Today, we’re tasting bay leaves. They’re a simple ingredient we’ve all used, but do you know what they really taste like? Follow along with me as we taste them together!
Video
Clementine Mojo – a tasty sauce for rich pork
This clementine mojo accompanies the smoky potluck pintxos along with our romesco sauce. I did this video separately to have a faster turnaround time. Check out this tasty sauce that does great with pork!
Clementine Mojo
Category:
Sauce
Cuisine:
Spanish
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 8 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
- 3 tablespoons clementine (or orange) juice
- 1/2 cup lime juice
- 1/3 cup water or juice/drippings from pork
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- black pepper to taste, about a teaspoon
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in small saucepan over medium heat until shimmering
- Add garlic slices and cook until fragrant and starting to turn a pale golden color. Do not burn!
- Add remaining ingredients and bring to boil, about 3 minutes
- Allow to cool, refrigerate, and serve
Nutrition information
Serving Size:
8g small spoonful
Calories per serving:
14
Fat per serving:
1.4g
Saturated fat per serving:
0.2g
Carbs per serving:
1g
Protein per serving:
0g
Fiber per serving:
0g
Sugar per serving:
0g
Sodium per serving:
58mg
Trans fat per serving:
0g
Cholesterol per serving:
0mg
Printed from: https://explorers.kitchen
Adapted from Epicurious.
Tasting and lessons learned
This was a super easy recipe to make and is a nice thing to have in your repertoire. I had always thought a mojo was more involved, but this is nothing to be intimidated by.
Romesco sauce for potluck pintxos
This romesco sauce is an accompanying recipe to the potluck pintxos we posted for the holidays. You can watch the video of this recipe here, but be sure to check out the recipe for those smoky pork shoulder bites.
This recipe was adapted from Serious Eats.
Romesco sauce for potluck pintxos
Category:
Sauce
Cuisine:
Spanish
Ingredients
- 2 slices of sandwich bread cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1/2 of a 14.5oz can of diced tomatoes (preferably Muir Glen)
- 1/2 head garlic
- 1/2 cup smoked almonds
- 7 small sweet peppers or 2 red bell peppers
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white wine or sherry vinegar
- Optional: 1/4 cup pork juice/drippings
Instructions
Prep
5 minutes
Cook
35 minutes
Ready in
40 minutes
- Preheat oven to 375F
- Place almonds, bread, and garlic on a parchment-lined sheet to toast
- Toast in oven until fragrant, about 10 minutes
- Remove bread and almonds, but return garlic to oven to continue roasting until tender, about 20 more minutes
- Meanwhile, char the peppers on a charcoal grill or directly on the burner of a gas stove
- Place charred peppers in and cover tightly with plastic wrap for 20 minutes to allow the skin to loosen in the steam
- Remove seeds, stem/core, and skin
- Peel garlic
- Add all ingredients to food processor or blender and process until smooth
Nutrition information
Serving Size:
17g spoonfuls
Calories per serving:
20
Fat per serving:
1.5g
Saturated fat per serving:
0.2g
Carbs per serving:
2g
Protein per serving:
0g
Fiber per serving:
0g
Sugar per serving:
1g
Sodium per serving:
64mg
Trans fat per serving:
0g
Cholesterol per serving:
0mg
Printed from: https://explorers.kitchen
Tasting and lessons learned
This was a lovely addition to my potluck pork pintxos! The nutty flavors from the almonds were very pleasant and the various smoked ingredients lightly complimented the smoked pork shoulder bites. The vinegar is essential in this recipe because it helps to cut through some of the fattiness of the pork shoulder.
In the future, I would cut this batch in half or smaller. It makes a lot of sauce and only keeps in the fridge for about 5 days. I haven’t tried freezing it, but that may be an option in the future.
Potluck Pintxos – Smoked Pork Shoulder Bites
Today, I’ve got the perfect thing for your holiday potluck – my take on pintxos!
I cooked a whole pork shoulder sous vide until it is perfectly tender and then cubed it and rubbed on my favorite seasonings. To give it a smoky flavor, I gave it a quick 30-minute smoke while I prepped a romesco sauce to accompany the pintxos.
This dish was a total hit at my work’s 2018 holiday potluck this year and disappeared quickly! This is a great potluck idea for you to have a killer dish.
Potluck Pintxos – Smoked Pork Shoulder Bites
Category:
Appetizer
Cuisine:
Spanish-American fusion
Ingredients
- 8-10 lbs bone-in pork shoulder
- 1/2 cup favorite BBQ rub (we used Jeff’s Naked Rib Rub)
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon chipotle powder
Instructions
- Set sous vide immersion circulator to 140F (60C)
- Place vacuum packed pork shoulder in water bath
- Sous vide for 18 hours
- Remove pork from bath, open vacuum pouch
- Cut out bone, trim pork removing much of the fat and gristle
- Cut pork into roughly 1.5 in (4cm) cubes
- Coat pork thoroughly with rub
- Optional: refrigerate for 8-10 hours or overnight
- Set-up smoker to 225-350F (120-175C)
- Add hickory chunks (or your favorite hardwood)
- Smoke for 30 minutes
- Serve immediately or chill and reheat for a potluck
Notes
Optional overnight chilling allows salt to penetrate meat since we cooked it completely unseasoned. Also, cold objects absorb smoke more readily than hot objects, so it helps it to pick up that flavor. Smoking temp isn’t critical, the meat is fully cooked and we just want it to absorb smoke flavor.
Nutrition information
Serving Size:
4 oz/ 104g
Calories per serving:
189 calories
Fat per serving:
12g
Saturated fat per serving:
4g
Carbs per serving:
3g
Protein per serving:
16g
Fiber per serving:
0g
Sugar per serving:
2g
Sodium per serving:
1364mg
Trans fat per serving:
0g
Cholesterol per serving:
59mg
Printed from: https://explorers.kitchen
Equipment used (affiliate links):
- Global knives: https://amzn.to/2zzElav
- Aluminum foil: https://amzn.to/2TRBy50
- Anova Sous vide: https://amzn.to/2V7MxrP
- Weber Kettle Grill: https://amzn.to/2VdJYEE
- Jeff’s Rib Rub (non-affiliate): https://order.smoking-meat.com/products/jeffs-rub-recipe-and-sauce-recipe
Tasting and Lessons Learned
Normally, I prefer to give the meats plenty of time to absorb the salt in the recipe. Therefore, I usually strongly prefer to season it before bagging it for sous vide. However, for this recipe, I cooked it before seasoning. I wasn’t too worried because I would be cutting the pork up to manageable 1.5″ pieces and then seasoning the cubes with salt (in the rub). The salt-level turned out to be perfect.
I had two resting times built-in. First, after the sous vide cooking I cubed the meat and then seasoned it, letting it rest while I went to work for the day. It got another overnight rest after the 30 minute smoke. That gave plenty of time for the sodium to distribute throughout the meat pieces.
To reheat for my potluck, I used a Crock Pot on high to get it up to temperature over the course of the morning, then at serving time, I reduced it to “Keep Warm.” The Crock Pot company does not recommend using a slow cooker to reheat, but I’ve never had troubles. In my testing, food gets out of the “danger zone” in less than 2 hours, so I feel comfortable using it in the right application.
As for tasting, this recipe was a hit at my potluck. The pork was smoky and spicy, but not overpowering. I was serving this to a Midwestern crowd, so I didn’t want to make it too hot! It hit the mark perfectly and praise was heaped upon this dish throughout the potluck.
Related sauces
Sweet Potato Pie: The new king of your holiday table in 2018
Today we’re making Sweet Potato Pie! 
There are many recipes out there, but we like this one from Nicole Rucker because of it’s rustic take on it with a wide lattice and chunky, interesting texture. It was our first time cooking a sweet potato pie and were surprised at how easy it was to make. We liked the texture and flavor a lot better than perfectly smooth one-crust pies because of the “bite variation” this recipe offers.
The colors got a little goofy on the back half of the video – sorry about that! I was having some trouble exporting the file.
Choose your favorite crust to make with this or try one of the three we tested as part of our Pie Crust Showdown in 2017:
Makes one 9.5" pie. Great served warm with vanilla ice cream!
Sweet Potato Pie
Ingredients
Instructions
Prep2 hours
Cook1 hour, 45 minutes
Ready in3 hours, 45 minutes
Pre cook the yams:
Create the syrup:
Roll out crust:
Assemble and bake:Notes
https://explorers.kitchen/recipes/rustic-sweet-potato-pie/Nutrition information
Serving Size:
1/8th of recipe (280g)
Calories per serving:
897
Fat per serving:
56g
Saturated fat per serving:
32g
Carbs per serving:
95g
Protein per serving:
7g
Fiber per serving:
6g
Sugar per serving:
29g
Sodium per serving:
1226mg
Trans fat per serving:
1.8g
Cholesterol per serving:
125mgPrinted from: https://explorers.kitchen
Equipment used (affiliate links):
- Global knives: https://amzn.to/2zzElav
- Microplane: https://amzn.to/2TX2EIc
- Y-Peeler: https://amzn.to/2Pa5Lc7
- Anchor glass casserole: https://amzn.to/2Seqm0O
- Bench Scraper: http://amzn.to/2ES4GRB
- Rolling pin: https://bit.ly/2TVwGff
- Pie pan: https://bit.ly/2KHTnQ3
- Pie serving knife: https://bit.ly/2DOLRRT
- Cooling rack: https://amzn.to/2TXjkze
- OXO containers: https://amzn.to/2TYHjOg
- Aluminum foil: https://amzn.to/2TRBy50
Music:
- Natural Phonograph Music: http://bit.ly/2DmzTji
- Who Ha: https://soundcloud.com/thewhoha
- anoopScoop: https://soundcloud.com/anoophariharan
- Aries Beats: https://soundcloud.com/aries4rce/
Adapted from Nicole Rucker’s recipe on KCRW: https://kcrw.co/2KGQhM0
Hrudka – Easter Cheese from Eastern Europe – Sous vide and traditional methods!
It’s March and while we should be starting to get some warmer Spring-like weather here in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, it’s still kind of wintery. Last Wednesday, we got 12-18 inches of snow in some places, but that doesn’t keep me from knowing that Spring is just around the corner. Easter is also only a week away now and it is time to make some hrudka, eastern European Easter Cheese.
Slovakian heritage, but found hrudka later in life
I visit my grandmother’s family’s town in Slovakia
My last name is Jaszewski. My father’s father’s side is Polish and my father’s mother’s family has Rusyn roots in the Carpathian mountains of what is now Slovakia, but I didn’t have hrudka in my Easter basket growing up.
I first tasted it when a co-worker, Chris, mentioned it me a few years back. He knew that I was into food and thought that is was something I might enjoy. So I gave it a shot and made it at home.
Russian orthodox church in Chmelova
Hurdka is a simple cheese that takes little effort to make at home.
It was delicious! How had I missed this growing up?
My grandmother’s Easter cheese
This year, when I was prepping to make my hrudka, I decided to call my grandmother to see if it was something she ever made. Turns out she made it for my father and his siblings every year for Easter. Instead of hanging to drain the liquid off, she pressed it under a pan filled with water to weigh it down. She also made cheese bread. These would be part of the Easter baskets each year. My grandparents and their kids would bring the baskets with their kielbasa down to the church on Holy Saturday for mass and then to be blessed in preparation for Easter the next day.
History of this recipe
When my mom married my dad, she was given a book of the Eastern recipes at her bridal shower. His family knew that he loved the food he grew up with and she could make his favorites in their new lives together. She still has the book: Our Traditional and Favorite Recipes; Fourth Printing 1978. Compiled by the Mother’s Club of St. Mary’s Russian Orthodox Church, Minneapolis, MN. That book has the recipes for the Hrudka – Easter Cheese (listed as “egg cheese ball” & “hrudka”), as well as the “Cheese Bread” that I understand, is called paska. One look at this vintage book and you can tell how much it has been loved and used over the years my parents have been married – 35 years and counting!
The version for hrudka in the book doesn’t call for sugar or vanilla, but that varies according to your personal taste. The version I made originally did include vanilla, so I’ll include it below as an optional addition for a “sweet” variation. It is also possible to make savory variations with the addition of pepper, chives, parsley, wild garlic, saffron, etc.
Really, it is a blank canvas that you could use to customize however you like. I happen to favor the sweet version the best and eat it straight. My coworker, Chris, and my dad’s family made the plain cheese and then put it into a sandwich. There are so many great ways to eat it!
Nutrition is based on "base" recipe without sugar or add-ins. Time is assuming sous vide.
Hrudka – Easter Cheese from Eastern Europe - Sous vide and traditional methods
Category:
brakfast
Cuisine:
Slovakain, Ukranian, Eastern EuropeanIngredients
For the basic base:
For the sweet variation
For the savory variationInstructions
Prep10 minutes
Cook1 hour, 30 minutes
Ready in1 hour, 40 minutes
Traditional cooking method
For the sous vide methodNotes
https://explorers.kitchen/recipes/hrudka-easter-cheese/Nutrition information
Serving Size:
151g
Calories per serving:
192
Fat per serving:
10.52
Saturated fat per serving:
4.57g
Carbs per serving:
1.67g
Protein per serving:
7.67g
Fiber per serving:
0g
Sugar per serving:
15.81g
Sodium per serving:
357mg
Trans fat per serving:
0g
Cholesterol per serving:
288mgPrinted from: https://explorers.kitchen
Cooking and lessons learned
When I made this the first few times, I used the traditional method. It is really simple to follow and in intuitive. The cheese curdles when it hits the right temperature and then you can strain it. All the visual cues are there.
However, I wasn’t satisfied completely because it sometimes scorches on the bottom of the pan and you have to stir constantly for 20-30 minutes while it comes to temperature. I wanted to try and develop a sous vide version so that wouldn’t require the hands-on time. My first attempt at sous vide with this recipe was custardy and delicious, but not as firm as I would have liked. I used 180F as my cooking temp and while it was really creamy, the proteins didn’t fully tighten up and expel the as much liquid as the traditional version (I squeezed out 1.5 cups vs 2.5 cups of whey).
Therefore, I’m proposing a cook temp of a very hot 195F for 90 minutes. I haven’t tested this yet, but since I wanted to get this out before Easter, I’ll have to try it again next year. If you try the sous vide method, please let me know how it comes out!
Russian Orthodox church in Chmelova
More photos from my trip Slovakia
As I was choosing photos for this post from my trip to Slovakia, I had such a hard time narrowing it down, so here are a few more from Chmelova and Bardejov.
Having 1 Euro beers with my cousin Mitch at a tiny bar in Chmelova
Beautiful historic hotel I stayed at in Bardejov
Pretty building at Bardejov’s historic city center
Bardejov’s historic city center
Foolproof Vodka Pie Crust- (Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen/Cook’s Illustrated)
This is my adaptation of Cooks Illustrated/America’s Test Kitchen’s “foolproof pie dough” crust originally published in Cook’s Illustrated’s November 2007 issue. While I have their print compilation of all the 2007 recipes, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt posted it as well on Serious Eats. My version of this vodka pie crust is slightly different in that I prefer to use lard instead of vegetable shortening. It imparts a better texture, flavor, and has no trans fats. In the video, I happen to be out of both and I use some schmaltz (chicken fat) instead. This is one of the recipes we tested as part of our YouTube video series investigating 3 different ways of making pie crust….
Flakiest Pie Crust – Bon Appetit’s Pie Crust
This is Bon Appetit’s pie crust, in fact, their “Flakiest Pie Crust”, one of the recipes we tested as part of our YouTube video series investigating 3 different ways of making pie crust. It is super simple – only a handful of ingredients and a bowl, bench scraper, and a rolling pin. You can make this easily at home….
No-shrink pie crust – Milk Street
This is my first run at testing Milk Street’s Foolproof Single-Crust Pie Dough. In the recipe they published in their Milk Street magazine, they claim that it makes a crust that doesn’t shrink when it bakes. I’ve had great luck with the Foolproof Vodka Pie Crust originally developed by Christopher Kimball’s other venture Cooks Illustrated/America’s Test Kitchen, so I wanted to test this one out too. It grabbed my attention right away because it uses a novel way of getting the water into the recipe. It has you make a gel with water and cornstarch by heating it in the microwave for a few seconds. The recipe also calls for some sour cream, an ingredient that I don’t often see in pie crusts. I wanted to test this no-shrink pie crust right away and compare it to other methods.
Our comparison videos
Here is part one of the two-part series. I go through each recipe up to the point of rolling out and baking the no-shrink pie crust and two others:
In part two, I roll out each recipe and give commentary on how easy each recipe is to work with. Finally, I bake and taste each crust and share my feedback.
Here’s the recipe in print.
No-shrink pie crust – Milk Street
Category:
dessert
Cuisine:
French, AmericanIngredients
Instructions
Prep2 hours
Cook30 minutes
Ready in2 hours, 30 minutes
https://explorers.kitchen/recipes/no-shrink-pie-crust/Nutrition information
Serving Size:
44g
Calories per serving:
359
Fat per serving:
23.16g
Saturated fat per serving:
14.261g
Carbs per serving:
31.76g
Protein per serving:
5.27g
Fiber per serving:
1g
Sugar per serving:
2.67g
Sodium per serving:
354mg
Trans fat per serving:
0g
Cholesterol per serving:
45mgPrinted from: https://explorers.kitchen
Tasting and lessons learned 
This no-shrink pie crust worked really well! I love the flavor of the sour cream in the crust – it’s slightly tangy in a very pleasant way. The sour cream seemed to aid the browning reactions and added some flavor complexity. It wasn’t quite as buttery as the Bon Appetit recipe, but it was every bit as good.
Rolling it out took some patience. It’s a little fussy to work with and there are a lot of steps to bring it together and bake relative to a traditional recipe. In my opinion, it was not as easy to handle as it was advertised by Milk Street. It was supposed to roll-out like Play-Doh, but that was not my experience. I’ll use it again in the future and hope that it will handle better.
Please let me know down in the comments if you’ve had the same experience or if it worked great for you!
Making David Wondrich & Jerry Thomas’s eggnog in the snow
I love eggnog.
As soon as the weather starts getting cold, I’m reaching for my eggs, cream, rum, and whiskey. In this video, I take you outside to mix up your own eggnog for one. Many recipes are for a whole batch with a dozen eggs or more – those are great too! But with this recipe, you can make yourself a glass as needed. I prefer mine with cream over milk, so I use it in this recipe.
Use whatever whiskey or brandy you prefer. I tend to like a easy drinking bourbon like Elijah Craig, Evan Williams, or Rebel Yell. In this video I used a Canadian rye whiskey, which was delicious, but if I’m in the mood, a smoky scotch like Highland Park is great here too. Brandy is always nice.
For the rum, I definitely like an aged rum like Zaya better than a silver because of the complexity and vanilla notes that come from the barrel aging process.
Sometimes, I will even switch the proportions of rum to whiskey/brandy. There is a lot of room here for customization. And since you don’t have to make a big batch, you can dial in your preferences and make what you like!
Music by Iain Ballamy: https://soundcloud.com/iainballamy
Equipment used:
- Koriko Cocktail Shaker – http://amzn.to/2kHzNGJ
- Winco Jigger – http://amzn.to/2kFLxK7
- Hawthorne Strainer – http://amzn.to/2D5XfFZ
- Cocktail spoon – http://amzn.to/2Baf0He (This is different than the one in the video, but I like it better)
- Microplane Grater – http://amzn.to/2BAXhFu
This is based on Jerry Thomas’s recipe via David Wondrich. David has an excellent video here on YouTube that you should also watch. I’m standing on the shoulders of giants.
David Wondrich & Jerry Thomas’s eggnog
Ingredients
Instructions
