Filed under: Chocolate, Books, Comfort Food, Cooking Live with Slashfood

It's time for another original episode of Slashfood in the Kitchen with Marisa (that's me!) and Scott. This time we make a classic yellow birthday cake from scratch and top it with a chocolate seven minute frosting. It's a quick and delicious way to make someone feel loved on their special day and do it in no time at all.

The cake recipe came from my copy of the Gourmet Cookbook (the big yellow one that came out a few years ago) but you can also find the recipe here on Epicurious.com. I used this seven minute frosting recipe, also from Epicurious, and added in 2 ounces of melted unsweetened bakers' chocolate at the end.

We'd like to thank Mastercard for sponsoring Slashfood in the Kitchen. They'd like us to remind you that whether you're an art-lover, a traveler, or a connoisseur of fine dining, search and you could win priceless prizes beyond compare.

For more Slashfood in the Kitchen, check out episode 1, 2 and 3.

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Filed under: Cooking Live with Slashfood

Here is an 8 lb. Smoked Pork Roast, bone in from Smithfield. Cut it out of the wrapper in the sink and rinse it well.



As you can see the roast is covered in fine netting.



Carefully remove the netting. It will come off with some firm pulling. Discard the netting.



Place the roast in a large pot and cover completely with water. Then put it on the stove.

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Filed under: Vegetables, Recipes, Pork, Boiling, Comfort Food, Cooking Live with Slashfood, Slow cooking, Meat, St. Patrick's Day

The other day I posed the question, "Corned Beef or Smoked Pork Shoulder for dinner?" Then we made Corned Beef and Cabbage. Today it's time for my Boiled Smoked Pork Shoulder and Vegetables recipe.

Boiled Smoked Pork Shoulder and Vegetables

1- 7 to 9 lb. Smoked Pork Shoulder
1 Cabbage
1 Rutabaga (Sometimes called Yellow Turnip or Horse Turnip)
1-2 lbs. of Carrots
2-3 lbs. of Potatoes (Plain White, Yukon Gold, Fingerlings, Peruvian Purple- whatever you like.)
4-6 Sweet Onions
1-2 lbs. of any Root Vegetables of your choice (Parsnips, Turnips, Celery Root, Sweet Potato or Yam, Sunchokes, Radish or Daikon, Beets, etc.- Beets need to be cooked separately)
4-6 Garlic cloves
1/2 tbs. of Black Peppercorns
2-3 Bay Leaves
1 tbs. pickling or other cooking spices (Allspice, Cloves, Mustard Seed, Coriander, Ginger, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, etc.)
1-3 Bottles of Dark Beer

Total cooking time is 3-4 hours. (apx. 25-30 minutes per pound)


Click here to follow the recipe.

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Filed under: Cooking Live with Slashfood

Throw in some Bay Leaves.


Add your Black Peppercorns and any other spices. I used a couple of tablespoons of assorted spices and pickling spice. Next time I would add even more.


Pour in several bottles of dark beer. I had Guinness available, but next time I would go with something richer and fuller since Guinness is on the light side when it comes to dark beer.

Bring the pot to a boil and then immediately lower to a bare simmer. You want to cook this low and slow. You will be cooking the roast for a total time of 25-30 minutes per lb. In this case for an 8 lb. roast I will simmer it for a total of 3 hours and 30 minutes. remember that you will be adding the vegetables near the end of the cooking time.

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Now it's time for the garlic. Separate the cloves from the heqad and lay them on the cutting board. One at a time lay your knife on top of the clove. Make sure the edge is on the cutting board. Place the heel of your hand on the side of the and firmly press down until the clove is crushed.



See how the clove is crushed and popping out of the skin?



Repeat with all your garlic.



Throw away the peel, it will come off easily.



Dump all the garlic into the pot. I started out with six cloves, then added six more later. I would even go to a full head of garlic next time, since I used a lot of water and beer to cover the roast so that all the salt would be extracted during the long simmer.

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Here's the rutabaga, sometimes called yellow turnip or horse turnip. they have a great sweet and rich flavor. they are covered in a waxy coating that keeps them fresh all winter long. they actually get sweeter as time goes by.



Rutabagas are a VERY firm/tough veggie. They are the somewhat hard to cut so be careful. First remove a slim slice from the top and bottom. This will give you a firm and smooth place to set down on your cutting board.



Slowly work your way around the rutabaga slicing off thin pieces from the top down about a third of the way. Turn the turnip and repeat until you have gone all the way around. then turn the turnip upside down and repeat. finally you will have some little pieces to trim from the sides.



This si what it will look like when you are done.



Carefully place the knife 1/3 of the way in to the turnip and place the heel of you hand on the back of the blade to help you press down and cut through the turnip. Make sure no fingers are in the way.



Repeat until cut into thirds. lay these on their side and repeat the process.



You will end up with 27 largish pieces that are the perfect size to cook well. Put these aside for later. You will add them and the other root vegetables to the pot exactly 25 minutes before the roast will be done.

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Cut the cabbage in half along the stem/core and repeat. Leaving the core in will help hold the cabbage together during cooking. Place aside for later. You will add them and the onions to the pot exactly 15 minutes before the roast will be done.




Trim the ends off of your carrots. Don't bother peeling or cutting them, they are fine as is unless you use HUGE carrots. Place aside for later. You will add them and the other root vegetables to the pot exactly 25 minutes before the roast will be done.

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Get together your potatoes. I like to use a mix. I have baby Peruvian Purples, fingerlings, and White Maine Potatoes from Aroostook County way up north where most of the potatoes are grown. I am using all waxy skinned potatoes since they stand up to boiling well. Russet potatoes fall apart when you boil them so stick to boilers.



The Peruvian Purples and Fingerlings don't need cutting or peeling so set them aside for later. You will add them and the other root vegetables to the pot exactly 25 minutes before the roast will be done.




The Maine White potatoes need to be peeled and cut in halves or even quarters.



Rinse them and when the water runs clear set them aside covered with cold water. This will stop them from turning brown and they will keep this way all day, and even several days in the fridge. remember that you will add them and the other root vegetables to the pot exactly 25 minutes before the roast will be done.

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Your last step is to prepare the onions. Care fully peel your sweet onions leaving the stem.



Cut them into quarters the same way you did the cabbage so that the stem will keep them from falling apart. You will add them and the cabbage to the pot exactly 15 minutes before the roast will be done.

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Carefully use tongs or several slotted spoons to remove the smoked pork shoulder from the pot and place in a bowl or platter to cool.



carefully remove the vegetables from the pot and set aside or take them to the table.



There are two ways you can serve the meat. The first is cut it into slices and serve. The only problem is that the meat can dry out quickly as I noticed immediately. The second way is to wait until the meat cools down a bit and them wearing rubber gloves you can peel the chunk of meat apart. It will want to come apart into nice sections that are perfect for serving and the meat will be moister than if sliced. My chef friend Josh Gamage told me this, but I had forgotten and started slicing. I learned the error of my ways right away.

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