Tag Archives: whiskey

Mike’s Birthday Dinner Part 1: Pulled Pork and Mac & Cheese Tarts

15 Nov

Since it has been mostly a birthday theme lately, I figured I’d wrap it up with the meal I made for Mike on his actual birthday (as opposed to our dining at Lincoln, which was a few days later).  I asked Mike what he wanted, and while it wasn’t quite as epic an undertaking as last year, it was still fun.  He asked that I cook something I never have before.  I decided it was time to try to make pulled pork.

I got a recipe that sounded right up our alley… it involved salt and whiskey.

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It requires a day of brining before preparing, so I set it up to brine in 1 cup salt, 1 cup sugar, Thyme (1 sprig), 2 shots whiskey and 1 Tbl. mustard

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When I took it out the next day, it semlled awesomely like whiskey.

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I rinsed the sucker off.

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And popped it into my awesome slow cooker, which is definitely becoming one of my alltime favorite appliances!

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I came home at lunch and added a chopped onion and some seasoning.  It was supposed to have paprika, but I’m allergic, so I went with Italian seasoning.

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Then I set it on low for 8 hours and started baking cookies for dessert.  That post is to come. And yes… I baked cookies on my lunch break.  Living next to my offices is AMAZING.  And I was gone for less than 45 minutes and brought back cookies for the whole office.  Not too shabby.

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When I got home from work, I immediately set out upon starting my new creation of Mac & Cheese Tarts. You may remember that I made chicken tarts in the past, but I figured it would be fun to try them with mac & cheese instead.  And what’s the first thing you have to do when making homemade mac & chee?

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Grate.  I hate grating.  I don’t know why this kitchen chore drives me so nuts, but I’m always nicking my fingers or getting down to a nub that I don’t know what to do with.  On the wish list: Automatic cheese grater.

My version of homemade mac & cheese is pretty simple.  Cook pasta.  Melt in cheese of choice.  This time it was sharp cheddar.

I then took that mac and cheese and mixed it with sliced grape tomatoes, chives, and mushrooms.  I then put it in the croissant lined cups and topped it with a dash of breadcrumbs.

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They baked for about 15 minutes at 375 degrees until the corners started to get brown.

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Highly delectable, but would make it with more flavorful cheese next time.  For sharp cheddar, it was pretty blah.

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For a quick appetizer, I found some beautiful heirloom tomatoes.

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And I cut up some smoke mozzarella and topped it all with basil and a splash of olive oil.  The smoked mozzarella added an awesome pop to this.

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As a side, I took some a multicolor cauliflower/broccoli pack from FreshDirect.com and roasted them up.

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For some odd reason, I guess there was a chemical reaction that created a bright BLUE color.  If you look in the top right corner of the dish in the picture below, you will see it.  What on earth it was, I have no idea, but we ate it anyway.

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And then… the timer went off.

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It smelled so good in there. And it “pulled” very easily.  All you need are some tongs or a fork and it all just comes right off.

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I put it into a bowl with the skin and fat and drippings.  MMM MMM MMM.

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I baked up some pre-made, par baked bread (I still have yet to go back and try bread again after the catastrophe of the last time).

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It was delicious, but I thought it tasted a wee bit better with some worcestershire sauce.  Next time, I think I’ll make a sauced pulled pork instead of a dry one.