Dody Denman

I often refer to myself as the “Queen of Leftovers” and I want to share with you why I deserve such a title…

If Mike could only have one type of animal protein for the rest of his life it would be pork.  When pork is served this is one happy man.  We recently ate at a Puerto Rican restaurant and he ordered pork shoulder.  Since there was an eight pound slab of “the other white meat” in our freezer, I decided to research some recipes, combined with my knowledge of Latin flavours and created this recipe.  Although he is quite happy with eating a platter of meat for days…I need a little variety.

The first night I served the shoulder with roasted corn and broccoli.  Last week I gave you my “Broccoli Cheese Soup” recipe using the left over veggie.  Add a sandwich of pork, with the soup, and you have another great meal.

Staying close to original theme, I created tacos by making “Black Bean and Roasted Corn Salsa”, with the left over corn.  Heat corn tortillas in dry pan or microwave.   Fill warm tortillas with pork, diced avocado and salsa.

Using most of these same ingredients, substituting corn for flour tortillas, and it becomes quesadillas.  Heat large skillet over medium heat with small amount of oil or butter.  Place flour tortilla in pan. Add pulled or diced pork and shredded cheddar cheese on one half of tortilla.  Fold tortilla in half over meat and cheese.  Heat until golden brown and cheese is melted.  Turn and brown the other side.  Remove to plate.  Slice into wedges.  Serve with salsa and avocado.

At this point, I wanted something different from the chunk of pork still in the ‘fridge.  I thought of the ingredients remaining and came up with a great idea…“Southwestern Egg Rolls!”  I just happened to have a package of square wontons.  (My refrigerator and pantry are ridiculously well stocked!)  I finely diced about a cup of pork and added the last cup of bean and corn salsa mixing them together.  Following directions on the wonton package, I created egg rolls.  I didn’t want to fry them, so I lightly brushed with oil and baked at 350 degrees about 15 minutes or until golden and crispy.

A little creativity and you too can “take what’s left and make it over!”

Join me for the Metropolitan Cooking and Entertainment Show Houston Saturday September 14^th and 15^th.  For more information: http://www.metrocookinghouston.com/

Puerto Rican Pork Shoulder

Ingredients

o          8 lbs picnic pork shoulder

o          8-10 minced garlic cloves

o          1 1/2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning

o          1/2 teaspoon black pepper

o          6 tablespoons olive oil

o          3 tablespoons white vinegar

o          8 teaspoons salt ( or 1 teaspoon of salt per pound of meat)

o          1/2 cup loosely packed parsley or cilantro

o          1 lime, zest and juice

o          1/2 tsp ground chipotle

o          1 tsp ancho chili powder

Directions

1.         Wash the pork shoulder. Pat dry.

2.         With a sharp knife, make 1 inch deep cuts into the pork.

3.         Place the reminder of ingredients into blender and process until well blended.

4.         Spoon some of the mixture into cuts and spread remaining over entire pork.

5.         Refrigerate at least 8 hours and up to 48.

6.         Bake at 375 degrees for 5-6 hours

7.         Remove foil and bake another hour until skin is crisp.

Black Bean and Roasted Corn Salsa

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 ears corn, roasted

1/2 cup red onion, diced

1/2 red or yellow bell pepper, diced

1 small or 1/2 large jalapeno, finely diced

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

3 Tbs. lime juice

2 Tbs. olive oil

Salt and pepper

Roast corn and remove kernels.  Put in medium size bowl.  Rinse and drain black beans.  Add to corn with remainder of ingredients.  Salt and pepper to taste.