Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork, Potatoes au Gratin, Cilantro Coleslaw, and Easy Flat Apple Pie

If you watch the Food Network, and haven't been watching Pioneer Woman, you are sorely missing out! She is one of my personal favorite food bloggers, and I highly recommend her Food Network special. Last week's episode was this meal, and I decided to make it all myself; Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork, Potatoes au Gratin, Cilantro Slaw, and Easy Flat Apple Pie. I mean, how can you go wrong with shredded pork soaked in Dr. Pepper? It was also my first time making pie dough from scratch, and I didn't horribly fail, so that was cool! I made some pulled pork nachos the next day from the leftovers, those are pictured at the bottom. 

Nachos: Use leftover shredded pork, top tortilla chips with it, cover with cheese. Bake at 350 for 5-7 minutes, until cheese is bubbly. Top with topping of your choice; guacamole, salsa, sour cream, etc.

Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork
Here's the recipe adapted from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:
1 Whole Large Onion
1 Whole Pork Shoulder ("Pork Butt") - 5 To 7 Pounds
Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 Can (11 Ounce) Chipotle Peppers In Adobo Sauce
2 cans Dr. Pepper
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2. Peel the onion and cut it into wedges. Lay them in the bottom of a large dutch oven.

3. Generously salt and pepper the pork roast, then set it on top of the onions in the pan.

4. Pour the can of chipotle peppers over the pork (include the sauce.) Pour in both cans of Dr Pepper. Add brown sugar to the juice and stir in.

5. Place lid tightly on pot, then set pot in the oven. Cook for at least six hours, turning roast two or three times during the cooking process. Check meat after six hours; it should be absolutely falling apart (use two forks to test.) If it's not falling apart, return to the oven for another hour.

6. Remove meat from pot and place on a cutting board or other work surface. Use two forks to shred meat, discarding large pieces of fat. Strain as much of the fat off the top of the cooking liquid as you can and discard it. Return the shredded meat to the cooking liquid, and keep warm until ready to serve. (You can also refrigerate the meat and liquid separately, then remove hardened fat once it's cold. Then heat up the liquid on the stovetop and return the meat to the liquid to warm up.

Potatoes Au Gratin
Here's the recipe adapted from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp Butter, softened
4 large Russet Potatoes, scrubbed clean
1 ½ cups Heavy Cream
½ cup Whole Milk
2 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 cup Freshly Grated Sharp Cheddar
1 Green Onions, sliced thin (white and light green parts only)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a large baking dish with the butter.

2. Slice the potatoes into sticks, and then cut the sticks to create a dice.

3. Combine the cream and milk in a bowl. Add the flour, salt and some pepper. Whisk it together well so that the flour is incorporated into the milk/cream mixture. Add the diced potatoes to the prepared baking dish and pour the creamy mixture all over the top.

4. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake 15 to 20 minutes more. Just before serving, sprinkle on the grated cheese and return it to the oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly, 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle on the green onions and serve it hot.

Cilantro Coleslaw
Here's the recipe adapted from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:
¼ Head Green Cabbage, sliced thin
¼ Head Purple Cabbage, sliced thin
1 ¼ cups Whole Milk, plus more for thinning
¾ cup Mayonnaise
1 Tbsp Sugar
2 tsp White Vinegar
¼ tsp Salt
½ tsp Ground Black Pepper
¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 cup Fresh Cilantro Leaves, barely chopped

Directions:
1. Combine the shredded cabbage in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the milk, mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, salt, black pepper and cayenne. Add more milk if you like the dressing a little thinner. Pour over the cabbage. Toss to combine.

2. Just before serving, toss in the cilantro. Can mix the slaw up to 2 hours before serving.

Easy Flat Apple Pie
Here's the recipe adapted from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:
2 ½ Granny Smith Apples, peeled and sliced
¼ cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
¼ cup Granulated Sugar
1 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour
⅛ tsp Salt
Juice Of ½ Lemon
½ Recipe Perfect Pie Crust, recipe follows
3 Tbsp Butter
Pie Crust:
1 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour, plus more for dusting
½ tsp Salt
¾ sticks Cold Butter
⅓ cup Vegetable Shortening
½ Egg
2 ½ Tbsp Cold Water
1 ½ tsp Distilled White Vinegar

Directions:
Pie Crust:
1. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add in the butter and shortening. Using a pastry cutter, gradually work the butter and shortening into the flour until the mixture resembles tiny pebbles. This step should take 3 or 4 minutes.

2. Lightly beat the egg with a fork, and then add it to the mixture. Next, add in the cold water and vinegar. Stir the mixture together until it's just combined, and then remove half the dough from the bowl.


Filling:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In large bowl, stir together the apples, brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, salt and lemon juice. Set aside and see how long you can keep from sneaking a slice of apple.

3. With a rolling pin, begin rolling out the Perfect Pie Crusts into large circles. Roll the dough from the center outward. Be gentle and patient, it'll take a little time to get the dough completely rolled out.

4. If you think the bottom is really sticking to the surface below, use a nice, sharp spatula to loosen the dough and sprinkle some extra flour on top. Then flip it over to finish rolling. Remember to roll from the center in single, outward strokes, no back-and-forth rolling.

5. Again with a spatula, loosen and lift the dough and carefully place the circles on large baking sheets.

6. Place half the apple mixture on one crust and the other half on the other crust. Fold over the edges of each crust so that it covers 2 to 3 inches of the apple mixture. No need to be artistic - the more rustic the better. Dot the tops of the pies with chunks of the butter.

7. Bake until the filling is golden and bubbly, 30 to 40 minutes. If the crust appears to brown too quickly, cover the edges with aluminium foil for the remaining baking time.

8. Allow to cool slightly, then slice into wedges with a pizza cutter.