Category — Recipes

Things are beginning to work themselves out around here. Connor got his car back yesterday. I think I figured out what area of our water usage the major water leak is coming from (now to exactly pinpoint it) and I think my dad is taken care of for the next few days, at least enough for me to get out of town and away from it all for a long weekend.

I’ll be in Austin, visiting the newlyweds, Marissa and Jeff. Marissa and I will be taking day trips to Waco to shop at the Magnolia Silos and to Round Top, Texas to hit the last day of the spring Round Top Antiques Fair. I am so excited!

While I’m there, I’ll still be posting recipes from our Easter supper. Yesterday, we started with my well-deserved cocktail. Today, we have the soup.

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The week leading up to Easter and now a couple of days since have been wrought with angst and issues.

What sort of issues?

1. Missing cats (found after 4+ hours of searching)

2. Connor’s 1:30 AM backed-up kitchen sink – which led to apartment flooding, stinking, and day-long cleanup (not his fault, came from the apartments above him)

3. Connor’s car problems – are still ongoing … now into day eight

4. Quadruple water bills at our house (obviously a leak, but not one that has yet been found)

5. Ongoing care for a parent who had surgery and a subsequent fall

With all that and the fact that I gave up alcohol for Lent, it should come as no surprise that the first recipe I’m going to share from our Easter dinner is a cocktail recipe!

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I want to wish a very happy birthday to two of my sweetest friends.

Happy Birthday, Tram!

Happy Birthday, Amy!

Love you both! xoxo

Ahi Tuna Tacos with Pickled Slaw and Wasabi Cream & Chipotle Mayo

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You may think from the title that this post is an update on my dad’s recent shoulder surgery. Or me updating you on the fact that he went down our staircase on his butt. That wasn’t the original intention, but I will give you that update first and then tell you all about the difference between pork shoulder and pork butt.

So … less than 48 hours after his rotator cuff surgery, my dad decided he should attempt coming down the stairs on his own. Not the best idea! While holding the rail with his left hand (not all the strong since his stroke a few decades back) and with his right arm in a sling, he slipped, hit his right side on the stairs, and slid down to the bottom on his behind.

I could wring his neck! We’d talked about the stairs the day before and I told him I didn’t want him on them without me, Dave, or Connor there to assist. Sunday morning, he decided he didn’t want to bother us, so down he went.

Monday, I took him in for x-rays, and thankfully, the shoulder is fine but he does have two broken ribs. Arrrg!!!! So we’ll be tacking on several more days is not weeks to his stay at the Hopkins’ Recuperating Home. OK, enough of that – on to the pork.

There is often confusion about the cuts of pork referred to as pork shoulder and pork butt. Pork shoulders, pork butts, and picnic “hams” are all part of the same front leg and shoulder of a hog.

What is commonly sold as a pork butt and Boston butt are the same cut of meat – the top portion of what is considered the “whole shoulder” of the hog. This cut is very marbled and often sold skinless, with a large portion of fat on top. The “butt” can be sold boneless or bone-in and weighs between 6 and 9 pounds on average for bone-in, or between 4 and 7 pounds if boneless. There is no need to search out the boneless variety. The bone, the blade, is thin and flat and not at all a nuisance, as you’ll see in the photos below.

In comparison, the pork shoulder is the lower portion of the shoulder. It is located below the joint and above the shank (leg). It is smaller than the pork butt and contains more fat, bone, and connective tissue. It is often sold complete with skin and is rarely sold boneless. This smaller roast usually weighs in at between 4 to 5 pounds.

The important thing to know is that no matter which cut you find in your market, all are interchangeable in any recipe (shredded pork or otherwise) that calls for pork shoulder or pork butt.

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My dad had shoulder surgery to repair his rotator cuff last Friday. He has been recuperating at our house. His favorite meal is pot roast. Since his every wish and need is my command, I made it for him.

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Before I post the final recipe from our Spring Reunion Dinner, I want to acknowledge that today would have been my mom’s 81st birthday. She passed away this past August after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. I wasn’t posting at the time, taking a break while preparing for Marissa’s wedding, but I remember her today. Happy Birthday, Mom. xoxo

Along with the Fresh Fruit – Smoked Salmon Spread, I served this “super hummus” as an appetizer to go with Lori and Jonathan’s super cocktails.

You can use store-bought hummus or any hummus recipe you like and then “pump it up” with these toppings.  I’m linking you with what I made, which is my favorite hummus recipe, it begins with dried chickpeas.

We enjoyed the appetizers and cocktails on the front porch. I’ll share more about the “Spring Shutter” sign later in the week. Photo credit goes to Lori Vento for the two photos above.

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The second entrée salad of our Spring Reunion Dinner contained farro.  Farro is a type of wheat grain. Regular farro needs to be soaked overnight, but quick-cook and ready-to-use farro is ready in only 10 minutes and can be easily found in most grocery stores, including Trader Joe’s. Be sure to find a quick-cook package.

A grill basket is also a must for this recipe. Grill baskets are the only way to go when grilling small items, such as shrimp and cut vegetables.

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For last weekend’s Spring Reunion Dinner, I served two fresh and colorful entrées. Today I post the first, along with a few photos of the flowers and table setting.

I picked up the flowers above at Trader Joe’s when I was grocery shopping for the dinner and arranged them quite simply in a few of the bottles from my “miscellaneous cool bottles” collection.

These beauties were given to me by Lori and I can assure you she didn’t just pick them up at Trader Joe’s – more likely at some fancy florist shop. I arranged them in some of my clear square vases and they were held indoors until it was cool enough to move them to the table on the back patio where we ate our meal.

I decided to keep the table simple, fresh, and clean – like the food.

I started with white placemats and napkins, blue and gold Indian-inspired tea glasses for the water, and frosted white striped wine goblets.

Gold flatware to match the tea glasses and a lovely set of mix/match of bird and floral dishes in simple black and white.

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This layered fruit-cheese salad was the first course for our Spring Reunion Dinner. I decided to make individual servings, but it could be made even easier in a large clear bowl or better yet, in a trifle dish.

If you’re making one large salad, you’ll use all the fruit. For these six small individual portions, you’ll end up with about half of the fruit left or enough to make at least 12 individual servings. So either cut the fruit portions in half or freeze the remaining fruit and use it for smoothies, that’s what I did.

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Yesterday we had Lori’s Honey Paloma Cocktail, today it’s Jonathan’s turn.

Now I can share with you that this cocktail was our unanimous favorite. Lori’s was good but side-by-side, this lemonade won, hands down!

I will also let you know that since I have both navel orange and blood orange plus lemon and Meyer lemon trees in my backyard, we used a mix of all four citrus varieties for our juice base. It’s possible that made all the difference… or maybe it’s just a good recipe no matter which citrus varieties you use.

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