Coffee Braised Pork with Mango Relish

Another from Bravo's Top Chef. I'm definitely trying this sometime, but I'll most likely skip the swiss chard and the truffle oil.

Pork Confit and Tomato Marmalade

You have to like a recipe that begins with "cook a pork shoulder in pork lard." This is from the Bravo Top Chef clips at hulu.com. I'll be posting more of these as I find them.

Crock Pot Fiasco (sort of)

Last week I tried cooking a pork roast in a slow cooker, along with a mix of sweet potatoes, carrots, leeks, and a cup of broth. There are also these other potatoes I thought would be sweets, but looked like regular spuds on the inside.

I put everything in the crockpot as shown in the "before" picture above, but I think I did something wrong. After 4 hours, the pork was fully cooked, but dried out like I cooked it in the microwave.

I was able to salvage it by slicing it down and mixing in with the cooked broth and veggies. It was absolutely delicious, but it looked like an unappetizing mush. You should have seen how my wife's face transformed from excitement to scorn when she finally saw what smelled so good. Sorry I didn't take an "after" picture.

1. So what did I do wrong?
2. Was the pork sitting too high atop the vegetables?
   
3. Should the pork have touched the bottom so it could cook partially immersed in the broth?
   

I'll try that next time, but I'd appreciate any advice.

P.S. - Leeks are my favorite new ingredient. They add a lot of tart, bitter flavor. I like to chop up the whole leek, using as much as possible down to the bottom of the stalk until it's totally white.

Leeks are also, by far, the best vegetable for drumming up and down the produce aisle when you're pretty sure no one is watching. They're like big brushes, perfect for Mitch Mitchell's solo at the beginning of "Up From the Skies."

Pork, Scallops, Mango, Ginger and Veggies Stirfry

This was delicious, mixing six of my wife's favorite ingredients - pork, scallops, mango, carrots, snow peas, and ginger. Not sure if this is technically "saute" or "stirfry." The heat was high, but no oil was used. Great stuff regardless. I may have overcooked the scallops by adding them to early. I think adding the scallops last will correct the error. Serve with rice.

Special thanks go out to the Trader Joe's freezer aisle. I used the frozen mango because I had the bag, but would consider using fresh mango pieces in the future. I love using the Dorot brand herbs from the TJ's freezer. They're fresh cut herbs frozen into tiny ice cube trays, and super easy.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 lbs center-cut pork chops ( 4 thin, boneless pieces)
1 lb bag of Trader Joe's frozen scallops, defrosted (the small ones)
1 bag of Trader Joes frozen mango chunks
4 large carrots, sliced
1 ginger root, peeled and chopped
1 handfull of snowpeas
Unspecified volumes of White Wine Vinegar (WWV) and Soy Sauce
2-3 cubes each of Dorot frozen basil and garlic

1. Peel outer layer off ginger root. Drop whole naked ginger into mini-prep food processor to chop until pulverized.

2. Slice pork chops and carrots to small scallop-sized pieces. Set carrots aside.

3. Mix ginger in bowl with scallops and pork. Add WWV and soy sauce to marinate. I used just enough to coat meat so the ginger sticks to the pieces (instead of floating in a wetter marinade). Marinade for about an hour.

4. Set skillet to high heat with a little WWV in pan. Add carrots and ginger-coated pork pieces (leave scallops in marinade), stir to brown both sides.

Note: I accidentally overcooked the scallops by adding at this point. I think it should instead go in this order...

5. Add snow peas and frozen mango chunks. The pan should start to sizzle again once the mango defrosts.

6. Add the Dorot basil and garlic cubes, stir until melted and mixed throughout pan.

7. Add scallops and remaining marinade. Cook on high for about 3 minutes.

8. Cover and simmer on low (or no heat) for another couple minutes.