Tangy Fingerling Potato Salad

Looking for a quick and easy potato salad for a summer BBQ or pool party?  Here it is!  It's cold, it's sour, it's salty.  The potatoes also have a great crunch.  It's a delicious little side to go along with some barbecued meat or hamburgers. Give it a try!

Tangy Fingerling Potato Salad
from Martha Stewart

A few variations...
- I used purple, red, and yukon potatoes instead.
- I didn't have any white wine vinegar so used rice vinegar instead.  It worked!

Colorful potatoes.

Cold and tangy.

Barbeque Pork, Chinese Style

Char Siu, which literally means "fork roast", is a staple item throughout the world of Asian food.  This bad boy chunk of meat can be placed on top of anything, from white rice to noodle soups and porridge, and in buns such as "char siu bao", a popular dimsum item, or sandwiched in between bread.  When Bubba from Forest Gump started naming out all the different types of shrimp, "There's shrimp kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo, pan fried, deep fried, stir fried.  There's pineapple shrimp and lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp...", this is exactly what char siu is like for Chinese cuisine.  You can put char siu on everything and pair it with anything!  It is also quite delicious all by itself.

Char Siu (Chinese Barbeque Pork)

Ingredients
- 1 lb pork shoulder (aka pork butt)
- 4 Tbsp Char Siu sauce
I use this brand:

- 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp sugar

Steps
1. Marinate the pork shoulder with char siu sauce, garlic, and black pepper overnight.  At first the sauce is very sticky and hard to manage, but check on the pork a few hours later and the sauce becomes more watery.  At this point, ensure all of the pork gets covered in the garlic char siu marinade.

2. Preheat the oven at 375 degrees.  Take out the marinated pork and let it sit at room temperature while the oven heats.  Place pork in oven for 20-25 minutes.  In the last 5 minutes, spread 1 tsp of sugar on top of pork pieces and place it back in the oven until done.

3. Once the pork is done, let it sit on the counter for 15 minutes.  Thinly slice pork and serve.

Serves 3-4.

A few tips...
...if you desire the "barbeque-crisp-burning" type of barbeque pork, then about 10 minutes before the pork is finished, take out the pork and place it on a hot grill (medium heat) until done.
...pork shoulder is the best piece of meat for this, so don't substitute!  The shoulder contains fat sections that gives the barbeque meat its flavor while cooking.
...this barbeque pork will go well with a previous post of mine: Vietnamese BBQ Pork Vermicelli.  It also went well with a lunch meal I made for my nephew recently, BBQ Pork and Dry Tossed Egg Noodles (adapted from 3 Hungry Tummies.  To note: I only used the noodles dressing recipe and substituted caramel sauce with Hoisin sauce).

sweet and savory pork, tangy eggy noodles, and refreshing stir-fry cabbage with shiitake mushrooms

Shrimp Kebabs (and wishing Summer was here already...)

I'm digging this recipe out of the archives.  Obviously, we made this during one of the nice and hot summer evenings last year, using our outdoor grill whenever we got the chance.  A super simple recipe and light meal, I remember eating and smiling at the same time this day.  It is also pretty darn healthy, since the ingredients only consists of shrimp and tons of veggies.  Next time there is a delightful warm day, give these kebabs a try!

Shrimp Kebabs

Ingredients
Kebab:
- 1 lb of medium-sized shrimp, washed, peeled (leaving only tail on), and deveined
- 1 red peppers, cubed
- 1 medium zucchini, cubed
- 1 box of cremini mushrooms
- 1/2 yellow onion, cubed
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 2 tsp olive oil

Sauce:
- 2 Tbsp butter, melted
- 4 garlic, finely minced
- 1/4 cup of fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper

Tools
- soaked skewers (soaked for at least 1 hour)
- grill
- grilling basket (optional)

Steps
1. In a large bowl, toss all of the kebab items with a pinch of salt and pepper and olive oil.

2. Start assembling the kebabs using the pre-soaked skewers.  Line items in any desired order.  For example, first start with a shrimp --> red pepper --> cremini mushroom --> shrimp --> yellow onion --> zucchini --> shrimp.  Note: to secure the shrimp on the skewer, poke through the tail end and then the body of the shrimp.

3. Prepare the sauce by combining melted butter, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper.

4. Pre-heat the grill (if you have a gas grill, turn the temperature to medium high).  If you have this tool, place the kebabs in a grilling basket for ease of grilling.  Once the grill is hot, place kebabs on the grill.  It should take about 10-15 minutes to cook.  Place a close eye on these while cooking... just in case!  When the kebabs are close to done, brush the kebabs with the prepared butter sauce.

Serves 2.

Two shrimp kebabs with a side of salsa-topped baked potato and a slice of lime. 

Pulled Pork Burrito

On a meat-shopping trip one day to the local supermarket, I saw pork shoulder pieces on sale so I grabbed it.  I was being purely spontaneous, since I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do with it.  A light shed upon me as I came across a pulled pork sandwich recipe on my favorite food blog.  Making pulled pork seemed like a long and complicated process (shows always feature restaurants that would grill and boil and cook big hunk of pork meat and it would take hours and hours), but as I read through the ingredients and method, it seemed pretty simple!  I was amazed.  I just had to make it.

Pulled Pork Burrito
adapted from Pulled Pork Sandwich, Simply Recipes

Ingredients
Sauce:
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 chipotle chili pepper in adobo sauce (plus a little bit of adobo sauce)
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 4 Tbsp light brown sugar

- 1 1/2 pounds of pork shoulder
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups of water
- Salt
- 4 flour tortilla
- 1 heirloom tomato, diced
- 2 lettuce leaves, thinly sliced
- optional: shredded cheese, Spanish rice, beans, onions

Tools
- food processor or blender
- large pot or iron cast pot

Steps
1. Purée all of the sauce ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth. If you have extra time, marinate the pork in the sauce overnight or for several hours before cooking.

2. Put sauce, bay leaf, and pork into a large pot (or crock pot) and add 2 cups of water. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer, covered, turning frequently, for 1.5 hours or until the meat pulls apart easily with a fork.

3. Remove the pork from the pot.  When cool, shred pork into small pieces. Set aside.

4. When the pork is cooling, reduce the sauce by two-thirds. Add the pork back to the sauce. Salt to taste. Remove bay leaf before serving.

5. Heat the flour tortilla by placing it in a hot pan for 1-2 minutes.  Assemble the burrito with pork, diced tomatoes, and lettuce (add additional topping as desired). 

Serves 2.