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.

Honey-Mustard Glazed Pork Ribs, Cheddar Mashed Potatoes, and Chocolate Tofu Pie

We had some pork ribs in the freezer, and I've been trying to use up what's in there lately, so I cooked this up. The ribs were slow cooked in the oven, and then glazed and put under the broiler to crisp up. I love potatoes as a side dish, so I just used some instant potatoes we always have around, and added some cheddar cheese and green onions, just because I felt like it! The chocolate pie was a strange recipe, no dairy, just chocolate and tofu! I know, I was skeptical, but it turned out delicious and you couldn't tell there wasn't any dairy in it.

Honey-Mustard Glazed Pork Ribs

Here's the recipe adapted from Bobby Flay

Ingredients:

Honey-Mustard Glaze:
½ cup Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Tbsp Light Brown Sugar
⅓ cup Clover Honey
3 Heaping Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Ribs:
2 Racks St. Louis Style/Country Style Pork Ribs (12 Ribs Each)
4 Tbsp Canola Oil
Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 cup Soy Sauce
4 cups Water
2 - 3- Inch Piece Ginger, skin-on and sliced (I used crystallized ginger pieces, because that was what we had)

Directions:

Honey-Mustard Glaze:
1. Combine the vinegar and brown sugar in a small saucepan over high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is completely dissolved and mixture reduces slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the honey and mustard and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Let cool to room temperature.

Ribs:
2. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

3. Brush the pork racks on both sides with canola oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

4. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the soy sauce, 4 cups of water and the ginger and bring to a boil. Pour the mixture into the bottom of a roasting pan, fitted with a rack, and arrange the ribs on the rack. Wrap the pan with foil and roast until the ribs are tender, about 1 ½ hours.

5. Remove the ribs from the oven and transfer to baking sheets lined with foil or parchment paper. Turn on the broiler and let heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Brush the ribs heavily on the top side with some of the glaze, put under the broiler and broil until golden brown and a crust has formed. Remove from the oven to a cutting board and brush with more of the glaze. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing. Arrange the ribs on a serving platter and serve with more glaze.

Moo-Less Chocolate Pie

Here's the recipe adapted from Alton Brown

*Note: You may have noticed many canned/boxed grocery items have slightly reduced the volume of the food, and kept the same price. Not only is this BS, but it also makes recipes difficult to reduce to compensate. This was the case with the tofu, so I had to slightly reduce everything else. I just guessed, do the same if you notice this as well.

Ingredients:

13 ounces Semisweet Chocolate Chips
⅓ cup Coffee Liqueur (Kahlua)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 pound Silken Tofu, drained
1 Tbsp Honey
1 (9-inch) Prepared Chocolate Wafer Crust (I used the store-bought Oreo one, there's no need to make it)

Directions:

1. Place enough water in the bottom of a 4-quart saucepan to come 1 inch up the sides. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.

2. Melt the chocolate chips with the liqueur and vanilla in a medium metal bowl set over the simmering water, stirring often with a rubber or silicone spatula. Combine the tofu, chocolate mixture and honey in a blender or food processor and spin until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour the filling into the crust and refrigerate for 2 hours, or until the filling sets firm.

Christmas Dinner

Once again, I decided to take charge of dinner, this time Christmas dinner. I also made breakfast, which was a breakfast sandwich, made from eggs, sausage, jalapeños, and cheese. We had several dinner dishes including, prime rib, garlic hasselback potatoes with herbed sour cream, store-bought rolls, and a salad I made. The prime rib and the potatoes were the highlight of the dinner, they both turned out delicious! I received a nice cast iron pot for Christmas, so I was able to use that to brown the meat in. And dessert was a pear and berry crisp, which was actually better as leftovers! Here are the photos...

Dinner, all plated up 

Cowboy Breakfast Sandwiches

Browning the prime rib

Prime rib right out of the oven

Garlic Hasselback Potatoes before they went in the oven

Pear and Berry Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream

Cowboy Breakfast Sandwiches

Here's the recipe adapted from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

8 Breakfast Sausage Patties
8 Eggs
¼ cup Half-And-Half
Salt And Pepper, to taste
1 Jar Pickled Jalapenos
Butter
8 Slices of Texas Toast
Mayo
Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Directions:

1. Start by frying patties of breakfast sausage.

2. While the sausage is frying over medium heat, crack a few eggs in a mixing bowl. Splash in ¼ cup half & half. Whisk together and then add plenty of salt and ground black pepper.

3. Flip the sausage and let it continue cooking.

4. Next, drain some jalapeño slices on some paper towels. (Warning: if you grill the jalapenos as demonstrated, make sure your stove has proper ventilation/exhaust.)

5. Dump the jalapenos onto a very hot skillet or griddle. Let them sizzle for a couple of minutes and then add a couple tablespoons of butter for flavor. Continue cooking for a couple more minutes and then set aside.

6. In the same skillet or griddle, melt a couple of tablespoons of butter and place a few slices of Texas Toast on top. The key here is to use plenty of butter as you grill the bread. When you flip the bread to the other side, go ahead and butter up the pan again.

7. Remove the sausage from the skillet when it’s completely cooked, then drain most of the grease from the pan and set sausage aside. Pour the eggs into the skillet and with a spatula, gently fold the eggs around, allowing them to cook.

8. When the Texas Toast is nice and grilled, spread whatever sandwich spread you’d like to use onto the bread. Top with a sausage patty, eggs, jalapenos, and cheese.

9. Finally top with another slice of Texas Toast and then return the sandwich to the warm griddle to thoroughly heat everything.

Prime Rib with Rosemary Salt Crust

Here's the recipe adapted from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

1 Whole Boneless Rib Eye (Ours was about 5 pounds and had bones in)
Olive Oil

2 Tbsp Tri-Color Peppercorns
3 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
2 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary¼ cup Kosher Salt¼ cup Minced Garlic

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

2. Heat some oil in a large skillet over high heat. Sear rib eye until a nice dark golden color, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

3. Place the peppercorns into a bag and crush with a rolling pin. Shred the leaves from the thyme and rosemary sprigs. Mix the salt with the crushed peppercorns, rosemary leaves, thyme leaves and garlic. Pour olive oil over the rib eye and pour on the rub mix. Pat slightly to get it to stick to the meat. Roast for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 275 degrees F and roast until a meat thermometer registers 135 for rare/medium-rare, about 20 more minutes (the roast will continue to cook slightly after removing from the oven). Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes before slicing.

Garlic Hasselback Potatoes with Herbed Sour Cream

Here's the recipe adapted from Sunny Anderson

Ingredients:

16 ounces Red New Potatoes
3 - 5 Garlic Cloves, thinly sliced
4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, melted
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Kosher Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Herbed Sour Cream, recipe follows
Herbed Sour Cream:
½ cup Sour Cream
½ tsp Garlic Powder

1 Clove Garlic, minced
1 Tbsp Finely Chopped Fresh Parsley Leaves
Kosher Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Using a wooden spoon as a cradle, place each potato in the spoon and make several parallel slits into each potato top making sure not to slice completely through. Place garlic slices between every slit. Toss in a medium bowl with butter and olive oil. Place on a baking sheet and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Bake until tops are crispy and potatoes are cooked through, about 1 hour. Transfer to a platter and top with Herbed Sour Cream.

Sour Cream:
Combine ingredients in a small bowl. Season, to taste, and refrigerate until use.

Pear and Berry Crisp

Here's the recipe adapted from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

Filling Ingredients:
4 Whole (To 5) Large Pears (Bosc Work Well)

1 cup of Mixed Frozen Berries
⅔ cup Sugar
¼ tsp Salt

Topping Ingredients
1-½ cups All-Purpose Flour
⅓ cup Sugar
⅓ cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
½ tsp Cinnamon
½ cup Pecans, Very Finely Chopped
1 stick Butter, Melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Peel, core, and dice pears. Place into a bowl and stir together with berries, ⅔ cup sugar and ¼ teaspoon salt. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans. Stir together. Drizzle melted butter gradually, stirring with a fork as you go until all combined.

4. Pour pears into a baking dish; top with crumb topping.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

6. Place pan on top rack of oven for an additional 10 minutes, or until topping is golden brown.

7. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Thanksgiving!

I decided to try and tackle Thanksgiving myself this year, and it wasn't too bad considering I only had 3 people to make food for. It wasn't too stressful, but I was getting a little worried when I had 3 dishes to go in the oven after the turkey, but I just stuck them all in there at the same time and it worked out. I tried to make homemade rolls, and they didn't quite rise as I had hoped, but they weren't bad tasting. They were just kind of heavy instead of being light and airy. I ended up brining the turkey, making rolls, mashed potatoes, roasted cauliflower and broccoli, and an apple, pear, raspberry crisp for dessert. We also have an appetizer tradition of cheese, vegetables and crackers, and onion dip and chips. Everything turned out wonderful! Here's everything for you!

Turkey in the brine

Appetizers: Rosemary Crackers, celery, carrots, and cranberry goat cheese

Onion dip and salami

Cheese and cracked pepper crackers

Pears, apple and raspberries went into the dessert crisp

Gingerbread martini

Vegetables before they went into the oven

Roasted Turkey right out of the oven

Dessert with the crisp topping on it

Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli

Mashed Potatoes

Turkey, light and dark meat

Apple Pear and Raspberry Crisp out of the oven, hot and bubbly

Gingerbread Martini
My mom had this recipe and so we sent my dad out for Kahlua and I made these for us. Quite strong, but taste just like gingerbread. Maybe add a sprinkle of cinnamon on top as a garnish. Makes one drink.

Ingredients:
3/4 oz. vodka
1.5 oz. Kahlua
1.5 oz. Irish Cream Liquor
1.5 oz. Goldschlager, or cinnamon liquor

Directions:
Fill martini shaker with ice. Add all the liquors. Shake well. Pour into martini glass. Enjoy!

Roast Turkey
The turkey turned out delicious, but because we had a deeper pan it cooked in, it didn't get very brown on the sides. And we ended up having to carve off the white meat and put it back in for about 30 min. to cook the dark meat. Another technique we've used for keeping the turkey moist is cooking it upside down. We did it by accident one year, and it ends up keeping the light meat extremely moist, probably because the juices flow to the breast meat.

Here's the recipe adapted from Alton Brown

Ingredients:
1 (14 to 16 pound) Frozen Young Turkey
For The Brine:
1 cup Kosher Salt
½ cup Light Brown Sugar
1 gallon Vegetable Stock (4 32oz. boxes)
1 Tbsp Black Peppercorns
1 ½ tsp Allspice Berries
1 ½ tsp Chopped Candied Ginger
1 gallon Heavily Iced Water
For The Aromatics:
1 Red Apple, sliced
½ Onion, sliced
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 cup Water
4 Sprigs Rosemary
6 Leaves Sage
Canola Oil

Directions:
2 to 3 days before roasting:

1. Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.

2. Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

3. Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:

4. Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

5. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

6. Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.

7. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

8. Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 ½ hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes
I had planned to make these roasted garlic mashed potatoes, but it the craziness of getting everything done at the same time, I forgot to roast the garlic. These turned out delicious without the garlic, but would have been even better with it. It's up to you what you want to do.

Here's the recipe adapted from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:
2.5 pounds Yukon Gold Or Russet Potatoes
¾ Sticks Softened Butter, plus more for baking
¾ (8-ounce) Packages Cream Cheese, softened
¼ cup Half-And-Half
¼ cup Cream
Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Milk, if needed, for thinning

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Peel the potatoes and rinse them in cold water. Chop the potatoes in fourths. Place the potatoes into a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

3. Drain the potatoes, and then return them to the pan. With the burner on low heat, mash the potatoes with a potato masher; the more steam that's released while you mash, the better. Mash for about 5 minutes. Turn off the burner.

4. Add the butter, cream cheese, half-and-half, and seasonings. Stir to combine, and if the mixture needs thinning, add milk. Check the seasonings, adding salt and pepper, to taste. Using a hand mixer, beat potatoes until light and fluffy.

5. Pour the mashed potatoes into a large casserole pan. Dot the surface with butter. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for 10 more minutes. Serve immediately.

Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli
I had originally planned on spice roasting these, but opted instead for a drizzle of garlic olive oil and some cayenne pepper before roasting. I was never a fan of cooked broccoli and cauliflower when I was younger because they always turned out mushy, but these were still crisp and delicious! I adjusted the temperature on this recipe though, because when I cooked them at the original temperature, they just didn't brown before they were cooked. Enjoy!

Here's the recipe adapted from Anne Burrell

Ingredients:
1 Head Cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets
1 Head Broccoli, cut into bite-size florets
Garlic Infused Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
½ tsp Cayenne Pepper
Grated Parmesan Cheese, for sprinkling

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

2. On a sheet pan, combine the cauliflower and broccoli; toss them generously with olive oil and salt. Sprinkle them with the cayenne pepper.

3. Roast 15-20 minutes, then stir the veggies so they have the chance to brown all over and rotate the pan to ensure even cooking.

4. If they aren't lovely and brown, let them continue to roast for another few minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary.

5. Remove the veggies from the oven, sprinkle with cheese and transfer to a serving dish. Serve immediately.

Apple Pear Raspberry Crisp
I found some delicious looking raspberries at the store while getting all the ingredients for Thanksgiving dinner, so I decided to add raspberries to this crisp. It was originally just apples and pears. Tips for making this: make sure your pears are ripe, and choose an apple that isn't too sour or it makes the dessert too sour.

Here's the recipe adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients:
2 pounds Ripe Bosc Pears (3-4 Pears)
2 pounds Firm Macoun Apples (4-5 Apples) (I used Granny Smith's and they were too sour and didn't get soft. Find something firm but sweeter)
2 Packages of Raspberries
1 tsp Grated Orange Zest
1 tsp Grated Lemon Zest
2 Tbsp Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice
2 Tbsp Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
½ cup Granulated Sugar
¼ cup All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
½ tsp Ground Nutmeg
For The Topping:
1 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour
¾ cup Granulated Sugar
¾ cup Light Brown Sugar, lightly packed
½ tsp Kosher Salt
1 cup Old-Fashioned Oatmeal
½ pound (2 sticks) Cold Unsalted Butter, diced

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Peel, core, and cut the pears and apples into large chunks. Place the fruit in a large bowl and add the zests, juices, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch oval baking dish.

For the topping:

3. Combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed for 1 minute, until the mixture is in large crumbles. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit, covering the fruit completely.

4. Place the baking dish on a sheet pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbly. Serve warm.