Chipotle in Adobo Shredded Pork

I spent time with a good friend while I was in Miami during winter break. She had recently worked in Chipotle, and had all the recipes. She made chipotle in adobo marinated chicken, and we basically ate all night. I'm never around people who cook with mexican ingredients, so this was my first encounter with a can of Chipotle in Adobo. It was smoky and spicy when she pan fried the chicken. I knew I had to get back home and experiment. I blended the chipotle peppers in the adobo sauce, used about 2 tbsp and saved the rest for later.

I rarely measure when I cook; add some of the ingredients at your discretion.

2 lbs of pork, cut into 1" chunks
2 tbsp chipotles in adobo, blended into a paste
1/2 can of tomato paste
1/2 c orange pineapple juice
orange zest
heavy dash red wine vinegar (~ 2 tbsp)
heavy dash olive oil (~ 2 tbsp)
5 garlic cloves
small chunk of white onion (~ 1 inch)
heavy dash oregano (~ 1/2 tsp)
heavy dash cumin (~ 1/2 tsp)
dash black pepper

Blend chipotle paste, tomato paste, juice, zest, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, onion, and spices. Toss the pork chunks and the sauce in a large tupperware and refrigerate overnight.

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Pan fry the pork until seared on all sides (I did this in two batches because my pan was small). Pour the rest of the marinade, lower the heat, and cover. Let it simmer for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally.

Pull the pork pieces out and shred them with two forks. Mix the pork back in with the adobo sauce. At this point it's perfect to eat, but I let the now shredded pork simmer for a couple more hours until dinnertime.

Next time I'll use an extra tablespoon of the chipotle paste, since a lot of the heat simmered away. It was still mildly spicy and smokey, though. I really loved it.

David and I have a few days left of our low carb diet, so I ended up topping a salad with it. I saved the rest for burritos later this week. The salad dressing used some of chipotle adobo paste.

chipotle adobo paste
red wine vinegar
sour cream
honey
salt
pepper

Disclaimer: neither my friend or I are Mexican and claim no cultural authenticity for this dish.

Bacon Crusted Mini Quiche

Writing a food blog is surprisingly a lot of work. I've spent most of my Saturday afternoon figuring out a photo editing program. I'm not very good with it, so I decided to make the auto fix option my best friend! David's brother's christmas gift (a 4 month bacon club subscription!) is the final catalyst for this much wanted blog. For the month of January we received a pound of applewood smoked bacon from Wisconsin.

 

Bacon is pretty much my favorite breakfast meat, so I decided to make it the crust of mini quiche, since I stay away from the traditional crust because I try not to eat gluten. The mini quiche came out adorable and savory!

Ingredients: 

•  6 slices of bacon
• 4 eggs
• 4-5 green onions, chopped, white and green parts separated
•  1 small shallot, chopped
• 1/2 cup of cheese (I used a 3 blend cheese I found in the fridge)
• 1/2 cup of heavy cream
• 1/2 tablespoon of butter
• nonstick butter spray
• salt & pepper

Heat the oven to 350° F. Place bacon in a single layer on a baking pan and bake for about 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, saute the white parts of the onion and the shallot in butter. 

 

Coat the pan with the nonstick spray. Cut the bacon into thin strips (I used scissors) and arrange into the cups as pictured below, to form the crust of the quiche.

In a large bowl, mix the eggs with the onions, cream, cheese, and salt and pepper. Don't be too generous with the salt because the bacon will be salty!

Pour two tablespoons of the mixture into each cup. 

 

Bake at 350° F for about 15 minutes.

 

I love potatoes with my breakfast, but I didn't have any fresh ones. There was no way I was stepping out into the January cold on this fine Saturday morning, so I did the next best thing and made home potatoes out of crinkle cut frozen fries. 

Pan Seared Steak with Shallot-Brandy Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 4-5 oz. steaks (I used filet mignon. Flank steak is also a good option)
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1 teaspoon of brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of brandy
• 1/4 cup of heavy cream
• 1/4 cup of beef broth
• 1/2 teaspoon of tapioca flour
• salt & pepper

Sprinkle salt and pepper on the steaks and set aside.

Prepare the rest of the ingredients while the steak is resting. I used half a shallot, but I think a whole shallot will be more delicious. 

The brandy, cream, and shallots. The stars of the show. Well, besides the juicy steak.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Since my steak are about 1 inch thick, I cooked them about 5 minutes on each side for a medium to medium-rare steaks. I used this pan instead of my skillet because this one is awesome for deglazing.

Once done, set aside and cover. I wrapped it in aluminum foil and put in my toaster oven so it will stay warm. Add the butter to the pan until melted. Then, cook the shallots for about 3 minutes until tender. 

Add the sugar and stir. Then, add the brandy and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the cream. At this point it seemed a bit watery and I didn't want my steak to get cold, so I slowly added the tapioca flour while I whisked to thicken it up. Add salt and pepper to taste. Slice the steaks and pour sauce over it.

I served it with sauteed pre-cut veggie mix and instant mashed potatoes, because I'm a lazy cook.

All done!