Monday, December 6, 2010

December 5, 2010

Green Chili Pork Stew is one of my favorite dishes at the Roaring Fork. The recipe calls for a boatload of green chillies and as I was chopping my poblanos I ran across this interesting picture.

The recipe is ridiculously unhelpful. I channeled all the experience I had reading my Mom's written recipes and came up with a fairly decent stew.

2 cups diced yellow onions

1 cup diced poblanos

2 lb. diced pork

2 Tbsp. minced garlic

2 Tbsp. cumin powder

2 Tbsp. ground coriander

2 Tbsp. jalapeño powder

5 Tbsp. green chili powder

2 Tbsp. onion powder

2 cups chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste

In a stewing pot, sauté vegetables until tender.

Add diced pork. Add all dry ingredients.

Stir well for a couple of minutes, blend well. Add chicken stock and let simmer on low to medium heat for 11/2 hours or until fork tender.

Skim fat off surface as stew simmers. Season with salt and pepper just before service, only if needed, to your taste.

Serve in a bowl with pepper Jack cheese, roasted serrano pepper and warm, buttered flour tortillas.

I had to substitute regular chili powder instead of green chili powder because really, where am I going to find that in Austin??? It definitely affected the taste so I searched online and found a green chili power source. At like $5 per ounce I don't see me purchasing 5T worth!!

I then ran across this version of the recipe.....

Roaring Fork Green Chile
Pork

Source: Roaring Fork, Scottsdale, Arizona

2 tablespoons corn oil
2 pounds boneless country-style pork ribs, coarsely cut
Kosher salt, to taste
Cracked black pepper, to taste
2 cups yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup jalapeno chile, minced
1 cup dried New Mexico green chiles, seeded, stemmed and minced
1/4 cup garlic, minced
2 cups poblano chile, roasted, peeled and pureed
1 cup grated pepper jack cheese
24 (6-inch) flour tortillas

Over a fire or stove burner, heat corn oil in a cast-iron pot. Season the pork with salt and pepper. When the oil is hot, add the pork, onion, jalapeno and New Mexico chiles and garlic. Cook until the pork is tender, about 1 1/2 hours.

Add the poblano chile puree and simmer for 45 minutes. When done, sprinkle with jack cheese and serve with tortillas.

Makes about 6 servings.

I still need to get a source green New Mexico chilis but it would probably be easier to find those than the powder. I'll let you know if I rally to the cause of this one again....it might just be easier to go to the Roaring Fork!
December 4, 2010

Dessert bar at the holiday party. I went with a chocolate/peppermint theme and I think it turned out really stinking cute if I do say so myself. I printed the signs for each of the treats and had to go treat boxes for everyone to take home. Fun!

December 3, 2010

More holiday party prep, this time with a cup of Starbrite mints. Mmm peppermint-y
December 2, 2010

Thursday night book club where we don't read books. Technically we've been working on the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for about four months now but we're waiting for everyone to finish before we discuss. We may be waiting for another four months at this rate.
We put it aside for this month in honor of a white elephant party. This wasn't like any other white elephant party I've ever been to - everyone brought a nice gift and there was hardly any stealing!
After the party back to my place for some quick chocolate barking! Gotta get started on the party prep for Saturday's Theta holiday party.
December 1, 2010

It's the first of December and so that must mean it's time to hang all the Christmas lights. Thanks to Mom, I've already got a big head start with the tree fully installed. Now I just have to put all the ornaments on and get all the lights in the windows. Oh and take down the Thanksgiving decorations....
November 30, 2010

So after nearly a year of successful flying monkey promotion at trade shows, we're looking for our next great marketing idea. We immediately went with the idea of flying pigs and even picked up a sample. Unfortunately it doesn't come with a cape for easy patch ironing AND the sample we got oinked one time and then stopped. How are we supposed to test it out without the noise?
Here is Billy performing pig surgery to review the sound box to see if we could repair it. Tragically the pig still doesn't oink....
November 29, 2010

The Tampico waits for your return.