February 21st, 2011 (7 Ingredient Challenge)

It was President’s day and my Mom, Dad, Julie, Ben, Bryan, Noni, Ryan, Kevin, and Grandpa Coco were due to arrive for my February 7 Ingredient Challenge.  The ingredients I had to use were:

1. pork

2. pomegranate

3. onions

4. mint

5. black beluga lentils (which I could not find and substituted regular ol’ common lentils, Shannon gave me her blessing)

6. sharp cheddar cheese

7. ginger

So I started with this 9 pound bone in pork shoulder roast that I marinated in the slow cooker with pomegranate juice and chicken stock.  I was worried about this one because I started it at 9 am and everything I read was I needed at least 10 hours on low and that was for smaller cuts without a bone.  So I put the slow cooker on high and hoped for the best.  I am breaking every rule with trying something completely new for a night of company.

Whew (with me wiping my forehead in dramatic relief gesture), it was looking like this around 3 pm falling off the bone.  Perfect for shredding.

Shredded it, drained off some juice, added bbq sauce, mustard, and more pomegranate juice and let reduce for the afternoon.  Done.

The condiment tray for the sandwiches.  I also caramelized some onions too for the sandwiches, but I forgot to take a picture of that.  Just picture a little glass bowl of caramelized onions….that’s what it looked like.

So….pork, pomegranate, cheese, onions down.

I’ve really been into roasted garlic lately.  I put 3-4 whole bulbs with the tips cut off in the oven in a foil pack for 30-45 minutes (depending on temp, I normally do it when I already have oven on for something else).  I then squeeze the bulbs into a food processor with herbs and lemon juice to make a vinaigrette and save the rest of the garlic heads I don’t use in the refrigerator for future uses.  I used that technique and put in a ton of mint.

 

I then mixed the vinaigrette with cooked lentils, cannellini beans, and garnished with bacon. 

So…..lentils and mint done.

For the ginger I was going to make a salad dressing and serve it with, you guessed it, a salad.  But Grandpa Coco doesn’t eat salad and I wanted to serve him some sort of vegetables.  So I baked carrots and green beans in the oven covered with a mixture of ginger, tons of garlic, butter, salt, pepper, and chicken stock.

So….ginger done.

Grandpa Coco is always sent home with a doggie bag, here is leftover pulled pork and veggies for his lunch tomorrow. 

The kids had fun playing and I didn’t subject them to adult menu, they feasted on applesauce, buns, cheese, grapes, and strawberries.  I think Bryan might have had some pulled pork, little trooper kid!

Ben’s self portrait of eating pulled pork sandwich.

Waiting for dessert, which was Peanut Butter and Jelly Bread Budding.  No 7 ingredients in there, I wanted to use all the ingredients for dinner and thought the kids would get a kick out of their favorite sandwich made into a dessert, and maybe some adults too.

Here are some of the remarks from the night:

Julie said:

As an eater of the 7 ingredient challenge, I was very satisfied with the combination of it all! The lentils were the yummiest to me (perfectly cooked and bacon never hurts!). Also the PB and J bread pudding was sensational. I am not a bread pudding fan usually but it was not too soggy (I hate soggy bread pudding) and cooked perfectly so that the top had a little crust to it!

Note to Julie: you hate soggy bread pudding???  I don’t believe you because I’ve seen you eat the soggiest bowls of cereal of my life growing up!  Isn’t soggy cereal the same as soggy bread pudding?

Ryan said:

All was super yummy. (although I didn't eat any onions). The pork was tender and tangy. The lentils were flawless. I love bread pudding but peanut butter concerns me. however, I had a second helping of this magic PB&J bread pudding.

Another fun night of a random meal for family and friends!  It’s very much like Forrest Gump’s take on chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get!  Until next time!