Easy Crock-Pot Pulled Pork

Of all of the recipes I've ever written and posted on this blog, I'm thinking this one has the least ingredients.  Just a handful in fact, and that's because I got some serious help from Trader Joes.  I purchased their BBQ/Coffee rub with the intention of trying it out on steak, but then, when I decided to make pulled pork for my 4th of July cookout, it was put to good use sooner than planned.

See, I've made pulled pork in the crock-pot before.  I've tried a couple different recipes.  One where I've made my own rub (meh).  Another time, I simply seasoned the pork with salt and pepper and threw it in the crock-pot with 1 liter of coke (tried and true southern method I found on the net).  Both times, the pork came out fork tender, but I must say that when I made it this way, using the TJ's rub, it was tender and flavorful.

I believe that the flavor not only came from the rub but the onions and garlic I decided to add as well as the fact that I seared the meat first before adding it into the crock-pot.  Also, I didn't use as much liquid as I did when I used coke, because I remembered how much liquid the pork produces on its own.  These subtle choices resulted in excellent pulled pork that got rave reviews at my cookout!  And whenever I get raves, I always feel compelled to share the recipe.  This one is definitely full proof and definitely "semi-homemade."  Like I said, I added fresh onions and garlic to a store bought rub AND I also bought the barbeque sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's for the win!).  So literally anyone can make this.  It's cheap and easy! It would be perfect for your next cookout.  Feed a crowd on a dime!

Ingredients: (feeds 6-8)

5 lb bone-in pork shoulder or pork butt

1 extra large white onion or 2 medium onions

4 cloves garlic

½ cup Trader Joes BBQ Rub, or your favorite (McCormick Packets are great, purchase 2)

1 ½ cups chicken stock or broth, divided

¾ cup vegetable or canola oil

2 cups store bought barbecue sauce, plus more for serving

Directions:

Preheat cock-pot to low.  Slice the onion and arrange on the bottom of the crock-pot.  Roughly chop the garlic cloves and sprinkle over the onion.   Pour one cup of the chicken stock over the onions and garlic.

Next prepare the pork by placing it on a large plate or cutting board and trim off any access fat.  Rub half the spice rub into one side of meat, flip and rub the other half of the spices into the other half of the meat.  Be sure to cover every inch with the spice and press onto the sides as well.

Allow the rub to set while preheating a dutch oven or large cast iron skillet to  high.  Add in the oil and then gently add in the pork.  Sear for a few minutes or until a golden crust has formed.  Then rotate until browned on all sides.

Once completely seared, quickly transfer meat to the crock pot, placing the meat on top of the onions.  Then, use the remaining ½ cup of stock to deglaze the pan, scraping up all of the bits from the bottom.  Pour the stock into the crock pot, cover and cook on low overnight or for 8-9 hours.

Once cooked, transfer meat to a bowl or deep container.  Pour everything from the crock pot into a strainer to separate the juices from the onions.  Discard the juices, add the onions back to the pork and using two forks, shred the meat.  Mix in the two cups of BBQ sauce and serve with buns, coleslaw and additional sauce.  Enjoy!  

Meat removed from crock-pot.

Strained juices.

Used 2 forks to shred the meat. Though I barely had to. So tender!

My First Cooking Competition

It's been ages since my last post, and I do have some recipes on the way, but I thought I'd take to my blog to share my experience participating in my first cooking competition.  This post is long, but it's the whole story! From start to finish. The good, the bad, and the tasty!

When I saw the email calling for cooks and chefs to compete in the Eat for Charity Event in DC, hosted by the American India Foundation, I knew I had to apply.  They basically were looking for someone just like me: amateur chef with a signature dish who wants to see how good their food really is.


Well that was me all right, and even though I knew that my Shrimp & Grits (pictured right) were definitely considered my "signature dish" and had to be my competition dish, I thought hmmmm "Shouldn't I make popcorn?" I mean, in case some of you don't know, I have a Gourmet Caramel Popcorn Business that needs to be promoted and I was not sure Mama Popcorn Queen would approve of this.

But then I quickly remembered why I chose to go into business with my Mom.  Even though she's tough and wants me focused only on Popcorn Queens, she still knows me better than anyone and she knew that I had to do this.  "Go ahead and apply," she said, "Just try to figure out some way to promote the biz."  And that was that.  I filled out the application and on May 15th I was sent an email saying I'd been selected as a contestant.  At that moment, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.  I just knew that I had been chosen and I wanted to win.

As we got closer to the competition (taking place on June 7th) more and more details about the event were shared and I got more and more nervous.  Here were the most nerve racking ones:

• No cooking allowed on site. No hot plates, no refrigeration.
• Each contestant had to prepare 150 small plates for 150 people.  Yikes!
• You had to present your dish to 3 judges, 2 of which are well known chefs in the DC area, the other the owner of a Gourmet Food Market in Dupont Circle (There's your popcorn connection Mom!)

As much as these tid bits of information scared the crap out of me, I decided to embrace them as challenges that real food competitors face.  As I came up with my budget, shopped for 150 people, and planned how I was going to make a dish like Shrimp & Grits OFF SITE, I remembered all the episodes of Top Chef I'd watched where curve balls were thrown at the "cheftestants." I told myself, you always wanted to do this April!  Step. It. Up. 


Two days before the event, I did my shopping at BJ's and my Mom found a great deal on Shrimp at Sysco (6 lb boxes at $8.50 a lb).  I was so excited about this deal, I forgot to ask her if the shrimp were cleaned.  I guess I assumed that they would be the "easy peel," deveined shrimp that clearly I've been spoiled with.  So the day before as I was doing my planning, I figured 1 hour would be enough time for peeling shrimp. -- BIG Mistake.  And I guess my subconscious picked up on this because the night before the competition, I had a horrible dream that everything went wrong.  I wont bore you with the details but I will say that when I woke up, I was so glad I woke up.

Right after my nightmare, I texted my Mom and told her about it.  She gave me the best reply:  "That's just the devil.  You're going to do great," she said. "Just don't go there expecting to win, go expecting to do your best."

It was exactly what I needed to hear, mainly the last part, which I repeated constantly in my head all day.  Especially when my friend Erica and I get to the kitchen, only to discover that the shrimp are not cleaned.  12 lbs of Shrimp that have to be peeled AND deveined.  I put Erica on it while I prepped other things but as we approached the 90 minute mark on the shrimp (remember I'd factored an hour) I had to jump in there and help.  And can I just say, as a side note, deveining shrimp is hands down the most tedious and disgusting job in cooking. #thatisall

Once we got the shrimp done, we were clearly behind schedule but I worked hard to get back on track.  Things were looking up until the point where it was time to cook my grits.  I was cooking them for 150 people and therefore had to use a huge pot.  The one I chose was tall as opposed to wide and what happened was, the grits on the bottom cooked so quickly and lumped together while the ones on top were still "raw."

As I was scraping these large lumps of grits off of the bottom of the pot, I literally thought I was going to cry.  It was 10 minutes past the time we were set to leave and I was feeling like I had to start the grits all over! Then, God stepped in.  Right when I was on the verge of a break down, the owners of Ravioli Revolution came into the kitchen.  (I guess I forgot to mention that Popcorn Queens rents a commercial kitchen that is shared with other food entrepreneurs) The guys came in and were instantly curious about what I was making, since it wasn't popcorn.  I told them but confessed that the grits were a disaster and it was looking like I wasn't going to make it.

"April!" one of them said to me "Grits are just like polenta, you have to whisk em! You can't be stirring the grits!"  He was right.  Any other time I've made grits, I've had a whisk but not this time.  "I don't have a whisk big enough for this pot! I don't know what to do!"  Then he said the magic words: "I have a big whisk in my station.  You're welcome to use it as long as you put it back."

My friend Erica runs over to grab the whisk, she comes back and it was like the clouds parted and the sun shone again! THIS WHISK was exactly what I needed (and just fyi I couldn't even find the whisk they gave me online, this one doesn't do it justice but will give you an idea).  I pulled the trash can over, dumped the big lumps into it and whisked my butt off until the grits were as close to perfection that I could get them.  Erica and I quickly loaded up the car.  We were about 20 minutes late but we were on our way.

We arrived at the venue Mad Momos (pretty cool place) and it was a race to get set up and begin serving.  As I was unpacking, people saw the shrimp and a crowd began to gather right away; good sign! Once I was ready, Erica and I had an assembly line going and started serving our plates.  I got amazing feedback on the dish and after several hours of what felt like hell, I finally started to have fun.  I realized, while serving, that even though cooking is hard work, I really love to do it because I love the joy food brings people and the conversations that come from it.

A guest and his plate. I did 150 of these!

When I had a spare moment, I went around and tasted some of my competitiors dishes.  I got a little worried, but I remembered what my mom said and I knew I had done my best work.  And really, so had everyone else so I knew there was a chance that I wouldn't win, but my friends and brother were there to vote for me and I even had quite a few strangers tell me they voted for my dish for fan favorite! yay!

My sous chef Erica and I toasting it up at the end.

All the compliments and kind words really felt great but at the end of the day, I didn't win and yes I was disappointed but I learned so much.  I learned that I can cook for large crowds. I learned that I do have what it takes to compete.  And I learned that you have to have support to be successful in cooking (and in anything really).  I don't know what I would have done without my friend Erica, my Mom, my Ravioli Revolution Superheros and of course my friends and family that came out to support me.

Overall, I didn't get a win but I'd definitely be selling myself short if I said my first cooking competition wasn't a success!

Shrimp & Pesto Pizza

I read in a Martha Stewart Home Living issue that cast iron skillets are the perfect medium for making pizzas at home. Now even though I am a pizza fanatic, I never really thought about making my own pizzas until I read her article and then discovered that my local grocery store sells pizza dough. So I picked up some dough and decided that homemade pizzas had to happen. I may not have a pizza stone or even a pizza roller but I had a skillet and pre-made dough so I was set!

But then I kind of forgot about the dough and realized it's expiration date was approaching right before a snow storm. I didn't have time to run out and get what I needed to make my favorite kind of pizza (margherita) so I decided to just use what I had on hand. I discovered some store bought pesto right next to a bag of shredded mozzarella. Seemed pretty legit. But what would I top it with? I opened the freezer hoping to find some chicken or sausage but all I had was shrimp. When I thought about shrimp and pesto, it sounded good to me so I got busy. The results?? Well you see the picture! It was so simple and delicious, yet unique. Plus I got lots of assistance from the grocery store so this pizza came together in minutes, making it the perfect weeknight meal! Do try this!

Ingredients: (serves 4)

1lb store bought pizza dough

3 heaping tablespoons store bought pesto

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 lb raw shrimp, peeled, deveined (if large, give them a rough chop)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, for brushing and sautéing 

Salt and pepper, to taste

Red Pepper Flakes, to taste

Special Tool: Cast Iron Skillet

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Once oven is hot, place your cast iron skillet in the oven to warm up (this step is optional but will help create a crispy crust) While skillet is heating, sprinkle shrimp with salt and fresh cracked black pepper and, in a small sautéed pan, cook shrimp in a tablespoon of olive oil for just a few minutes on each side (barely cooked through). Remove from heat and set aside. 

Then, on a cutting board, roll out your dough into a circle about the same size as your skillet. You can use a rolling pin if you have one. I didn't so I used my fists to press it out. 

Right when you're ready to assemble your pizza, remove the hot skillet from the oven (using a pot holder of course). Brush the pan with about a tablespoon of olive oil, and place the dough into the pan, pressing it out to the edges of the pan if necessary. 

Then use the back of a spoon to spread the pesto onto the dough leaving about an inch around the edges for the crust. Next, sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the pesto, but don't get heavy handed. You want a thin layer of cheese and you even want to see some of the pesto peeking through. Next arrange the cooked shrimp over the cheese in an even layer and sprinkle red pepper flakes over the entire pizza. Brush the crust with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, place the pizza into the oven and bake for 20 mins. 

Remove the pizza from the oven and, using a spatula and tongs, gently move the pizza from the skillet to a cutting board. Immediately cut the pizza into 8 slices using a pizza roller or sharp knife and serve!

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This recipe for Stuffed Chicken Breasts came about one blah weeknight.  I was too tired to really cook and planned to simply grill some boneless skinless chicken breasts, throw them on a salad and call it a night.  But once I discovered the goat cheese and peppers in the fridge, (both of which I probably would have added to my salad anyway) I decided to use them to stuff the chicken.

My dinner came out great and because I felt like it was such a simple and delicious way to transform chicken breasts, which everyone always has on hand, I decided to send the recipe to Ebony.com.  Click HERE to view the recipe or scroll below to see the process.  When I took the pictures, I was actually trying to do a Roulade or roll the breasts around the filling.  But that was kind of a disaster so the next time around, I stuffed the breasts as the directions explain.  Enjoy!

Ingredients: (makes 4 servings)

·       ¼ cup, plus 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

·       4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

·       ½ Red Bell Pepper, sliced

·       ½ Small Red Onion, sliced

·       2 Cloves Garlic, minced

·       Salt & Pepper, to taste

·       Oregano or Italian Seasoning

·       Paprika, to taste

·       4 ounces Goat Cheese or Feta Cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Make the filling by sautéing the red bell pepper and red onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes.  Sprinkle veggies with salt and pepper to taste, a few pinches of oregano and stir to combine.  Then, Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds more.  Remove filling from the heat and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, season both sides of each chicken breast generously with salt, pepper, oregano and paprika.  Then, insert a pairing knife into the thickest part of each chicken breast and slice lengthwise until you have made a 4 inch long and 3 inch deep pocket.  You want to be able to lift and fill the pocket, but not completely split the breast in half.

Now the pepper mixture should be cool enough to handle. Divide it into 4 portions and do the same with the goat cheese or feta.  Then, stuff each chicken breast with a portion of the pepper mix and top with a portion of the cheese.  Try to press the mixture into the pocket leaving nothing hanging too far out.

Side Note: Another cooking method for this recipe, as you see pictured above, is the roulade where you roll the filling inside the chicken breast.  However, if you do this method, I would suggest using toothpicks to hold everything together because all of mine fell apart, except for the breast that's sliced and pictured.  Oops!

Heat the remaining quarter cup of olive oil a skillet (can be the same one you cooked the veggies in) and when the oil is hot, gently add in each breast and sear for 5 minutes or until brown.  Using tongs and a spatula gently flip each breast over and sear for 5 minutes more. Transfer the breasts to the oven to finish cooking (about 12 minutes).  Remove the chicken from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Serve each breast whole or for dramatic presentation, use a sharp knife to make 2 inch slices at an angle.  Then, fan out the slices when plating.  I served my breasts with a lightly dressed salad, keeping the dinner carb-free yet satisfying. 

The Best Roast Chicken Ever

Best Roast Chicken Ever

It was the Wednesday before payday, checking account balance was super low and I just wanted to make a dinner that would get me to Friday.  I decided to roast a chicken because whole chickens are usually on sale at my grocery store and the leftovers can be very versatile.  So I enlisted the help of one of my Instagram followers who always posts amazing looking roasted chicken.  He shared his rub recipe with me and then I turned to Julia Child for some roasting tips.  With both of their help, my chicken came out perfect and worthy of the title: “The Best Roast Chicken Ever.”

These ingredients totaled $21! Served the rice & asparagus on the side. Reeses for dessert!

There was no way I could keep the recipe for the “The Best Roast Chicken Ever” a secret.  However, I learned the hard way that roasting a chicken is a lengthy and involved process (not sure what I was thinking doing it on a weeknight) and I felt that, if I am going to share my process, I have to REALLY share it.  In other words, break it all the way down!  So that’s what I do below; I give you every ingredient, every spice (my IG follower may sue me), every trick, every technique.  It’s all there below so that you too can make “The Best Roast Chicken Ever."

To start you will need a whole raw chicken (mine was a little less than 5 lbs) and a hot oven. Begin by preheating your oven to 450 degrees.

"Clean" the Chicken

While holding the chicken over the sink, take it out of the wrapper, pour off excess liquid, remove the giblets and place the chicken on a plastic cutting board.  At this point, some suggest that you wash the chicken but I have heard so many chefs and food professionals say not to. They say that when you do, there are so many opportunities to spread bacteria around your kitchen. So I don't wash, I simply pat the chicken dry with paper towels and dispose them.  Then I allow the chicken to come to room temperature while preparing the other ingredients.

Prepare the "Stuffing" and Rub

For the stuffing you will need:

Rub on the left, aromatics for cavity on the right!

• 1 head of garlic,
• 1 carrot (I had baby carrots on hand and just used a few of those)
• 1 stick of celery
• 1 lemon
• 1-2 sprigs of rosemary
• 2-3 sprigs of parsley.  

Prep these items by slicing the top off the garlic, cutting the carrot and celery in thirds and cutting the lemon in half.  
Then, in a small bowl, mix together the rub:

• 2 tbsp fresh thyme (1 tbsp if using dried)
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp paprika 
• 1-2 teaspoons salt
• 1-2 teaspoons fresh cracked pepper
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon (couple pinches) cayenne pepper

Season the Chicken

Start on the inside by sprinkling a generous amount of the rub into the cavity of the chicken.  Then move to the outside and rub the rub (ha!) all over the chicken, being sure to get into all the nooks and crannies.  Lift the wings, the legs, and gently lift the skin to rub some seasoning directly on the breast (be careful not to rip the skin).

Now stuff the prepared items into the cavity. (celery, carrot, garlic, lemon, rosemary and parsley) 

Truss the Chicken

Ok this is the part where I let you down.  I definitely trussed this chicken but I cannot explain to you how I did it.  One thing I can say is that I once read that the goal of trussing is to bring all of the pieces as close to the middle or carcass of the chicken as possible.  If you look at a chicken that's not trussed, the legs and wings are hanging away from the middle, so you have to use the kitchen string to bring it all in. This is basically what I did and had beginner’s luck I guess.

Seasoned and trussed bird before the oven.

But if you really need instruction, I recommend you watch a trussing video on youtube (I actually watched one to learn how to carve) OR you can simply tie the legs together and wrap a string around the tail end of the chicken to tuck the wings in and tie it at the bottom.

Prepare Chicken for Roasting 

Ok before you roast the chicken, you have to figure out what you're going to roast it in.  Thanks to my roommate, I had a roasting pan with a rack.  If you don't have one, you can use a glass baking dish, or even a skillet (oven safe or cast-iron) but you have to find a way to keep the chicken from sitting on the bottom and roasting in it's own juices.  

Alot of people spread root vegetables on the bottom of the pan and set the chicken on top (it's a win because you can eat the vegetables).  Another option (that I saw a New York City chef do) is slice a crusty loaf of bread into 2 inch slices and place the chicken on top of those (and again, you can eat the bread).

Once your chicken is arranged in the center of your roasting pan or skillet, drizzle a generous amount of olive oil over the chicken, and on the bottom of the pan. 

Roast the Chicken

Now is the part where you throw the bird into the oven and I wish I could tell you that you can forget it, but in order for this bird to turn out good, you are going to go be busy for the next 90 minutes.

First, allow the chicken to roast at 450 degrees for 20 minutes, then, using a spoon, baste the chicken with the juices that have already began to gather in the pan.  Then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and roast the chicken for 1 hr and 10 mins more (70 mins), basting the chicken with it’s own juices until the last 15 minutes.  For the last basting round, use melted butter for extra golden and crispy skin.

After a full 90 minutes, the chicken should be done but you're looking for your meat thermometer to read 158-160 degrees when inserted into the thigh.  You'll also know it's done when all of the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and thigh.

Let the Chicken Rest

Remove the chicken from the oven and allow to rest for at least 15-20 minutes or longer if you’re not serving immediately. 

Carve the Chicken

Like I said above, I learned to carve a chicken from this wonderful YouTube Video from the French Culinary Institute.  I don’t have the chef’s fork so I used another knife and even though it was a struggle, I got the pieces off the carcass and had a lovely platter of roast chicken ready to serve.

My birdy all carved up!

So that’s it! As a footnote, I have to shoutout one of the best chef’s on Instagram @chefpornardee for sharing the rub with me.  And even though this process wore me out, I realized the importance of every step and how they all contributed to The Best Roast Chicken ever.  For example, I always wondered: Why do you stuff the cavity with all the aromatics?? Well, when I was basting and saw the juices coming out of the cavity, I realized they were being flavored by the carrots, celery, lemon, garlic on the way out.  THEN, when basting, I was pouring those same juices back over the chicken and I knew that it was all an amazing process that ends in The Best Roast Chicken Ever.  

Not sure who we have to thank for this technique (probably the French) but I hope you all give it a try.  Do it the next time you have company! Your whole place will smell amazing and the platter of carved chicken definitely has that wow factor.

Seafood Paella

[RECIPE] Seafood Paella

This recipe for Seafood Paella is such a gem that I knew I had to send it to my editor at Ebony.com  She posted it recently and now I'm so excited to be able to share it here.

There are so many ways to make Paella and so many recipes out there, but I am especially proud of this one because I think it's simple enough for the average home cook.  You don't need a special pan or special rice; just a few ingredients that can be found in most grocery stores.  And when all these ingredients come together, you have an amazing dish that is sure to spice up any weeknight.  This Seafood Paella is also good for entertaining because it presents beautifully and appears to be challenging but is actually quick and easy.

So please do me and your taste-buds a favor and hop on over to Ebony.com to get the recipe and give this dish a try!