Kevin and Amanda's Pulled Pork

I bought a pork butt a long time ago with the intentions of making Kevin and Amanda's Perfect Pulled Pork. The idea of roasting a pork in the oven for hours and hours seemed completely daunting, but... I am trying to clear out my freezer and pantry before I buy more groceries, so I needed to do it. I put this thing in at 4 AM and it didn't finish until 2 PM... and that's me pulling it out before the recommended temp of 200 degrees (or maybe my thermometer is broken). I ate it on King's Hawaiian Rolls with some Salt Lick BBQ Sauce. My brother and hubby ate it with rice... we are Asian/Islander after all, and no meal seems complete without rice. I don't think that way though because I don't love rice... I banned it as a kid for months, but that's another story.

 

Perfect Pulled Pork
recipe from Kevin and Amanda

1 whole boston butt
 
Dry Rub

1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp ground pepper
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 cup brown sugar
Mix well and store in an air tight container.
 
Brine Solution
 
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 qts cold water
2 bay leaves
3 tbsp dry rub mix

Add salt to cold water and stir very well until all the salt is completely dissolved. Then add the brown sugar, dry rub, and bay leaves and stir well to combine.
 
Pork shoulder preparation:
 
Rinse the pork shoulder and place in a large container, pour in the brine solution until the shoulder is completely covered. Cover the container and place in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours. Then remove pork shoulder from brine solution, pat dry with paper towels, place in baking pan that is bigger than the shoulder by at least a inch in length and width and at least 3 inches deep. Sprinkle dry rub onto the surface of the shoulder and massage in such that it adheres to the surface. Coat all sides. Make sure the fat layer on the shoulder is facing up before cooking! Place baking pan uncovered in a 225 degree F oven on the middle rack. Insert a probe thermometer into the center or thickest part of the shoulder, but not touching the bone. Monitor the temperature throughout cooking (a digital thermometer with an alarm function is the easiest way to do this). Do not remove from the oven until the center of the shoulder reaches 200 degrees. When the shoulder has reached 200 degrees, shut off the oven and let the roast cool for a couple of hours before removing from the oven. If the bottom of the pan is dry (or crusted with dried spices) then cover the pan with foil to retain internal moisture of the meat during the cooling period. When the temperature drops to 170 degrees or slightly lower, remove from oven. Place on a large, clean work surface such as a cutting board, and remove the large sheet of crusted fat on the top. Pull apart with two forks, it will pull apart very easily.

New Cookbook

Lately, I've been getting some crappy baguettes from my neighborhood grocery store. I feel like it's such a waste of money... so I bought a new cookbook! The famous, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day!! I'm an Amazon Prime member, so it'll get here pretty quickly, and I'll be testing recipes soon! I'm so excited!

Bumbleride Indie Twin

I purchased the Bumbleride Indie Twin (Movement Edition, Fog) a couple months ago, and I haven't really had the chance to use it. I have always been too tired or too busy to use it. And I'm also a bit chicken... In the winter, it was getting dark around 6 PM, and I'm not a fan of walking in the dark by myself. My intentions with this stroller are to walk my kids and get back into shape. Although the Indie isn't a full fledged jogging stroller (like the Bob), it can handle light jogging. And let's face it, I haven't really ran since I got married; so I thought it was a good fit. My children are always so comfortable in it. Harper seems to fall asleep pretty quickly, but Jayden likes to fight it off until the very, very end. 

The pros:

It's pretty... I don't say the same about the Bob

huge basket

Two front tires (I have that people complained about the Bob Duallie tipping over b/c of its single front wheel)

huge canopy

Adjustable footrest

Movement fabric is waterproof

Adjustable handlebar 

Great push

The cons: 

Front wheels shake when jogging; you must lock the wheels.

The model I purchased didn't come with a pump or rain cover as years passed

Buying the accessories can get expensive

Vita is discontinued (This con is really for me...a personal thing and shouldn't be taken seriously)

If I was a serious runner; I think I'd definitely get a true jogging stroller.... Just because I don't like that I have to lock wheels in order to jog. That's just my preference. I heard that the 2013 Indie Single has been updated to be more of a jogging stroller, so it can still be considered... but the Twin has not been updated at all. 

I went for a walk this past weekend with the kids and it was probably one of the most miserable walks of my life. Mostly because I had to wear my glasses; and because of the heat, they kept sliding my down my nose. It just really bothered me... plus I had a runny nose because of my darn allergies. And the wind. You'd think I lived in Chicago. During the walk, there were a few hills. And to get through it a bit faster, I tried to jog up them. Let me tell you, I run at a snail's pace. If you saw me from the road, you'd think I was walking. And the stroller shook. It bothered me that I wasn't even going that fast... a very, very, very slow jog (in high school, we called it slug). How can it not handle that pace? I will trying running with the wheels locked to give my true opinion on its jogging function. 

Even though I was miserable, I was happy to get a workout in... and c'mon. Look at how happy the kid is! It was worth it!

Time to make the donuts!

For a couple of months of now, I've been wanting to make homemade donuts for the family. I have memories of my mom making them for me when I was little except she made them from canned biscuit dough. She would fry them up in her cast iron skillet, and I would shake them in a paper bag full of sugar. It was such a treat for me, so it's something I was excited to do for my son. And while I was daydreaming about how happy my son would be to see me making donuts in the kitchen, how he would ask me to make them every weekend, how excited he would be to cut the donuts out with the cutter... he was completely oblivious in real life. He preferred to play Subway Surf on the couch and watch Cars on TV. And when I gave him a little donut hole to start off with, he reacted the same as if we got them from Shipley's. Fun. But I haven't given up hope yet.

Yeast Raised Donuts

recipe from King Arthur Flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 cup (1 3/4 oz) sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

3 cups (12 3/4 oz) unbleached all purpose flour

1 large egg

1 cup (8 oz) milk

2 tablespoons (1 oz) butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 cups (2 lbs) vegetable oil or shortening (2 1/2 lbs), for frying 

1.Whisk together the dry ingredients.

2. In a separate bowl, combine the egg, milk, butter and vanilla and stir into the flour mixture, mixing until well combined.

3. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then knead for 6 to 8 minutes by hand or mixer until you have a smooth, soft dough.

4. Place the dough in a buttered bowl, turn it over to grease the top, and let it rise, covered, in a warm place for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until doubled in bulk.

5. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.

6. Gently roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness and cut with a round cutter.

7. Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and let rise again for about 1 hour, until doubled again.

8. Place oil or shortening in a heavy pan or deep skillet and heat to 350°F.

9. Place the doughnuts in the oil, two or three at a time, and fry until golden brown.

10. Turn over and cook the second side. This should be no more than a minute on each side. Overcooking will make the doughnuts tough.

11. Drain on paper towels.

Glaze

recipe from The Pioneer Woman

3 cups Powdered Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla

1/2 cup Cold Water Or Milk

1. Mix all glaze ingredients in a bowl until completely smooth.

2. One by one, dip doughnuts into the glaze until halfway submerged. (Note: completely submerge doughnut holes, then remove with slotted spoon.)

4. Remove from glaze, then turn right side up on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet (to catch dripping glaze.)

5. Serve warm if possible, or room temperature.

Vinh's birthday!

This is us exactly 9 years ago on Vinh's 30th birthday. His hair was short and spiky and mine was on its way to being blonde. We weren't dating yet, but I guess we were getting there. We all had dinner at a nice restaurant. We went out to a friend's bar and celebrated into the wee hours of the night. Then without any sleep, I left to catch a 6am flight to Colorado to go on a snowboarding trip! The ride to the airport was pretty painful... but oh my have times changed since then. Just the thought of an all-nighter hurts me!

For my hubby's 39th birthday, we spent a quiet evening at home with our kids and some family. I made an Italian dish, and to be quite honest, I'm not even sure if Vinh really likes that type of food. My inspiration was an episode of The Pioneer Woman that featured her Chicken Parmigiana dish. She made it for her husband on his birthday... so I kind of copied her. 

To continue with the theme of Pioneer Woman inspired recipes, I made her blackberry cobbler, too. I love this recipe because it's more cakey than a true cobbler. I've never been a cobbler fan until I've had this one. It's so easy to bake and very simple. 

To round out the desserts, I made the rest of Ina's chocolate chunk cookies. Tasted even better and baked so beautifully after a few days of refrigeration. 

(Just bought a Silpat and love it!)

(A few snapshots of kids... Harper loves that Cozy Coupe!)

And at the end of the birthday dinner, we gathered around and sang happy birthday to Vinh... and of course, the little guy blew out the candles! Whew. I'm so tired from all the cooking, but so happy that everyone enjoyed the food and had a good time. I'd say this birthday party was a success! Happy birthday, honey!!

Chicken Parmigiana

recipe from The Pioneer Woman

4 whole (up To 6) Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, trimmed and pounded flat
½ cups All-purpose Flour
Salt And Pepper, to taste
½ cups Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 whole Medium Onion, Chopped
4 cloves Garlic, Minced
¾ cups Wine (white Or Red Is Fine)
3 cans (14.5 Oz.) Crushed Tomatoes
2 Tablespoons Sugar
¼ cubes Chopped Fresh Parsley
1 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 pound Thin Linguine

Mix flour, salt, and pepper together on a large plate. Dredge flattened chicken breasts in flour mixture. Set aside. At this time, you can start a pot of water for your pasta. Cook linguine until al dente.

Heat olive oil and butter together in a large skillet over medium heat. When butter is melted and oil/butter mixture is hot, fry chicken breasts until nice and golden brown on each side, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Remove chicken breasts from the skillet and keep warm.

Without cleaning skillet, add onions and garlic and gently stir for 2 minutes. Pour in wine and scrape the bottom of the pan, getting all the flavorful bits off the bottom. Allow wine to cook down until reduced by half, about 2 minutes.

Pour in crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Add sugar and more salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cook for 30 minutes. Toward the end of cooking time, add chopped parsley and give sauce a final stir.

Carefully lay chicken breasts on top of the sauce and completely cover them in grated Parmesan. Place lid on skillet and reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer until cheese is melted and chicken is thoroughly heated. Add more cheese to taste.

Place cooked noodles on a plate and cover with sauce. Place chicken breast on top and sprinkle with more parsley. Serve immediately.

Blackberry Cobbler

recipe from The Pioneer Woman

1 stick Butter
1-¼ cup Sugar
1 cup Self-Rising Flour
1 cup Milk
2 cups Blackberries (frozen or fresh)

Melt butter in a microwavable dish. Pour 1 cup of sugar and flour into a mixing bowl, whisking in milk. Mix well. Then, pour in melted butter and whisk it all well together. Butter a baking dish.

Now rinse and pat dry the blackberries. Pour the batter into the buttered baking dish. Sprinkle blackberries over the top of the batter; distributing evenly. Sprinkle ¼ cup sugar over the top.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until golden and bubbly. If you desire, sprinkle an additional teaspoon of sugar over the cobbler 10 minutes before it’s done.

Extras

-For the chicken dish, I used chicken broth instead of wine. I'm not opposed to cooking with alcohol, I just didn't have any wine.

-I didn't use any onion because I don't like them... unless it's an onion ring.

-I did freshly grate my parmesan. I actually freshly grate all my cheeses now. I learned it from Ina. 

-I used one big can of crushed tomatoes and a small can of diced since I couldn't find three small cans of crushed. 

-I used frozen berries in the cobbler.

A messy home is a happy home.