Pulled Pork Salad for a Picnic Crowd

 

 

About a century ago, recipes abounded for "mock chicken" dishes, especially "mock drumsticks" or "city chicken", in which pork was disguised as poultry leg portions. In those days, small poultry were farm staples, but bringing them into cities was far from simple, so when a bird did make it to the neighborhood butcher shop, it was priced for special dinner.Thus, when a city girl wanted to feed a crowd while on a budget, she toted home a few pounds of what was later advertised as "the other white meat". She breaded strips of pork loin on skewers and deep fried them for her party guests, and they were happy enough at the effort.

By the latter portion of the Twentieth Century, though, chicken was the go-to meat for budget-minded cooks everywhere, so those sly substitutions were forgotten, except by old cookbook collectors.

Roughly one year ago, we saw a radical surge in prices for poultry and eggs brought on by the government slaughter on farms nationwide, due to panic over avian influenza. Prices are slowly dropping, but some of us are still looking for those inexpensive options. And pork is back to being the best buddy a budget can have, as long as you don't have dietary restrictions against it.

If, however, pork is not part of your diet, this particular recipe is adaptable to poultry -- or even beef, if you don't mind spending that much extra. Or, get crazy and make it a tuna BBQ salad. Who knows? The sky is the limit.

 

Pulled Pork Salad

Ingredients:

4 cups pork butt or loin portion, slow-roasted until tender, and sliced thickly

1/2 cup minced sweet onion

1 1/2 cups diced celery

4 Tablespoons diced sweet pickle (I prefer bread & butter variety)

1 1/2 cups Duke's mayonnaise 

2 Tablespoons hot mustard

3 Tablespoons sweet barbecue sauce

2 Tablespoons pickle brine

1 teaspoon dill weed

1 Tablespoon apple cider syrup* (optional)

 

Directions: 

In a medium or large mixing bowl, and using a pair of forks, pull apart warm pork slices into Shreds. Allow to cool in refrigerator at least 1 hour.

In small mixing bowl , stir together mayonnaise, mustard, barbecue sauce, pickle brine, dill weed, and apple cider syrup to make the dressing. 

When meat has cooled, add in minced onion, diced celery, and diced pickle. Fold in, with dressing, to the meat. Cover, return to refrigerator to rest and allow flavors to blend for at least an hour before serving with lettuce and good bread or rolls.

 

Serves 8 - 10

 

*every autumn, I buy a gallon of good cider from our local orchard & simmer the whole thing until it's reduced to just over 1 pint. It's thick and sweet, and a little goes a long way. If you want to save time, something similar can be purchased from King Arthur Baking. Other options include adding grated apple or a few tablespoons of tart applesauce to the salad, or skipping the apple entirely.

 

Dark Chocolate Pound Cake with Black Cocoa Glaze

(…and a little extra)

I promised someone a properly chocolate cake for her birthday, and here it is:

Dark Chocolate Pound Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup plus 1 Tablespoon cooking oil
1Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
6 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
1 1/4 cup warm water or brewed coffee, warm
3 cups sifted All-Purpose flour
1 cup dutch process cocoa (I like black cocoa for this)

Directions:

Lightly grease a 10" tube or Bundt pan (and/or line the tube pan with greased nonstick parchment).

Preheat oven to 325º F.

Using stand mixer with paddle (or regular electric mixer) at medium-high speed, beat together butter, sugar, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until pale and fluffy (about 3 or 4 minutes), scraping sides and bottowm of bowl as needed.

Add eggs one at a time, beating in completely after each addition, and scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.

In small bowl, dissolve espresso powder in warm water, and set aside.

In separate medium bowl, sift or whisk together flour & cocoa powder.

On low speed, beat 1/3 of dry mixture into egg mixture, then beat in half the water (or water/espresso). Beat in another 1/3 of flour mixture, the remaining water, then the last of the flour mixture. Beat at medium-low until fully combined, scraping sides and bottom of bowl  to make sure it's completely mixed.

Pour into prepared tube pan, bake at 325º F about 60 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Remove from oven, allow to cool on rack for 15 minutes, then carefully turn out of pan and allow to cool completely on the rack.*

Serves an army.


*If you use gluten-free flour for this cake, allow to cool at least 30 minutes, as the cake will be a bit more likely to crumble while it's still warm.

Cocoa Powder Glaze

Ingredients:

2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup sifted black cocoa powder
2 tablespoons butter, very soft but not melted
4 or 5 Tablespoons hot tap water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In a medium-large bowl, sift together powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Blend in butter. Add 3 Tablespoons warm water, stir until well mixed but still thick. Stir in vanilla, then begin adding small amounts of warm water until the glaze reaches the degree of fluidity and thickness you desire. Drizzle over cake.

Best if chilled (on cake, of course) at least an hour before serving.

Some people can be overwhelmed by a good dark chocolate cake with dark chocolate glaze, so a little bit of white chocolate drizzle glaze may help lighten the effect. Just be aware, if you're not careful in its application, it can look… umm… raunchy

not your average Mother's Day cake

Lower-carb Cottage Pie

 

Because some of in our circle have limits to how many grams of carbohydrates they should eat per day, it sometimes feels like we have to sacrifice comfort foods.

We don't. Not always.

For example, the old standard, cottage pie (also often called "shepherd's pie", but sticklers will remind us that that dish would logically have lamb or mutton in it) would seem to blow the carb limit after the second bite of potato topping.

It is possible, though, to use a potato substitute that doesn't leave you feeling cheated. Yes, you can make it with steamed, mashed cauliflower, or – my personal choice for baking – mashed heart of palm.

To be honest, I would NEVER recommend eating the hearts of palm stuff just as the package directs. Straight out of the package, with just butter and salt, it tastes like infinite sadness. But I seldom eat things straight from the package, anyway, and this is no exception.  When I eat low-carb "noodles" or "rice", they usually get mushrooms and garlic, and occasionally a low-sodium bouillon for a kick of flavor.

So, when I assembled the cottage pie, I had to take that into consideration.

The mash gets melted butter, finely grated white cheddar, and sour cream. And for added protein and cohesion, it gets eggs. It ends up a bit like a duchess potato topping, this way.

And for the meaty filling beneath… keeping it simple, and lightly creamy. As it bakes, the cream base thickens to build a modest hint of gravy with none of the added starch from flour.

And if you have leftovers, they're still tasty and not gummy the next day...

Enjoy.

Lower-Carb Cottage Pie

Ingredients:

for the meat filling:
about 2 tablespoons high-temp cooking oil or fat, divided
6 to 8 oz fresh mushrooms, minced
1/4 cup minced sweet onion
1 teaspoon low-sodium beef bouillon powder (I use Herb-Ox)
about 1 teaspoon water
1 large carrot, diced (about 1 cup)
1 lb lean ground beef
1/3 cup heavy cream or whipping cream
1/3 cup frozen peas (optional, but awesome if you can have them)


for the mash topping:
about 2 cups of mashed hearts of palm (2 packages, 9 ounce each will work) or other potato substitute
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, finely grated*
1/4 cup sour cream
2 medium eggs


salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Position rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 350º F.

Lightly grease 1 1/2 or 2-quart baking dish.

In large frying pan or wok, stir-fry mushrooms and onions in 1 tablespoon oil, at high temperature until almost crisp.  Stir in bouillon powder and water, dissolving the powder over heat. Set aside in baking dish. Do not rinse out the pan.

In the same frying pan, add a little more oil, and, at medium-high temp, stir-fry diced carrots until they begin to lightly brown.  Add ground beef, stirring until fully crumbled and browned. Stir mushroom/onion mix in, then add whipping cream. Stir until completely mixed.

Pour into baking dish.

Sprinkle peas over top.

In a separate bowl, combine mashed hearts of palm, melted butter, cheese, sour cream, and eggs. Mix well. Spread over the meat and peas in the baking dish.

Top with salt & fresh-ground pepper, and bake for 40 minutes at 350º F.

Allow to cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

*I used powdered cheddar in the pictured batch, but could just as happily have grated some smoked Gruyere or a nice Swiss cheese in. If you prefer a different flavor profile, choose your own favorite.

Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake

 

The Bat used to make this iteration of Charlotte Erickson's The Freezer Cookbook's pound cake fairly regularly for birthdays and Easter, and then, for about a decade, it fell by the wayside.

Now, however, it's making a comeback, with minor variations again. Because birthdays and Easter are cramming themselves into the same week, again. 

And, because it's simply a nice, refreshing springtime treat.




Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake

Ingredients:

Cake:
1/4 cup neutral oil and 1 3/4 cups butter (3 1/2 sticks), or 1 lb. high-quality margarine
1 lb. instant (superfine or caster) sugar*
6 eggs, unbeaten
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
finely grated zest of 1 fresh lemon (about 1 Tablespoon)
1 box (3.4 oz) vanilla or lemon instant pudding mix (I prefer vanilla)
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour**
1/4 cup poppy seeds

Lemon glaze:
2 cups confectioner's sugar
4 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh, finely grated lemon zest

Directions:

for the cake:
Make sure oven rack is below center, with plenty of head room.
Preheat the oven to 300º F.

Lightly grease a 10-inch tube pan or two loaf pans.

In a stand mixer bowl, cream the butter until it's light and fluffy. Gradually add in sugar until fully combined.

Begin adding eggs, one at a time, beating on medium speed for 1 minute before adding the next egg.

Mix in lemon juice and grated lemon zest.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, pudding mix, and poppy seeds. Add into mixer bowl, and, at low speed, mix until just combined.

Pour batter into pans and bake at 300º F : tube pan for 80 minutes, loaves for about 70 - 75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.



Allow to cool at least 5 minutes** in pan before removing to glaze.

for the glaze:
While cake is cooling, make glaze by combining powdered sugar, lemon juice, and zest in a small mixing bowl. Stir until smooth. Brush or pour over cake. Allow to set up an hour or two or overnight to form a thin crust, or serve fresh and gooey.




*If you don't have superfine sugar on hand, you can make your own in a food processor.

**You can substitute gluten-free 1:1 all purpose flour, or even a combination of 2 1/2 cups regular flour and 1/2 cup almond flour, for a guaranteed-tender and moist cake. If you do this, though, (a) use a parchment liner in the pan, and (b) let the cake completely cool before removing from the pan.