Category Archives: Recipes

Various recipes that I’ve found and liked, or made up myself

Pulled Pork 2016

Food, Recipes
Pulled Pork 2016
Recipe Type: Main
Author: Ray
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 1.5 cups water
  • 1/4 cup malt vinegar
  • 1/4 cup lemongrass mint balsamic vinegar
  • 2 medium yellow onions, sliced
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 4.6 lb pork shoulder, bone in
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 tsp. red robin seasoning salt
  • 1 tsp. ground pepper
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. smoked sweet paprika
  • 1 tsp. cocoa powder
Instructions
  1. Add water and vinegars to crock pot, add sliced onion
  2. Rub oil over pork shoulder, and let rest
  3. Mix all other ingredients together, then rub into pork shoulder
  4. Place roast onto onions in crockpot, and cook on low, 8 hours.
  5. Remove roast from crock pot, remove bone, and shred.
  6. Strain fat from liquid in crockpot, and put liquid into saucepan.
  7. Simmer liquid to thicken, then add to shredded pork.
  8. Place pork into roaster, and broil for a few minutes, to create some crispy bits of meat. Stir, and broil again if desired.
  9. Lightly toast brioche buns

 

A Tequila Cocktail

Food, Recipes

bitters_orangeGBAbottle_reposadoSince an anniversary dinner a few weeks ago at Woodwork (awesome dinner, and spectacular cocktails with my fabulous wife – 27 years together!), I’ve become very interested in cocktails that use bitters.  Never had one until this dinner, and I found them to be very intriguing – and surprised how they can impact the flavour of a drink.
This evening I was ‘experimenting’ 🙂
 
 
I took a slice of lime, about 1/2″ thick, quartered it, then tossed it into a highball glass.
Added a raw brown sugar cube, and then added a couple dashes of Fee Brothers Orange Bitters onto the sugar cube.  Added a splash of Lime Perrier soda water, then muddled to cruh and dissolve the sugar cube and release the lime juice.
brown-sugar-cubesPerrier_Lime_33clCanAdded 2 oz. El Jimador tequila, then added some ice cubes to fill the glass, and then more soda water, and a gentle stir.
 
Very tasty !!!lime_quartered

Pork Loin Roast BBQ'd on the Rotisserie

Food, Recipes

Made this for Mother’s Day – and it was delicious!

Pork Loin Roast BBQ’d on the Rotisserie
Recipe Type: Main
Cuisine: BBQ
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 10 – 14
Ingredients
  • Marinade
  • 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
  • 1 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon mustard powder
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 8lb Pork Loin Roast
Instructions
  1. Night before, add spices to mortar & pestle, and grind up nice and fine.
  2. Add olive oil and mix well with spices
  3. Rinse roast under cold water and pat dry.
  4. Rub oil and spice mixture all over the roast.
  5. Place into ziplock (I used a FoodSaver bag, and then vacuum sealed it), and into the fridge overnight.
  6. Next day
  7. Take roast out of fridge, then set up BBQ for rotisserie cooking, and start the BBQ, lighting the rotisserie burner only.
  8. After 40 to 45 minutes, put roast onto rotisserie spit, and place drip pan onto BBQ coals beneath the roast.
  9. Cook for approximately 18 to 22 minutes PER Pound, until internal temperature gets to 150 degrees F.
  10. Remove from BBQ and tent with aluminum foil for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
Served the roast with apple sauce.

The rest of the menu consisted of steamed carrots, prosciutto wrapped asparagus spears roasted in the oven, baked potatoes with cheddar & bacon, and a delicious kale, pear, pumpkin seed, and spinach salad with a balsamic vinegar dressing.

Roasted Potato Samosa Pockets

Food, Recipes
Roasted Potato Samosa Pockets
Recipe Type: Vegan
Author: Ray
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 bag little potatoes – halved or quartered as necessary
  • 1 can chick peas – rinsed and drained
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbsp garam masala
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste concentrate
  • juice from 1/2 lemon
  • 1 tbsp. red curry paste
  • 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large bag cleaned baby spinach leaves
  • 4 pitas – cut in half
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
  2. Using a mortar & pestle, grind the garlic and garam masala into a paste.
  3. Mix the paste, olive oil, chick peas and potatoes thoroughly and spread out onto a baking sheet.
  4. Roast for 15 minutes, turn the potatoes and give the chick peas a good shake, then cook for another 10 to 15 minutes.
  5. While the potatoes & chick peas are in the oven, mix the mayo, yogurt, parsley, cilantro, tomato paste, and lemon juice.
  6. Heat large sauce pan over medium heat, add remaining tbsp. of olive oil, and curry paste.
  7. When the curry paste becomes fragrant, add mayo/yogurt mixture, and add the potato chick pea mixture from the oven (and turn the heat off).
  8. Toss the mixture and place into serving dish.
  9. place pita halves into microwave to warm them up.
  10. Fill the pita halves with spinach leaves and a few large spoonfuls of the potato/chick pea mixture, and enjoy!

This was a delicious and easy recipe

Birthday Lasagna :)

Food, Recipes

Taylor wanted lasagna for her birthday dinner (21!) – and this one was probably the largest one I’ve ever made. Had to use a large roasting pan.  I looked at a few different recipes, and kind of did a combination of a few of them.

Lasagna 🙂
Recipe Type: main course
Author: Ray
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 16
Baked this Friday evening, and will reheat on Sunday – Lasagna always seems to taste best reheated, so why not bake it twice to begin with 🙂
Ingredients
  • 2 pounds ground port
  • 1.5 pounds ground sirloin
  • 1 pound mild Italian sausage
  • 2 cans diced tomatoes
  • 2 cans tomato paste
  • 1 large white onion, diced fine
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 diced bell peppers (red, yellow and orange)
  • 2 pkgs. frozen chopped spinach
  • 2 pounds ricotta cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
  • 1/2 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 1/2 pound provolone cheese, sliced
  • 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup Marsala
  • 2 tbsp. sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. pepper
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
  • 1 tbsp. dried basil
  • 500g lasagna noodles
Instructions
  1. Brown pork, beef and sausage in a large stockpot, adding minced onion and garlic as meat starts to brown.
  2. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, Italian seasoning, basil, salt, pepper, marsala, balsamic vinegar, and mix thoroughly.
  3. Let simmer for an hour, then add chopped peppers, and simmer for another hour.
  4. While sauce is simmering, defrost frozen spinach
  5. In an appropriately sized mixing bowl, mix thawed spinach, ricotta, eggs, and nutmeg.
  6. Spray roasting pan with cooking spray
  7. Spoon a thin layer of sauce into bottom of pan
  8. Place 1 layer of uncooked lasagna noodles over sauce
  9. Spoon another layer of sauce over noodles.
  10. Spread 1/3 of ricotta mixture over sauce
  11. Add another layer of noodles
  12. Add layer of sauce
  13. Add layer of provolone slices
  14. Add layer of sauce
  15. Add 1/3 ricotta mixture
  16. Add layer of noodles
  17. Add more sauce
  18. Add last third of ricotta mixture
  19. Add last layer of noodles
  20. Add last layer of sauce
  21. Evenly spread monterey jack and mozzarella
  22. Sprinkle parmesan over top
  23. Bake covered for 40 minutes at 375
  24. Remove cover, and bake for another 30 minutes.

After initially cooking the lasagna on Friday night (finished at 1:30 AM), I let it cool down, then put it into the fridge Saturday morning at 9:00 AM.  On Sunday, I reheated the lasagna (covered) for 3 hours at 250*F, then added a couple loaves of garlic bread to the oven, removed the lid from the lasagna, and increased the temperature to 375*F for 20 minutes.  Everyone enjoyed it!