When Life Hands You Lemons, Go Ahead & Make...

Coming soon are some great ideas and happenings inside of my world. If I can ever get the darn computer to do what i want, then it will become much easier to accomplish. Over on Facebook, a new page is up and running to help grow my business and later this week an all new website. On facebook you can find me here http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kitchen-Time-with-Chef-Sean/246701912098777 the website address will be published soon.
Now with all this creative energy flowing through me, I just have to find the time each day to dedicate towards completing the task in front of me. My ultimate goal and dream is the creation of a Culinary Arts Center...a kind of school where anyone can come to learn. It doesn't matter if it is the mom/dad at home or a seasoned kitchen pro. I want it to be inviting and open to everyone. The picture I have inside my head is simple and includes a show kitchen for teaching, a library area with comfortable seating, tables to spread out on and rows upon rows of cookbooks. A small dining area where we can host cooking parties, meetings, wine tastings and fundraisers. The entire operation would be non-profit and focused on building a family relationship within the community. Looks like that sandman from the car commercial paid me a visit while sleeping last night!!

Now here is the tricky part for me...in order to make this happen as a legit non-profit and to make my dreams a reality, I need money and possibly lots of it. So I began doing some research into grants and grant writing. Talk about lots of red tape and such, I am going blind as I type!! That is also my excuse for any typos that occur inside of the paragraphs. So seeing as how this is going to take a little longer then expected, I decided to toss out a quick Lemonade recipe along with a pair of its good friends. These next couple of weeks are going to be tough and the support of a tangy/tart beverage seems perfect for the upcoming weather and any headaches this extra work may cause!!

Lemonade-

3/4 to 1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Water
(these are combined to make a simple syrup)
1 Cup Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
3 to 4 Cups Cold Water

Start by heating the sugar together with the water in a small sauce pan. Make sure the sugar is dissolved completely. While this is happening, squeeze out the juice from 4 to 6 lemons. Make sure to remove any seeds that may have fallen into the liquid, you need at least 1 full cup of juice. Add the simple syrup and the lemon juice into a pitcher, pour in the cold water and stir. Taste to check on the desired sweetness. Add a small amount of lemon juice if it is to sweet or add a small amount of sugar if it is to tart.

Cherry-Lime Ricky-

This recipe uses Gin, however if you want a non-alcoholic version then switch the gin out to soda water for a refreshing treat

6 Fresh Sweet Cherries, Pitted
1/2 Lime, cut into 3 pieces
2 tsp Sugar
3 Ounces Gin
1 Cup Crushed Ice

Place cherries, limes and sugar into a glass. Crush together using the back of a spoon. Add the gin and ice. Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Now shake!! Pour back into the glass and enjoy!!

Raspberry Lemonade

3/4 Cup Fresh Raspberries
9 Cups Water
2 Cups Fresh Lemon Juice
2 Cups Super Fine Sugar


Puree the raspberries in a blender and pour through a mesh sieve into a pitcher. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk together until the sugar dissolves. Serve over ice.

Does Anything Beat A Braised Pork Shoulder?

Perhaps in life we overthink what should be common sense. The short answer to the question is an emphatic "NO", nothing beats a pork shoulder which you cover in rubbed goodness, sear to perfection and then slowly cook in the oven for the next 6 to 7 hours at the whopping temperature of 275 degrees.

I didn't just toss this bad boy into an oven though. It was sitting in a nest of carrots, apples, onion, spiced rum, apple cider and brown sugar. I had some fresh rosemary, cinnamon, garlic and naturally some salt along with a few other goodies that just came into my hand, demanding to be added to the creation which was described in an early post as simply "mmmmmmmm". After that kind of endorsement, what's left but to share it with everyone online. Sounds like a good deal from where I am sitting.

So after reading the recipe, take a minute or two and read the afterthoughts on the whole dish along with a great sauce to put over the top. I am also giving a clue to the next blog post coming this weekend which is about getting ready for that all important day...Yup...you guessed it right, time for some Super Bowl food that will really get people jumping out of their seats.

~ APPLE BRAISED PORK SHOULDER ~

7-8 Pound Pork Shoulder, you can use a bone-in or boneless. I used a bone-in for this recipe

4-6 TBS Canola Oil, depending on the size of the roast and your pan, you may need more or less of the oil to sear the meat

2 Cups Chopped Carrots

2 Cups Chopped Onion

6 Sliced Granny Smith Apples

1/2 Quart Apple Cider

Add all the chopped items into a large aluminum roasting pan

 

1/2 Cup Spiced Rum

1 Tbs Flour

1 Tbs Water

(I'll tell you how to use these later on)

This next part is a little subjective. When I use certain spices, I tend to have a heavy hand with the ones I enjoy most. A spice such as cinnamon or rosemary always seems to get a little more love in my kitchen. So adjust these measurments to suit your own personal tastes!!

4 Tbs Cinnamon

1 Tbs Clove, Ground

1 Tbs Onion Powder

4 Tbs Brown Sugar

2 Tbs Rosemary

3 Tbs Chopped Garlic

2 Tbs Canola Oil

Salt

Pepper

Combine all of the spices into a bowl and mix with the oil. Take the spice mixture and rub all over the roast. Using a large skillet, sear the meat using the canola oil on a medium to high heat. After the roast is seared place it into the pan surrounded by the apples and vegetables. Now, this is when you need to be really careful in the kitchen. Remove the pan you used for searing the pork and pour in the rum. This alcohol is flammable so keep it away from the heat, just allow it to break up the seasonings in the pan. Take the rum and pour it right over the top of the roast. Pour the apple cider around the meat so it is more then half covered. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place into the oven at 275 degrees. Leave it alone for 4 hours, remove and uncover. Carefully flip the roast over and cook an additional  2 to 3 hours. When the roast is done, remove and place on a platter. Remove about 3 cups of the liquid in the pan and transfer it into a small pot. Bring it to a boil. Stir in a mix of the flour and water, allow it to thicken slightly, as soon as it starts remove from the heat. Now grab a fork and rip into that roast!! Serve it with some mashed potatoes along with the sauce and enjoy the night. The whole dish takes only 30 minutes or so to make, which does not count the time the roast is in the oven slowly cooking and making everyone drift through the kitchen for the entire day.

OK, so I promised to toss in some hints about the items that make any Super Bowl party a hit. On Friday, which most likely will mean on Saturday...I will publish the recipes for my mouth watering

Roasted Red Pepper & Basil Salsa

&

Cranberry Orange Chutney

 

Both come with a quick way to make your own chips and are sure to please everyone in the room while the Patriots are trying to win us another Super Bowl!!