Cola Ham Hocks with Miso Glaze (SP)

• 4 ham hocks (about 1 pound each) [I used slices since I thought they would be easier to sear off.]
• 2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 cup dry vermouth
• one 12-ounce can cola
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 star anise
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves

MISO GLAZE

• 1/4 cup red miso
• 1/2 cup apple cider
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons sorghum
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

Mise en place.

Soak hocks in cold water for 30 minutes.  Then pat dry.

Brown hocks.

Saute onions and garlic for 2 minutes.

Add in everything but glaze ingredients and braise for 2 hours.  I considered letting this go and braise while I went out for karaoke which would've amounted to 4 hours.  I tried contacting Aly Lopez about whether or not this was a good idea but had already left the house when she answered.

I should've done it.

When hocks are almost done, heat glaze ingredients until dissolved and syrupy.

Glaze the ham hocks and broil for a couple minutes after being pulled from the braising liquid.  They are accompanied here with a side dish that is also in Edward Lee Jr's cookbook but was sourced so poorly that I rather not talk about it.

Ha, I guess the ham hocks could've been more tender, but they were pretty good.  The braising liquid was awesome.  I wonder if the flavor would have altered much if I used Coca-Cola rather than Whole Foods cola.

Chicken-Fried Pork Steak with Ramen Crust and Buttermilk Gravy (SP)

BUTTERMILK PEPPER GRAVY

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup ham broth or chicken stock
• 1/4 cup whole milk, or as needed
• 1 tablespoon buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

• 4 boneless pork rib chops (cutlets)
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• One 3.5-ounce package dried ramen noodles, pounded until crumbled but not pulverized
• 1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil

Gravy mise en place.

I'm pretty sure I've never made real straight up gravy before since I'm not really ever roasting large cuts of meats for the holidays or anything.  Someday.

This is more like a bechamel/veloute.  I've done that before.

Melt butter over low heat.

Sprinkle in flour and stir until smooth.  Cook off the raw flour taste but do not allow the roux to color.  I tried to go for a nutty scent, but it wasn't asking for it anyway.

Add broth, milk, and buttermilk.  Cook until it coats the back of the spoon.  Seaaon with salt and pepper.

Lee Jr says he likes his "really salty", but I was inclined toward moderation.

I apologize not showcaing the whole breading process.  But

1) Dredge pork in flour.

2) Dip in mixture of egg and whole milk.

3) Dump in the bread crumbs and ramen.  Press that stuff on.

Fry for 2 minutes on each side.

And finish them off in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.

 

I was disappointed by how few likes this picture got on Facebook, but I understand that it doesn't look like the prettiest dish I ever made.

I totally dig chicken-fried stuff myself.  Ramen only makes things better and it's cool to have a "gravy" that came together really easily.  I can't be bothered to make sides most of the time so I just microwaved those veggies in a bag.

Ropa Vieja in Carolina Red Rice (SP)

• 2 pounds flank steak, cut into 4-inch-wide sections against the grain [$14.99/pound at Whole Foods versus $5.99 at Mckinnons?  It's a no brainer.]
• 4 cups beef or chicken stock
• 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, chopped (with the seeds) [I swore I bought one and am more or less certain that I managed to get him home with me.  But I couldn't find it.]
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cups Carolina rice [I'm not about to special order this, but Edward Lee Jr says any long-grain rice is fine and that doesn't mean you should be using arborio rice here, dummy.  Maybe I was being kind of a dummy for using brown basmati rather than the white Jasmine I have around.]
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes [I used diced tomatoes because I couldn't find a small can of crushed tomatoes.  Although when I went to the new Whole Foods on Beacon St in Inman they had smallish aseptic San Marzanos.]
• 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced into ribbons
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan (1 ounce)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley [Nope]
• Kosher salt [Everyone's got their own opinion on the proper salt to use and Lee Jr's being pretty straight-forward about his choice.  As for me I'll leave it in the cupboard and use the grey sea salt I've been using since I read Michael Chiarello.] and freshly ground black pepper

This version has quite a bit more depth than Mark Bittman's take on this.  I cooked that version in early May I presume.  Late April, who knows what my posting habits were like.

Throw everything up to the freshly ground pepper in a pot and simmer, covered, for 2 hours.  Uncover and simmer for another 40 minutes.

Transfer meat to bowl, cool for twenty minutes, and then shred into bite pieces.  Pour over the cooking liquid and vegetables.

Home stretch mise en place.  I did this the second day.  If I hadn't used brown rice, this probably would've taken a lot less time.

Toast rice in butter for two minutes.  I had already added the water by this point.

But everything but the Parmesan was going to make it in.  Mark Bittman's recipe: no Parmesan, no rice...

The rice suggested in the recipe was supposed to cook through in 12 minutes which seems kind of crazy to me.  It took me a good amount longer than that.

Add meat and vegetables to the rice.  Stir in Parmesan and that green stuff people use sometimes in cooking...

Really, really satisfying dish.  At least at first kiss; I can't say it was the same experience after taking a trip in the microwave in subsequent days, but not every dish makes it.
You guys should compare the ingredients list between this and the Bittman dish.  It's also a full dish with the added grains instead of being served on top of rice.

Oxtail Stew with Lima Beans (SP)

• 3 pounds oxtails, cut into 2-inch segments
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons corn oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 10 ounces carrots (about 2 large carrots), peeled and coarsely chopped
• 2 green bell peppers, cored, seeded, and coarsely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
• 1 habanero pepper, finely chopped
• 3 plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 8 ounces (3/4 cup) black bean paste [Um, Lee Jr and some other folks think this should be ubiquitous in supermarkets, but I had to use black bean sauce.  I do have fermented black beans, but I dunno if just whizzing them up in a food processor would make them a puree.  Those things are quite salty and 8 ounces is a lot of them.]
• 1 cup dry sherry
• 2 whole star anise
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 cup fresh or frozen lima beans    

Soak oxtail in cold water for 30 minutes.  Pat dry, toss with flour, and brown.

Mise en place.

Sautee onions, carrots (I actually didn't have any.  They had gone bad in the fridge.), green peppers, garlic, ginger, and habanero pepper (I actually just used a jalapeno).

Add oxtail, tomatoes, black bean paste, sherry, star anise, sugar, and pepper.  Then add stock and allspice.

Simmer uncovered for 3 hours.

Add lima beans and simmer for 20 minutes.

 

I was still totally braising the dish when my parents were over.  My mother tasted the sauce and said it was pretty spicy.  When I actually sat down to eat some of this (It was more like 5 hours of braising), I had to agree.

I don't know why since all I used was a damn jalapeno.  I could perhaps blame it on the black bean sauce since lord knows what was in that.  Overall, a good dish but overly hot.

BTW, Edward Lee Jr was my favorite cheftestant on Top Chef Texas and and overwhelming number of the recipes I found in his cookbook definitely seemed accessible and enticing.