PAGE 254 PORK SHOULDER BRAISED IN SPICY TOMATO BROTH WITH CLAMS CORN AND POTATO

Long title! And maybe more than this recipe deserved.  I mean, it was good and all.  But way involved.

So, I seared a pork shoulder.  Then I sweated bell pepper, onion and garlic.  I am not sweating it because this is still ordinary. 


i added tomato paste and red chili flakes.  Easy, normal for Mike.  Stirred in chicken broth, crushed tomatos and bay leaf.  Easy day, I knew to have these on hand.  So I added the pork and cooked for an hour.

Then, I cubed 1/2 lb of potatos and kerneled 2 ears of corn.  I returned to oven for 45 minutes.  I was supposed to add the clams at that point, but all I had was a can of clams, added it.  Cooked for another 10 minutes. 

Topped with paresly and lemon juice.  Okay, but too much trouble.  Probably won't make again.

 

PAGE 83 CRUNCHY CRUSHED POTATOES WITH BACON GRAVY AND RICOTTA SALATA

Mike refers to this as his version of disco fries!  I love it!  It was very unami friendly and delicious.  Good day, Pellegrin is back supporting maintenance and Herbie will start supporting the Marine Corps next Monday.  We took Harry the dog to the beach last Monday to celebrate his 11th? birthday and had one of our best days. 

Fun easy recipe, one of Mike's easiest and best.  I was able to find ricotta salata at Trader Joe's, otherwise this might have been hard.  I boiled potatoes for 10 minutes and drained them.  I sauteed onions, celery, garlic and bacon, added thyme and bay leaf and cooked until the bacon was crispy.  I whisked in flour and chilli flakes, and added chicken broth.  It didn't need any additional salt. 

I smashed the potatoes a little bit and threw them in two batches into the deep fryer for about 5 minutes.  They did not get golden, but got a little brown.  I removed them from the fryer and topped with the bacon gravy and ricotta salata.  Very good!

Doris in Nanty Glo!

Harry at the beach!

Disco fries!

PAGE 85 FISH FRIES WITH BLACK MAYO

I don't know why I haven't blogged in a while, maybe I've been tired or busy in the evenings?  No good reason, just haven't.  Still been cooking Mike's book!  Heading to Nanty Glo this weekend to hang out with Doris and stuff.  ( used to work with a Marine who ALWAYS said "and stuff".  We used to make a (coffee) drinking game out of it in meetings. 

Made the fish fries and black mayo, after I ordered the squid ink on line through Amazon.  I thought I would run into some in my travels, but didn't so I succombed to peer pressure and bought it on line.  These were very tasty.  I remember when my ex-husband and I were in Monacco and a small boat captain was grilling his lunch of smelts aboard his boat.  They smelled amazing, so I've alwways had a soft spot for smelt.

I couldn't find fresh smelt, so I used frozen.  I defrosted it and rinsed the smelt under cold wqter.  I mixed flour, parsley, thyme and salt and dredged the smelt.  I fried it for 4 minutes in the deep fryer.  It was crispy and golden.  Easy enough!  I made the black mayo, which was egg yolk, anchovies, squid ink, lemon juice, dijon mustard, salt and oil in the food processor for one minute until it emulsified.  Not weird tasting, even though it sounds weird, kind of a more savory mayo.  Dipped the fish in the mayo and all was good.

Crispy fishies!

Another angle!