Inspired by Jersey, Created By San Fran: Pork Sugo

A few weeks ago, one of the very lovely ladies that I work with told me about this dish that her boyfriend was working on. And by working on, she meant that he had started the dish one morning and it wouldn't be complete and ready for them to eat until the following night. I have to say, this really sparked my interest. I'd never heard of pork sugo before but clearly, I love pork and I really love a dish that slow cooks for a long time and takes lots of love and heart to prepare. I know it's totally cheesy, but I have to agree when chefs, and eaters, talk about how much better food tastes when it's made with love. Luckily enough, a few days later this recipe arrived in my inbox from my co-worker's very sweet boyfriend. I decided to try out the recipe this past weekend.

He suggested that I serve the pork sugo over polenta or grits. To be honest, I'm not very familiar with making either so I did a little googling to find other suggestions and I stumbled upon something even more amazing than I'd already thought I'd found. One of the most fabulous restaurants in San Fran, Delfina, where I spent a few lovely, much too short lunches with 2 of my SF bff's serves this dish and actually let San Francisco's 7x7 Magazine publish the recipe. I thought I'd died and went to recipe heaven! I mean... pork, San Francisco's Delfina, I learned of it in Jersey! How much more perfect could it be!! This recipe was a huge treat for me to find, to cook, and to enjoy. It was one of those dishes where I felt so good making it and my love and excitement for the dish shined through in every bite.

It took me two days to complete the dish but it was well worth it. This is actually something that would be really great to start on a Sunday evening, before your work week starts, as most of the work is done on Sunday. Then on Monday after a long day at work, you just have a few quick and easy steps left and dinner is ready. It makes for great leftovers too!

Pork Sugo

1lb pork butt
1/2 rack pork spareribs
salt & pepper
1/4 cup canola oil
1 1/2 cup sliced yellow onion
1/2 cup carrots, sliced on the diagonal
1/2 cup celery, sliced on the diagonal
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 sprig rosemary
3 sage leaves
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 quart chicken stock
1 1/2 tbsp butter
1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
pinch chili flakes, optional
grated parmesan, to taste
1lb pappardelle or other fresh pasta

Cut the pork butt into 2 large pieces. Season the pork butt and the spareribs with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large dutch oven or other heavy bottomed pot. Brown pork on all sides. Remove and set aside.

To the pot add onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and herbs and saute for a couple minutes until the vegetables start to get tender, stirring occasionally to scrape up brown pork bits from bottom of pan. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally for 2 minutes. Add wine to deglaze pot and cook until reduced by half, about 5-6 minutes.

Return pork to the pot and add chicken stock. Bring to a simmer. Cover and transfer to 325 degree preheated oven. Braise in oven until pork is tender and falling off the bone, about 2 hours. Remove from oven, let cool, and refrigerate overnight.

The next day scrape any congealed fat from the top and discard. Over low heat, warm sugo through. Remove pork and ribs from pot. Pull meat from bones and shred the rib meat and the pork butt (the pork should shred rather easily using 2 forks).

Pour veggies and liquid from the pot into a food processor and puree until smooth. Return to pot and reduce sauce over medium heat until it thickens. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Add meat to pot, bring to a boil and turn off heat.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. To serve, warm some pork sugo in a pan with butter, parsley, and chili flakes. Serve over pasta and top with grated parmesan.

Recipe adapted from Delfina as featured in SF's 7x7 Magazine

Sunday Supper: Winter Warm Up Chili

We are in the midst of a winter wonderland and I absolutely love it! My yard is completely snow covered; the geese continue to wade in the brook; and Puppy (our youngest hound) gets up every morning, goes straight to her window seat and looks out the window patiently waiting until we let her out to frolic in the snow. The hubs and I finally got a rug for our living room this morning and then we spent the rest of the day playing in the snow with the hounds. There is something about running around in the snow while playing with my dogs that makes me giggle and completely forget about any other craziness going on in my life.

After a fun filled day of playing in the snow I decided to make a big pot of chili to warm up the hubs and I. I've made chili lots of times but have yet to find THE recipe. This time around, I thought I'd try winging it and it was by far the best chili I've ever made! It was a little smoky, a little spicy, a little sweet, and the perfect thing to warm us up after a day in the snow.

Winter Warm Up Chili

4 slices thick cut bacon, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions (1 sweet, 1 yellow), chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 4 oz jar diced green chiles
3/4 lb ground beef
3/4 lb ground pork
3/4 lb ground veal
1 tbsp chipotle chili powder
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tbsp salt
1/2 tbsp fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
2 14.5 oz cans fire roasted tomatoes with garlic
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 15 oz can chili beans
1 tbsp of your favorite bbq rub (I used the hubs secret blend that we like to call Nuts & Bolts)

Garnish:
sharp cheddar cheese

Heat oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium high heat. Cook bacon until just starting to crisp. Remove from pot and drain on paper towel. Add onion and cook until softened and golden, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and green chiles. Cook for 1 minute. Add beef, pork, and veal and cook until brown, about 5 minutes. Add chili powder, paprika, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, and brown sugar and stir until well blended. Stir in tomatoes with their juice, tomato paste, chili beans, and add cooked bacon back to pot. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, about 1 hour until liquid reduces a bit and chili is thick and chunky. Add bbq rub and continue simmering, covered, at least 1 more hour. Serve hot with crusty bread and top with shredded sharp cheddar cheese.

Modern Housewife Tips:
1. The blend of meat adds a lot more flavor. I found the blend that I used all packaged together at my local grocery store which is why I used what I did but most importantly, you want to use beef and pork at the very least.
2. The longer you simmer, the better! I initially was only going to simmer 1 hour but after an hour, we decided to let it go longer to let the flavor really penetrate the meat. You want to try to simmer at least 2 hours.
3. Next time I will try rubbing the meat with the bbq rub and letting it marinate for about an hour before cooking to give it even more flavor.

For My Loving Cup: Lettuce Cups

I first met lettuce cups on the hubs and my very first dinner date after moving to San Fran. We had been in town about a week, it was our first Friday night in the city by the bay. We found an Asian fusion restaurant by the name of Betelnut and the hubs made a reservation. Everything sounded insanely delicious on the menu, including the dirty sake martini, which I enjoyed immensely. We ordered a bunch of different items: chile-crusted calamari, Szechuan green beans (the hubs' fave!), something with Kobe beef that I don't recall the name of but it was damn good, and of course... lettuce cups!

I've tried to re-create these lettuce cups many times and somehow I manage to lose every recipe I've found after the first time I use it. Some of them have been great, others... not so much. BUT- I found this delicious recipe on one of my new found food blog loves- Crepes of Wrath. I made a tweak because sometimes I'm kind of a dummy and forget major components at the grocery store and in this instance, I forgot the beef... oh silly me! But alas, a good little modern housewife must be able to improvise and thus, I did just that. I had some ground turkey and ground pork in the freezer so I combined the 2 and well, it wasn't half bad... and healthier to boot! I have to say though, that is one of the best things about this dish. We originally had it with chicken at Betelnut and the Crepes of Wrath recipe calls for beef. I love it with beef, but all proteins work well. So all in all, this recipe was a success and now that I've documented my source here, I'll never lose it again!

Asian Lettuce Cups

16 lettuce or cabbage leaves
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground turkey1 tbsp cooking oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 tsps sesame oil


Rinse lettuce leaves with water and pat dry. Set aside.


In a large skillet over high heat, brown pork and turkey in oil. Drain and set aside. Cook onion in same pan until starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar, green onions, sesame oil, and continue cooking just until the onions begin to wilt, about 2 minutes more. Serve mixture in a bowl with lettuce leaves on the side for diners to make their own lettuce wraps. 


Recipe adapted from Crepes of Wrath

Sunday Supper: Creole Fried Pork Chops with Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Carmelized Apples

I'm a day late on Sunday Supper, sorry! But, this actually was my Sunday supper so I still feel it's appropriate!

This weeks Sunday Supper was inspired by wanting yummy fall ingredients, but trying to stay far away from all things Thanksgiving since all that goodness is just a few short days away. But I was craving sweet potatoes so I searched for something yummy with sweet potatoes and came across this recipe from Emeril. It turned out pretty delish and is something I will definitely make again, but with some tweaks, which I'll add in my tips below. And as much as I was trying to not have a turkey day type meal, I think the mashed sweet potatoes could be a great Thanksgiving side dish. It would be a nice alternative to plain old mashed potatoes and it's ridiculously easy. Plus, sweet potatoes are bigger than regular old potatoes so you'll have less to peel, and less work is always a good thing, right!?

Creole Fried Pork Chops with Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Carmelized Apples

1 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered
salt and pepper
5 tbsp butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 thick cut pork loin chops (about 2 inches thick)
Cajun seasonings
2 cups seasoned flour
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/ inch thick slices
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp cane syrup
1 tbsp bourbon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Boil potatoes in salted water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain potatoes and put in a large bowl. Mash potatoes and add 3 tbsp butter, cream, vanilla, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside and keep warm.

To a large hot oven proof saute pan (I used a cast iron skillet) heat 1/2 cup of the oil. Season pork chops with cajun seasonings and dredge in seasoned flour, shaking off any excess. Place chops in hot oil and pan fry until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. Move to preheated oven and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 155 degrees. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes.

Heat a saute pan and add the remaining 2 tbsp butter. Once melted, add sliced apples and saute about 5 minutes, until just beginning to soften. Add lemon juice, cane syrup and bourbon and cook until apples are carmelized, about 2 minutes.

To serve, place potatoes on plate and top with fried pork chop. Top pork with a few carmelized apples. Serves 4.

Modern Housewife Tips:
1. The mashed sweet potato recipe calls for vanilla but I found that it overwhelmed the dish so next time, I'll forego the vanilla altogether. I think the natural sweetness of the potatoes is enough.
2. Emeril's recipe calls for his creole seasoning, which you can find the recipe here, but I just used McCormick's Cajun seasoning which has basically all the same ingredients as Emeril's.
3. Find a recipe for seasoned flour here, which makes more than you'll need but you can store in an airtight container and is great for seasoning other meats too. I'm definitely going to try it with fried chicken sometime soon!
4. For the apples, I found the lemon juice to be a bit strong so I suggest cutting it in half and only adding 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice.
5. I couldn't find cane syrup at my grocery store (although I'm pretty sure they sell it at Whole Foods if you have one close to you) but I did find agave nectar which I substituted for the cane syrup. I think maple syrup or honey could be a nice alternative as well.

Recipe adapted from Emeril via Food Network

Porkalicious... I'm so delicious!: Honey Glazed Pork with Spinach

Ttttasty, Tastaaaay! For those of you that don't know, that's a little tribute to the incredible Fergalicious! Enough of that though... onto the pork!

While spending a lovely day with a dear friend this past weekend, I realized I have yet to share with all of you a recipe for my first love and a great inspiration- pork! I love love love pork. Gimme some pork belly, a nice thick slice of bacon, even a tenderloin or chop and I'm a happy lady.

I recently came across this dish from Miss Martha and have added it to my list of weeknight recipes for those nights that I feel like pouring a glass of wine and spending a little time in the kitchen to make something a little more special. It'd be a great date night in dish, if your looking to spend more time snuggling on the couch than cooking. It is also one to impress so it'd be great for the in-laws or any house guests.  It doesn't take long and the glaze adds so much perfect flavor to the meat.

Honey Glazed Pork with Wilted Spinach

2 tsp Dijon mustard
3 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
4 tbsp honey
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp plus 4 tsp olive oil
1 3/4 lbs pork tenderloin
3/4 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper
1 lb spinach

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Make glaze in a small bowl: whisk together 1 tsp mustard, 2 tbsp vinegar, 2 tbsp honey, garlic, rosemary, 2 tsp oil.

Place tenderloins in a shallow baking dish. Pour glaze over pork, turning to coat evenly. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt and pepper. Roast in oven, spooning glaze over pork occasionally, 30-35 minutes. Remove pork from oven and let rest 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make vinaigrette in a small bowl by combining remaining 2 tbsp honey, 1 1/2 tbsp vinegar, and 1 tsp mustard. Whisk until honey is dissolved. Slowly whisk in 1 tbsp oil until emulsified. If desired, whisk in any accumulated pan juices from pork.

Heat remaining 2 tsp oil in a large skillet. Add spinach and a small splash of water. Saute until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.  Add vinaigrette and remaining 1/4 tsp salt to pan, stirring just to coat spinach. Remove from heat and divide among plates. Slice pork into about 1 inch thick medallions and serve with spinach.

recipe adapted from Martha Stewart