sunday dinners

I love Sundays. Brunch, football, food; something about them just feels different, more relaxing. When Jacob has off we try to spend the day doing something together. This usually means cooking, bloody marys in hand, while football plays in the background. He's also a bit of a beer geek and likes to get together with beer buddies to taste some special bottles. So yesterday we did all of these things.

We have a jalapeno plant in the backyard that I swear to you is on steroids and has produced like six or seven batches in the last couple of months. We couldn't figure out how to use them all up. We've pickled some and made guacamole and chile with others, but we needed something that would use up a larger number. So yesterday we made jalapeno poppers stuffed with cheddar and cream cheese. They were delicious and we were so happy that all those little guys didn't go to waste.

We found green tomatoes at the farmer's market saturday and fried those up too. A little bit of homemade ranch dressing and the fried stuff was good to go. Jacob spent the day smoking two whole chickens after coating in spices and man, they were so good and tender.

I play helper when Jacob cooks, but I'm a much better baker, so that's usually my big contribution. I made two pies, an apple custard and a buttermilk. Buttermilk pies are a southern thing, but even in the south they're not that common. They're amazing though. Light and lemony , perfect with a little bit of homemade whipped cream. yum.

Buttermilk Pie

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, separated

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

1 baked 9-inch deep-dish pie shell

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine butter and sugar until sugar is completely incorporated. Add egg yolks and mix well to combine. Add flour, lemon juice, nutmeg and salt. With the mixer running, slowly add buttermilk. Mix well and set aside.

In another bowl, whip egg whites until they form soft peaks. Pour a small amount of the buttermilk mixture into the whites. Fold gently to combine. Gently fold egg white mixture into remaining buttermilk mixture until just combined.

Pour custard into baked pie shell. Bake in the middle of the oven until filling is lightly browned and barely moves when the pie is jiggled, about 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in a rack and serve warm or at room temperature.

Maybe you can make it next sunday! :)

as promised {beer braised pork shoulder}

{photo from here}

We like to do nice Sunday dinners, but because we like football, we also like recipes that don't require a whole lot of attention. I'm always looking for easy, delicious looking recipes when sifting through Martha Stewart or Real Simple Magazine, and I came across this one for beer braised pork shoulder. The really nice thing about this recipe aside from the the fact that you can ignore it for hours and it's basically doing the work for you, is that there's a lot you can do with the left overs.

You can do this in a dutch oven or crock pot whichever you prefer, both will give you that fall off the bone, melt in your mouth goodness that a good braising should achieve.

Beer Braised Pork Shoulder

6 ounces pancetta, finely chopped

2 medium onions, thinly sliced

1 bon-in pork shoulder

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 head garlic, minced

2 teaspoons fennel seeds, toasted and ground

1 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds

2 cups Belgian-style ale

1 cup homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Crisp pancetta in a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat, until fat is rendered, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate using a slotted spoon. Add onions to Dutch oven. Cook over medium- high heat, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 25 minutes. Transfer to plate using slotted spoon. Season pork with salt and pepper. Add oil to Dutch oven, sear pork, fat side down, until golden, about 5 minutes. Flip, and repeat. Add garlic and spices to pot. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ale, stock, pancetta, and onions; bring to simmer. Transfer to oven, and braise pork, covered, basting every hour, until meat is falling off the bone, about 4 hours. Shred meat (just what you're using) using 2 forks, and drizzle with warm skimmed jus.

For left overs you can try this pasta recipe we used for picnic in the park.

Ribbon Pasta with Pork Ragu and Fresh Sage

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook 1 pound ribbon pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Drain, reserving some cooking water. Toss pasta with 2 cups heated reduced reserved jus, 2 cuts heated reserved shredded pork, and 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh sage, adding reserved cooking water as needed. Garnish with finely grated Romano or Parmesan cheese.

fall favorites {apple cider doughnuts}

One of my favorite things about fall is apple picking. I love going to an orchard, running through the rows of apple trees, climbing a few and walking away with a big wooden basket filled with beautiful red apples. I also love visiting the gift shop and buying a big jug of apple cider and apple cider doughnuts to go with. Unfortunately, the low country is not known for it's abundance in apple orchards so sometimes one must create fall for themselves.

And so we did. I bought some apple cider at the Fresh Market, not quite as potent as I had hoped, printed off a recipe, convinced Jacob that this was essential to our enjoyment of fall and was good to go.

Vermont Cider Apple Doughnuts

1 cup Apple cider
1 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Solid vegetable shortening
2 large Eggs
1/2 cup Buttermilk
3 1/2 cup All-purpose flour
2 tsp. Baking powder
1 tsp.Baking soda
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
Vegetable oil or shortening -for frying

1 cup cinnamon-sugar mixed

Boil apple cider in small saucepan until it is reduced to 1/4 cup, 8 to 10 minutes; cool. Beat sugar with shortening until smooth. Add eggs and mix well, then add buttermilk and reduced cider. Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in another bowl. Add to liquid ingredients; mix just enough to combine. Transfer dough to lightly floured board and pat to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with 2 1/2- to 3-inch doughnut cutter; reserve doughnut holes and reroll and cut scraps. Add enough oil or shortening to fill a deep pan 3 inches; heat to 375'F. Fry several doughnuts at a time, turning once or twice, until browned and cooked through, about 4 minutes. Remove to paper towels with slotted spoon. While still warm, shake a few at a time in a paper bag containing cinnamon sugar. Cool on a rack.

day dreams {hidden pond}

ok so i have a lot of dream vacations but this one is definitely towards the top. i first read about the hidden pond resort in kennebunkport, maine a year ago in food & wine magazine. every since i've found myself drifting off into familiar day dreams about it.

my parents just went to maine for the weekend, and although they were staying in portland, their trip bought back my pining feelings for hidden pond. now you may ask why this resort is so amazing. well, buckle up, because what i'm about to tell you is surely going to jumpstart your day dreams as well.

the hidden pond is a luxury boutique resort featuring individually designed and decorated cottages. well that's great, but not the best part. the absolute BEST part of this resort is that it's situated on an organic farm and all of the herbs, vegetables and fruits are up for grabs to all guests. BOOM. i just blew your mind right? they provide you with a fully equipped kitchen, spices, basic ingredients etc. and you can go and pick whatever you like from the farm. amazing. then, if you don't feel like cooking, they have private chefs that will come do that for you, in your cottage! day dreaming yet?

on top of the bounty that you will surely pick from the farm, the resort delivers a bakery basket and hot coffee each morning to your cabin. i can almost hear you falling off your chair right now.

aside from the food, there's morning yoga, kayaking, canoeing, art and cooking classes, biking you name it. the town is also really cute and the cottages are situated right by the beach. what more could you want?

::sigh:: someday.

sunday brunch

is there anything better? the answer, most assuredly, is no.

even if you have a million chores around the house, or homework, taking time out on a sunday morning and going out for french toast and coffee is a good idea. it's just so relaxing. going out for breakfast has always been one of my favorite things to do, and it's especially nice around this time of year because it gets slightly cooler (try 85 degrees) so we can sit outside and bring the buddies (dogs).

i always find it difficult to choose between sweet and savory at breakfast. usually i can coerce someone into sharing, but not today. i chose to go with the peach french toast with a vanilla bourbon custard at 700 drayton and it was delicious! i probably would have been happy just eating the custard to be honest, mmm.

my friends got the fried chicken and cobb salad. both were delicious as well.

side note: i don't know what it is but i have been on such a fried chicken and banana pudding kick for the last couple of weeks. this coming from a girl who didn't try either one until about her third year of living in the south, go figure.

it was a little cooler so the buddies were able to come. bruce seemed to enjoy himself too, although i think he enjoyed running around in the park after even more. :)

fall favorites

it may have been 90 degrees all weekend but for me it was definitely the kickoff to fall. my parents came to town with a couple of family friends and brought the beginning of fall in new york with them. apples, macintosh scented candles, mums, a new northface fleece, what more could a girl want? to top it off, we picked up a cinnamon broom from publix to put on the back of the door. now our house smells and looks like fall, just the way i like it.

sunday night jacob made chili and we drank pumpkin beer while watching football. it was the perfect end to a great fall weekend.