Vietnamese Pork Salad

A colleague at work asked me on Monday if I was still posting recipes on my blog. I stumbled over my words a bit before I finally blurted out the honest truth:

"Not really."

"Why?"

I had to think about it for awhile to determine the reason behind my lack of food-related posts, my silence on the blog in general, really.

"Well," I started. "I've been writing about other topics lately and it seems I have a greater readership when I'm NOT writing about food. And to be quite honest," I continued, "I haven't really cooked anything good and worthy of sharing all summer."

Yikes. It's true but I didn't really like the sound of it as it rolled off my tongue. What have I been feeling my family? A lot of mediocre, apparently.

In my defense, we traveled a whole heck of a lot over the summer so many of my meals were at the mercy of the camp stove. But as I thought further about my lack of cooking creativity lately, I realized just how claustrophobic I have felt all summer long. When we weren't traveling (or packing for the next trip!), I was either working or clawing desperately for a minute to myself. I felt very much at the mercy of everyone else but me. In case you are in need of a visual, a friend shared a with me a little video clip that very much depicts with striking similarity what my summer hours at home looked like, me and my desperate pursuit for alone time:

Needless to say, it is VERY hard to do anything, creative or not, with littles underfoot. I'm still looking for my groove, searching for how to be a mom of school-aged kids (and maybe more importantly, how to survive the summers when they aren't in school!!!) But now that school is back in session, I'm very hopeful my kitchen will be pumping out delicacies again in the weeks and months to come. Thankfully, my youngest is pretty keen with the whisk so I'm sure he and I will spend a lot of our waking hours cooking while the big girls are in school. Hopefully we will have some successes that we can share in this space!

I did make one hit dish this summer that I'm excited to post. My garden, much like my kitchen, wasn't quite as happy this year as last, but I did manage to have great success in the herb and summer squash department, which is how I landed on this recipe. It is super fresh, herbaceous, and the kids were happy because it featured "pasta" (i.e. rice noodles). My husband took his first couple bites and exclaimed "You should definitely add this one to your rotation!"

Good man.

Nevermind that I made the very same dish the following week and his reaction was "Is this a new recipe?" Some memories, even good ones, can sometimes be short-lived. ;)

I tweaked the original recipe to feature a full pound of meat to make it a bit more filling (and so that you'll use up an entire package of ground pork rather than being left bewildered with a couple ounces in hand). If you are cooking for kiddos, I'd recommend holding the sriracha sauce in the dressing and serving it on the side instead for the spice-lovers. Feel free to play around with your ratios of lettuce and veggies and even get creative and substitute snap peas or blanched green beans when they are in season. Also, get generous with the fresh mint and cilantro and load up on the peanuts too. Serve the salad with a slice of fresh lime for squeezing and juicy watermelon wedges. Of note, the recipe can be gluten-free if prepared with gluten-free fish sauce for those of you who can't have gluten. Happy cooking and eating and I hope to be back with another yummy kitchen success sooner rather than later!

Vietnamese Pork Salad
(adapted from Cooking Light Magazine)

8 ounces uncooked rice vermicelli noodles
1 pound ground pork
12 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided
3 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided
2 tablespoons fish sauce, divided
1 tablespoon peanut oil
3 tablespoons chopped unsalted peanuts
3 tablespoons sliced green onions
2 teaspoons Sriracha
4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup diagonally cut seeded cucumber
1 cup diagonally cut or julienned carrot
1/2 cup diagonally cut yellow squash
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves

Cook rice vermicelli according to package directions; drain and rinse with cold water. Drain.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork to pan; cook 8 minutes, stirring to crumble. Combine 2 tablespoons lime juice, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, and oil in a bowl; add to pan. Cook 1 minute; remove from heat.

Combine remaining 10 tablespoons juice, remaining 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar, remaining 1 tablespoon fish sauce, peanuts, green onions, and Sriracha in a bowl. Arrange lettuce, cucumber, carrot, and squash on a large platter. Top with noodles, pork mixture, cilantro, and mint. Drizzle juice mixture over top.

Serves 6

Pork Carnitas

I am never doubting a 5 ingredient recipe again. I have always run like the plague from any dish toting to be "super delicious" and yet be composed of essentially nothing. THANKFULLY, one friend first told me of the amazingness of this recipe and then another went one step further and brought them to me on the stressful day my 3 year old daughter had surgery this past fall. We were still living with my in-laws during our crazy house selling and buying and remodeling adventure and all seven mouths present that night devoured this puppies. I mean DE-voured them. I immediately asked for the recipe and was so surprised to learn the dish consisted only of five ingredients. Ok, six if you count the salt. Which none of those "5 ingredient cookbooks" ever do. How could something so simple taste so incredibly good? Holy smokes! A little fresh orange juice, a squeeze or two of lime juice, garlic and cumin - these four things are heavenly in combination with a hunk of pork shoulder. But let's be real. This recipe technically contains 7 ingredients because, where would it be without with the pork fat. That succulent, meat-crisping pork fat that takes this dish from delicious to unbelievable. But we don't have to count it as an ingredient because it comes already attached to the meat. Like getting two for the price of one.

It is rare that the entirety of my clan is pleased by what I put on the table. In fact, the other night there was so much complaining that, in a moment of total awesomeness on my part, I threatened to quit cooking for them all together. My six year old nearly lost her marbles and began wailing in her seat, right then and there. I took it as a compliment. Was it my finest moment? Not exactly. But at least somewhere down there I was affirmed that she values my contributions to the table, even if the words coming out of her mouth certainly aren't saying it. Anyway, let me assure you that I am still cooking for my children, even though it sometimes means approaching the table with an imaginary shield to deflect their "opinions" about what I've prepared. We have rules about what they are permitted to say at the table but anyone who has ever been around children knows that having rules and following them are two separate issues. :) 

But I digress....what I'm trying to say here is actually that this carnitas dish is one that we all LOVE. I most recently made it for my middle child's "Night Before School" special celebratory dinner. In theory, the idea behind these dinners is that the child gets to select their own menu. That didn't exactly happen (it was more of a "Crap, I guess tonight is the night before school and all I have left to make in the fridge is tacos" sort of thing) but I talked it up enough that I got her excited. It was so nice to sit back and eat an entire meal without complaints from the peanut gallery! Or maybe it was just the margarita that was nice. Tough call!  

This recipe is great for those days when you're stuck at home for a few hours, maybe during nap time or when you're waiting to change over the laundry. It can easily be prepared ahead of time, the day before or the morning of and I have even frozen any extra leftover meat (when there is any!) to reheat at a later date or to put atop nachos. It essentially takes no special cooking skills beyond squeezing citrus and turning on a burner. Whatever you do, be sure you don't skip the final step where you ramp up the heat, allowing the cubes of pork to sizzle in the rendered pork fat. This is certainly what makes the dish! 

Pork Carnitas

(from Smitten Kitchen)

3 pounds boneless pork shoulder or pork butt, cut into 2-inch cubes
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lime juice (from about 2 to 3 limes)
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon Kosher salt, plus more to taste

Corn or flour tortillas, for serving
Avocado slices, chopped cilantro, feta or grated cheddar and fixings of your choice

Place the pork cubes in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot. Add the orange juice, lime juice, garlic, cumin, salt and enough water to just barely cover the meat. Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for two hours. Don’t touch the meat.

After two hours, increase the heat to medium-high and while occasionally stirring and turning the pieces, continue to cook for about 45 minutes, or until all of the liquid has evaporated, leaving only the rendered pork fat. Let it sizzle in this fat long enough to brown at the edges, turning pieces gently (they’ll be eager to fall apart), only as needed.

When pork has browned on both sides, it’s ready. Adjust seasonings to taste and serve on warmed tortillas with fixings.

Serves 6-8

Chili-Garlic Shrimp with Coconut Rice and Snap Peas

I am here this morning to tell you about one thing: SHRIMP! A couple weeks back, I tore out a few pages from the “Superfast Recipes” section of my Cooking Light Magazine and crossed my fingers, hoping the recipes they contained would pass what I will now refer to as The Cooking Light Husband Test. This has been the summer of swimming lessons over here because I'm bound and determined to GET MY KIDS TO SWIM even if it kills me (which it is). This means 45 minutes at the pool nearly every weekday which is awesome but also has forced me to be quicker on my toes when it comes to dinner. This is so not my gifting. When I look out my window, I see my neighbors out playing with their kids until 5:30 PM without batting an eyelash. I can't help but wonder, who is roasting their pork shoulder? Who is rolling out their fresh pasta dough? Who is flash-cooking their tomatoes so they can whip up a batch of Panzanella Tomato Bread Salad? I mean, how do they possibly eat dinner if THEY AREN'T INSIDE COOKING?!

Doesn't every good meal take at least 90 minutes to complete? You see, I have this strange ability to take simple things and make them incredibly intricate and complicated. Like the time I planned a "quick hamburger dinner" and ended up making my own ketchup from scratch and caramelizing my onions for nearly an hour. Yeah. I guess this little "skill" of mine is what makes me a bit dubious when it comes to recipes toted to take "only 20 minutes." The idea of making a meal that fast sounds amazing but I don’t know a lot of diners that pursue their next meal based on how little time it took the chef to prepare it. It took 5 minutes to make? Wow, sounds DELICIOUS! Dish me up a plate.

So this summer has been a bit of my test for me and I've tried really hard to branch out and simplify a bit. And you know what, I've found a couple of recipes that are fast AND hit it out of the park. The week I made all the Superfast Recipes from Cooking Light, my husband complimented me every meal about how good the food had been that week (you know, because the food I usually cook is CRAP). ;) I know I'm not the only one and that there are others of you who are slaving in your kitchens so you can "eat well," wishing you could be outside playing with everyone else. Or maybe just wishing you could find the time to cook something yummy with all the craziness of life, Well then, this post (and the next one) is for you.

One of the great things about this recipe is that you make a big batch of shrimp on one day, reserve half of it and then make a totally different dish with the reserved shrimp the next day. Two super fast meals, two nights in a row with two wildly varying flavors. I'm a little ashamed to admit that prior to this recipe, I don't think I'd ever fed my family snap peas. I "never like them" and so it didn't occur to me to offer them to anyone else. Well, it was through this dish that we learned that THREE members of our tribe actually like snap peas (myself included!!!) I know 3 out of 5 is a failing grade if we're talking a pop quiz or something but when it comes to feeding a young family, a score of 60% is considered a major success. I've now added them as a staple to my weekly shopping list.

We are all also in love with the coconut rice in this recipe and I've prepared it probably 5 times already since discovering it. It's so easy but takes plain rice to the next level. Of course, I like to substitute short grain brown rice sometimes too and just use the entire can of coconut milk (minus the 3 Tablespoons needed for the sauce at the end) and a little extra water. The last thing I'll say about this recipe is that it's gluten-free! Eat up. 

Chili-Garlic Shrimp with Coconut Rice and Snap Peas

(from Cooking Light Magazine)

2 1/2 teaspoons canola oil, divided

1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger

1 cup uncooked jasmine rice

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons light coconut milk, divided

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 70)

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste)

1 tablespoon grated lime rind

12 ounces sugar snap peas, trimmed

Heat a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon canola oil; swirl to coat. Add minced ginger; sauté 30 seconds. Add rice and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook 1 minute, stirring to coat. Add 1 cup coconut milk and 1/4 cup water to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Fluff rice with a fork. Stir in chopped cilantro.

Combine 3/8 teaspoon salt, shrimp, garlic, brown sugar, olive oil, and sambal oelek in a large bowl, stirring well to coat shrimp. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of shrimp to pan; cook 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until just cooked through. Place cooked shrimp in a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining shrimp. Return cooked shrimp to pan. Stir in remaining 3 tablespoons coconut milk and lime rind, and cook 30 seconds, stirring frequently. Reserve 1/2 of the shrimp mixture.

Bring a large saucepan filled with water to a boil. Add sugar snap peas; cook 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain. Combine snap peas, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil, and remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt in a bowl; toss to coat. Serve snap peas with rice and remaining 2 cups shrimp mixture.

   

Serves 4

Baked Eggs with Spinach and Mushrooms

 

As I type this, there are eggs hard-boiling in my kitchen and a large bowl filled with the beginnings of this Greek Easter Bread recipe for all the festivities we will participate in this weekend. Like many home cooks, holidays are always filled with food traditions over here and I enjoy preparing recipes, both new and old to serve to the ones I love. Maybe I'm too late and you already have your Easter menu set, but if you need a last minute egg dish, I've got one to share that is sure to impress. This will be the second year and running that it has been a part of our Easter celebrations and I'm pretty sure it's here to stay. Firstly, it couldn't be easier to throw together and secondly, you can prepare the majority of it ahead of time, making the actual-day that much simpler. Plus, it contains more spinach than any recipe in the history of recipes and you would never even know it. Wilted spinach is certainly God's gift to the veggie-aversive individual who can't fathom the idea of eating a plateful of the fresh stuff. Seriously, this 9 x 13-inch pan contains 2 pounds of spinach and married with the cream and nutmeg, it is simply delicious. 

 

Anyway, the original-original recipe was published in Gourmet Magazine and then adapted by Smitten Kitchen and then lightened ever so slightly by me. So, I'm really not sure who to give the credit too. Like I said before, you can make the spinach and mushroom mixture ahead of time, all the way up until just before you crack the eggs into the 9 x 13-inch dish. Before you get started, just a little cooking tip: follow the directions closely because it is really easy to overcook the eggs and there is no turning back once the yolks have turned hard. Once baked, the eggs in the center are more likely to be a little bit runny while the ones of the edges will be more firm. This variation is to be expected and everyone likes their eggs to a different degree of doneness so don't wait for all the eggs to firm up before you take them out of the oven.

 

Baked Eggs with Spinach and Mushrooms

(adapted very slightly from Smitten Kitchen)
 

2 pounds (32 ounces) fresh spinach
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
3 small garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound mushrooms, thinly sliced

½ cup half and half
½ cup heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
12 large eggs
6 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
 

Bring 1/2 inch water to a boil in a very large skillet, then add half of spinach and cook, turning with tongs, until wilted, about 30 seconds. Add remaining spinach and wilt. Cover and cook over moderately high heat until spinach is tender, about 1 to 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and cool under cold running water. Gently squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove as much liquid as possible and then coarsely chop (you should end up with about 2 cups fairly tightly packed cooked spinach).
 

Wipe skillet dry, then melt butter over medium-low heat. Cook onion and garlic until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and increase heat to medium-high, stirring, until mushrooms have softened and any liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Stir in half and half, cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg and chopped spinach and bring back a simmer. Remove skillet from heat.
 

Transfer the mixture to a 9×13-inch baking dish. Using 2 teaspoons, create 12, evenly-spaced “wells” for the eggs by pressing the back of the spoons together to “pinch” up the spinach mixture to form taller walls so that the eggs will not merge together.
 

Do ahead: You can prepare the dish until this point and then set it aside for a few hours or up to one day in the fridge, covered.
 

When you’re ready to bake the dish, or about 30 minutes before serving, put oven rack in upper third of oven and heat oven to 450°F. Crack an egg into each well. Bake until whites are firm and yolks are still runny. You can check this by inserting a toothpick into various parts of the eggs and seeing whether they’re runny or set, which takes anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes (the range is long due to different ovens and baking dishes).
 

Remove dish from oven, sprinkle with additional salt and pepper, plus grated Parmesan. Serve immediately.
 

 

Serves 12