOOD ORANGE MARGARITAS

Ingredients

• 3 parts lime juice/blood orange juice (we ended up blending 1/2 lime juice and half blood orange juice)
• 2 parts simple syrup
• 3 parts tequila
• 1 part triple sec

What to do:

1. Add everything into a martini shaker filled with ice.
2. Rub the top of a margarita glass with a slice of lime and dip into some kosher salt mixed with granulated sugar to make a salt rim
3. Shake your martini shaker and add shaken contents to your salt-rimmed glass. Garnish with a lime or blood orange wedge. Imbibe!

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• LEBANESE-SPICED LAMB OVER CRISPY PITA WITH CHICKPEAS, PINENUTS, POMEGRANATE SEEDS SMOTHERED IN GARLIC YOGURT SAUCE
• WINE-BRAISED LAMB SHANKS WITH ROSEMARY AND THYME IN PRESSURE COOKER
• SOUTH AFRICAN HOT TODDIES

Ahhh, jerk chicken. One of my favorite dishes. It’s spicy, kind of sweet and when made well should almost melt in your mouth. On a cold winters night, there’s nothing that can snap you out of a cold-weather-depression than cooking up something from the Islands.

Jerk was used as a way to preserve and cook meat and was originally only made with pork. Interestingly, I found that the work “jerk” comes from a Spanish word called “charqui” which means dried meat. This is how we coined the term “jerky” for that awesome, chewy and salty dried meat we can pick up in 711′s or other corner stores or truck stops. Another possible meaning of the word stems from what happens to the meat when you prepare and cook it – you poke it/or jerk it to produce a hole in order to fill it with the spice mixture (which I didn’t do). I also read that it could come from the reaction your body has as you eat the spicy meat – your body jerks. How about the way you cook it – you ‘jerk’ the meat off the coals. Whatever the derivation all I know is that it’s absolutely delicious! What’s even cooler is that jerk pork’s origins can be traced all the way back to 1655 during the pre-slavery days of West African hunters (the Cormantees) through a group of Jamaican slaves (Maroons) that escaped from the British during the invasion of that year. The Maroons supposedly developed and perfected the jerk as a way to preserve the meat while they lived in the mountains fighting the British troops.

Nowadays, various jerk recipes are passed down from Jamaican family to Jamaican family, but each recipe always includes allspice, hot chilies, salt and various spices and herbs. Traditionally it should be grilled slowly over a wood fire made of pimento (allspice) wood, just to infuse the flavor even deeper into the meat, and continuously basted with the marinade. Because it’s winter in NYC and we will be purchasing a new grill this summer, I enjoy oven-cooking my jerk. If you stick on the broiler for a bit at the end, you can get a bit of crisp on the skin. WHOOOO HOOOOOO… absolutely fabulous! Give it a try yourself – it’s easy. Make it along with a some rice & pea and fried green plantains for the perfect balance of salty and sweet. The crunch of the tostones (SEE BELOW FOR A PICTORIAL “HOW TO”) make the dish. Our friend, Bren, has a great piece on all the different ways you can cook plantains

Also, we’d like to thank our friend, Pixie, who gave our recipe a whirl and had a taste of the Islands in the UK one night. THANK YOU!!

JERK CHICKEN WITH RICE & PEA AND TOSTONES (FRIED PLANTAINS) (SERVES 2-3)

For the chicken and marinade:

• 2 breasts of chicken, skin on
• 2 legs of chicken, skin on
• 2 tbsp. allspice
• 1 tbsp. dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon hot paprika
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 scotch bonnet pepper (or other spicy hot pepper)
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of cilantro (you can substitute 1 teaspoon coriander seed)
• juice of 1 lime
• splash of orange juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 scallions
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• pinch of salt and pepper

What to do:

1. If you are using allspice berries/seeds and whole cinnamon sticks, grind the spices down with a spice grinder. Then blend all the ingredients together in a blender until smooth (or smooth enough – you’ll have a bit of chunks of garlic and hot pepper). I used the olive oil to make it a wet rub. If you feel like you need more or less, adjust so it’s a thick paste.
2. Slab this on your chicken (remember to get under the skin if you can!). Wear some gloves if you have ‘em… this marinade contains hot pepper. Allow this to marinate for an hour at least, if you have the time. If you can marinate overnight, even better.
3. Cook your chicken pieces at 400 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until juices run clear. For the last minute, put on the broiler and allow some of the skin to crisp up a bit. Don’t let the marinade burn!

RICE AND PEA

What to do:

• 1 cup white rice
• 1 can red kidney beans
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 scallion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder (optional – I really love garlic)
• chicken stock

What to do:

1. Saute your onions and garlic over medium heat for a few minutes (keep em a bit crunchy). Add your rice, the garlic powder, scallions and beans. Add the rice and stir all together.
2. Pour enough chicken stock over your rice that it comes up the width of 2 fingers above the level of the uncooked rice (make the peace sign, put your 2 fingers together, turn your 2 fingers clock wise 90 degrees – that’s how you measure – I’M TELLING YOU – IT WORKS EVERY TIME PERFECTLY). Bring to the boil and allow to cook down until it reaches the level of the rice. When the chicken stock has reached the level of the rice, stir ONCE, turn your heat to low and cover. Cook on low for 20 minutes.
3. After 20 minutes your rice will be perfect, give it a stir and enjoy.

****Traditionally, Jamaican rice & pea should be made with coconut milk. Just replace the chicken stock with 1 can of coconut milk plus enough water so that the total amount of liquid follows the “2 finger rule” (see above).

TOSTONES (FRIED GREEN PLANTAINS)

Ingredients:

• 2 Green Plantains
• veggie oil
• salt

What to do:

1. Heat your veggie oil – you want enough to almost cover the plantains.
2. Peel plantains and cut into slices, about 1 inch thick.
3. Fry your cut plantains once for about 2-3 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
4. Smash with a mallet and then fry again for another 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Drain and season with some salt.

+ + + + + + =

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As the final day before Lent, Shrove Tuesday is also traditionally a day of feasting before the Lentern abstinence or fasting that evokes Jesus’ 40 days and nights in the desert. The pancake bit comes from the fact that in order to find it easier to abstain, one should use up all ones flour, milk, sugar and eggs on Shrove Tuesday, and while a lot of things can be made from those basic ingredients, the Brits – long ago – decided pancakes were the thing to make. And, since the combination of these ingredients makes for a high calorie experience, Shrove Tuesday (it’s such a puritanical idea – shriving, isn’t it?) is known as Mardi Gras in French, or literally, fat Tuesday. Those Catholics have all the fun, don’t they?

British pancakes have more in common with the a French-style crepe than they do with the thicker, but smaller pancakes common in America, although the recipe is largely the same. On pancake day it’s quite common to have a mixture of both savory and sweet pancakes, though the sweet versions are the more popular. (We had both savory and sweet – see savory filling recipe below.) Typical fillings are very simple and are often limited to powdered sugar and jam or nutella, or just a squeeze of fresh fruit juice. My family’s favorite filling is granulated (plain, white) sugar and lemon juice. The less stuff you have in the middle, the more pancakes you can have, see…?

Of course, you don’t have to wait another year before making some pancakes, though. They make great desserts, first courses, or even main meals depending on the filling and the size of your pan, and they are dead easy to make. So, go ahead, treat yourselves tonight, unless you’ve given up pancakes for Lent, that is.

Here’s how they’re made.

SWEET AND SAVORY BRITISH PANCAKES

Pancake (or Crepe) Batter Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 egg and 1 egg-yolk
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tbsp melted unsalted butter (optional)
• 1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature)

SAVORY (SMOKED SALMON, ASPARAGUS AND CREAMY TARRAGON MUSHROOMS) BRITISH PANCAKE FILLING

Creamy Tarragon Mushrooms Savory Filling Ingredients:

• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 shallot, finely diced
• 1/2 leek, finely sliced
• 3 button mushrooms, slice thinly
• 2 tbsp tarragon, chopped finely
• 4 tbsp light cream
• 1/2tbsp butter
• salt & black pepper

Other Savory Ingredients:

• 6 oz. smoked salmon
• 6 asparagus spears, cut into 2” pieces and either sauteed or steamed till cooked but still crunchy

SWEET (BLOOD ORANGE, LEMON AND SUGAR) BRITISH PANCAKE FILLING

Sweet Ingredients:

• 1 blood orange (or a regular orange will do)
• 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon white sugar

What to do:

To make batter, combine flour, salt, melted butter and eggs together in a bowl. When well combined add milk slowly, whisking all the time. Continue whisking until mixture is smooth and frothy. Batter is ready. Cover and set aside.

Now it’s time to make the savor filling. Melt butter in small saute pan over medium heat. Add shallots, garlic, leeks and mushrooms and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute mixture for 3-4 mins or until mushrooms take on some color and the leeks wilt nicely. Add cream and tarragon and reduce heat to low. Cook for another couple of minutes. Adjust seasoning. Allow to keep warm on low until pancakes are ready to be filled. In another pan saute or grill your asparagus, or just put them in a bowl with a little bit of water, cover with plastic and microwave for 2 to 3 minutes. Slice your smoked salmon.

Time to make the pancakes…

Heat a 12inch non-stick skillet over medium high until the pan is too hot to touch. Toss in a knob of butter and allow to melt almost completely before adding a ladle-full of batter to the pan. Tilt pan in a circular motion so that batter covers bottom of pan. Allow pancake to “solidify” (cook) until almost all of the moisture has gone before tossing it, about 30 seconds – 45 seconds depending on how hot your pan is.

“The Toss”

The toss is the tricky bit and there have been many times when my kitchen ceiling has been festooned with bits of partially-cooked batter on Shrove Tuesday, so be careful with it. In fact, the lower the toss, the easier it is to do it right and have the pancake land without folding over on itself. Alternatively, you could use a non-stick, plastic spatula and give it a quick flip. It’s much easier and safer, though less fun.

Put pancakes on a plate and separate with parchment paper, and keep in a warm oven until you’re ready to eat.

Assemble your savory pancakes…

Spoon in a bit of the creamy tarragon mushroom mixture into the center of your pancake. Add some smoked salmon and asparagus, roll, up and dig in!

Ready for dessert?

After you’ve completed eating your savory crepes, go back to your heated pan and make a few more. When done, sprinkle your crepe with 1/2 a teaspoon (or more if you’d like!) of sugar all over. Squeeze some orange down the center and then some lemon. Roll up or fold into a triangle and enjoy.

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Many, many moons ago, I published my recipe for pernil, the delicious Puerto Rican roasted pork butt/shoulder. Recently, I had a whole Saturday afternoon to try a longer and slower cooking method for my bone-in pork butt. I have to tell you, if you have the time I would advise cooking it this way as you will have meat absolutely dripping moist and falling off the bone. The quicker method in my earlier recipe is a very good way of cooking the pork if you don’t have 8-9 hours to kill waiting to tear into the pernil. But, if you do remember to put your pork in by 11AM, you will not be disappointed by the results of low and slow cooking.

I am cutting and pasting the old pernil recipe here and adding my alternative “Low and Slow” cooking time. I hope you’ll give it a shot – and let me know what you think! Remember to allow your pernil to marinate overnight for the best results!!

The recipe is actually one of my originals, although I’m sure there are others out there with similar ingredients. I was probably influenced in my choice of ingredients by Daisy Martinez who uses alcaparrado with virtually everything, and by my version of Lidia Bastianich’s method for braised lamb chops, but I am proud to say that this recipe and its accompaniments are mine, all mine (evil laugh).

So here’s the deal:

Braised Pork-Chops with Lime and Olives

Ingredients:

• 2-4 large pork shoulder chops
• 2oz plain flour
• 1/2 large onion, thinly sliced
• 3 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/2 hot jamaican pepper/habanero, finely chopped
• 4tbsp alcaparrado (pickled capers, olives and pimentos) chopped roughly
• 1 cup of no salt added chicken stock
• 2tbsp olive oil
• juice of 1/2 lime + 2tbsp sour orange (naranja agria) juice
• 1tbsp cilantro (leaves and stalks), finely chopped
• salt and black pepper to taste
• sliced avocado (garnish)

Mashed Yuca with Sour Orange and Allspice

• 1 large yuca or cassava, peeled and chopped into 1 inch chunks
• 4 pints boiling, salted water
• 3tbsp olive oil
• juice of 1 large lime
• 3-4 large allspice berries, finely ground or 3 tsp allspice
• 6 tbsp sour orange (naranja agria) juice
• black pepper to taste

Recipe:

Add the yuca to the boiling water, bring it back to a boil, cover with a lid and lower heat to medium.

Heat skillet to medium high and flour pork chops. Shake off excess, add half oil to pan and then add chops to pan. Brown on both sides – 4-5 mins/side. Remove chops to a plate, add rest of oil and put start sauteeing onions.

As onions start to brown, add garlic, chilli and alcaparrado. Cook for no more than two minutes before re-adding the chops. Turn up the heat to high and add enough stock to almost cover, but not quite, your chops. Stir and cover. When liquid boils, reduce heat and simmer for twenty minutes.

After the yucca has been boiling for thirty minutes, test it for softness with a knife. Just like potatoes, if yucca slips off knife, it’s done. If not, keep cooking until it does. Drain done yucca and put back in pan with olive oil. Mash like crazy until yucca is smooth and difficult to mash more. Add allspice, lime juice and sour orange and stir in. Correct seasoning and add chopped cilantro just before serving.

After twenty minutes, remove the lid from the chop pan and add lime and sour orange juice. Reduce liquid to about half of original and add cilantro. Correct seasoning and serve on a bed of the mashed yucca.

CHECK OUT SOME OF THESE OTHER POSTS YOU MAY ENJOY: 

• KOREAN-STYLE PORK RIBS IN PRESSURE COOKER
• ROASTED PORK SHOULDER (Pernil) – The Quicker Version
• TOAD-IN-THE-HOLE (Sausages Nested in Batter)
• WINE-BRAISED LAMB SHANKS WITH ROSEMARY AND THYME IN PRESSURE COOKER

UPDATE: HAVE TIME TO COOK YOUR PERNIL LOW AND SLOW? CHECK OUT OUR UPDATED PERNIL RECIPE THAT CALLS FOR DOUBLE THE COOKING TIME!

When preparing to bring dinner over our friends house for 6 adults, I scratched my head and couldn’t help but thinking, “What can we make that’s cheap?”. Pork shoulder, baby! The Puerto Ricans call slow roasted pork shoulder pernil. For days worth of a variety of meals, I advise you give it a whirl. Not to mention, a 5-7 pound of bone-in pork shoulder costs less than $1.99 a pound (that adds up to only $10-$14 for a whole pork shoulder!). And, if you have the time to marinate it over night… whoa, joey, watch out. It’s worth extra bit of work. Oh, and as a bonus treat, you get the amazing, crispy pork fat/skin (chicharrón) as an extra thing to chomp on. For the best chicharron results, you really should cut off lumps of the skin w/ the fat underneath (after your shoulder has been cooked) and fry up separately in a cast iron skillet/pan. You can also buy pork belly and make the chicharron only – see this great recipe: http://nikas-culinaria.com/2005/12/26/chicharron-deep-fried-pork-belly-how-to/

So, let’s pretend you buy the pork butt and have the time to marinate it overnight. The prep is super easy, so think ahead and do this. If you don’t… the flavor of the marinade will not come through as much in the meat, but your skin will be delish.

Ingredients Needed:

• 1 Bone-In Pork Shoulder (5-10 Pounds depending on how many you want to feed, 5 Pounds will feed 3-4 hungry people)
• 5-8 Cloves garlic, some chopped, some sliced
• Adobo (or a mixture of garlic power, onion powder, cumin, black pepper, salt and oregano)
• 1 Bottle of Sour Orange Marinade (or 2 Oranges and 1 Lime OR 1 Cup OJ and 2 Limes)
• 1 Large Onion, chopped up
• olive oil

SO the night before you cook the meat (or, if you prefer to not let it sit, then the half hour before you cook the meat):

1. Take your big-ass, delish pork shoulder/butt, place it in a baking dish skin-side up and sprinkle it all over w/ adobo (Goya makes a few versions of this that you can keep in your spice cabinet or you can make your own by sprinkling garlic power, onion powder, cumin, black pepper, salt and oregano all over the pork). WHEN I SAY SPREAD IT ALL OVER I MEAN SPREAD IT ALL OVER. Don’t be afraid of putting on too much.
2. Cut slices of garlic up from about 3 cloves of garlic – make slices thick-ish. (NOTE: If you have the extra time, make a paste out of your garlic by smashing it in a mortar and pestle w/ a bit of salt to aid in the smashing until it has the consistancy of a spreadable paste.) ****NOTE: This recipe uses alot of garlic b/c we love alot of garlic. If you don’t like the taste of garlic, maybe this recipe isn’t the best for you.
3. Take a sharp knife (a steak knife should be fine) and make 1-inch wide (1 inch deep or so) slits all over the pork, skin and all. Every time you make a slit, slide in a slice of garlic into the slit. It’s best if the garlic goes into the hole all the way. If it doesn’t, again, don’t worry… just make a bit of a deeper slit next time. (NOTE: If you made the garlic paste, then just slide a bit of the paste in each slit instead of the sliced garlic.)
4. MAKE MARINADE IN SEPARATE BOWL: Add one cup of sour orange juice (again, Goya makes a bottled version, I’m sure it’s not as tasty as the real ones, but sour oranges aren’t around all the time to buy) to 3 cloves of chopped garlic and 1 chopped large onion. Add a sprinkling of salt and pepper and well as some extra oregano. Mix. (NOTE: You can also substitute sour orange w/ a cup of regular Orange Juice mixed w/ the juice of two limes, or juice of 2 oranges, juice of 1 lime.)
5. Pour your marinade over your pork. Let sit for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight).

NOW IT’S TIME TO COOK!

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Rub some olive oil over the pork and pork skin.
3. Put pork in oven, skin-side up, cover w/ aluminum foil and bake for about 4-5 hours, depending on size of pork. (I’d say allow about a half hour per pound in baking time if using bone-in pork – but remember, the best thing about a pork shoulder is that it gets better the longer you cook it. Just don’t burn that skin.)
4. After about an hour and a half, check how much liquid remains in the pan – add a cup of water to the pan if you are low. Check every 30-45 minutes to make sure the liquid level remains about at least 1/2 ” deep. The pan drippings will mix with this and make a nice gravy.
5. About 20 minutes before the end of the cooking time, remove the aluminum foil to crunch up that delicious pork skin. ***NOTE: Thanks to WANF reader/recipe-tryer Emilee, 20 minutes may not be long enough to crunch up the skin enough. This will depend on your oven (and your taste). I would advise to keep looking at the roast after you remove the aluminum foil and when it looks brown and crispy, it’s done. Could be anywhere from 20 -35 minutes.
6. After you remove the pork from the oven, let it rest for about 15-20 minutes.
7. Slice it up or shred it with your fork! ENJOY.

Some of the delightful and CHEAP meals you can make with one 10 pound pork shoulder (you can stretch this especially if there’s only 2 or 3 of you eating) are:

• shredded pork tacos (add them to some warmed corn or flour tortillas and top w/ your fave toppings)
• sliced pernil with a side of black beans and rice
• cuban sandwiches (slice up some pernil, add it to some thick, Cuban bread with some swiss cheese, mustard and thinly sliced pickles)
• tomato, corn and shredded pernil rice baked with cheese (I’m going to try this tonight and I’ll let you know how it turns out! (**UPDATE: It was good, easy to make and filling)
• pernil and potato stew

The possibilites are endless! We’ll add more pernil recipes in postings to come. Until then, experiment and enjoy.