On Rice and Peaches

Last month I had made a dinner for my son's birthday, that consisted of Chicken Madeira and a Roasted Garlic and Parmesan Risotto. Both were exceptionally great, flavors sublime, and I learned just how very important it is to not cook the risotto too quickly. With that in mind, I wanted to try a risotto again, and this time I was working on other flavors totally, so instead of using vermouth or Sherry in the mixture, I went with Tequila. I also used Romano Cheese rather than Parmesan, and the Romano gave a really great tang to the finished dish. As it happened, the flavors were so amazing that I think it is my new favorite rice dish. There are not huge changes in this dish from the last one, but this one came out perfectly cooked, just a bit al dente, and very creamy. I have learned to slow down the cooking time!

Roasted Garlic Tequila Risotto

Serves about 6

Roasted Garlic Tequila Risotto

FOR ROASTED GARLIC:

1 head garlic
1 teaspoon olive oil
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1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 large shallots, chopped finely
1½ cups arborio rice
½ cup Tequila (or just use dry white wine or omit)
4 - 5 cups hot beef, chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
¼ cup cilantro, finely minced

Make Roasted Garlic. This part can be done earlier in the day (or up to three days in advance and refrigerated in a sealed container). 

To Make Risotto: Heat a saucepan with the 4 - 5 cups of stock and have nearby. Heat a 4 - 6 quart saucepan and add in the tablespoon of oil and butter. Saute the chopped shallots until very soft. Mash the roasted garlic with a fork, and stir in, then add in the Tequila and cook quickly to evaporate most of the liquid. What remains should be very thick. Pour in the rice and stir well to coat all the rice grains with the thick mixture. Over medium to medium low heat (you do not want to cook the mixture too quickly, or the rice will still be hard at the end) begin adding in the hot stock, one ladle full at a time, stirring the rice until each ladle of stock is absorbed. To use all the stock should take about 20 to 25 minutes. Be sure to leave a little bit of the liquid in the rice after the last ladle full of stock has been added, so the mixture remains soupy. More liquid will absorb even after off the heat, so remain vigilant.

When ready to serve, stir in the Parmesan cheese and the cilantro, reserving a bit of cilantro as garnish on top.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Recently, I had opened up my last jars of Spiced Pickled Peaches, with the intention of making an upside down cake with them. Which I did, and then ended up with some of the peaches leftover. I went on to make a dessert loaf I called Just Peachy Loaf, and while making the batter, I utterly forgot about adding in the eggs. The loaf tasted amazing, but was hugely sunken in the center. Obviously, as I had used the last of my Spiced Pickled Peaches, that wasn't going to be an exact repeat any time soon, so I used canned peaches instead, and that time WITH eggs in the batter, it came out great! 

But then I realized I never put my upside down cake recipe here! So I am rectifying that now!

Spiced Peach Upside Down Cake

Spiced Peach Upside-Down Cake

Spiced Peach Upside Down Cake

Serves  8 to 10

CARAMEL TOPPING:
1 cup sugar
¼ cup water
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- Spiced Pickled Peaches, or canned peaches in syrup
pistachios or other nuts, or cherries

CAKE:
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
    (or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract + 1 teaspoon peach flavoring)
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon allspice
1 cup sour cream

Make the Caramel: In a saucepan over medium heat, melt together the first cup of sugar and the ¼-cup of water. Stir until sugar is melted and bring to boil. Cover the pan tightly and cook for 4 minutes, to ensure all sugar crystals have been melted down. Uncover and continue to cook until the syrup turns to a light amber in color, 8 to 12 minutes. Meanwhile, grease an 8- or 9-inch cake pan, or an 8 to 9-inch square oven safe pan with butter or spray with nonstick spray. Once the syrup becomes amber colored, set the prepared pan onto an unlit burner or other surface that will tolerate high heat. Pour the syrup into the pan and using hot pads, swirl the pan to allow the syrup to reach all the edges. Set aside for about 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the peaches by cutting them into narrow wedges. Set the peaches into the pan in a pleasing pattern, such as lining them along the outer edges first, then filling the center with more peach wedges. Use nuts of choice, or maraschino cherry halves to fill in open spaces. Remember that the pattern created by the fruits and nuts will be reversed when the finished cake is turned out. Set the pan aside, then make the cake:

In a mixer bowl, cream together the butter and ¾-cup of sugar. Once very creamy, add in eggs, one at a time, mixing until completely incorporated before adding in the next. Add in the vanilla and or peach flavoring. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice and whisk to combine. Slowly, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until completely incorporated. Stir in the sour cream until combined. Gently, plop small mounds of batter all over the peaches in the prepared pan. Once all the batter is in the pan, ease the batter together to fill any gaps, making sure it reaches the edges of the pan.

Bake the cake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, or with only a crumb or two. Remove the cake to a rack to cool for about 10 minutes, then run a knife around the outer edges to loosen. Set a plate upside-down over top of the cake pan, then quickly invert the cake plate. Set it down and gently lift the pan off the cake. 
 
 

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Learning About Falafel

I had heard of falafel for a very long time. With all the foods I have made and eaten, I had never yet tried falafel, and yesterday I wondered to myself why that might be? I have no good response for that question in my mind, so I did what I usually do. I  went online and looked up falafel, and read, and read some more, and then more. All in all I spent about 3½ hours reading about falafel, what they are, how they are made, the differences between recipes, the "right" and "wrong" ways of going about making them.

Falafel in flatbread with hummus, cucumber and arugula

While 3½ hours online does not an expert make, still, I learned quite a bit. Though I had heard the word falafel, knew it was a food, and even that I believed they were fried, that is about the sum total of my knowledge until yesterday. What they were made of was a total unknown. So, here are some things I learned:

• Falafel are made from a base of chickpeas and/or fava beans.
• While many use canned chickpeas, they do not provide the correct consistency, thus necessitating the addition of flour (wheat, chickpea or other), baking soda, and sometimes even egg to bind the mixture enough to shape.
• Falafel are traditionally made into round balls and deep fried.
• Falafel are eaten as street food in many Middle Eastern countries.
• The word "falafel" can refer to the little fried balls themselves, or to the "sandwich" made of them using pita bread.
• Falafel are high in complex carbohydrates, proteins and fiber and contain no cholesterol until they are fried.
• Falafel are often served alongside hummus.
• Falafel are often served with a yogurt sauce, or even tzatziki. 
• Falafel are served similarly to gyros, folded into a warm pita or flatbread, with cucumber, tomato and a tzatziki type sauce.

Since my husband and I have been eating a healthier diet of late, the concept of falafel, made with mainly chickpeas (which we both like - we love hummus) and the addition of other good things like parsley, cilantro, mint and some spices, these sounded like a good thing to try. The only sticking point is the deep-frying part. I absolutely hate to deep-fry things. I don't like heating up that much oil. And then what to do with it once I'm done? The likelihood of me deep frying anything else within a 5-year period is slim to none. So, the oil is all wasted.

At that point, I started looking for recipes to bake falafel. And while there are many recipes out there for baked falafel, I was getting the distinct impression that even if they are just pan fried in a little bit of oil, they taste better than baked. I decided to try it both ways and see how things come out. As it turned out, I ended up pan-frying the whole lot, so I never even got to testing the oven baked concept. But this will not be the last time making them. We both were completely enchanted with them!

While most of the recipes call for using a yogurt type sauce and/or hummus as sides to the falafel, one place jumped out as different by using a red sauce. I kept in mind the main ingredients but did not write down the recipe. All I knew is that roasted garlic and roasted red bell pepper were involved, and those two ingredients had me salivating. I went ahead and made a sauce, and I am absolutely sure it will be great with falafel, I am also sure it would be great on a lot of things. Omelets come to mind! Or burgers, or even fries! It's that good! I'm foreseeing a lot of this sauce being made in the near future also!

Roasted Garlic & Red Pepper Sauce

Makes about ¾ cup

Roasted Garlic & Red Pepper Sauce

4 or 5 roasted cloves garlic
1 large red bell pepper
1 large shallot
1 Roma tomato
1 teaspoon tahini
1 teaspoon ground sumac
¼ teaspoon Aleppo pepper
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon salt

If roasted garlic is not already made, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut of the top portion of a whole head of garlic. Set it into a piece of foil large enough to enclose the head of garlic. Drizzle a little olive oil over top, seal the package and set into a small, oven proof ramekin and bake for 45 minutes. Once baked, simply squeeze out the garlic.

Preheat the broiler. Set the bell pepper onto a foil lined baking sheet and place under broiler so that it is about 3 to 4 inches away from the broiler element. Allow the skin of the pepper to completely blacken before turning it so another side is exposed. Once it has blackened all around, remove the pepper to a zip-top bag and seal, allowing it to steam for a few minutes. Once cool enough to handle, remove all skin, then remove seeds and membranes and place the roasted pepper into a blender container, along with the garlic.

Once the pepper is done, cut up the shallot into some few pieces and set onto the same foil lined pan and roast until it smells sweet and there are a few little darkened patches. Add the shallot pieces to the blender with all the remaining ingredients. Blend to a smooth puree. You should have approximately 1½ cups. Pour this into a non-stick skillet and cook down to about half, leaving a thickened ¾ cup of sauce. The sauce will keep for about 5 days in the fridge.

Typically, falafel are served in pita breads. For some odd reason, the stores here had not carried pita breads, but only flatbreads. Now, just the other day, suddenly there are pita breads in the section with cheeses, so they are chilled. The breads themselves were hard as rocks, so needless to say, flatbreads it is for this first try!

Falafel, sprinkled with salt

Falafel

Makes about 30 to 35 two-inch patties

1¾ cups dried chickpeas
1 small onion
4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 jalapeno, seeds removed
½ cup parsley
½ cup mint leaves
1 cup cilantro
2 teaspoons cumin, ground
2 teaspoons coriander, ground
½ teaspoon black pepper, ground

The day before making falafel, place the chickpeas in a bowl and cover by at least 3 inches with water. Cover the bowl and leave them to soak for 18 to 24 hours. Once ready, they should break apart between two fingers. Once ready, drain the remaining water and place the soaked chickpeas in the container of a food processor, along with all the remaining ingredients. Process, stopping to scrape down frequently, until the mixture is like coarse sand, leaving some texture, not a paste. Refrigerate the mixture for at least 2 or 3 hours.

Once ready to cook, you may deep-fry them, of course, but they were just perfect made in a skillet with oil added as needed. If you own a little cookie scoop, one that scoops about a tablespoon of dough, this worked perfectly. The falafel are small, but very easy to manage in the skillet. Scoop out a tablespoon-sized portion, flatten in your hand, then set into the hot skillet with enough oil to fry them easily.

Scoop, flatten and fry the falafel

Fry the patties on medium to medium-low heat. They can take about 2 or 3 minutes per side, at this size. If larger, they may take longer. The patties should be dark brown on the outsides and cooked through, but still tender, in the centers.

At this point, the falafel may be eaten with hummus, or with a yogurt and tahini sauce, or wrap them in pita or flatbread with the additions of cucumber slices, tomato slices and lettuce. Another addition seems to be pickled turnip, but I have yet to try that.




My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Festival Over and New Entree Created

This Year's Annual Renaissance Festival (aka Winefest Renaissance) is over. This past Saturday was the event, and after all the weeks of prep, everything was well received. So much so that I actually, for the very first time, ran out of two of the four appetizers I was serving. The fact that the wines also ran out at the same time tells me that there were more people, though I have not heard that this was so. The initial crush of people seemed endless for the first two hours. I was so exceedingly happy to have selected 4 really wonderful wines. We poured very small tastings, and though we had the same number of bottles as always, just ran out. At a wine tasting event, that was a sad thing. I guess we will all be better prepared next year. 

Appetizers from Renaissance Festival 2017, clockwise from top left: Brie in Phyllo Cups, Grilled Flank Steak Rolls with Asiago and Arugula, Mini Greek Lamb Sliders, Sweet Potato Bourbon Tamales with Country Ham & Cheese Filling.

I served: 

1. Sweet Potato Bourbon Tamales filled with Country Ham and Cheeses, topped with Fig Apricot Compote. The tamales paired perfectly with Terra d'Oro Chenin Blanc Viognier.
2. Marinated, Grilled Flank Steak, thinly sliced and rolled with Asiago Cheese and a bit of peppery Baby Arugula. The little rolls were served with Charles and Charles Red Blend, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
3. Mini Greek Lamb Sliders with Greek Olive Tapenade. These were served with J. Lohr 'Tower Road' Petite Sirah.
4. Brie in Phyllo Cups with Cherry Preserve and Pistachio. These were served with Stella Rosa 'Black,' a slightly sweet, slightly sparkling red wine, made mainly with Brachetto grapes. (No recipe involved here! Set a .5-ounce bit of Brie in a premade phyllo/fillo cup, bake until the brie melts, about 8 minutes, top with a cherry from a jar of preserves and a couple of crushed pistachios.)

On another front, since we were having our dear friends Heidi and Rich visiting over the weekend, obviously I needed to have food for meals prepared for them also. While talking with my daughter in law, Julia, a couple of weeks back, she was talking about a Short Rib Lasagna that she had eaten various times at a restaurant in Chicago. The idea caught my fancy, and I questioned her repeatedly about what it was like, what it looked like, textures, smells, colors, etc. I made a plan, wrote down what I thought I might do, then started to put it into action. Since my husband bought me a pasta making machine for my (upcoming) birthday, I was also going to make the lasagna "noodles."
 

Short Rib Lasagna with Roasted Garlic and Smoked Fontina Bechamel

The first thing was making the short ribs. Since we buy a side of beef from my husband's nephew every couple of years, I had short ribs in the freezer. I popped those into the crock pot, adding in things to give good flavor, like some fried bacon pieces, tomato paste, fresh herbs, mushrooms and wine. I let the meat cook all day, then in the evening, I skimmed off fat (and skimmed off fat, and skimmed off fat, and . . .) then took all the meat off bones and discarded them along with even more fat. All that fat is my peeve with short ribs, though the flavor of the meat is certainly great. After I returned the meat to the remaining sauce in the pot, I stored the mixture in the fridge for a couple of days, until I was ready to make the lasagna (and where I was not able to remove even more fat, after being chilled). 

The other new thing with this lasagna was the use of a bechamel sauce (basically, a white "gravy" made with a roux of butter and flour, then milk is added and cooked to thicken). I do not make lasagna but very rarely, and all in all, haven't really gotten one to turn out very well, in my estimation. Such lasagnas have been the type with a tomato-meat sauce and then ricotta and mozzarella as the main cheeses. In this new version I was concocting, the use of bechamel, while not a new concept, was new for me. The use of non-traditional cheeses was also new for me. 
 

Short Rib Lasagna 

In the lasagna Julia described, she said the menu stated "Roasted Garlic and Taleggio Bechamel." In our small town, while there are more foods available than one might imagine, I do not have access to Taleggio, nor have I ever tasted it. With no knowledge of the flavor profile, I looked it up and I believe the closest in flavor was Fontina. Well. Guess what? No Fontina cheese here either. Although . . . the local grocery does carry a smoked Fontina! As I thought of the flavor of roasted garlic, I felt that the smokiness of the Fontina would play really nicely, so I got that cheese and also Sartori brand U.S cheese called Mont Amore. It is described as a sort of cross between Parmesan and Cheddar. This sounded really good, so I got some of that also. And some real Parmigiano-Reggiano, of course!

I had roasted a head of garlic, pressed out all the cloves, then pressed them through a sieve to have a smooth paste. It seemed barely more than a tablespoon of this roasted garlic paste, and thought maybe I should roast a second head of garlic, just in case. Once assembling the lasagna components, while making the bechamel sauce, I added in half the roasted garlic (one tablespoon), stirred well, tasted . . . and couldn't really detect any garlic flavor! So I added in the rest of the roasted garlic paste, whereupon I could actually taste it - but just a bit. I felt I would leave well enough alone on that front. The assembly went easily, the lasagna baked as I had planned, and it was so amazingly good when we all sat down to eat, that despite all the work and advance prep, it is really and truly one I would make again. Even with having to practically wade through fat to do so.

Short Rib Lasagna with Roasted Garlic and Smoked Fontina Bechamel

Makes one 9 x 13-inch casserole

MEAT SAUCE:
4 - 6 pounds beef short ribs
1 ounce (28 grams) dried porcini mushrooms
3 strips thick-sliced bacon
1 large onion, chopped
4 - 6 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 (6 - 8-inch) stem fresh rosemary, leaves only, minced
½ cup fresh minced basil leaves
¼ cup fresh minced oregano leaves
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1½ teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
¾ cup dry red wine
2 tablespoons "double concentrated" tomato paste (from a tube)
¼ cup freshly minced oregano leaves

ROASTED GARLIC:
2 whole heads of garlic
¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
a drizzle of olive oil

Set short ribs in a slow cooker on low. Place the dry porcini mushrooms in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Cover and set aside to reconstitute.

Slice the bacon across into ¼-inch bits, then fry them to almost crisp in a skillet. Drain the bacon and add it to the short ribs. Add in the onion, garlic, bay leaf, rosemary, basil, oregano and the can of tomato paste. Add salt and pepper.

Remove the mushrooms from the soaking water, keeping the soaking water. Check through the mushrooms discard any very tough pieces. Chop the remainder coarsely and add to the pot. Carefully strain the mushroom liquid (it will often have grit in the bottom. Add ½ cup of the liquid to the pot, along with the wine. Cover the slow cooker and allow to cook slowly all day until the meat is falling from the bones.

Once cooked through, remove the meat and bones to a plate to cool. Skim off fat using paper towels: use one paper towel segment and lightly set it on top of the liquid. It will immediately soak up fat. Lift it out with tongs, to discard. Repeat as needed, until the fat is mostly gone. Once meat is cool enough to handle, remove all the meat and shred (not too finely). Discard fat and bones. Return the meat to the pot. Stir, then add in the extra tomato paste and oregano. Stir well, taste and check for seasoning. Pour into a container to finish cooling, cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Up to 3 days ahead, roast the garlic: Set oven to 400 degrees. With a sharp knife, cut off about ¼-inch from across the top of one whole head. Cut a square of foil, set the garlic in the center and bring up all sides to enclose the garlic, creating a pouch. Before closing the pouch, add any little bits of garlic from the top bits, removed from husks and set back on top of the whole head. Sprinkle on the thyme and a drizzle of olive oil, seal the pouch and set in a little ramekin or on a baking sheet. Repeat this same process for the second head of garlic. Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes. Cool slightly, then press out all the garlic cloves from the husks and into a sieve. Set the sieve over a small bowl and using a spoon, press the garlic through the sieve, making a smooth paste. Scrape the paste into a small, sealed container and refrigerate until needed, or up to 3 days.

MontAmore & Smoked Fontina Cheeses

BECHAMEL:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 generous cup grated Smoked Fontina cheese
1 generous cup grated Mont Amore cheese
Roasted Garlic paste (made previously)

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
1 pound fresh lasagna sheets, or no-boil lasagna sheets
1½ cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

When ready to begin assembly, pour the short rib sauce into a saucepan and slowly bring to about room temperature, just to make baking go more smoothly.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add in the flour and stir until it is completely incorporated, then slowly whisk in the milk, stirring constantly until all the roux is combined with the milk. Continue whisking until the mixture comes to boil (10 minutes) and begins to thicken. Add in the salt, white pepper and nutmeg, stirring to combine. Add in the grated cheeses and the roasted garlic paste and stir until the cheeses are melted. Set the pan aside.

Lasagna noodles, layer of the short rib sauce, layer of bechamel sauce, sprinkling of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Lightly spray a 9 x 13-inch casserole with cooking spray. Ladle in a small amount of the bechamel to barely coat the bottom of the pan, then begin the layers:
Set lasagna noodles evenly in the pan.
Top with a portion of the re-warmed meat sauce.
Ladle on a portion of the bechamel and
top with a sprinkling of the Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Repeat these four layers until there are no more ingredients, ending with the sprinkling of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover the pan with foil. Bake, covered for 1 hour. Uncover and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes to brown the top. Allow the lasagna to set for at least 15 minutes before serving.

The lasagna is amazing just baked, but it is even better the next day, reheated.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Inspired Pork Shoulder Roast in Slow Cooker

The words "Inspired" and "Pork Shoulder" might not sound like they should go together, for some. Still, I have to say that this recipe might just have been the absolute best pork I have ever had, and that is going some long, long way!

I started out the day wondering what to do with the pork shoulder roast I had bought, and cast around for inspiration. I went to see what herbs are still alive in my sun room and came back with handfuls of oregano and parsley. Okay, while oregano is not my normal go-to herb for pork, it was still so full and lush that I went for it. Thinking of a somewhat sweet and sour effect, I used some currant jelly that was taking space in the fridge, along with lime juice. And then came the real inspiration: roasted garlic. Granted, this is a step that must be accomplished well in advance, but should you make some roasted garlic for any other reason and have some leftover (as I did), then this is a truly inspired use for it.

Making Roasted Garlic

Roasted Garlic

For any of you who may not yet know how to make roasted garlic, it is simplicity itself. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut a square of foil (per head of garlic) and have it ready. 

With a very sharp knife, cut across the top of a whole head of garlic, removing about ¼ inch and exposing most of the garlic cloves (some outermost cloves will remain below the cut line but this is of no importance). Set the head of garlic onto the center of the foil, cut side up. Drizzle the top with about a tablespoon of olive oil. At this point, I also had fresh thyme handy, and stripped a stem of thyme leaves and strewed them over the garlic, but this is entirely optional. Bring the foil up and around the garlic to make a little packet and set the packet(s) onto a baking sheet, or in a casserole, or in the wells of a muffin tin. Bake the garlic for 40 to 60 minutes. The timing will depend on how large the heads of garlic are and how caramelized you want the final product. You will know by the delicious aroma when they are nearing perfection.

Once the garlic is finished roasting, allow the packets to cool, then you may either use immediately or refrigerate. They may be refrigerated as is, or you can remove the individual cloves from their skins very easily. They just slide out whole. For those few cloves that did not have an end cut off, just tear through the skin at one end and squeeze. Store the cloves, along with any olive oil from roasting. Once all the cloves are in a jar, top off to cover with more olive oil and seal tightly. This way they will keep for a very long while.
 

Pork Shoulder Roast Low and Slow

Using this Inspiring Garlic

At this point, with roasted garlic in the fridge, this is where I was when that inspiration hit. My jar of garlic in olive oil had gotten hidden in the back of the fridge and I had forgotten about it. But really - pork and garlic are a match made in heaven any day, so I got out my jar, which held about a whole head worth of garlic cloves. I scraped the entire jar worth into the slow cooker!  And the flavors when the roast was done were so out-of-this-world I could hardly believe my taste buds. This recipe is a true must-try for anyone who loves pork!

The garlic, having been roasted previously, starts out already sweet in this recipe, so the flavor of garlic as one would think might be overwhelming, just made a most delightful underlying flavor structure, without being able to precisely identify what that flavor was. I made gravy with the pot liquid and oh heavens! I did mash up the garlic in the mixture, but otherwise left all the liquid as is, with all its bits and pieces. My husband has been truly chowing on this roast! As I was doing the same myself, I completely forgot to take photos, until I was nearly done with my meal!

My next use for roasted garlic will have to be a dip. There are so many luscious recipes out there just waiting.

Pork Shoulder Roast, Low and Slow

Pork Shoulder Roast Low and Slow

Serves about 6 - 8

1 (4 - 5 pound) boneless pork shoulder roast
1 whole head roasted garlic cloves (see above)
½ cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
¼ cup red currant jelly
2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano leaves
2 tablespoons lime juice 
1½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Set the pork roast into the slow cooker and add remaining ingredients. Cover and set on High (my slow cooker has "Low" or "High" as settings - you may need to alter this for your slow cooker) for 6 hours. Tear the roast apart and serve.

I served this roast with sweet potatoes and apple and a side of broccoli. On the second night I made mashed potatoes to go with leftovers. 


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

More Savory Little Appetizers

Porcini Rubbed Steak on Gorgonzola Spread

The creation of the little appetizers for the upcoming Winefest Renaissance continues. Time is now getting short and I am trying to accomplish as much ahead of time as possible. Regardless, there will be a huge rush to the finish once Saturday rolls around. Besides the 6 appetizer pairings of my own, I was asked to make a couple of appetizers to pair with the "special wine tasting", open to only 25 select people. These wines will all be rated 90 or above. Most of them are red wines (and mostly Italian), so the flavors should require nice hearty flavors in a food pairing. In my blog of March 19th I already wrote about the trial run of the Porcini & Coffee Rubbed Flank Steak, which was to be topped with garlic mashed potatoes. The way I tried these the first time just flat-out didn't work. I tried stacking the layers differently and this was better, as seen at right. However, the subject of the Garlic Mashed Potatoes still had been bugging me.

The reason being that the first time I made the potatoes they were far too runny. Using russets the second time, I did everything possible to ensure that the mixture stayed dry enough. The only problem was it was so dry it would barely go through the piping bag. Making a fair lot of these, this could be very tiring on the hands, and these are not the only part of the overall food pairings that require piping. The more I thought about it, the more I went with the idea that maybe tried and true would be best in this instance. So, instead of the mashed potatoes I made my Gorgonzola Walnut Spread that was such a hit with the flank steak last year. The flavors are bold and it should work well.

Using pestle to form the tart shells

Anyway, the other appetizer I am making for that special wine tasting section of the event is Hazelnut Blue Cheese Tartlets with Savory Bean Filling. I had made a really delicious bean filling some years back, but made it on the fly. I never wrote down what I did, and had tried to make it again - twice now - and it just was not what my palate remembered. The Hazelnut Blue Cheese Tartlets are a variation of my Savory Blue Cheese Coins, but switching out the cheese and nuts. Making these as little coins and topping them with the Bean Spread would probably also work well, but the little tartlet shells are too cute a presentation to resist. Anyway, for whatever reason, I tried the Bean Filling again and it turned out just perfect, and just as I remembered. It is not an identical recipe, but close enough, and maybe even more tasty.

For the tart shells, if you make the recipe for the savory coins and slice the little chilled log of dough, you just set one little slice into each tart cup and I find a perfect instrument to form the shell is the little marble pestle from my mortar and pestle set. The thick end presses the dough into the well, then the narrow end can be used to press it into the corners. Fingers could be used also! Here is my recipe.

Hazelnut Blue Cheese Tart Shells

Tartlet Shells, baked

Makes about 85 mini-tart shells

½ cup hazelnuts
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
¾ cup blue cheese crumbles
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cold, in small cubes
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons water

In this recipe, first toast the hazelnuts. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Set the hazelnuts on a small baking sheet with rim. Roast them for about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven, pour them onto a kitchen towel and fold the towel around the nuts for a few minutes to cool slightly. Rub the nuts inside the towel very vigorously to remove as much of the dark skin as possible. Once cooled, place the toasted nuts into the food processor and process until well broken. Add in the flour, the two cheeses and the salt and process to combine. Add in the cubes of butter and process in short bursts until the mixture makes crumbs. In a small cup, combine the egg yolk and water, then add this to the food processor and pulse again, until the mixture starts to stick together. Turn out onto a surface (no extra flour is needed) and with the palm of the hand, smear the dough mixture in one long movement. Use a bench scraper to gather the dough and fold it onto itself then smear again. Fold the dough and turn and repeat this process until the dough has come together completely. Divide into 2 or 3 long, thin rolls about 1-inch in diameter. Wrap the rolls in plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours or up to 3 days.

When ready to work with the dough, preheat oven to 375 degrees. If forming simple "coin" shapes, slice the cold log into thin (⅜ or ¼-inch thick) slices. Set them on a baking sheet to bake. If making tartlet shells, slice the discs into slightly thicker slices. Set one slice into each well of the mini-tart pan and press into a tart shell shape. Bake the little shells for about 15 minutes, until golden. Cool. These can be made ahead and frozen for up to a month. 

Hazelnut Blue Cheese Tartlets with Savory Bean Filling

I erred on the high side when making the bean filling. Since everything used can easily be cut in half, feel free to halve the recipe if desired. It is highly tasty and equally good used as a dip for sturdy chips or crackers, or spread or piped onto crackers.

Savory Bean Filling / Dip / Spread

Makes about 3½ cups of bean filling - halve recipe if desired

2 (15.5 ounce) cans white beans

Hazelnut Blue Cheese Tartlets
with Savory Bean Filling

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 (4 ounce) jar diced pimiento, drained well
2 cloves roasted garlic, or fresh if desired
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh rosemary leaves
4 scallions, minced (about 1/4 cup)
1 teaspoon coarse salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
4 teaspoons olive oil

Drain the cans of beans in a colander and run copious quantities of cold water over them until any foaming has stopped. Place them in a food processor with all the rest of the ingredients except the olive oil. Process for 2 - 3 minutes, adding in the olive oil 1 teaspoon at a time if needed for a good consistency, or if the processor is straining.

The Savory Bean Filling/Dip/Spread can be made up to three days in advance, if time is pressing. It is best if the filling is piped into the tartlet shells. If you are not proficient with a piping bag and tips, use a heavier "freezer" type zip-top bag and cut a hole in one corner, making a diameter of about 1/2-inch. If you know your way around a piping bag and tips, use a large open star tip to fill the tarts.  Anything small will clog with the bits of rosemary, scallion or anything else that hasn't gotten completely pureed smooth.  



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.