Sweet and Sour Pork

It is not often that I try a new recipe and tell you about it the same day.  I also don’t often post two similarly themed recipes in a row. Tonight however, I’m breaking with tradition.  Partly because I finished cooking and cleaning up early enough to tell you about what I made for dinner tonight.  Mostly because it was just that good.  And easy.  And perfect for a quick weeknight dinner.

This recipe for Sweet and Sour Pork was an unexpected winner.  I don’t normally like sweet meat, but I had most of the ingredients for this recipe on hand, and I needed to figure out what to do with the pork tenderloin taking up space in my freezer.  I found this recipe in TakeOut Tonight!, one of my current favorite cookbooks, and the source of my recipes for Broccoli with Garlic Sauce and Szechuan Chicken with Peanuts.  Since I love those recipes, I figured it was worth giving this one a try.

And I have to say, I’m glad I did.  This recipe comes together very quickly using everyday ingredients.  The pork (or you could use chicken) is lean and tender.  The sauce is sweet and savory and has a nice zing from the rice vinegar.  The bell peppers give the dish a nice crunch, and the pineapple chunks add juicy pops of sweetness.  Served up with some rice and a vegetable (and maybe an egg roll), you’ve got a fantastic dinner for any night of the week.

Louisiana-Style Shrimp

Lately I’ve been a bit of a delinquent.  A blogging delinquent.  As in, I have been seriously delinquent in posting with any regularity.  I know it.  You know.  Can we please agree to forgive and forget?  I’m still trying to figure out this whole full-time working and regular blogging thing.  (There’s a reason I started this site when I was just out of grad school and still unemployed!) 

I’ve got this whole new time management plan worked out though, so things should be better.  Ok, not really, I’m not that organized, but it certainly helps that all of my TV shows are done for the summer.  So much time back in my life.  Time I plan to be spending with you and some deliciously good food.  So let’s get to it.

Today’s recipe for Louisiana-Style Shrimp is one of my new favorites.  I’ve only made it once, but I’ve been thinking about it ever since – and wishing I’d doubled the recipe the first time around.  In this dish, plump, juicy shrimp are cooked in a smoky, slightly spicy, and richly flavorful sauce containing andouille sausage, peppers, onions, garlic, and beer.  Surprisingly, there are no tomatoes in this recipe – the sauce gets its reddish tint from a liberal dose of smoked (or regular) paprika.  Easy enough for a weeknight (if you have a little bit of time) and special enough to serve to company, I have a feeling this Louisiana-Style Shrimp recipe will be making frequent repeat appearances in our kitchen. 

Slow Cooked Puerto Rican Pork

Today’s recipe is quite different from the Artichoke Heart Stuffed Shells I told you about earlier this week.  Those shells were crazy delicious, but they were quite time and labor intensive.  Today’s recipe?  Not so much.  In the time and labor department, that is.  This truly might be the easiest recipe I’ve ever posted.  But don’t let that fool you into thinking the flavor suffers one bit for lack of effort.  One taste of this Slow Cooked Puerto Rican Pork just might make you swoon.  And if you make this for the man in your life, I absolutely guarantee you’ll make him swoon – and love you forever. 

This recipe is based on the traditional Puerto Rican recipe for Pernil, a dish consisting of pork shoulder simply prepared and cooked for hours in the oven.  Taking the same flavors and placing them in a slow cooker makes for a recipe that absolutely couldn’t be easier.  Or tastier.  When it’s done cooking, this pork is juicy, succulent, and fall apart tender.  It’s a little salty, a little tangy, a little garlicky, and completely delicious.  You can serve it with rice or beans, use it to stuff tortillas, or just eat it straight out of the slow cooker.  However you serve it, it’s sure to be a crowd pleaser – which is good, since this recipe makes enough to feed a small crowd.

Smoky Pork Tinga Tacos

Today I was planning to share a side dish recipe with you guys.  It has vegetables and cheese and a crunchy breadcrumb topping.  I made it last night, and it rocked.  But then I got to thinking…  Cinco de Mayo is coming up next week, and I have a whole lot of Mexican recipes in the backlog waiting to be posted.  Seems like the perfect time to share them with you, no?  (Let’s just agree to ignore the fact that I completely ignored posting holiday recipes for Passover and Easter.)

To kick things off right, today’s recipe comes from Mexican food and Top Chef Master Rick Bayless.  If you’re not already a Rick Bayless fan, let me tell you - he’s kind of awesome.  He takes traditional, authentic Mexican recipes and makes them accessible.  And incredibly delicious.  Like that recipe for Jalapeno-Baked Fish with Roasted Tomatoes and Potatoes I told you about a couple weeks ago.

Or today’s recipe for Smoky Pork Tinga Tacos.  Tacos which are good.  So very good.  And so very, very easy – because you make the filling for the tacos in a slow cooker.  Bet you didn’t see that one coming, did you?  Authentic Mexican food coming out of the slow cooker at the end of a long workday?  Yes, please.  Especially if that food tastes like this – soft corn tortillas filled with tender, smoky chunks of pork and cubes of potatoes steeped in the meat juices.  Topped off with cubes of creamy avocado and fresh cheese, these tacos take slow cooker food to another level. 

Peppery Monterey Jack Pasta Salad

I don’t know what the weather’s like where you live, but down here in Nashville, it is beautiful outside. Gone are the days of 100 degree weather and extreme humidity. In their place are clear blue skies and lovely 80 degree days and 60 degree nights. Basically, the weather right now is perfect. And perfect weather demands spending lots of time outside. We’ve been hiking, playing tennis, and selecting restaurants based on their patios. (If you live in the area, the patio at Rosepepper Cantina in East Nashville is one of our warm weather favorites!)

Weather like this is also perfect for cookouts and picnics. Today’s recipe for Peppery Monterey Jack Pasta Salad would be a great addition to any outdoor meal. It’s colorful, flavorful, and easy to put together. You can use any small pasta shape you happen to have in your pantry. I used Israeli couscous because it’s what I had on hand. The little pearls were a fun change from the more commonly used salad pastas. Juicy fresh tomatoes, tangy banana peppers, creamy Monterey Jack cheese, and salty salami and capers round out the dish and make it a fun, different on traditional pasta salad.