Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

Please tell me you see the pig sitting upon this pork roast.  I am having a strange feeling about my karma and the pictures I take.  When I photographed this beauty all I saw was a succulent glazed pork roast.  When I looked at the image I saw only a pig.  Why is that pig taunting me?   He looks a little scary.

Seriously though, this was a very good roast for a Saturday when we were both busy with other things.  I decided to cook my bone-in pork loin in the crock pot.  As much as I like my crock pot, I always feel like I need to add extra braising flavor.

I like to brown my roast before I put it in the crock pot.

I then like to deglaze the pan to release all of the browned bits of pork and onion.

After that I put it all in the crock pot with an herb bundle to cook on its own.

Ahh, this is a better angle on the pork roast.  It doesn’t look as much like a porky pig.  Just a pork roast right?

But wait.  What is this?  I moved a rabbit planter on the porch after a thunderstorm and this is I what I saw in the accumulated water.  I think I will become a vegetarian.  (Unless I start seeing weird vegetables in my pictures).

Here is the recipe for the pork roast if you dare try it.  A ate the snout first.

CROCK POT PORK ROAST

1 Bone-in Pork Loin Roast
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 onion cut in half and sliced
1 to 2 cups of apple cider
A bundle of fresh herbs (I used thyme and sage)

Salt and pepper roast on all sides.  Heat olive oil in heavy skillet.  Add roast and onions and brown roast on all sides.  Remove roast to crock pot.  Add some of the apple cider to the pan and stir to release all of the browned bits on the bottom.  Add the herb bundle and cook for a few minutes.  Pour liquid into the crock pot with the roast and add the rest of the cider.

Place lid on crock pot and cook roast on high for 1 hour.  Reduce to low and cook an additional 3 hours.
Remove roast and let rest tented with foil for about 5 minutes.  Slice and serve topped with liquid from the pot.

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The city of Bayonne is in the Southwestern region of France near the border with Spain.  The region is heavily influenced by the Basque language, architecture, and food.  It is known principally for its fine chocolates and Bayonne Ham, which is cured with the espellette peppers.  But these meatballs are also popular.

We will not be traveling to this region of France but this recipe sounded so good that I had to try it.  It was in the cookbook The French Slow Cooker by Michele Scicolone.  I have found many good recipes in this book and this one did not disappoint.  There are lots of red bell peppers in the recipe and although the title suggests that it is spicy, I found it to be quite mellow.  The large meatballs were almost “fall-apart” tender and it was delicious served on a toasted sourdough baguette with a serving of kale on the side.

Although it was easy to do in the slow cooker, I see no reason why you couldn’t assemble it in a dutch oven and cook it in the oven at a low temperature.  It can also be served over rice or orzo.  I used orzo for our second meal (it makes a lot!) and it was a perfect combination; kind of like spaghetti and meatballs.

MEATBALLS BAYONNAISE WITH SPICY TOMATO AND PEPPER SAUCE

1 28-ounce can tomato puree
2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
Salt
Pinch of crushed red pepper
1 bay leaf
3/4 cup crumbled French bread
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 pounds ground beef chuck (I used lean ground beef)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large egg
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
Freshly ground pepper

Stir together the tomato puree, peppers, onion, 1 teaspoon salt, crushed red pepper, and bay leaf.  Pour half of the sauce into a large slow cooker.

In a small bowl, soak the bread in the milk for a few minutes.  Lightly squeeze the bread and discard the milk.  Spread the flour on a piece of wax paper.

In a large bowl, mix together the soaked bread, ground beef, parsley, garlic, egg, cumin marjoram, and salt and pepper to taste.  Moisten your hands and shape the mixture into 2-inch balls.  Lightly roll the meatballs in the flour.

Transfer the meatballs to the slow cooker and top with the remaining sauce.  Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours, or until the meatballs are cooked through.  Discard the bay leaf and serve hot.

As a side note I found it interesting that mayonnaise was purported to have been first made in Bayonne.  Its name is a corruption of Bayonnaise.

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Yesterday was a cold and rainy day.  Our weather has been so unseasonably warm this Spring that I had already cleaned out my kitchen fireplace and placed a crockery bowl filled with dried hydrangeas in it.  But yesterday was a perfect day for a fire.  The flower arrangement came out and the logs were laid.

Now you are probably thinking I cooked that beautiful platter of sausages, potatoes, carrots and sauerkraut in my dutch oven over the coals.  It would have been a good idea, but I had a new cookbook and there was a recipe that I wanted to try.

My blogging buddy, the other Penny of The Comforts of Home, and I met for shopping and lunch on Tuesday in Asheville.  We met at one of our favorite stores, The Screen Door, where they sell antiques.  But they also have a dynamite book department devoted mainly to cookbooks and design and gardening books.  I always come home with at least one book.  What is not to love about this book?  My passion for all things French is well known and I have been using my slow cooker quite often lately.  A perfect fit.

What was also a perfect fit was the lunch we had at a French bistro called Fig.

We both chose the Salmon with couscous, micro greens, and lemon chive beurre.  All I can say is that if I could master this salmon dish at home I would feel that I was a chef- worthy cook.  The salmon was so crispy on the top with a coarse salt finish and so tender and flaky inside that we both were in awe of the dish.

So it was a great day with sunshine and warm temperatures.  Check out Penny’s blog for a glimpse of some of the shopping we did.

When Wednesday dawned with rain and cold temperatures, I thought it is time to make some comfort food from my new French slow cooker cookbook.  The choucroute garni sounded like the perfect recipe to try.

Bratwursts, kielbasa and smoked pork chops are all cooked in a white wine infused sauerkraut with potatoes,  carrots, onions and garlic cloves tucked in.  Choucroute Garni  is a dish from the Alsace region of France.  Because of its proximity to Germany, the food has Germanic links.  Pork and Sauerkraut are prevalent in many of its dishes.

It is best served with black bread, grainy mustard, horseradish and cornichons or sweet pickles.  This was a perfect recipe for the slow cooker.  You will need a large one.

CHOUCROUTE GARNI ( SAUSAGES WITH SAUERKRAUT)

2 pounds sauerkraut
6 medium waxy potatoes
1 large onion, sliced
3 large carrots,  peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices
6 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
10 juniper berries, lightly crushed (could not find)
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
2 whole cloves
3 fresh thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
6 cooked bratwursts (I sauteed them in a frying pan until browned and cooked through)
1 pound kielbasa, cut into 2-inch pieces
4 smoked pork chops (I used boneless and cut them in half)
1 cup dry white wine

Rinse the sauerkraut well in a colander under cool running water.  Squeeze the sauerkraut to remove the liquid.

Place half of the sauerkraut in a large slow cooker, separating the pieces with your fingers.  Add the potatoes, onion, garlic, juniper berries, caraway seeds, cloves, thyme and bay leaves.  Arrange the remaining sauerkraut on top.

Push the sausages and pork chops down into the sauerkraut.  Add the wine.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or until the potatoes are tender.  Mine took only 7 hours and I added a little more liquid half way through cooking.

Arrange the meats, sauerkraut, and potatoes and carrots on a large platter.  Discard the bay leaves.  Serve with black bread, grainy mustard cornichons and horseradish.   Serves 6 to 8.

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One of the most popular blog posts I have ever had was my recipe for Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken.  I am still counting, but at last count it had received 20,000 hits on Pinterest and has garnered 66 comments on my post.  That tells me that there are many people out there who love their crock pots and enjoy recipes that require very little work.

This recipe for barbecued chicken falls into that category.  Ironically I found it on Pinterest, but  changed it somewhat to suit my taste.  I had a package of three large chicken breasts in the freezer.  I put them in my crock pot frozen, mixed up the sauce ingredients and cooked them on low for 6 hours.  We liked them but the flavor seemed a little intense to me.

One of the good things about the crock pot is that it turns any meat into a shreddable consistency.  By adding a little water or chicken broth to the shredded chicken I was able to achieve a most delicious BBQ chicken to serve on hamburger buns.  We enjoyed them for lunch several times.

I will be making this again in my crock pot.

CROCK POT BBQ CHICKEN

3 large chicken breasts (can be frozen)
1 bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1 tablespoon grainy mustard

Place chicken breasts in crock pot.  Mix together the sauce ingredients.  Pour over chicken.  Cook on low 4 to 6 hours, checking occasionally for doneness.  Remove chicken and shred.  If sauce is too thick add a little water or chicken broth to it.  Return chicken to sauce.  Spoon onto warmed hamburger buns and serve.

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The days are moving quickly this time of year.  We are packing up and organizing for our trip to Florida.  To be honest I haven’t been doing a lot of cooking.  There has been nothing “blog worthy” to write about.  I found these country style ribs in the freezer and after thawing them, David put a dry rub on them, slathered them with Sweet Baby Rays and put them in the crock pot to cook for seven hours.

We are leaving today to spend a few days with the family.  I love seeing the Grandkids dress up for Halloween.  Rachel is going to be the Statue of Liberty and Cameron will be a red hot chili pepper.

Happy Halloween everybody.  Maybe this “bloody” mess will put you in the spirit.

I have no pictures of the finished ribs.

CROCK POT RIBS

3 to 4 pounds Country Style Ribs
2 tbls Paprika
3 tbls Brown sugar
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
1 bottle Sweet Baby Rays Barbecue Sauce

Mix together the dry rub ingredients.  Massage them into the ribs.  Place the ribs in a crock pot.  Pour barbecue sauce over them.  Cover and cook on low for about 7 hours.

Remove ribs to foil lined sheet pan.  Pour barbecue sauce into a sauce pan.  Skim fat from surface and cook on medium high heat until sauce is slightly reduced and thickened.  Brush ribs with sauce and either put them under the broiler to brown for a few minutes or grill them briefly.

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