Author: Tracey

Quick Pickled Red Onions

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Pickled red onions are one of my favorite condiments and this is a very easy way to make them.  I do not remember how I came upon this recipe in order to credit it properly, so if anyone recognizes it, please let me know!  I’ve had it in my recipe file for quite some time now, so at this point, I almost consider it “mine”! 1 large red onion, sliced thinly and placed in a glass bowl1/2 cup sugar1/4 cup red wine vinegar1/4 cup white vinegar1 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt1 1/2 teaspoons whole peppercorns1/2 cinnamon stick Combine the sugar, vinegars, salt, peppercorns and cinnamon stick in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Once the sugar has completely dissolved, pour over the onions.  Bring to room temperature, then put the onions into a container and refrigerate.  These onions will last around three weeks refrigerated. Pour vinegar mixture over onions I like to put them on sandwiches, especially on Pulled Pork Sandwiches, but my favorite way to eat them is on a bagel with cream …

Cue it Up: Pulled Pork Sandwiches on Light Brioche Buns

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Yesterday was Mother’s Day and we celebrated by having both of our mothers to our home for a barbecue.  I did a lot of cooking.  I mean, a LOT.  I smoked a seven and a half pound pork shoulder, made some delicious pickled onions to go with it, barbecued chicken, baked beans and to top it off, some soft fluffy brioche buns to hold that delicious pork!  I was exhausted when it was all over, but it was fun and rewarding to honor our moms with a meal made with love that they didn’t have to cook themselves! The first time I ever made North Carolina Style pulled pork sandwiches was the year that the New Orleans Saints won the Superbowl.  I remember this because that’s the Man of The House’s favorite team and that was a very festive football season!  We had planned a big Superbowl party and I decided to try my hand at smoking a pork shoulder.  We were living in a different house at the time, with a very tiny yard …

Mango Banana Daiquiris

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This Sunday, we are inviting our mothers to join us at our home for a barbecue; and when I say barbecue, I mean pulled pork that’s been slowly smoked for hours, barbecued chicken, baked beans, corn-on-the cob, and coleslaw! At first, I had planned on making more traditional (and more ladylike) brunch fare–perhaps a quiche, a cake, finger sandwiches…but then it hit me that my mother has been wanting me to make pulled pork for quite some time and I simply haven’t had the time to make it–it takes about 4 to 6 hours to smoke.  Now that our propane grill has been converted to natural gas, it’s easier and more convenient to smoke a large roast without worrying that I’ll run out of propane before the meat is done. So, now that there aren’t any excuses, I’ll be smoking that pork shoulder roast all day tomorrow!  At this moment, the pork shoulder roast is marinating in a spice rub.  I’ll be posting the recipes and the how-tos throughout the weekend! To get things off …

Garden Update: How Does Your Garden Grow?

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As I write this I’m sitting in the backyard with my laptop, tiki torches lit, listening to Adele playing through a bluetooth speaker and feeling grateful for the modern technology that allows this.  And then around the corner lies the very non-technological garden plot that flummoxes me and supplies me with new mysteries to contemplate each and every day. I should clarify that the reason I am blogging about our gardens is not because we are experts in gardening.  These gardens, both the traditional soil garden and the aquaponic garden, are works in progress and we are learning through trial and error, as well as getting advice from friends and friendly folks we meet at the garden center. When I last wrote a garden update, things seemed to be progressing very nicely.  We had had a series of windstorms that wreaked some general havoc, but all the plants were healing up nicely.  Today, there are some new developments and some explosive growth as well as a few plants that I’m about to write off as …

The Cesar Ritz Martini

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It’s Friday and it’s cocktail time!  I was thumbing through one of our cocktail books this afternoon,  “The Modern Mixologist”, by Tony Abou-Ganim.  Normally what happens when I’m looking for cocktail inspiration, I come upon a drink that looks absolutely mouthwatering, but then I find that it requires me to either buy an exotic ingredient, or what happens more often, requires an infusion that takes one to two weeks to prepare.  So, you can imagine my excitement when the book fell open to reveal a cocktail that was not only easy to prepare, but included everything that I already had in my pantry and refrigerator. I made a small substitution–the recipe called for English cucumber and I only had a good, old-fashioned regular cucumber, but I think the only difference it made was the final presentation.  In short, it was tasty and refreshing and perfect for a Friday evening after a long work week. The drink is called the Cesar Ritz Martini and the author created it as a signature drink when he was working …

Kiwi Strawberry Caipiroska

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If you thought I was going to go another week without posting a delightfully potent, yet pretty cocktail, then you would be wrong!  I’ve been foraging for new cocktail recipes to try and I stumbled upon a recipe for a caipiroska.  The drink is similar to the Brazilian caipirinha, but instead of using cachaca, it is prepared with vodka, which I had on hand.  There seem to be many different versions of the drink, but the common denominator seems to be lime, sugar and vodka.  During a particularly fruitful forage on Pinterest, I stumbled across this kiwi caipiroska recipe.  The picture was so very pretty and the drink looked so refreshing; perfect for a hot day like today (it was 95 degrees)!  So, off the the grocery store I went and since both kiwi fruit and strawberries were on sale, it seemed like a match made in cocktail heaven. By the way, I am drinking the caipiroska as I write, which is, once again, proving quite difficult!  I should call myself The Tipsy Blogger! For each …

Pork Shoulder Two Ways: Pork Chili Verde

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I entered my very first chili cook-off yesterday with a chili recipe I created using braised pork shoulder, fire roasted tomatillos, yellow chiles and serrano chiles.  I used the recipe for carnitas, only instead of broiling the pork as you would for the tacos, I put the pulled braised pork into the crock pot with the other ingredients for about 4 hours. Braised pork shoulder with fat removed and pulled into chunks15 to18 tomatillos4 to 6 yellow chiles (depending on how much heat you like)4 Serrano chiles (again, depending on how much heat you prefer)1 tablespoon cumin2 teaspoons coriander 1 large onion finely chopped6 cloves garlic, minced 1 15 ounce can of pinto beans with jalapeños, undrained1 15 ounce can of white beans, undrained1 juiced lime2 tablespoons chopped cilantroBraising liquid from the carnitas2 bay leavesSalt and pepper To prepare tomatillos, remove the papery skin and discard. You will find that they are also quite sticky and will need to be thoroughly washed before cooking.  While the pork was braising, I fire-roasted the chili peppers and …