Ham and Lentils 28 September 2009
Posted by heidikins in Pork, Side Dish.add a comment
A few weeks ago I bought a bag of lentils from the grocery store, which is not an usual occurrence for me. In fact, this is the only time I have ever purchased lentils. Unsure of what exactly to do with them, I buried them in my cupboard and mostly forgot about them. Yesterday I was doing a bit of kitchen reorganizing, found them, and decided to troll the Internet for something lentil-y to make for dinner. I found several recipes for Ham and Lentil Soup, which looked lovely, except it’s not quite cold enough for soup. I thought I could probably tweak it a bit (less chicken stock, more bacon, more veggies, more spices) to make it more of a side-dish and less soupy, and what I ended up with was absolutely delicious!
Cafe Rio Pork Barbacoa Salad with Tomatillo Dressing 23 September 2008
Posted by heidikins in Favorites, Main Dish, Mexican, Pork, Slow Cooker.1 comment so far
(This post originally published here as part of the Whip It Up challenge.)
I can’t believe Whip It Up is over! This little recipe challenge has done amazing things for my cookery/lack-of-cookery skills. I actually feel comfortable in the kitchen with all the pans and gadgets and things. I have been saving the best of my summer domesticity for last, partly because I wanted to feel a little more comfortable in the kitchen before attempting to make Cafe Rio Pork Barbacoa Salad from scratch…and partly because I didn’t actually find the recipe (hiding in the bottom of my pile of recipes) until recently. For those of you who know the goodness, nay, the divinity of Cafe Rio, you are about to enter . Mecca. Please remove your shoes and give your toesies a good scrub before proceeding. For those of you who do not subscribe to the Cafe Rio religion, you are in for a TREAT! There are not many words in the English language (or possibly even the English AND Spanish languages combined, although I am nowhere close to even conversational in Spanish) that can accurately describe the epicurean nirvana that is Cafe Rio. So I’m not even going to try. All I can say is that regardless of your cookery skills, and despite the seemingly never-ending wait for the pork to get done (18 hours in a crock-pot, your nostrils will be tantalized for HOURS!), this is so worth it. On Sunday I threw a little dinner party, and if you are questioning the edibility of these recipes, please contact Vanessa and Cole, or Aaron and Amy for their opinions. (Hint, in their opinion(s), this was a-MAY-zing!).
My Cafe Rio night consists of several different recipes, all super-easy, although I did have a very Handsome Sous Chef at my disposal. (Is it against Policy to sneak the Sous Chef a kiss? Hope not!) After the break will be recipes for Pork Barbacoa (sweet and spicy shredded pork) and the Creamy Tomatillo dressing, as well as a quick guestimation of my Pico de Gallo recipe. Also required for a true Cafe Rio salad is Cilantro Rice, which I posted about here. To build your salad, you start with a flour tortilla, add a smidge handful of cheese, a spoonful or two of black beans, a spoonful or two of rice, as much pork as you think you can get away with, pile on shredded romaine lettuce, a couple of spoonfuls of pico, some guacamole if you have it, the tomatillo dressing and then homemade tortilla strips (which I forgot to take pictures of…sorry). This high-piled concoction will change your life. Seriously.
See? Don’t you feel changed? Don’t you believe me? A-MAY-ZING! Before I get into the details of the cookery, here are the nitty gritties:
