Pomegranate Pulled Pork

Ingredients:

• Pork Sirloin (~2.5 lbs)
• 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
• 1 cup white onion finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 2 cups pomegranate juice
• 1 1/2 cups red wine
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• Kosher or coarse sea salt, to taste
• McCormack® Peppercorn Medley

Preheat Oven to 325 degrees.


Directions:

Mince onions and set aside.  Mince garlic and set aside.  Finely chop rosemary and set aside.  Cut up the sirloin in to large chunks, season liberally with salt and pepper, and set aside.

In a cast iron dutch oven (or other oven proof dutch oven), heat up one and a half tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the meat and cook half the pork until browned on each side, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the meat from the casserole and place on a plate or in a bowl.  Add another one and a half tablespoons of olive oil and when hot, brown the other half of the pork.  Add the meat to the plate/bowl.

Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the casserole and cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until completely softened, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two, until fragrant and lightly browned.

Pour in the pomegranate juice and wine, stir well, scraping the bottom of the pan to incorporate all the browned bits.

Return the meat to the casserole, add the crushed rosemary, and let it come to a simmer. Once it does, cover the casserole with its lid and place in the oven for 1 1/2 hours, until the meat is completely tender.

Remove the lid from the casserole, and leave in the oven for another 1/2 hour, or until the meat falls apart when pulled with a fork, and the liquid has thickened considerably. Remove from the oven. Using a couple forks, shred the meat finely and let it sit in the sauce.

I recommend serving in tacos with Avocado Cream and crumbled goat's milk cheese, using Blue Corn Flour Tortillas.


Myrtle's Note:  I spotted this Pati Jinich recipe and wanted to make it immediately.  I bought all the ingredients save for the boneless short ribs.  After three days of trying to track them down, I heard from three butchers that they are not available in my area.  So, I thought I would try the recipe as pulled pork, since I am well verses in making Spicy Dr Pepper Pulled Pork.  I did cut up the sirloin and browned it, trying to follow the recipe as closely as possible.  After all, browning brings flavor.  Meat change aside, I think the recipe turned out fantastic!  The tacos were the best I have made to date.  Mmmmm!


Yield:  10 servings (20 tacos)

Adapted from:  https://patijinich.com/recipe/pomegranate-short-rib-tacos/

Avocado Cream

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons lime juice (1.5 to 2 limes)
• 1 large dollop Gourmet Gardens® Fresh Garlic Paste
• 1/2 teaspoon Redmond's Real Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon McCormack's Peppercorn Medley
• 1/4 teaspoon McCormack's Chipotle Pepper

Directions:

Halve, de-seed, and scoop out the flesh of the avocado.  Place in a processor cup (I used a NutriBullet Pro 900).  Add the rest of the ingredients.

When juicing the lime, use a reamer to also get some of the pulp from the halves of the limes.  I had to add a bit more lime juice to have everything come together.

Pulse and then mixed until thoroughly whipped.  Will be fluffy and light.


Myrtle's Note:  I wanted avocado on a taco but in a light way, since I was also going to be using goat's milk cheese.  This was my solution, not quite dressing or sauce.  More of an airy whipped cream.


Yield: 10-12 servings

Adapted from:  https://patijinich.com/recipe/boston-lettuce-salad-with-avocado-dressing-candied-pineapple-and-spicy-pumpkin-seeds/

Honey Graham Crackers

Ingredients:

• 2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon Redmond's® Real Salt

Directions:

DAY ONE
Sift together the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.

In a medium bowl, thoroughly cream together the margarine, brown sugar, and honey until light in color and very fluffy. Stir in the sifted ingredients, alternating with the milk and vanilla paste.

Place the dough on plastic wrap.  Using a spatula, shape into a log, 13 inches long and 3 inches wide.  Wrap it up, using the plastic wrap to finish your shaping.  Place into the refrigerator overnight.

DAY TWO
Take the log dough out of the refrigerator and place into the freezer for a half hour to harden the dough for ease of cutting.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Divide the chilled dough into quarters.  Put one quarter on a flexible cutting mat and wrap the rest back up and place into the freezer to keep it hard.

Using a pastry cutter or butcher's knife, slice 1/8 inch pieces off the log and place onto a baking sheet.  One quarter will fill a Pampered Chef's large baking stone, approximately 16 crackers.  Using a fork or toothpick, prick holes into the slices.  For a cinnamon flavored cracker, sprinkle with a cinnamon sugar mixture before baking.

Bake for 13-16 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks.


Myrtle's Note: I am so very excited to have such a great recipe for graham crackers, since my most favorite brand (Keebler Honey Grahams) is no longer available.  I made some changes to the recipe ingredients and to the instructions.  I changed from margarine to butter, from extract to paste, and from brown sugar to dark brown sugar.  I specified whole milk.  And I added salt, primarily because some reviewers complained the recipe was bland.  I am not sure if it is the change in sugar or the butter or the salt or all three, but these are most decidedly not bland.

Many, many of the reviewers talked about how sticky the dough was and how hard it was to roll out.  So, I decided, being a refrigerated dough, to skip the rolling out altogether.  The end result was an easy recipe with wonky looking crackers.  I can live with the odd shapes for the ease of baking!

I made some soft and some a bit crispy.  They are rather tasty both ways, between the nuttiness of the whole wheat flour and the sweetness of the honey.


Servings:  64 crackers

Source:  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/38500/honey-graham-crackers/