Cuban Style Pulled Pork with Mojo Sauce

I smoked some pork the other day on the ol' Weber grill and it turned out great. Made a spice paste out of freshly ground cumin and black pepper, salt, garlic, olive oil, and oregano. I let it marinate over night and then smoked it for about 3 hours, followed by a bake in the over for 2 hours (wrapped in foil). The mojo sauce is composed of one cup freshly squeezed orange juice, one cup freshly squeezed lime juice, salt and pepper to taste, 6 cloves of garlic mashed into a paste, and freshly ground cumin (about 2 tablespoons). Put the mojo ingredients into a sauce pan and reduce for a bit, until you get a good consistency sauce. Shred the pork once it is ready (after it rests for an hour wrapped in a paper grocery bag to steam the meat further). Serve with rice and beans and pass the mojo sauce.

Great recipe. I loved the citrusy sauce with the pork. I get tired of traditional pulled pork condiments/sauces and this is a refreshing change for the summer.

Shrimp and (why is Jeff posting this before Simpkins?) Grits

So after sleeping in until 1130 or so today I needed some breakfast, and the kitchen was bare. Then I remembered a bag of a few frozen shrimp, and some polenta way in the back of the cupboard, so with no other options I had my first go at shrimp and grits. Turned out pretty great, I can only imagine what professional (like those made by chris simpkins) S&G taste like. I didn't have any cream, but the polenta was still much better than my first attempt, also the only cheese I had was parmesean, but it is the King of cheeses, so it did the job.

Polenta was made with water, polenta, salt, pepper, butter, and parm.

For the grits I sauteed some onion, bell pepper, and shitake together. Then I added garlic and the shrimp that I seasoned with salt and cayenne. Sauteed that for a minute then I through in a splash of white wine and finished it off with a pat of butter. Poured the shrimp mix over the polenta and topped with some parm and parsley. Not bad for an impromptu first go. Would have been dank with some white cheddar and bacon fat of some sort. So come on Simpkins, show me how its done...

GARDEN GAZPACHO

Wondering what to do with all your fresh tomatoes?

I had a gazpacho recently at my parents' favorite restaraunt in Michigan, the River Crab. When my co-worker Rob gave me a bag full of tomatoes, I thought I would give it a shot. It wasn't as good as the River Crabs' but it held its own and is very refreshing in this late summer heat. It's also very healthy as it is primarily composed of all fresh and raw veggies. The only other addition I might make is some sliced avacado. (I have a feeling somebody is going to rip on me for posting 2 tomato soup recipes back to back....)

From The Columbus Dispatch
Makes 8 servings

Because a food processor (or blender) is used to puree the mixture, you need to roughly chop only a portion of the vegetables and dice the other portion for garnish.

2 pounds tomatoes, seeded
1 red bell pepper
1 green or yellow bell pepper
1 jalapeno, seeds and white removed
3 salad cucumbers
1 large shallot
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon hot-red-pepper sauce
1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium or no-salt-added tomato juice or vegetable juice
1 ear fresh corn, uncooked and kernels removed
2 teaspoons sugar
4 to 6 green onions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
Fresh basil, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste

Roughly chop about three-fourths of the tomatoes. Place in a food processor fitted with the metal blade or a blender. Dice the remaining tomatoes and set aside.

Roughly chop half of each of the bell peppers and add to the food processor. Dice the remaining bell peppers and set aside.

Remove seeds from jalapeno and roughly chop. Add to food processor.

Peel, seed and roughly chop two of the cucumbers and add to the food processor. Leave the peel on the remaining cucumber, slice in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and dice. Set aside.

Add the shallot, garlic cloves, olive oil, vinegar and hot-pepper sauce to the food processor. Process until smooth, about 1 minute.

Transfer to a glass bowl (or leave in the blender jar). Stir in the tomato juice, corn, basil, remaining diced tomatoes, sugar, half of the green onions and salt and pepper to taste. Adjust seasoning as necessary.

Chill for 2 hours. Serve in cups or bowls, garnished with a bit of the diced bell peppers, diced cucumbers, minced garlic and green onion slices. (I also added a splash of lime juice to this mixture to reduce the bite from the raw green onion)