Hey, What’s Cookin’?

Always one seeking to expand my creative talents, I accepted the challenge to help David participate in a neighborhood cook-off last month. I felt the pressure! If my friends and neighbors were going to eat this food, I had to make sure it was delicious.

We decided to make fresh Mexican food. Okay, so first a confession: I have never prepared pork barbacoa before. But I knew what it tasted like—sweet and spicy and fabulous—and I wanted to make it incredible, with all the fixin’s. I was on a mission to figure this out and make it the best ever. Last year, I remember listening to a chef on a morning show who demonstrated how to make barbecue pork sandwiches. His base was brown sugar and Coke. That stuck with me and sounded like a good start. I love chipotle peppers and their perfect smoky taste, so I added those and plenty of garlic. Sounds so yummy, doesn’t it?

Next, I focused on the pico. I’ve been making fresh pico for years and I have perfected it, I have to admit! My pico even looks as beautiful as it is delicious. I make pico almost weekly and David always dices the tomatoes. He’s become quite the tomato artist—so much so that his perfectly cut tomatoes had my friends asking if I had bought the food instead of cooking it myself. I told them, “Oh, heck no… I really did do the cooking!”

When all was said and done, I’m happy to say I won second place! My prize?… a barbecue lighter! Yeah! I received so many great compliments and a ton of requests for the recipes. There was only one problem: I never wrote anything down from all my “experiments.” When I cook I wing it by adding pinches of this or heaping spoons of that. That’s what I love about cooking: just like scrapbooking, it’s a creative adventure!

Just a few weeks ago, some of my friends at church—Nina, Karen, Scharman, and Renee—asked me to reprise the barbacoa for a church group of 70. I love to cook, I love to make people happy, and I love to experiment in my kitchen, so I took the challenge to re-create my prize-winning dish for barbacoa salads.

On the day of the dinner I was so nervous. I kept thinking, “What if the meat is too sweet? What if the dressing is too spicy?” but when I tasted it all together—WOW—it was an explosion of flavors in my mouth! I did it!! It was just right! Everybody loved it and I was both happy and grateful. As you well know, cooking takes time, effort, and love to make it taste good. And the reward is seeing the happiness it brings to friends and family as they enjoy it. I’ll keep cooking as long as they want me to! So I want to thank my friends who encouraged me to do this. You are awesome ladies.

I’ve had so many people asking me for my recipes I finally wised up and wrote them down. I would love to share my recipes with all of YOU!! ENJOY!!! Be forewarned that the pork takes at least 14 hours but it is well worth it.

Pork Barbacoa
6 lbs. pork shoulder roast (I buy them at Costco)
Sea salt
1- 12 oz. can Embasa® Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce
2 heaping tbs. minced garlic
2 cups brown sugar
2 1/2 cups Coke

1. Place roast in a slow cooker. Season with sea salt.
2. Blend the can of chilies and puree with the garlic in a blender. This makes a paste to rub on the roast. Note: This paste is enough for 4 roasts!
3. Rub the paste on the top and sides of the roast. Use 1/4 of the paste per roast.
4. Spread the brown sugar on top of the seasoned roast.
5. Pour Coke on top of the sugar.
6. Place the lid on the slow cooker. Set temperature to low and cook for 12 hours.
7. When the cooking time is over, place the roast in a large bowl and discard all the visible fat. Pull apart the meat with 2 forks until the meat looks shredded.
8. Pour the juice of the meat in a large glass container. Let the fat rise to the top and remove the fat.
9. If desired, you may season the meat with more sea salt.
10. Place the meat back into the slow cooker. Pour enough of the juices back onto the meat to cover. Mix the meat and its juices together.
11. Cook on low for at least 1–2 more hours.
12. Serve hot and enjoy!

Cilantro Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup milk
1 package Ranch dressing
½ pickled jalapeño pepper
1 tbs. pickled jalapeño pepper juice
½ bunch of cilantro
1 heaping tbs. minced garlic
Juice of 1 1/2 limes

Blend all the ingredients in a good blender until the cilantro turns the dressing green.

Pico de Gallo
15 large tomatoes on the vine, diced
2 green peppers, diced
1 bunch green onions, sliced
½ yellow or white onion, diced
½ red onion, diced
1 bunch cilantro chopped in small pieces
1–2 pickled jalapeño peppers, chopped. (Amount determines spiciness.)
1–2 tbs. juice of the pickled jalapeño peppers. (Amount determines spiciness.)
2 heaping tbs. minced garlic
Juice of 5 lemons
Juice of 5 limes
Sea salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients in a big bowl and let them marinate together for a few hours. Make sure your pico looks more red than green by adding more diced tomatoes.

To make the salads:
1. Place sliced romaine lettuce on each plate.
2. Layer each salad with meat, pico, dressing.
3. Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese, sliced limes, and crushed tortilla chips.
4. Serve with Mexican rice and beans.

MMMmmmm…