Great Food, All Day Long_ Cook Splendidly, Eat Smart - Maya Angelou [2]
I hope that you will find these recipes delicious and fulfilling. I hope that portion control will come easier because of the delight that you will find in these dishes. And finally, I hope you will agree with the philosopher who said “less is more.”
My mother dreamed that one day we would together compose a cookbook. In her dream I would cook the entree, then she would take what was left and show how it could be prepared in such wonderful ways that the family would not have any inkling that they were being served leftovers.
We spent glorious afternoons and after-dinners imagining the wonderful dishes that could be created by adding just a few more ingredients. We imagined that a dish first served as a roasted entree would be very different if it appeared as a refried or boiled offering.
This book begins with three principal dishes and the glorious creations that can be made from them.
CROWN ROAST OF PORK
3 apples, peeled, cored, and cut into large dice
8 dried pitted prunes
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1½ tablespoons olive oil
8 pounds pork ribs (have butcher fashion into crown roast)
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Sauté the apples and prunes in the butter in a skillet over low heat.
After 3 minutes, remove the skillet from the heat and set the prunes aside in a separate dish. Let cool.
Mix the garlic, thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper with the olive oil until you have a paste. Rub the paste into the meat.
Place the meat in a shallow roasting pan and bake for 30 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F and roast for 2 hours.
Remove the roast from the oven once the internal temperature reads 165°F on a meat thermometer.
Place 1 prune on each rib and return the meat to the oven for 20 minutes.
Remove the meat from the oven, and put the rest of the cooled fruit into the center of the crown roast.
Place 1 pork chop carved from the roast and 1 tablespoon of apples onto one plate for as many servings as necessary. Refrigerate the remainder.
SERVES 8. Serving size: One pork chop and 1 tablespoon of apples.
If you would like to give a grand dinner party, plan to serve this crown roast of pork. Be prepared for the admiring “oohs and ahhs” that will fill the air. Remember, cooking a large amount of food does not mean that you are obliged to eat large portions.
CREAMY PORK HASH
1 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
One 10¾-ounce can cream of mushroom soup
½ cup frozen peas
½ cup frozen sliced carrots
1 cup diced cooked potatoes
2 cups cooked pork roast, cut into medium dice
1 cup water
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
Sauté the onion in the vegetable oil in a skillet.
Add the cream of mushroom soup, peas, carrots, and potatoes.
Add the pork and thin the mixture with the water.
Add the salt and pepper.
Cover the skillet and simmer for 15 minutes.
Serve 2 heaping tablespoons on a dinner plate. Refrigerate the remainder.
SERVES 4. Serving size: 2 heaping tablespoons.
PORK TACOS
4 corn tortillas
2 teaspoons water
4 thin slices cooked pork roast, shredded by hand or using two forks
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 cups shredded lettuce
1 cup tomatoes cut into large dice
2 cups tomato salsa
½ medium onion, thinly sliced (optional)
4 teaspoons canola oil (optional)
Dampen each tortilla with ½ teaspoon water, and cover with a paper towel.
Place in a microwave oven for 10 seconds on high power, then remove.
Place 2 tablespoons pork on one side of a tortilla.
Add 1 teaspoon cheese, 2 teaspoons lettuce, 2 teaspoons tomatoes, and 2 teaspoons salsa (and onion, if desired) to each tortilla.
Fold the tortillas over, covering the meat and toppings completely. Tortillas can also be fried in canola oil, 1 teaspoon for each.
SERVES 4. Serving size: One taco.
This is one of my favorite dishes to go back to. Within three hours, I’m almost always ready