Celebrating

16 de Septiembre:

Bicentenario del Grito de Independencia

(September 16:

Bicentennial of the Mexican Independence)

We thought we should celebrate

our southern neighbor's

Independence Day with food.

You may remember this meal from

a recent post.

We still had quite a bit BBQ pulled pork

left and I was wondering how to use it

when I came across an article

online about foods

for the Mexican Independence Day Celebration.

Immediately the light bulb in my brain turned on.

This was an easy transition from Indian to Mexican.

I prepared a pico de gallo

with cherry tomatoes,

a dried Serrano pepper,

chopped red onion,

chopped Italian parsley,

kosher salt,

cracked black pepper

and freshly squeezed lime juice.

I added a bit of chopped Romaine lettuce,

the BBQ pulled pork,

pico de gallo,

chopped red onion

and sour cream

on a taco shell.

This was a light and tasty meal.

It's an Aarti Paarti

Aarti Sequeira,

the winner of the latest

The Next Food Network Star,

has been busily supplying her

followers with Americanized-Indian

or Indianized-American recipes.

I'm not sure which it is.

I guess as long as they are tasty it doesn't matter?

However,

one recipe caught my eye.

That recipe was her

Pulled Pork with Mango BBQ Sauce.

The trick was whether I could get this past my picky husband.

Well, it looks good.

But does it pass the taste test?

First off we have the ingredients for the meat and the rub.

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon paprika

2 teaspoons kosher salt

Please note that this is not a Boston Butt.

No, a Boston Butt would have cost several dollars more

and was essentially the same cut of meat as the one I bought.

The benefits to me were that the meat was already cut

and that it cost less.

I did have to cut around the bone to get to the meat.

So, heads or tails.*

*The only Boston Butt shoulder at my grocer was also bone in.

The meat has been cut and rubbed.**

People, get your minds out of the gutter.

We are talking food here!

On to the next step.




Aarti's recipe calls for :

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 onion, finely minced
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 Serrano pepper, thinly sliced

(seeds discarded if you don't like it spicy)
Kosher salt
2 cups mango puree***
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons molasses
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce



***My regular grocery store didn't have

mango puree, so I got a bag of frozen mango.



I added about a cup of water to the frozen mango

and pureed it in my blender.****



****To the best of its ability.



The seeds pop and sizzle.





Then the chopped onion, grated ginger and chopped

dried Serrano pepper were added to the pot.



These were cooked gently for a few minutes.







Then the remaining sauce ingredients were added.







Finally,

the meat was placed in the dish.


This simmered for about three hours.

Then the meat was removed and shredded with forks before

being returned to the pot.

After tasting we decided that it needed a pinch more salt.

Done.

But, it was still a bit flat.

But what did it need?

We decided it needed some sweetness

to highlight the flavors.

In the end we used about

1/2 cup honey to sweeten the sauce.

And that was just what it needed.

Allow the sauce to reduce.

Top with a pickle and serve.



Final thoughts:

the sauce should have had more time to reduce

and it would have been perfect.

And, if you didn't know that it was

a mango sauce you wouldn't know it was a mango sauce.

Get it?

In other words,

don't ask, don't tell.

It's all good.

Dinner, Interrupted

Now, how did that happen? This dinner was originally meant to be cooked over the course of one day, but only after I had started the long process of cooking the meat did I find out that my husband would not be home for dinner that night. Hmm, on to plan B, then. So I seasoned the pork roast with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. I sauteed the pork roast in olive oil before placing the pork roast with onion, garlic and vegetable stock in the slow-cooker. As the game has now changed, I turned the heat down to low and let it cook away happily all day.

I started this pork roast before I learned that my husband wouldn't be home for dinner.

Later that evening, I pulled the thoroughly cooked pork roast out and prepared to shred it.

I chose to use two serving forks to shred the pork this time. Tedious, but the pork is now ready to become shredded pork barbecue.

Now, you weren't going to throw the vegetable stock out, were you? I pulled the onion and garlic out and set that aside for later. I put the pan on the stove top and began simmering the liquid while I prepared the remaining ingredients for the barbecue sauce.

As I was winging it, I really wasn't sure what ingredients I would use. Let's see: I started out with molasses, Worcestershire Sauce, catsup, soy sauce, bottled barbecue sauce, liquid smoke, hot sauce, apple cider vinegar, whole grain mustard and brown sugar.

At this point, I played 'mad scientist' and added the ingredients to the simmering stock and tasted until I was happy with the results.

Remember the onion and garlic? I couldn't let them go to waste, but first they needed to be chopped.

And now the finely chopped cooked onion and garlic can go back into the sauce.

Now you know it's coming... Can't you just see all the flavors? Well, I did warn you.

And the sauce meets the pork.

Sadly, this will now be covered and set aside until tomorrow.

Oh, look. It's tomorrow already. About an hour before I anticipate dinner being served, I put the pork barbecue in a 350 degree oven.

I decided to make mashed potatoes for dinner. And as you can see from the above picture, I also decided to make sweet mashed potatoes.

Either boil or microwave the cut potatoes in salted water until tender.

And now we mash. Add the butter, milk and more salt and some black pepper. Mash until you have the desired texture.

I'd say this is ready. Since it's not quite dinner time yet, I put the lid on this dish and put it in the oven with the barbecue pork. At this point I turned the heat down to warm.

Now, on to the regular mashed potatoes. I used Yukon Gold potatoes.

First I mashed and then I got the hand mixer out. A food mill can also be used, but never use a food processor or you will end up with a gummy mess.

Now, I had just gotten to this point in my nice family dinner preparations when my dear daughter rushed out of the house yelling that she wouldn't be home for dinner tonight. Hmph, I think I will run out on dinner the next time.

I learned this recipe from my dear friend, Rosie Hawthorne. Thanks, Rosie!

As this dish comes together very quickly, I left it for last.

First I saute the chopped onion in a bit of olive oil.

Add the frozen green peas and cook until just warmed through.

Finally I add the sliced Napa cabbage and again just cook until warmed. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.

Well, what do you know? I guess sometimes a good meal can come out of last minute changes. In case you were wondering, I like to mix my sweet mashed potatoes in with my mashed potatoes.