This is the easiest way I know of to make delicious pulled pork barbecue. I used to have access to a charcoal smoker and then I would smoke them for a few hours and then finish them in a crockpot. For these I found a recipe that I adapted that would be delicious smoked but is delicious even without the hassle of smoking.

I know you’ve seen bottles of butt rub and yes, some guy must’ve come up with that name! I start with 1 (or 10 in one case) bone-in Boston butt. Now where did they get those names? Not sure. When we were in Boston in the fall, I don’t recall seeing any porkers around. And then why the butt? It’s a shoulder portion.

This rub is easy to make and really adds a lot of flavor! The key ingredient that you shouldn’t substitute is the smoked paprika. Unless you have hickory smoked salt and regular paprika and combine those to replace it. We grew up eating tomato sandwiches with a little McNess hickory smoked salt sprinkled on them. That’s still my favorite way of eating tomatoes.

The rub ingredients are:

1 T. kosher salt
2 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper or coarsely ground black pepper
2 tsp. onion powder
1 T. smoked paprika

Rub this into the roast. Let set for at least 10 minutes. If you’re going to grill the roast then drizzle a little oil over it and rub in. If you’re going to pan fry it, then put a bit of oil into a frying pan. You need to seer each side of the roast to seal in the juices. I tried the grilled one time and didn’t think it really made much difference in the taste so unless you’re doing more than 2 it’s easier just to seer it in a pan for 3-4 minutes on all sides.

In your crockpot or roasting pan, pour 2 cups beef broth, 1 cup barbecue sauce and 1 large garlic clove (minced). The roast will be slow baked at 300 for 6-7 hours so either the oven, a crockpot or electric roaster work well. Two roasts will pretty much fill up a roaster. Resist the urge to lift the lid once it’s cooking. After about 3 hours, flip the roast. When the meat is pulling away from bone it’s finished. It should fall apart when you try to lift it out. If you don’t cook it long enough, it’s hard to shred it and the fat hangs onto the meat.

If it’s falling apart, put it into a pan and let it cool for a few minutes. Then take two forks and work at shredding it. This makes it fairly easy to weed out the fat. I just really do not biting down into fat! Yick!

Let the juice that the roast was cooking in cool and then pour at least 3 cups into a bowl. Let the fat come to the top so you can skim it off. Or if you have one of those cool measuring cups made for pouring off the bottom of the cup. Or if you have a baster you could suck the juice off the bottom of the pan. Either way you do it, pour the juice over shredded meat and serve. Or it can be heated and served later. Plus I think it’s better later because it sits in the rich juice for a while. I made 10 roasts a month or so ago for friends of ours take to their family reunion. Then last week I made it for a supper for our company. One 8-9 lb. roast will serve 14. It goes great with baked beans, mac & cheese, coleslaw & cornbread.

If you prefer beef over pork, use a boneless chuck roast and use the same rub and bake for 4-5 hours.

I like to make my own sauces too. Here are two of the three recipes that I used. The third one is top secret. So secret I don’t even know it. So I come up with a new one each time. 🙂 It’s a fairly traditional sweet & spicy dark sauce.

Different regions of the US make their sauces different. I decided to try making a Carolina-style which is mustard based. I still am not a big fan but so far others have really liked it. I’m just not a huge mustard fan.

The others:

Carolina-Style BBQ Sauce

½ c. yellow mustard
½ c. spicy brown mustard
1/3 c. light brown sugar
3/4 c. cider vinegar
¼ c. water
2 T. chili powder
1 tsp. black powder
1 tsp. white pepper
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
½ tsp. soy sauce
2 T. butter
1 T. liquid smoke

Mix all ingredients except soy sauce, butter and smoke. Simmer 30 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer for 10 more minutes. Makes about 2 ¼ cups.

　

　

Honey BBQ Sauce

1 c. honey
¼ c. molasses
1 c. tomato sauce
½ tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
1 T. seasoned salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. black pepper
¼ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. oregano
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
2 T. prepared mustard
3/4 c. brown sugar

Simmer all ingredients for about 30 minutes. Makes nearly 3 cups.

I have quite a bit of this sauce in fridge right now so I want to try baking wings or drumettes in it.

 

Happy Cooking!

Okay, so this recipe may end up sounding complicated because I made it 2 different ways from 3 different recipes. Originally I did a web search to try to find a recipe similar to Cheesecake Factory’s cheesecake/cake combos. I think I had a slice of their Reeses Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake when I was there last. Oooh la and la!

I found a recipe similar to what I wanted on another blog. I have lost the blog address so I can’t share that with you. I took the cheesecake layers and made my own combination.

I showed you pictures of the Strawberry version I made but I only have that one shot. So I’ll give you the turtle version first.

 

Cheesecake Layer
4 – 8 oz. cream cheese
1 c. sugar
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 350*. Beat cream cheese and sugar together in mixer until softened. Beat in the eggs just until well blended. Pour into 2 waxed paper lined and greased 9-inch springform pan. Bake at 35-40 minutes or until middle is set and not jiggly. Remove and let cool completely. Refrigerate overnight or for at least 2-3 hours.

 

Chocolate Cake
2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
3/4 c. cocoa
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 c. milk½ c. oil
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. boiling water

Combine dry ingredients. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water; the batter is very thin. Pour into 3 greased and floured 9-inch cake pans. Bake at 350* until toothpick comes out clean. (25-ish minutes. Original recipe was for a bundt cake so I’m not sure of time.) Let set for about 10 minutes before removing from pan and placing onto waxed paper until ready to assemble the cake.

 

Chocolate Buttercream Icing
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
4 c. powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp. milk
3/4 c. cocoa

Start by placing a chocolate cake layer on bottom of cake plate. If your layers have domed at all, slice them off to be as even as possible. Add a layer of Chocolate Icing. Remove waxed paper from bottom of cheesecake and place on top of icing.

Now this is where it gets sticky (har har) – I didn’t have a recipe for a caramel sauce that would be thick enough to work. I first tried melting Brach’s caramel bits and didn’t keep my eye on them and before I knew it, they were smoking in the microwave!

Started over and melted more, and then added a little butter and some caramel ice cream topping. Well, it was good but it was way too soft. As long as the cake stayed chilled, it was fine. It even helped that the cheesecake had a bit of a lip. But, when the cake got room temperature, it started oozing just a bit.

So if you come up with a better caramel layer, feel free to let me know. 🙂

Repeat layers until it looks somewhat like this.

Finish off by covering everything with chocolate icing. Pour caramel topping over top of cake and then top with chopped pecans. Keep chilled until ready to serve. This cake is fairly tall and rich so it will easily serve 20. And it has a bazillion calories.

For a shortcut use a cake mix. Personally I don’t care for cake mixes with a few exceptions of recipes that build on them or take them out a different direction (turtle bars, dump cake, earthquake cake, etc.). To me they’re just not as good as a made-from-scratch cake.

Or to make it really rich, replace the cake with brownie layers instead! Or make 2 cake layers and 2 brownie layers. All kinds of options.

Now for the La Vita Dolce Strawberry Cake version:

I used the Muffins That Taste Like Donuts recipe, which is kind of a lightly spiced flavor. I’ll share another dessert version using that recipe some other time.

1 3/4 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 c. oil
3/4 c. white sugar
1 eggs
3/4 c. milk

In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, numbeg and cinnamon. In another bowl combine oil, sugar, egg and milk. Add liquid to dry ingredients and stir only to combine. Pour into 2 greased and floured 9-inch cake pans. Bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for a little bit before removing from pans.

Cream Cheese Strawberry Icing
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
½ c. butter, softened
1 lb. powdered sugar
¼ cup chopped strawberries or strawberry freezer jam

Whip cream cheese and butter until nice and creamy. Add vanilla and powdered sugar until smooth. Add strawberries and whip until blended.

Assemble this just like the photo shows. If you want a good amount of icing, you may have to make a recipe and a half. When I served this, I added a scoop of ice cream and topped with sliced, fresh strawberries.

I sold tickets for an Italian supper spring of 2010 and it was January of 2011 until we managed to find a date that would suit all four couples who bought tickets. I went back and forth trying to decide what to make. I earlier thought I would make Penne Rustica, an entree by Macaroni Grill but in the end decided to go with something different.

 

I had visions of doing an outdoor meal like Christy did a few years back but when it ended up being scheduled for January, I gave up that idea.

 

Here is the menu.

 My sister made the fresh herb dipping oil which is better than any other dipping oil that I’ve ever had!! She uses fresh rosemary and basil and garlic and I’m not sure what all else. She smashes it to get every bit of flavoring out of it.

I made fresh bread using a recipe from our friend Beat(rice).

 
Come to think of it, the Chicken Marsala recipe was from her too. She is the kitchen supervisor at Faith Builders and let me tell you, there’s some mighty fine cooking done there!

The recipe I’m going to share with you today is Laurie’s Stuffed Manicotti. And if I have shared that before, please forgive me. I just happen to love it! And I happen to be hungry. Bad combination.

I don’t know who Laurie is. I got this recipe out of a magazine quite a number of years ago and for some reason I feel compelled to keep that name attached. Whoever Laurie is, she came up with some delicious manicotti!

1 lb. mild bulk pork sausage
2 (15 oz.) cans Hunt’s Italian tomato sauce
1 (6 oz.) can Hunt’s tomato paste
1/4 c. water
1/2 TBSP. packed light brown sugar
1 (15 oz.) container ricotta cheese
3 c. shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 egg
1 tsp. parsley flakes
12 manicotti noodles, cooked, rinsed, drained
Grated Parmesan cheese

In large saucepan, brown sausage, drain. Remove half of sausage, set aside. Stir tomato sauce, paste, water and brown sugar into sausage, simmer 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in bowl, combine remaining sausage, ricotta, 2 cups Mozzarella, egg and parsley.

In 9x13x2 inch baking dish, pour 1/3 of sauce mixture. Stuff manicotti noodles with ricotta mixture and place on top of sauce. Pour remaining sauce over stuffed noodles. Top with remaining Mozzarella, sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

 

 

Make sure you don’t cook the noodles too long or they will tear apart.

 

The best way to fill them is to put the filling in a bag, cut the corner of the bag and squeeze it into the noodles.

 

We have already made this ahead of time and frozen it to take to a girls beach party. I think we’ve done that several times, actually. All you have to do is bake it!

 

Spinach would be good in there too! And mushrooms on top! I’ll leave you to drool now.

I don’t have any photos of the completed meal. By that time I was desparately flying around the kitchen, trying to stay a bite ahead of my hungry guests.

Oh, and for dessert I had a hard time deciding what would Italian enough to make. I’ve never made tiramisu and didn’t feel like tackling it in case it didn’t turn out. So, I decided to make this and it got an Italian name, courtesy of Lois.

La Vita Dolce Strawberry Cake
(The Sweet Life)

 

It has cheesecake and spice cake layers, separated by cream cheese strawberry icing.

You want the recipe?

Well, you’ll have to wait. I have to find it first, or at least reconstruct it. And then I’ll give a you a turtle/chocolate version too. Make life hard for you by making you choose between the two.

 

I know some of you’ve heard me mention poutine before so if this sounds like it’s a bit redundant, glance at the pictures and move on. For those who have Deep South roots but have been uprooted, and talk of Southern Soul Food is a painful topic, I apologize in advance for the emotional pain this part of the post may bring on.

“Quebecian” comfort food is poutine. Here in the south we know a lot about comfort food. We have fried chicken, rice with okra and ‘maters, many different kinds of peas and beans including but not limited to: black-eyed peas, field peas with snap beans, lima beans, and they are all cooked to oblivion and served over rice, we have biscuits, and macaroni pie, which is not quite the same as mac and cheese. Macaroni pie has eggs, milk and sharp cheddar cheese. And everything is cooked in butter, if you believe Paula Deen. Oh, and we have sweet tea. How could I have forgotten sweet tea? Or peach cobbler? Or key lime pie?

So, anyway, this is supposed to be about Canadian comfort food, not southern. Just wanted to whet your appetite a little. Poutine (pronounced pooh-teen or pooh-tin) comes from Quebec, according to wikipedia. And the version I’m familiar with is fries, topped with cheddar cheese curds and gravy. To me, the gravy is what made the difference. When I was in Alberta with Christy in November, I got some at Swiss Chalet and then later at A&W. Gotta say A&W’s just hit the spot. Of course, it may have been because we had just finished a long day of wedding photography and were hungry.

I’ve attempted to make it before but this past winter I tried it again and it was as close to A&W’s as I could imagine. We had just been to Holmes County so I bought some cheese curds. I LOVE cheese curds and it’s good that I don’t live close to where they live. You could make poutine with a mild flavored white cheese, such as farmers or Monterey jack, but for me it’s best to assume curds are the ONLY option, so as to not get tempted to make it often.

I don’t have an exact recipe to share with you, but here’s kinda how it’s made, give or take a few cups, teaspoons or pinches.

I found some frozen fries that were in dire need of being eaten, and stuck them in the oven to bake them. If you enjoy making homemade french fries, by all means, fry ‘em up.

Make a roux by throwing some flour and oil (veggie, canola, olive or other) in a frying pan.

Over medium heat, keep it stirred until it turns a golden brown.

Slowly pour in beef broth, stirring as you go. Let it simmer until it thickens into a nice gravy. I think the ratio I used was 1 cup of broth to 1 T. each of oil and flour. Salt to taste.

Place your fries in your serving bowl, place the curds over top of the fries and pour on the hot gravy. You want the cheese to get melted enough to be stringy.

Goodness that’s alot of cheese! You really don’t have to use that much. Let’s just say I was trying to o.d. on calcium.

Sprinkle some black pepper over top and dig in. These pictures are about 4 months old and I’ll just have to look at them for a while. There are no curds in my near future. Sad. My cousin Twila who lives in Wisconsin dairy country told me that the A&Ws there sell fried cheese curds. Oh my!

What comfort foods do you like?