The sweetness and texture of the pork with the smoky flavor of the chipotle and the subtle hint of the toasted almonds are part of what sets this dish apart.

We served on warm corn and flour tortillas, added some lettuce, fresh tomato and a classic refried black bean also from Rick’s Mexican Kitchen cookbook.

Smoky Shredded Pork Tacos
From Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen…
By Rick Bayless

1 ½ lb boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of fat and cut into 2-inch cubes
5 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 large white onion, diced

Quick-cooked Tomato Chipotle Sauce
7-8 plum tomatoes
2-3 canned chipotles in adobo
2 ½ Tbs vegetable oil
Salt

½ tsp cinnamon, preferably Mexican canela
¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/8 tsp ground cloves
½ c raisins
½ c slivered almonds
16-18 corn tortillas (plus extras in case some break)
Hot sauce (optional)

In a medium-sized sauce pan, cover meat with heavily salted water. Peel and roughly chop 2 cloves of the garlic and add to the pan, along with half the onion. Bring to a gentle boil. Skim off any grayish foam that rises during the first few minutes. Partially cover and simmer over medium-low heat until thoroughly tender, about 1 ½ hours.

If time permits, cool the meat in the broth. Shred it with two forks.

For the sauce:
Heat a heavy skillet and roast the remaining 3 cloves of unpeeled garlic until soft, turning occasionally (about 15 minutes). Cool and peel. Roast the tomatoes on a baking sheet under a very hot broiler until blackened on one side, about 6 minutes. Flip and roast the other side. Cool, then peel, collecting all the juices with the tomatoes.

In a blender, pulse the tomatoes, garlic, and chiles to a medium-fine puree. Heat 1 Tbs of oil in a heavy sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add the puree and stir for about 5 minutes as it sears and thickens. Season with salt.

For the meat:
In a large non-stick skillet, heat the remaining 1 ½ Tbs of oil over medium-high heat. Add the shredded pork and remaining half an onion. Fry, stirring and scraping up the browned bits, until the mixture is crispy and golden, about 12-14 minutes.

Sprinkle the cinnamon, pepper, cloves, and raisins over the meat. Pour on the tomato-chipotle sauce. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until nearly all the liquid has evaporated, 4-5 minutes.

Turn on the oven to 350 degrees. Toast the almonds in a small baking pan until fragrant and lightly browned. Watch carefully so they don’t burn. Stir them into the meat mixture. Taste and season with more salt if necessary.

Assembling the tacos:
Steam the tortillas in a steamer or in a microwave between damp paper towels. Scoop a couple of heaping tablespoons of filling into each warm tortilla and fold over. Add hot sauce if desired.

Barbecued Oysters with Homemade Sauce

Fresh Oysters at Drakes Bay Oysters

Barbecuing Oysters and Sausages

Keep fresh oysters in their shells and in a bucket of crushed ice (or in the refrigerator). Scrub and wash oysters thoroughly. Pre-heat your grill (to about 375). Place oysters on their bottoms, onto hot grill and close lid. Cook about 6 to 8 minutes. Oysters will open just slightly. Remove oysters to sturdy tray, and carefully pry open with a good pairing knife. Take top shells off. Place oysters on a serving tray, douse each one with a generous amount of barbecue sauce and serve with slices of lemon and french bread.

Barbecue Sauce
1 six ounce can organic tomato paste
12 oz water
2 to 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (depending on your taste)
juice of one lemon
4 or 5 good shakes of Tapatio sauce (or your favorite Tobasco sauce), to taste
healthy pinch of salt and pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon each)
1 to 2 Tablespoons brown sugar (depending on how sweet you like your BBQ sauce)
1 to 2 Tablespoons of Angelo’s Magic Italian BBQ Spices (or your favorite dry BBQ spice mix)

Mix all of the ingredients with a whisk in a small saucepan (use a non-reactive metal like stainless steel or glass saucepan). Heat on medium until bubbling, and turn to low and simmer for about 8 – 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand for another 10 – 15 minutes.

A winter supper: polenta with tomato sauce and Italian sausage.

Polenta

Ingredients:
6 cups water
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups polenta
2 tablespoons butter (optional)
Shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

Add salt to water in medium pot and bring to a low boil. Slowly stir in polenta, turn heat down to a simmer. Simmer for about 20 to 25 minutes, stirring frequently. The polenta should bubble gently – you don’t want the bottom to burn. You can’t over stir this recipe, so relax, listen to some music and in the meantime brown the sausages.

After the polenta has finished cooking through, stir in the butter (optional, but very good). Top with shredded Parmesan when you serve this creamy dish – I often serve it with goat cheese crumbled or Chèvre spread on top. You can also serve the polenta with tomato-basil-garlic sauce, or your favorite pasta sauce. I like to serve Polenta with Italian sausage. (See recipes below.)

You have a choice of how to serve the polenta: Creamy or browned. I usually serve it creamy and then place what is left over in a bowl or storage container and place it in the ‘fridge. I take it out later, cut it when it’s cold, and brown it in olive oil as a delicious “left-over.”

Italian Sausage

Buy your favorite Italian sausage – Mild or Hot. These are uncooked sausages, therefore you need to properly heat them through as you cook them and brown them. To serve 4, place 4 sausages in a deep sauté pan with a lid with ¼ to ½ cup of water. Poke each sausage, 2 to 3 times, with a knife. At medium-high heat, bring the sausages and water to a good simmer, then lower to low-medium heat and cover for 10 minutes. Add water if needed as the sausages cook through. Take the lid off and brown both sides on medium heat.

Tomato-Garlic-Basil Sauce

This quick sauce goes with almost anything!

Ingredients:
1 small can stewed tomatoes
1 large garlic clove, crushed and finely minced
½ tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon dried Basil

In a small saucepan, sauté the garlic in olive oil until just golden. Add stewed tomatoes with juice and crush tomatoes with a “potato masher” in the pan. Simmer 5 minutes. Add dried Basil and simmer 5 minutes. Voila . . . it’s ready.

Passion Pecan Cookies with My Nepenthe cookbook opened in the background.

These melt-in-your-mouth cookies are slightly adapted from a recipe out of a favorite cookbook: My Nepenthe ~ Bohemian Tales of Food, Family, and Big Sur. For those of us who love pecan pie, this cookie is a kindred spirit. The original recipe uses coconut, and is titled Passion Cookies in the book. The author, Romney Steele, explains that Richard Burton often requested these cookies during his visits to Nepenthe’s gorgeous restaurant on the coast of Big Sur.

The triple layers in these cookies make it fun to create, and they are easy to serve as a “finger food’ dessert. They are SO GOOD – you truly have to make them to find out! Hmmm . . . I think it’s time to make a second batch.

Ingredients

CRUST
1 ½ sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

FILLING
2 cups packed brown sugar
3 eggs
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 ½ cups chopped pecans

TOPPING
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
About 20 pecan halves (optional)

Recipe

Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
Use the paddle attachment in an electric mixer (or mix with a wooden spoon in a large mixing bowl) and beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Stir in the flour slowly just until fully combined and it looks like coarse corn meal. Pour into greased pan and press firmly and evenly. Bake for 20 minutes until lightly golden. Rinse out mixing bowl for the next step.

For the filling, use the paddle attachment* to cream the brown sugar and eggs. Add the vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix the flour with the baking soda then add it to the sugar and egg mixture until just combined. Slowly mix in the pecans. Pour the filling over the still-warm crust and spread evenly. Return to the oven for 20 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack.

For the icing, place the butter in the mixing bowl and sift the powdered sugar (confectioner’s sugar) into it. Mix well with paddle attachment and add vanilla. Mix until smooth. Use a little milk or half-and-half to thin if needed – but just a little! The icing needs to be soft enough to spread, but not so soft that it droops and won’t set. Spread over the cookies and cut into small squares. Top each cookie with a pecan half.

*A wooden spoon and large mixing bowl works just as well.

Photo taken by grimmts and featured on IgoUgo.

Meatloaf is a favorite of ours, and it’s so easy to make, we wonder why we don’t enjoy it more often. We were inspired by the high quality ground beef that we purchased from Joy Dolcini — a 4th generation cattle rancher in Sonoma County. We were surprised at their affordable pricing, and happy to go “in” on the purchase with two other families. Knowing where and how our beef is raised has made a big difference in our choice to eat beef. Grass-fed beef is much healthier than the corn-fed beef raised by the large, corporate cattle lots, because it is lower in saturated fat and higher in omega-3 fats. After all, cows are naturally meant to eat grass, not corn. Healthier cows, make healthier beef.

It’s been a cold, December day. Gray and chilly. We brightened at the sight and smell of tonight’s meatloaf and mashed potatoes, and left the dinner table warmed and nourished.

Ingredients

2 eggs
2 lbs lean organic ground beef
1/2 cup finely diced onion
2/3 cup homemade bread crumbs (see recipe below or use your favorite store-bought)
1 to 2 teaspoons dried basil
1 to 2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 generous pinches of kosher salt (about 1 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper (or more to taste)

Recipe

Preheat oven to 375℉. In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and mix, folding in the ingredients with both hands until completely combined. Place meatloaf mixture into bread pan (8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5) and bake for 40 minutes. During the last 5 minutes, spread ketchup to cover the top and finish baking. Let cool 5 minutes. Cut thick slices and serve with mashed red potatoes. Leftovers are great for meatloaf sandwiches!

Homemade Breadcrumbs

Place 4 to 6 slices of wheat bread directly on middle rack in a 200° oven for 20 minutes (or so) until dry but not browning. Let the bread cool on the rack. Using a food processor: First break up dried slices of bread then place into processor and pulse until bread crumbs form. Add seasonings to the crumbs in the food processor: about one teaspoon each of salt and pepper and two teaspoons of dried oregano, and pulse briefly to mix.

Following two wonderful weeks of Indian Summer, the first days of Fall have reached Petaluma, California. Today I made one of my favorite soup recipes: South African Carrot Soup.

I joined family and friends on a quest to build a sister-school project in South Africa when my children were in middle school and high school. During many visits, I discovered their lovely cuisine as I shared meals with the equally lovely people I met. South Africa is known as the rainbow nation because of the amazing diversity of its people. This beautiful diversity is reflected in their music, art, culture and food. I experienced the fusion of African, European and Asian cooking come together in flavorful and healthy meals during a stay at the Ghost Mountain Inn. The inn is family owned and run, and is near several nature preserves — I fell in love with the nearby Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park’s elephant herd.

The following recipe is a favorite for many reasons: It is simple, healthy, yummy, and reminds me of my heart’s connection to a special place on the planet. If you like butternut squash soup, this is a great recipe for you, and the carrots are much easier to peel and dice!

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 medium, or 7/8 large, carrots peeled and roughly diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth (plus 1/4 to 1/2 cup if needed later)
3 to 4 spoonfuls of unsalted peanut butter (almond and cashew butter also work)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon yellow curry (or more if you like it spicy)
1/2 teaspoon orange zest (just the orange part of the peel, not the white part)
pinch of salt
fresh ground pepper to taste

Recipe:
Saute diced onion and carrots in olive oil with a pinch or two of salt for 4 to 5 minutes, or until they just begin to get golden (this brings out the sugars). Add broth and bring to a simmer for 7 to 10 minutes, until just cooked — don’t overcook the carrots. Let the soup cool down so that you can safely puree it in a blender or food processor. Return the puree to the soup pot, and add a little more broth if it is too thick for your liking. Bring to a simmer then add peanut butter (or other nut butter), yellow curry, orange zest and pepper to taste and simmer 5 to 10 minutes.

The recipe has its own history, coming from our favorite hardbound cookbook, My Nepenthe: Bohemian Tales of Food, Family, and Big Sur. With Berkley’s roasted tomato, garlic, and basil sauce, this dish reached its full potential; however, feel free to use what works for you – a jar of your favorite tomato sauce will do just fine.

Recipe

Ingredients:

TOMATO SAUCE
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 14-oz can plum tomatoes with juice
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon water
Salt and freshly ground pepper

5 medium (or one GIANT) zucchini
Salt (we use Kosher salt) and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion (we use red onion in this dish), halved then sliced thinly
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
1/3 cup homemade fresh bread crumbs (we added about ½ teaspoon dried basil and ½ teaspoon kosher salt to 4 pieces of lightly toasted bread ground in the food processor, but you can use or your favorite ready-made brand).
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375F.

For the tomato sauce, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, whole tomatoes with juice, and sprig of rosemary. Gently crush the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon. Swirl the water in the can to pick up the last of the tomato juices and add to the pan. Decrease the heat and gently simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until thick and jamlike. Season to taste with salt and pepper (we add a sprinkle of chili flakes). Discard the rosemary sprig. This sauce can be made 4 days in advance or frozen and used later.

Trim the zucchini (at the ends) and slice lengthwise into 4 or 5 ribbons each. (If using a GIANT zucchini, cut in half first, then slice lengthwise.) Season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet or cast-iron pan (we used a cast-iron skillet). Add the zucchini, in batches, and fry until browned on both sides. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to soak up some of the oil (we placed it directly into our baking dish). Cut each piece in half, crosswise (we didn’t need to do this).

In a separate skillet (we used the same cast-iron skillet for everything), heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Season with salt; transfer to a small bowl (we just added the onions on top of the zucchini in the baking dish).

In the same skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over low heat. Stir in the bread crumbs and cook until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the parsley.

Arrange the zucchini in a 2 quart baking dish (we doubled the recipe and used two baking dishes), overlapping the slices to make one dense layer. Top with the onion mixture and cover with the tomato sauce. Sprinkle with the cheese, then with the bread crumbs. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake until bubbling, about 45 minutes (we baked for 25 minutes). Remove the foil and bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer, until golden brown on top.

This dish tastes as good as it smells when it’s baking!

Recipes that are passed down from generation to generation are gems to be treasured. Many of these recipes have stories connected to their tasty preparations. Berkley and I like to hear these stories as much as we like to eat the home-made results, and we’ve decided to document them whenever possible.  Below is my maternal great-grandmother’s recipe for bread pudding and a story that will be forever linked to it.

During last year’s family reunion, my niece Samantha and I recorded an oral history interview with my grandmother that focused on her life during the Great Depression. Part of my grandmother’s story is about the family table, and the good food my great-grandmother prepared to sustain her five children and the children who became part of their extended family.

As an oral history practitioner, I’ve been honored to hear and document how history was lived from WWII veterans and survivors, farmers and ranchers, civil rights activists, and Apartheid protestors. Interviewing my grandmother was a joy. Below is a video with historic photographs, narrated with the recording of my grandmother’s interview.

Ingredients for Simply Delicious Bread Pudding

2 ¼ cups whole milk

2 eggs (room temperature) slightly beaten

½ cup brown sugar (measure by firmly packing)

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup dried currants (or raisins)

About 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 heaping cups day-old bread cubes:

I recommend cutting 1 inch cubes then setting the cubes out on a cookie sheet or cooling rack over night. If you don’t have time to do this ahead, no worries. Your bread pudding will still be fabulous. We like using Hawaiian or Challah bread, however a good French loaf works very well.

Boiling water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Butter an 8-inch baking dish, bottom and sides. Using a whisk, combine milk and eggs in large mixing bowl.  To the milk mixture, add brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and salt until thoroughly combined. With a spatula or large spoon, gently mix in the cubed bread and currants (or raisins) and let sit for about 10 minutes. Spoon bread pudding mixture into the buttered baking dish, and dot the top with small pieces of butter. Set the baking dish inside a larger baking dish and then place that on the middle rack of your preheated oven. Slowly add hot/boiling water to the larger baking dish until it reaches a third-of-the-way to half-way up the sides of the bread pudding baking dish.  This helps the bread pudding to cook evenly and give it a silky smooth texture. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm or cooled, topped with freshly made whipped cream.

Check out our recipe links above. Don’t be intimidated, sushi is surprisingly simple.
Let us know if you have questions or suggestions and Be Fearless!

Homemade pie is a yummy labor of love, but let’s face it — making pie dough causes a bit of a mess and can be frustrating.

The key?  Be fearless and no matter what happens, forge ahead. A homemade pie is worth the effort when you see eyes light up at the sight of it and when friends and family “ooh and ahh” as they bite into a buttery, flaky crust and sumptuous filling.  Pie making is as creative and artistic an endeavor as a watercolor painting or pottery project. My family lineage goes several centuries back to England where the Philpott family made their living as pottery makers and merchants, so somewhere in my genetic makeup is a strong inclination to create with my hands. Baking and cooking are the activities that inspire my creative side. When given the choice between a birthday cake and a birthday pie, my daughter chose an apple-pear pie to celebrate. The pie and glass pie plate were part of her birthday gift, and now she is working on her own pie making skills.

Pie-making is an art that you can develop with your own style; however, it also takes strategy.  Below are “tips” I have learned from family, cookbooks, trial and error, friends, cooking shows, and more trial and error. I hope they are helpful to you too.

Ingredients for basic pie crust (Pate Brisee) are:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teas. salt
1 teas. sugar (I use 1 tablespoon)2 sticks (1 cup) cold unsalted butter (keep in fridge until ready to use; good quality organic butter works best)
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup ice water (put ice cubes in with the water as well so it is good and cold)

Makes enough dough for one pie with bottom and top crust, or for two pies with single crust.

If you have one, use a food processor, and if not, a pastry cutter works just as well. I often make my pie dough one or two days ahead of time and keep if refrigerated before rolling it out and baking with it. (It can also be frozen in an airtight container.)

In food processor fitted with blade, mix flour, salt and sugar with just a few pulses. Cut each cold stick of butter into 8 cubes and place around flour mixture in food processor. Put lid on and pulse until mixed — it doesn’t take long — less than 30 seconds. You want to see small pieces of butter chunks in the flour, but it should look like coarse cornmeal. As the food processor is running on low, slowly drizzle in 1/4 to 1/2 cup of ice water through the spout on the mixer lid (so that the water streams onto the outer edge, and doesn’t collect only in the center). I usually need to use 1/2 cup, but if it’s a rainy day my dough doesn’t need as much water. The dough should begin to clump very quickly (just seconds) as the water mixes in with the flour/butter. Stop the processor (it’s important not to over mix) and pour out dough onto large sheet of wax paper, and with your hands press it into one mound. The pie dough will still look like it is crumbly until you start molding it with your hands, so don’t worry if it comes out of the food processor in pieces, that is a good sign you will have a flaky crust. After pressing and molding it into one large mound, cut into two equal pieces and put the second piece onto a large sheet of wax paper. Press each mound of dough into a small, flat disc, wrap snugly in the wax paper and put into the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour before you roll them out. The key is working with cold butter, and then chilling the dough before you roll it out.

After the dough is chilled, roll it out on a cool surface dusted with flour – enough flour to keep it from sticking and easy to work, but don’t overdo it either. Make sure you dust your rolling pin with flour as you go.  (Tip:  if your kitchen is warm, you can chill your counter surface or rolling board by placing a cookie sheet on it filled with ice). For a 9” pie, roll to about a 10 ½ inch diameter.  To prevent the dough from tearing, start by pressing the chilled disc of dough with your hands, then use rolling pin to finish. Roll from the center and out to the edge in sections to create a circle. Place rolled pie dough for bottom crust into your pie shell and place back into the refrigerator to chill again (about 20 minutes). To transfer the pie dough onto the pie plate simply roll the pie dough onto your rolling pin and unroll into the pie plate.  Do the same with the upper crust if you are using one (you can roll out the upper crust, lightly dust with flour, fold it in-half, and lay it on a sheet of wax paper or a plate and put it in the fridge and it will unfold onto your pie when the filling is ready). Then prepare your filling, take the pie crusts out of the fridge to assemble and bake according to the recipe you are using. Tip:  Always bake a pie in a preheated oven according to the recipe.

If your dough breaks apart, just pinch it back together again – no one will every know, and your crust will still be deliciously unforgettable.

Maple Pecan Pie

This pie is one of my favorites to make and to eat. It turns out glossy and dark-brown and is just perfect with the basic pie crust recipe below. (I always double the recipe because it is a single crust pie and might as well make two!) I have adapted this recipe from a lovely cookbook published by William-Sonoma:  Pies and Tarts.

Ingredients

Doubled:

Basic pie pastry for 9-inch shell                     Basic pie pastry for two 9-inch shells

(see recipe and tips below)

3 eggs                                                              6 eggs

1 cup (8 fl oz) maple syrup                             2 cups (16 fl oz) maple syrup

¼ cup (2 fl oz) dark corn syrup                       ½ cup (4 fl oz) dark corn syrup

¼ cup (2 oz) sugar                                           ½  cup (4 oz) sugar

¼ cup (2 oz) unsalted butter, melted               ½ cup (4 oz) unsalted butter, melted

1 teas. Vanilla extract                                      2 teas. Vanilla extract

¼ teas. Salt                                                      ½  teas. Salt

1 ½ cups (6 oz.) pecan halves                         3 cups (12 oz.) pecan halves

Preheat oven to 425°F. Roll out pastry and line pie plates. Set aside in refrigerator while making filling.

In a large mixing bowl beat the eggs until blended. Add the maple syrup, corn syrup, sugar, melted butter, vanilla and salt; beat until thoroughly combined. Coarsely chop pecans, leaving them in large pieces, and stir into the maple mixture. I like them in large pieces and prefer doing this myself than to using the smaller pecan pieces also offered in stores; however you can leave them as whole pecan halves, which makes for a pretty pie, but makes for chunky bites.

Pour pecan mixture into the pastry lined pie plate and bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F.  Bake until the filling has puffed up and set around the edges, but the center is still slightly soft – about 20 to 25 minutes longer. Let pie cool for a few hours.

Serve with freshly whipped cream.