Carnitas for All Seasons

With the way the weather has been here in Texas, I wonder whether we'll ever have a true autumn this year. But the leaves are falling (the Dad and the Kid can attest to that - they spent part of the weekend raking and bagging ours) so it must be fall, right? Here's a fall-themed, weeknight-friendly twist on a Texas favorite - carnitas!

Autumnal Apple Carnitas

Serves 12

1 lb. pork loin, trimmed

2/3 cup + 1/4 cup unfiltered apple juice

2 garlic cloves, crushed and skinned

1/2 a large red onion, roughly chopped

1 cinnamon stick

3 canned chipotles en adobo

1 cup unsweetened apple sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground pepper

1/4 cup crushed Fuji apple chips

1/4 cup dried cranberries

12 corn tortillas

queso fresco to taste

cilantro to taste

In a crockpot, add pork loin, apple juice, garlic cloves, onion, and cinnamon stick and cook on medium for about four hours or until pork is fork tender and easily pulled apart.

In a blender, combine apple sauce and chipotles and blend until smooth. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat olive oil and lightly roast ground cloves and pepper until fragrant. Add apple sauce and chipotle mixture and cook until color darkens slightly. Remove cooked pork from crock pot and shred, using two forks to pull pork apart. Add remaining 1/4 cup unfiltered apple juice to the sauce before adding the pulled pork, apple chips and dried cranberries. Stir to combine. Scoop into corn tortillas and garnish with crumbled queso fresco and cilantro before serving.

* Editor's note: I submitted this recipe to an apple-themed recipe contest - sadly, it did not win. But don't let that deter you - this smoky/spicy/sweet take on carnitas is worth making even if it's not prize-winning!

Funny thing about food blogs...

Here's the thing about food blogs, or blogs of any kind for that matter. Sometimes people come to your blog for all the wrong reasons and sometimes you get some really strange comments...

Do you notice anything unusual in this picture? Like 20,307 pageviews in one day? I admit, I don't keep too close an eye on my blog "stats." I'm not really doing this to make money (hey, we can't all be Pioneer Woman, right?) so I don't obsess over how many people are checking out my blog on any given day but the other day I noticed there had been a huge increase in traffic and when I went to investigate a hilarious tale unfolded.
After noticing the influx of traffic, I saw that I had a comment awaiting moderation*:

If you can't read the tee-tiny print, let me sum it up for you. This was a comment posted on my friend Kira's recipe for Sea Glass candy. Historically, it's been a popular post - I've seen it pinned on Pinterest a few times - frankly, it's pretty awesome (and I can say that without a hint of humility because I didn't come up with the recipe or the photos - it was all the work of my friend Kira who agreed to let me share it on my blog). The comment goes on to suggest that if the previous commenter wants a "tee-nth of the blue" then she's "gotta pay for it like everyone else."
Okay. Well, that's strange - it's not so much about Sea Glass Candy or even Kira's awesome photos - it's referencing Meth and believe me, I was confused. So I poked around a little and realized that 99% of the traffic was coming from one website. I followed the link to a discussion page on someone's Halloween costume - not just any costume, though, a costume for the main character from "Breaking Bad." If you've never seen the show, it's all about an out of work science teacher who starts a meth lab. And here's the kicker - the folks over there talking about this guy's costume had posted a link to Kira's candy because it looked just like the stuff they use on the show to simulate crystal meth. Um...yeah. So thanks "Breaking Bad" fans for all the hits, I guess, and now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

The Kids Cook Monday: Pretzel Dogs

Oh the much-maligned hot dog! The epitome of "bad" kid food, the bain of nutritionists who seek to steer kids clear of processed foods, the go-to food when time is short and mom is in need of easy, no-fight food. In recent years, we've seen 'dogs dressed up, dressed down and even celebrated on Public Television. But one of my favorite kinds of hot dogs is a mall-food staple - the pretzel dog! If you were to pick one up at your local mall, it would likely be a little greasy and a little too salty. When we decided to make pretzel dogs in our house this week, we decided it was time to shape these dogs up a bit.
We started with the dough. Ours is a honey wheat pretzel dough that uses just a touch of honey and only a little bit of salt for flavor. Then we picked out a healthier, organic version of this American classic (we like Applegate Farms hot dogs). And we ended up with a fun food memory for all of us.

Pretzel Dogs
makes 16 dogs

1 1/4 cup warm (not hot) water
1 tbsp honey
1 teaspoon dry active yeast
2 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
16 organic nitrate/nitrite-free beef hot dogs
kosher salt

The first step is to make the pretzel dough. We consulted one of our favorite kid cookbooks - Honest Pretzels by Mollie Katzen - on the proper method for assembling a yeasted dough. Her kids' books all have illustrated recipes, showing step-by-step what to do so even kids too young to read can follow along. Though our recipe differs from hers slightly, the Kid was still able to use the images to put his dough together. Here's what you'll need to do:
Add the yeast and honey to the warm water and allow it to proof for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, add the flours and salt to a stand mixer with either the paddle or dough hook attachment and stir to combine. Once the yeast has proofed, add it, along with 1 tbsp of olive oil, to the flour mixture and mix for about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Pretty much all of the kneading will be done in the machine but it never hurts to let the kids knead a little before allowing it to rise. Just sprinkle a little flour on a clean surface (like your kitchen table) and let 'em go at it. We're not making baguettes or puff pastry here, so don't worry too much about over-handling the dough.

Place the kneaded dough in a metal bowl that has been brushed with the remaining olive oil. Turn the dough to coat it and allow it to rise for about one hour (cover the bowl with plastic wrap while it's rising).
When it's time to make the pretzel dogs, heat the oven to 400 degrees. Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a low boil. Divide the dough into quarters. One quarter is enough to make 4 - 5 pretzel dogs. Since we only wanted to make that many, we put our leftover dough in plastic bags so that we will have them in the freezer for the next time the urge hits.

We fashioned the dough into long snakes to twist around the dogs. Once they were twisted, we placed them gently in the boiling water. It will only take a couple of minutes for them to pop up to the surface, then quickly remove them and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt if you are so inclined (the Dad and I were, the Kid was not).

Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. Allow them to cool slightly before serving. Serve with spicy mustard and plenty of veggies for not-from-the-mall meal!


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Editor's note: The yield amount was updated when I realized I can't do math - the full recipe of dough should be enough for 16 hot dogs, not 12.