Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork

Cold Beer, Pulled Pork Sandwich & Football...sounds like a great time right? I am a huge beer fan and I love cooking with it as well. So when messing around with making pulled pork in the crock pot, I decided that instead of cooking it in water...might as well add some more flavor by cooking it in some Yuengling (Pennsylvania Lager, for those who don't know). This is a very easy, quick and cheap recipe that would be great at your Super Bowl party or to have ready when you come home from a long day at work! Bon Appétit!

Ingredients

• 4 Lbs. Boneless Pork Roast
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 (12 oz.) Bottle Yuengling (or whatever beer you want)
• 1 (18 oz) Bottle of your favorite barbeque sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray's)
• Cole Slaw; optional (Recipe Follows)

Directions

Season the outside of the pork roast with salt and pepper. Place pork in the crock pot bowl with onion, garlic and beer. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Remove pork from crock pot to a cutting board and shred with a fork. Drain left over liquid in crock pot through a fine-mesh strainer and reserve liquid. Return pork to crock pot, add bbq sauce and a few tablespoons of the liquid (just to help keep the pork moist). 

I LOVE COLE SLAW ON SANDWICHES!! :)

Cole Slaw Ingredients

• 1 (16 oz) bag cole slaw mix
• 1 cup mayonnaise 
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
  

Directions

Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl, mix together and serve as a side or on the pulled pork sandwich.

Prices subject to change; cole slaw not included

 

Kitchen Word of the Day

Lager (German: storage) is a type of beer that is fermented and conditioned at low temperatures. Pilsner pale lager is the most widely-consumed and commercially available style of beer in the world. Bock, Dortmunder Export and Märzen are all styles of lager. There are also dark lagers, such as Dunkel and Schwarzbier.

Deep Dish Pizza

Probably about a year ago, I made my first trip to Chicago with my girlfriend to see Flogging Molly perform (it was an awesome concert). Being the pizza connoisseur I am, one of the first things I had to do was try the famous deep dish pizza. I still don't remember what place we got it from, just that the hotel we were staying a recommended them. It was definitely in the top 3, maybe even the best, pizza I have ever had. The crust had such an amazing texture, both crunchy and soft. The sauce...don't make me think about the sauce....it was spectacular. It was everything pizza sauce should be. Full flavor with tomato and herbs with a kick of sweetness at the end. Ever since then, I've been wanting to make my own deep dish pizza. Bon Appétit!

Ingredients

For the Crust:

• 1 ½ cups of warm water
• 1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup semolina flour
• ½ cup vegetable oil, plus 2 tsp to grease bowl
• 1 teaspoon salt

For the Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh garlic
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
• ¼ teaspoon fennel seeds
•  ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 (28-ounce) can plum tomatoes, coarsely crushed
• 1 Tablespoon dry red wine
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

For Pizza:

• 1 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
•  4 ounces pepperoni
•  2 cups diced green pepper
• 1 cup sliced black olives
• ½ pound crumbled hot Italian sausage
• 1 cup grated parmesan

**Note: You can add whatever toppings you want.**

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, and sugar and stir to combine. Let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.

Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour, the semolina, 1/2 cup of the oil, and the salt, mixing by hand until it is all incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Continue adding the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, working the dough after each addition, until all the flour is incorporated but the dough is still slightly sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky, 3 to 5 minutes. Oil a large mixing bowl with the remaining 2 teaspoons oil.

Place the dough in the bowl and turn to oil all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

While the dough is rising, make the tomato sauce. In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the herbs, seeds, salt, and black and red peppers, and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, wine and sugar, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely before using.

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.

Oil deep-dish pizza pan with the extra-virgin olive oil. Press dough into pan, pressing to the edge and stretching about 1 1/2 inches up the sides. Let rest for 5 minutes.

Dough Pressed in Pan

Filled with Cheese, Meats & Toppings

Topped with Sauce & Parmesan

Layer the mozzarella cheese all over the bottom of the pies. Top with the pepperoni, green pepper, black olives and sausage. Ladle the sauce evenly over the pizza and top with Parmesan.

Bake until the top is golden and the cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven onto a cooling rack and let rest for about 10 min, slice and serve hot.

Additional Equipment

This equipment is not necessary but this is a nice little deep dish pizza kit that UNO Chicago Grill makes. It is only $20 through amazon and you get a quality deep dish pan, spatula and recipe book. If you don't want to spend the money I've seen other deep dish pizza recipes where people use spring form pans or cast iron skillets. Do your research and make an informed decision before starting the recipe...remember from my buffalo nuggets recipe....MISE EN PLACE!!!!

Prices Subject to Change

**Note: I am only including items on the grocery list that I deem an expense. I'm assuming most people will already have things like salt & pepper**

 Kitchen Word of the Day

Proofing (also called proving), as the term is used by professional bakers, is the final dough-rise step before baking, and refers to a specific rest period within the more generalized process known as fermentation. Fermentation is a step in creating yeast breads and baked goods where the yeast is allowed to leaven the dough.

Fermentation rest periods are not often explicitly named, and normally appear in recipes as "Allow dough to rise."

In a less-specific sense with usage reminiscent to fermentation, proofing refers to yeasts' feeding on some type of sugar. As the term is used in some cookbooks intended for home use, it refers to testing the viability of one's yeast by mixing it with a small amount of warm water and sugar, and waiting until the mixture becomes foamy by the action of the yeast. Typically, using US customary units, ¼ cup water at 105-115 °F and ½ teaspoon of sugar are used. While this sugar may be sucrose, instead it may be glucose, typically enzyme-derived from starch.

Slow-Cooker Chili

Everybody has their own chili recipe, so this is nothing special. I'm not intending on changing the way you make your chili or saying that mine is better than yours. This is just the way I like it, nice and spicy. It wasn't until recent that I started making my own chili, my mom used to always make it. When I was perusing google looking at the vast varieties of Chili recipes I came up with what I like in mine, which turned out to be very similar to Lee's (my girlfriend) mom's recipe...so it worked out perfectly. This recipe is also intended to kick off my next couple weeks of super bowl party recipes. Bon Appétit!

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 2 (16 ounce) cans kidney beans, drained
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 2 Jalapeno’s, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons ancho chili powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• Shredded Cheddar cheese, for garnish

Directions

In a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Transfer to a slow cooker. Add the next nine ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4 hours. Garnish individual servings with cheese if desired.

**Note: if you want a spicier chili use Rotel Diced Tomatoes and Chili’s & Rotel Spicy Tomato Sauce**

Prices may change.

Chocolate Liqueur Creme Brulee

Alright fellas this one is for you! Valentine's Day will be here before you know it, so why not start planning the menu for your loved one now! When choosing a menu you need to pick something that will be sure to make the lady blush and since we can't cook with diamonds, the next best choice is chocolate. Creme Brulee is one of my favorite deserts to make because it is delicious and versatile. The classic vanilla creme brulee is delicious, but it is fun to infuse it with different flavors. For example, a few months ago I made a basil infused creme brulee that played on the concept of savory and sweet. I will definitely be posting more creme brulee recipes in the future, Bon Appétit!

 

Ingredients

• 1 quart heavy cream
• 1 cup sugar, plus more for dusting
• 1-ounce chocolate liqueur
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 ounces cocoa powder
• 1-ounce unsweetened chocolate
• 11 large egg yolks

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

In a medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the heavy cream, sugar, liqueur, and vanilla. When the mixture is warm add the cocoa powder and chocolate and whisk until blended. 

Place the egg yolks in a large stainless steel bowl. Slowly add the warm chocolate mixture to the eggs, a little at a time, while whisking. Strain and pour into individual porcelain ramekins. 

Place the ramekins in a large baking pan. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come half way up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until firm in the center, about 30 minutes.

Remove the ramekins from the water bath and let cool completely. Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Dust with sugar and caramelize with a propane torch. 

**Note: the downside to making creme brulee is that you'll need to purchase ramekins and a propane torch (unless you already have them). Don't waste your money on a culinary torch, go to either Home Depot or Lowe's and purchase a basic torch (I got one for $20).** 

Prices subject to change

 Kitchen Word of the Day

Caramelization: Is the browning of sugar, a process used extensively in cooking for the resulting nutty flavor and brown color. As the process occurs, volatile chemicals are released, producing the characteristic caramel flavor.

Like the Maillard reaction, caramelization is a type of non-enzymatic browning. However, unlike the Maillard reaction, caramelization is pyrolysis, as opposed to reaction with amino acids.

When caramelization involves the disaccharide sucrose, it is broken down into the monosaccharides fructose and glucose.