Mexican Shredded Pork Tostada's

picture courtesy of flicker

Made these for dinner this past week and thought I was in heaven. The meat is so amazing and flavorful! I hope you enjoy them as much as we did. We will definitely be making this often.

Meat:
2 pounds boneless pork butt, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 medium onions, 1 quartered and 1 chopped fine
5 medium garlic cloves, 3 peeled and smashed and 2 minced
4 sprigs fresh thyme
table salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (14.5-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon ground chipotle powder
2 bay leaves

Tostadas:
3/4 cup vegetable oil
12 (6 inch) corn tortillas
table salt

Garnish:

feta cheese
fresh cilantro leaves
sour cream
diced avocado
lime wedges

Bring pork, quartered onion, smashed garlic cloves, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 6 cups water to simmer in large saucepan over medium-high heat, skimming off any foam that rises to surface. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and cook until pork is tender, 75 to 90 minutes. Drain pork, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Discard onion, garlic, and thyme. Return pork to saucepan and, using potato masher, mash until shredded into rough ½-inch pieces. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add shredded pork, chopped onion, and oregano; cook, stirring often, until pork is well browned and crisp, 7 to 10 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in tomato sauce, chipotle powder, reserved pork cooking liquid, and bay leaves; simmer until almost all liquid has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaves and season with salt to taste.

TO FRY TOSTADAS: Heat vegetable oil in 8-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat to 350 degrees. Using fork, poke center of each tortilla 3 or 4 times (to prevent puffing and allow for even cooking). Fry 1 at a time, holding metal potato masher in upright position on top of tortilla to keep it submerged, until crisp and lightly browned, 45 to 60 seconds (no flipping is necessary). Drain on paper towel-lined plate and season with salt to taste. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

Serve!

*I found that I liked the complex flavor of chipotle powder, but two minced canned chipotle chilies can be used in it's place. Also, the pork can be prepared and refrigerated in an airtight container for 2 days. The tostadas can be made up to a day in advance and stored in an airtight container.

*recipe from neighbor

Thin Mint Cupcakes

While I'm sure Thin Mint cupcake recipes have been out there on the internet for years I'm going to pretend I'm clever in coming up with my own version. For that reason, I didn't even bother Googling the subject for fear that my own creativity would be tainted by others' ideas. So if this has already been done I apologize for the repeat recipe. If it hasn't you can applaud me for my genius. :)

Thin Mint Filling

26 Thin Mint cookies, finely crushed (I used a food processor)
4 1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened

Blend crushed Thin Mints and cream cheese until fully mixed. Shape into 1" balls, place on a baking sheet, and refrigerate while making the batter.

Chocolate Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from Family, Stamping and Food

24 Thin Mint Cookies
2 cups flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup melted butter, cooled
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 1/2 ounces Andes Creme de Menthe baking chips
1 tablespoon heavy cream

1) Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 24 cupcake wells with paper liners. Place a Thin Mint cookie in the bottom of each liner.
2) Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3) Beat sugar and melted butter together on medium speed until well combined.
4) Add eggs and beat to combine.
5) Beginning with the flour mixture, add flour and milk alternately with three additions of flour and two additions of milk, beginning and ending with flour. Beat until just combined.
6) Fill cupcake liners 1/3 full with batter. Place Thin Mint truffle in the center of each and top with more batter until 2/3 full. Bake in preheated oven for 19-26 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched.
7) Cool in pan on rack for ten minutes, then remove from pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
8) While cupcakes are still warm, melt Andes baking chips and heavy cream in a saucepan over low heat until smooth. Spread a thin layer of chocolate on top of each cupcake.

Mint Buttercream
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon peppermint oil
Green food coloring (optional)

1) In a large mixing bowl, cream butter for 45-60 seconds.
2) Add powdered sugar and beat until the mixture comes together.
3) Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add heavy cream, peppermint oil, and food coloring (if desired). Beat until combined and then beat an additional 45 seconds. If necessary, add more powdered sugar for desired consistency.

San Francisco Crockpot Chops

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 pork chops, about 1-inch thick
Salt and pepper for seasoning
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold water
Hot Cooked Rice, for serving

In a large 12-inch skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until it is simmering and hot. Season the pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper. Brown the pork chops for 1-2 minutes on each side in the hot oil until golden. Transfer the chops to the slow cooker. Add the garlic to the drippings in the skillet and stir constantly over medium heat until the garlic is aromatic and golden (but not burned or it will turn bitter!). Stir in the soy sauce, broth, brown sugar and red pepper flakes; cook and stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour over chops.Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours until the meat is tender. If using bone-in pork chops, fish out the bones from the slow cooker. Remove the chops from the slow cooker to a shallow pan or plate – they will most likely be falling apart in tenderness at this point. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and cold water until smooth. Whisk the cornstarch slurry into the sauce in the slow cooker. Return the chops to the slow cooker. Turn the slow cooker heat to high and cook for 30 minutes to an hour longer, until the sauce is slightly thickened. (I accidentally added this during the cooking phase instead of after and it still turned out great!) If you want a super duper thick sauce, once you remove the chops from the slow cooker, pour the sauce into a pan and place it over medium heat on the stove. Add the cornstarch slurry and bring the sauce to a boil. Boil for 1-2 minutes until the sauce is thick. Add the pork and heat through.

Serve over rice and enjoy!


*Recipe found here

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

My husband and I saw Alton Brown on his food network show make this recipe and I just couldn't resist. The process was much easier than I thought it would be and the final results will rock your taste buds!

DOUGH:

4 large egg yolks, room temperature

1 large whole egg, room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

6 ounces buttermilk, room temperature

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting

1 package instant dry yeast, approximately 2 1/4 teaspoons

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

cooking spray

FILLING:

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

pinch salt

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

ICING:

1/4 cup cream cheese, softened

3 tablespoons milk

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS:

For the dough: in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter and the buttermilk. Add approximately 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt, whisk until moistened and combined. Remove the whisk attachment and replace with a dough hook. Add all but about 3/4 cup of the remaining flour and knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Check the consistency of the dough, add more flour if necessary; the dough should feel soft and moist but not sticky. Knead on low speed 5 more minutes or until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead by hand about 30 seconds. Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl, lightly oil the top of the dough, cover and let double in volume, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Mix until well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.

Butter a 9x13-inch glass baking dish. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape the dough into a rectangle with the long side nearest you. Roll into a 18 by 12-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the 3/4 ounces of melted butter, leaving 1/2-inch border along the top edge. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border along the top edge; gently press the filling into the dough. Beginning with the long side nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Firmly pinch the seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down. Very gently squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness. Using a serrated knife, slice the cylinder into 1 1/2 inch rolls; yielding 12 rolls. Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking dish; cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.

Remove the rolls from the refrigerator and place in an oven that is turned off. Fill a shallow pan 2/3 full of boiling water and set on the rack below the rolls. Close the oven door and let the rolls rise until they look slightly puffy, approximately 30 minutes. Remove the rolls and the shallow pan of water from the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

When the oven is ready, place the rolls on the the middle rack and bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

While the rolls are cooling slightly, make the icing by whisking the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy. Add the milk and whisk until combined. Sift in the powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Spread over the rolls and serve immediately.

recipe found here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/overnight-cinnamon-rolls-recipe/index.html