pork rillettes ... the beginning

And it begins... It's time to start the 2 day process of making Jaques Pepin's Pork Rillettes, a delicious spread that my colleague jtw first introduced to me (and charceuterie. gasp, i know) in 2006. John's recipe is slightly different than Pepin's but tried and true, so while paying homage to the master chef (Pepin), I'm going to follow jtw's.

First things first, acquire a boatload of pork belly (4 lbs for jtw's recipe). Done (and oh what a marvelous sight it is. Gush gush gush).



Then chop into 2" cubes, and toss into a pot or Dutch oven with half a head of garlic, and enough water to cover the meat by about 1-2". Add a few TB of salt, but not too much, and a few shakes of pepper. You'll season this later. Now, put on a very, very, low simmer and cook for 6-8 hours until fat has rendered. There may be some skimming involved if you'd care to, but it's not vitally important (so says jtw).

Once the fat, refrigerate for at least 12 hours.

And that, my friends, is what I'm waiting for currently. Still with 2 hours to go of simmering, I'll be back tomorrow with more on Operation Pork Rillettes.

Do stay tuned. I highly recommend it. ;)

Coming soon ...

Look at that beauty. I mean really now, 4.4 lbs of pork belly deliciousness, just calling out "rilletes! rilletes!" Or just calling out to me. Ya never know. Let me dream.

OK, maybe not, and maybe just maybe I should be focusing on buying my turkey for Thanksgiving (yes, I'm hosting/cooking this year), but really, let's just pause for a moment to appreciate the finer things in life.

Like this.

Take a moment with me now.

Oooo and ahhh. Get giddy (I sure am). Imagine the creaminess of the pork rillettes on fresh honeydew. Or the tang when served with reduced balsamic and whole grain mustard. Forget about the turkey and stuffing for a moment and just imagine with me.

Pork belly is one of the things in life that make me melt. Boys, take notes. This here is one of the few things that if done properly can woo me. Take that as a freebie. Who needs anything else, really?

THIS, my friends, is the life. Stay tuned for Operation Pork Rillette (ala Jacques Pepin, as modified by Wilbanks).

Wordless Wednesdays: Fall

Halloween, continued

As promised, costume #2 (less food related) ... a spelling bee. Yup, I went there.



Here's to November!

Happy Halloween!

From the first costume of the weekend ... Susie Homemaker. Happy to say this is often how I look, on non-Halloween themed occasions ;)

Happy Halloween foodies. Get your ghoul on.

(also, costume #2 coming tonight. stay tuned)

Turkey Hash

I love using leftovers, especially when they're delicious ones like roasted turkey.

Kickin' off the morning with a hearty turkey hash, using some more of that slow roasted turkey, a quick cooked potato (poke holes, 2.5 minutes on high, then flip, 2.5 more minutes), red onion, turkey bacon, cheddar cheese and chives. Add a little broth or turkey drippings if you have it, some chili powder, salt and pepper and there ya go. Bliss on a plate.

Happy Friday :)

Soup, continued

My endeavor earlier this week, and the subject of the last post here, left me with a Costco amount of homemade poultry stock (turkey + chicken).

Recipe #1 was inspired again by Elise's Mom's Turkey Soup, so I started to shred some turkey, chop up onions, carrots, celery and some tomatoes and let them become friends again.

The second soup I first made last year when I was living in the Back Bay, and just realized I may have inadvertently made it one year to the day that I first tried it. Either way, there's no reason we can't revisit favorites, and now we can add the photo (from last year, so apologies for the photo quality. I had yet to get my EOS xTI).



Last year, I used leftover frozen tom yum soup broth so it had a wonderful lemongrass undertone but also quite a kick from the Thai chiles Sam and I used. I really liked the spice, and replicated this time (sans chiles) with a few dashes of Sriracha.

Ten Minute Couscous Soup with a kick
Adaapted from Heidi @ 101Cookbooks

(KT note ... looks like I first made this soup the exact day Heidi posted it, then again this year, also on the 26th. Bizarre. Hm. :) )

7 cups great-tasting broth - in my case turkey/chicken (can eyeball this)
2 or 3 pinches crushed red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup regular couscous
1 1/2 cups broccoli florets, cut into tiny pieces smaller than your thumb
1 1/2 cups cauliflower florets, cut into tiny pieces smaller than your thumb

Bring the stock to a boil with a few dashes of oil and the hot pepper flakes. When it comes to a boil, remove from heat and add the couscous. Wait two minutes, then add the broccoli and cauliflower. Wait another 2-3 minutes until the vegetables lose their raw edge and you're done! I added a few shots of Sriracha, but you can leave as is, add some sundried tomatoes and goat cheese or any other sort of topping you'd like. The soup is very forgiving, so have fun and play.