Recipes Discovered

Pulled Pork Sandwiches Recipe

I think Seth is getting a little impatient waiting for summer to come. He has been asking for everything barbecued recently. Who can blame him - with all the dreary weather we have had, I am ready for some sunshine as well. I made these pulled pork sandwiches last week, and I like to think they brought the nice weekend weather we just had. The pork was roasted in the oven for a couple hours, making it super tender before I pulled it apart and it in homemade BBQ sauce. Neither Seth or I really enjoy the vinegar based sauces typical of pulled pork sandwiches, so I opted for a ketchup based sauce. The cole slaw was especially for Seth, who loves it piled on his sandwiches. The creamy cole slaw did pair nicely with the smoky BBQ sauce. The sandwiches turned out great, and they also brought a sunny weekend, so who can complain about that?

Barbecue Sauce Recipe

Cole Slaw Recipe

BBQ Turkey Meatloaf Recipe

Sometimes, Seth tells me, it’s nice to have old fashion comfort foods, like meatloaf and mashed potatoes. While I’m not the biggest fan of meatloaf and mashed potatoes, I do agree with his basic statement, so I made him an updated version of the old fashion meal. The meatloaf is made with turkey instead of beef, and before you dismiss the recipe, let me tell you that I’ve never had a moister meatloaf. Seth, who usually shuns ground turkey, loved this meatloaf. Instead of ketchup or tomato sauce, the meatloaf is made with a tangy BBQ sauce that is amazing. It gives the meatloaf a ton of flavor while keeping it moist. I really liked the individual portions of meatloaf because then everyone got more of the crispy outside crust. As for the mashed potatoes, I went with roasted sweet potatoes, smashed with some butter, sugar, and orange juice. I was unimpressed with the potatoes, but will definitely be enjoying the meatloaf again.

Orange Smashed Sweet Potatoes Recipe

Kaddo Borawni Recipe

I recently saw this picture on a website, and, for whatever reason, I needed to eat whatever the picture was of. At that point, I had no idea what it was, although it appeared to be pumpkin covered in some type of sauce. The picture just looked so good, or maybe I was just that hungry, that I printed the recipe, bought the ingredients, and made it for dinner.

What the picture turned out to be is Kaddo Borawni, or Afghani pumpkin. It’s served as an appetizer at a very popular Afghan restaurant in Baltimore called The Helmond, and basically it’s pumpkin with yogurt and meat sauce. I know, it doesn’t sound good, but trust me (or even ask Seth), this dish is phenomenal. Sadly, I couldn’t find a sugar pumpkin at the store. I’m told they are available mostly during the fall, around Thanksgiving, and are baby pumpkins used mostly for making pies. I wasn’t sure how a butternut squash or an acorn squash would, so I ended up using a carnival squash, which has a dense, sweet flesh. It’s also very difficult to peel because of it’s shape, and by the time I was done, I didn’t have a lot of flesh left. Two and a half pounds of pumpkin turned out to be just enough for Seth and I. >> Read more

Shrimp with Basil-Mint Pesto Recipe

Linguine with Butter, Pecorino, Arugula, and Black Pepper Recipe

Having a large bunch of basil in the refrigerator that needed to be used, the first that came to my mind was to make pesto. The first recipe I came across was a recipe for shrimp with a basil mint pesto, which sounded really good and was really easy. Just combine basil, mint, toasted pine nuts, and garlic in a food processor (don’t try to use a blender, it doesn’t work), and drizzle in olive oil. To make the pesto a little lighter, I used half olive oil and half chicken stock. Once everything was worked into a thick paste, I transferred it to a bowl and mixed in grated Parmesan cheese. Apparently putting the Parmesan in the food processor changes the taste because of the heat from the blades. I don’t know how much or if it actually changes the taste, but I mixed the cheese in afterwards. Once the pesto was made, I sauted shrimp in some olive oil and garlic until they were pink and then tossed them in the bowl with the pesto. I was going to use the pesto as the sauce for linguine as well, but after reading some reviews that said the pesto was very potent, I decided to toss the hot linguine with butter, grated pecorino cheese, and black pepper. I used some of the pasta water to make a sauce, and then added chopped arugula. Although I really liked the pesto sauce on the shrimp, I am glad I didn’t use it for the pasta sauce since it did have a very strong flavor. It worked well on the shrimp though. And the linguine was so simple, yet so good. I used whole wheat linguine, which I think taste so much better than regular pasta. I thought the black pepper would be overpowering, but it went was balanced by the saltiness of the cheese. The arugula gave the pasta some color, but I don’t think it added much flavor. I could take it or leave it next time. Overall though, it was an easy meal that packed a major flavor punch. Seth liked it so much, he asked me to make it again tomorrow!

Shrimp with Basil-Mint Pesto Recipe

Linguine with Butter, Pecorino, Arugula, and Black Pepper Recipe

While unpacking (still), I found an Irish cookbook that I had bought a long time ago. Seth’s family is very Irish, and I’ve always wanted to learn to cook traditional Irish food. I had Seth pick out recipes for a complete meal, and this is what he came up with.

We started with Mushroom Soup, which simply a lot of mushrooms cooked with potatoes, onions, garlic, and some stock. The recipe implies to blend the soup, but it leave it rather chunky, but Seth and I both prefer the soup blended smooth. It developed a very cream texture, similar to cream of mushroom soup. I used portobello, crimini, and white button mushrooms, which gave the soup great flavor. I served the soup with Brown Soda Bread, which is so incredibly easy to make. I mixed whole wheat flour with baking powder and buttermilk (I had to use more buttermilk than the recipe called for) together until a dough forms. I then kneaded the dough for a minute until it was smooth and baked until hollow. The bread was so good! It formed a nice crust on the outside, but was so soft and smooth on the inside. Seth wanted me to make it everyday. >> Read more