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One Day Café

~ good eats from a small kitchen

One Day Café

Tag Archives: dinner party

Recipe: Carnitas

05 Wednesday Dec 2012

Posted by Anonymous in entrees, recipes

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

carnitas, david lebovitz, dinner party, easy dinner, feeding a crowd, mexican food, pork, slow roasted pork

Carnitas

I was introduced to the glory of carnitas years ago, when friends in Chicago invited us over for “Carnitas Night” and we stuffed ourselves with guacamole, black bean dip, tres leches, margaritas and the star of the show:  tender, flavorful slow-roasted pork. I was hooked. (Thanks, Amy and Matt!)

But with so many recipes and preparation recommendations floating around, it took me a while to perfect my favorite version of the dish. After lots of searching and taste testing, David Lebovitz’s carnitas recipe stood head and shoulders above the rest. This version is adapted from his, with the spice factor kicked up a notch and as always, heavier on the garlic.

Carnitas2

What I love about carnitas is its simplicity. The intensity of the flavor belies the fact that it’s so easy to prepare. And it feeds a crowd, just add some plantain chips and guacamole to round out the party. I like to serve the meat with corn tortillas and a simple avocado pico de gallo, but feel free to add whatever toppings you like: shredded cheese or queso fresco, sour cream, hot sauce, etc.

Carnitas3

CARNITAS (adapted from recipe by David Lebovitz)

4-5-pounds boneless pork shoulder (bondiola) or pork butt, cut into 5-inch chunks and trimmed of excess fat
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
1 tablespoon canola or neutral vegetable oil
water
1 cinnamon stick
1 Tablespoon chile powder
dried hot peppers, to taste
2 bay leaves
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly-sliced

Rub the pieces of pork shoulder all over with salt. Refrigerate overnight. (You can skip this step if you want. Just be sure to salt the pork before searing the meat.) Heat the oil in a roasting pan or oven-safe pot set on the stovetop. I use my Le Creuset French oven. Cook the pieces of pork in a single layer until very well-browned, turning them as little as possible so they get nice and dark before flipping them around.

Once all the pork is browned, remove it from the pot and blot away any excess fat with a paper towel, then pour in about a cup of water, scraping the bottom of the pan with a flat-edged utensil to release all the tasty brown bits.

Heat the oven to 350F (180C) degrees. Add the pork back to the pan and add enough water so the pork pieces are 2/3rd’s submerged in liquid. Add the cinnamon stick and stir in the chile powder, dried chilies, bay leaves, cumin and garlic.

Braise in the oven uncovered for 3½ hours, turning the pork a few times during cooking, until much of the liquid is evaporated and the pork is falling apart. Remove the pan from the oven and lift the pork pieces out of the liquid and set them on a platter. Once the pork pieces are cool enough to handle, shred them into bite-sized pieces, about 2-inches (7 cm), discarding any obvious big chunks of fat if you wish (but I love them, mmmm). Return the pork pieces back to the roasting pan and cook in the oven, turning occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated and the pork is crispy and caramelized. It will depend on how much liquid the pork gave off, and how crackly you want them.

Giving Thanks for Pumpkin Rolls

27 Tuesday Nov 2012

Posted by Anonymous in desserts, recipes

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

dessert, dinner party, expat life, mashed potatoes, pumpkin roll, sweet potato casserole, Thanksgiving

Gaspar and I once again hosted a Thanksgiving feast to share the best of our culture with our friends here in Buenos Aires. This time around, planning was a breeze. Amazing what a difference language skills and a bit of experience can make. Having nailed the acrobatics involved in cooking for 15 people with one tiny stove last year, I had all the “make-ahead” recipes lined up. And after frantically scouring the city last year for Thanksgiving staples like pumpkin, turkey and pecans that don’t seem to be embraced in Argentine cuisine, I knew where to find what I needed. A quick rundown for any newcomers: small frozen turkeys (pavitos) can be found at Jumbo, pecans (nueces – yes, I know that just translates to “nuts” but I don’t make the rules) at Mercado de San Telmo or Barrio Chino, sweet potatoes (batatas) are everywhere, the best brown sugar substitute is azucar negra, and things like cranberries, marshmallows and canned pumpkin do not exist here so “import” them if you can.

I’d had big plans for featuring all the various dishes and recipes I used, but as I should have known, by the time everything was ready and guests were arriving, the last thing on my mind was taking photos. But trust me, if you’re ever looking for a super tasty mashed potato recipe that can be made ahead, this is the one. And this sweet potato casserole got non-stop rave reviews from everyone. I use evaporated milk instead of regular, double the vanilla, and triple the amount of the pecan topping. I love me some crispy pecan topping, what can I say?

At least I got some good pics of the pumpkin roll. I use the recipe from Libby’s without much modification. Pumpkin rolls can take some practice, and are rarely “perfect” but the taste is what counts, right? My advice would be: 1.)  do not overmix when adding the flour. 2.) Make sure you spread the batter as evenly as possible in the pan. 3.) Thoroughly cover your tea towel with powdered sugar (there’s no such thing as too much, really) and 4.) When spreading the cream cheese filling onto the cake, go heaviest on the end that will be the center of the roll and make sure you’re not skimping on the edges.

If you live in Buenos Aires, good news! Pumpkin rolls are now available for special order. Just contact me here.

LIBBY’S PUMPKIN ROLL

For the cake:

  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2/3 cup LIBBY’S® 100% Pure Pumpkin

For the filling:

  • 1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 6 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Powdered sugar (for decoration)

Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. (If using a dark-colored pan, begin checking for doneness at 11 minutes.) Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

For filling, beat cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. You can also freeze the pumpkin roll if making in advance. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Photo credit for this one goes to one of my favorite dinner guests, Marina Coser

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