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.