Beautiful. Almost brings tears of joy to my eyes. (I get emotional about my food.)
Savory, succulent, crispy exterior, warm with fragrant cumin, spices, and a tang of citrus – what’s not to love about this glorious and versatile meat?
Use in tacos, enchiladas, on top of baked potatoes, in burritos, on salads, in a bun with slaw, on nachos, on barbecue pizza, in a box, with a fox… (I do so love carnitas, Sam-I-am!) Or just eat with your fingers, out of the pan (don’t burn yourself) with undisguised gusto and unfeigned delight.
You’re welcome.
This recipe was adapted from “Citrus Carnitas”, in Melissa Joulwan’s Well Fed, an excellent paleo cookbook which I highly recommend (even if you’re not paleo.).
Prep Time: about 20 minutes. Cook Time: About 3 hours
Pork Carnitas
Ingredients
3-4 lbs pork shoulder, boneless or bone-in (I prefer boneless, it’s easier)
1 heaping (and it should be quite heaping) Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp granulated garlic
1 Tbsp sea salt
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/2 cup lime juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
Water
Directions
Hack up pork into large-ish chunks, about 3-4 inches across. Slap ’em into a big pot. (I let out my angst in this process, as you can see. It’s cheap therapy. Or something.)
Measure out all the salt and spices and tip in over the meat. Stir to mix evenly.
Pour in lemon and lime juices. Then pour in cool water till barely covering pork.
Put that pot on high heat and bring it to a rip-snorting boil.
Then turn it down to a steady simmer, and leave it uncovered. It will look terrible, like a bleak soup. Fear not and take courage, my friend.
Let it simmer, bubbling gently, for about two or three hours, or till most of the water has cooked out. Your house should smell amazing right about now…
Here’s where it becomes magical: the pork chunks start to crisp in the melted fat and juices left after the water evaporates, so keep an eye on things to prevent burning. Gently turn the chunks over (trying to keep from shredding them) so they brown and crisp on all sides, about ten minutes or so (depending on how high your heat is and how much fat was in the meat).
If you have enough self-control, move meat to a serving dish and let cool 5 minutes or so, serve warm. Or gently shred in pot with two forks or something similar if you’re using the carnitas for tacos or the like… Or, as I mentioned above, let it cool just enough to not burn you and then nab a deliciously crisp-soft savory chunk of browned carnitas right out of the pot with your fingers to eat with unmitigated relish is always an option. Enjoy. I know I sure do!
A Miller family favorite, this delightful and easy dinner is a weekly event in our home! Basic French Bread recipe below.
Fresh French Bread rolls, with spicy pickles; Brie with carmelized onions, brown sugar, and apricot preserves; blanched asparagus spears; sliced ripe strawberries; assorted deli meats; and a sliced aged Gouda.
A delicious, simple meal focusing on bread, an assortment of cheeses, sliced vegetables and fresh fruits, olives, pickles, meats, and often a small dish of olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping. Versatile and breezy, feel free to include whatever sides make you happy!
Hard-boiled or deviled eggs? Hummus and pita? Tapenade, bruschetta, or goat cheese – we love them all! Add a small bowl of whatever seasonal fruits or berries you find available as a special treat, as this meal is something of a celebration!
In our home we take special notice of Friday evening, marking it with a special meal and some family traditions like a special blessing and family Communion before sharing the food together. It’s something my children eagerly anticipate each week. Pausing to acknowledge the week’s end and to give thanks for the rest and refreshment that the weekend provides while refocusing on the blessings God has given us is an important part of the cadence of our family life.
While this Friday meal is special, it is by no means difficult. The majority of the food is usually handheld (although we do often include a salad), and that makes it enjoyable and relaxing, especially for the kids! (They lovingly refer to this meal as “Bread-and-Cheese”). To make it even more celebratory, we often include a sparkling juice for the kids and wine for the adults.
I usually start thinking and planning for it during the week and try to stock up on the things I will want for it so it becomes simply a matter of just laying it all out by Friday afternoon.
I hope you find this an inspiration to create your own delicious, simple, yet celebratory family feast soon!
Buon apetito!
Here’s my recipe for French Bread, which I make about once a week and shape into many versatile forms – Enjoy!
Basic French Bread Recipe
This recipe is inspired from Peter Reinhart’s Artisan Breads Every Day, my most-used bread recipe book. I don’t usually have time to make bread dough the day before, nor do I usually have the fridge space to chill it overnight like many of his recipes require, so I just simplify the process and dump the ingredients in my sweet and helpful bread machine, Melba. (Don’t tell Peter.) If you don’t have a lovely Melba-machine of your own, here’s the link to Peter’s original recipe: https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120580907
Meet Melba:
Melba, my faithful little kitchen handmaiden of doughy gloriousness.
Melba is a wonder. I just punch in the number for dough (on this machine, #8), put my ingredients in the metal bucket in the right order (making sure that paddle is in there, too). Then I hit the “start” button and one-and-a-half-hours later, I have some beautiful dough ready to go, already risen once and ready for shaping!
Ingredients:
2 cups lukewarm water
2 TBSP olive oil (if desired, technically this voids the “authentic” French bread part of it, but I do it anyway. You decide.)
3 tsp salt
5 1/4 cups bread flour (Yes, bread flour. It’s going to give that springy, delightful chewiness that makes French bread so wonderful. BUT. If you don’t have it, you can absolutely use all-purpose and it will be fine.)
2 1/4 tsp active yeast
Put all ingredients in bread machine bucket IN ORDER LISTED (basically note that all wet ingredients go first, then the dry and then yeast on top).
Wait for it… push that button! And boom. Walk away, knowing that your little friendly Melba-machine is going to take care of everything and transform the simple ingredients into something beautiful.
Here’s Melba in action.
OK. Once Melba is done and starts beeping at me, I take the dough bucket and dump it out on a clean, often lightly-sprayed-with-oil surface. In my house, the only place I have room is my dining room table.
While I start this, I often turn my oven on to heat to 170 degrees F. for about two minutes., then I turn it off. (My oven gets pretty hot pretty fast) I do this because I want a warm safe place to let the buns rise, and any hotter isn’t good.
Then I roll out the dough and divide it evenly in half, then half again, so I have four equal dough pieces. For buns, I roll these out lengthwise, then slice them down the middle, then start chopping them up into little blobs about 1 1/2″ across.
Then I roll the blobs into smooth balls and place about an inch apart on a greased baking sheet – in this case, usually my lovely 11×17″ baking sheets. I can fit quite a few buns on these, and often get about 35-40 buns on one.
When I’m all done with the rolling, I put the pans in the oven with the light on and let them rise for 30 minutes. They should be visibly larger by the end of this time. Then, I take them out of the oven and preheat it to 400 degrees F.
I bake them for 12 minutes. Sometimes 13, but rarely more than that. I prefer softer over crunchy, but it’s a matter of taste. If you like more crispy, bake for about 14-15 mins.
Take ’em out and let ’em cool a bit before slicing in half to ease using as little hand-held sandwiches, or serve warm in a bowl with a towel.
By this point, the house usually smells like a glorious fresh hot bread bonanza, and I can rarely resist grabbing one fresh from the pan, stabbing it open with a knife and slathering butter in the middle. I then eat it quickly, giving thanks for such delights as hot fresh bread and butter all the while. If you have fresh strawberry freezer jam, that’s always a great option too. Or a slice of a densely salty aged Gouda or a tangy sharp white cheddar… Or just a lovely drizzle of a good balsamic reduction and a dollop of olive oil.
Makes 4 medium-size baguette loaves, 2 large French or Italian-size loaves, or many buns (based on how big you make the dough blobs). Usually it’s enough for my family of 10 to get full for dinner and still have over a dozen buns leftover.
Bright tomatoes, aromatic garlic sizzled in olive oil, the punch of capers and the saltiness of Kalamata olives – this is one of our family’s favorite dinners, with even my youngest demanding second (or third!) helpings.
I love it because it’s quite quick and easy, and if you have a few things stocked in your pantry, you can make it any weeknight when you’ve forgotten to thaw meat ahead of time (like I tend to do about once a week).
Don’t be put off by the anchovy paste or tempted to omit it until you’ve made this and tried it – while it’s perhaps a less common ingredient, it gives this dish the base notes of the amazing briny flavor and depth of authentic Puttanesca.
Don’t add salt until you’ve tasted it! The anchovy paste, capers, and Kalamatas add quite a lot of salty flavor. Let it simmer before you shake.
INGREDIENTS
3 Tbsp olive oil
4-5 cloves fresh garlic, minced
Dash crushed red pepper flakes (if desired)
2 Tbsp anchovy paste (This is readily found in any well-stocked grocery store)
6 oz tin tomato paste
28-oz tin diced or crushed tomatoes (or tomato sauce in a pinch)
2-3 Tbsp capers, drained (my kids like more)
1 1/2 cups kalamata olives, sliced
1 cup water
Fresh parsley, minced (if desired)
16-oz pasta of choice, prepared according to package directions, drained, set aside
Squirt in anchovy paste, sprinkle in dash of red pepper flakes (if using), stir gently till aromatic and somewhat clumpy-looking, another minute.
Add tomato paste and stir gently, then dump in crushed/diced tomatoes (or tomato sauce) and water. Add capers and Kalamata olives. Stir.
Bring to bubbling, turn down to low and let simmer for about 10 minutes.
Taste, adjust seasonings if needed (some find the saltiness perfect, some like to add a small dash of salt)
When the bubbling sauce is cohesive and the smell is filling your house with a delightful aroma, it’s probably close to done.
Serve on top of pasta, sprinkled with parsley.
To make my life easier, I put the cooked pasta back in the large pot I boiled it in and then tip the Puttanesca sauce over it, mix gently, and sprinkle the minced parsley on top (if I have it).
Baked Oatmeal – shown here as the Almond Adaptation, one of my most favorite versions
This recipe comes from my friend Jill, for which I am forever grateful to her, and I hug her in my mind whenever I make it. Which is a lot of mind-hugs. It is one of my most-requested recipes!
Chewy, old-fashioned oats steep in a custard-like mixture overnight, then bake to a scrumptiously crumbly-sweet dish spoonably eaten with berries and a drizzle of maple syrup (if desired). I have tinkered with her basic recipe and now often make an almond variation, to rave reviews from family and friends, but you do you.
Delicious, satisfying, adaptable, and best of all – made the night before so there’s minimal preparation in the morning! Perfect for gifting to families with a new baby or who just need a cozy, comforting morning meal. (You can gift it to me anytime.)
Make it tonight, enjoy it tomorrow morning, and see if it doesn’t become one of your family favorites too! (Just send me a mind-hug afterwards.)
Best Baked Oatmeal
Makes a 9×13″ pan, easily halved
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable, coconut, or canola oil
scant 2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 cups old fashioned oatmeal
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
2 cups milk
Cinnamon for sprinkling, if desired
Grease a 9×13″ baking pan.
In a large bowl, beat eggs, oil, and sugar till smooth. Add oats, baking powder, salt, vanilla and milk. Mixture will seem runny.
Pour carefully into prepared pan, sprinkle with cinnamon (if using) and cover tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. A lid works nicely too.
Place pan in fridge and leave overnight or for a minimum of about 6-8 hours.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C. Take pan out of fridge to warm up just a leetle bit.
Bake for about 35 mins. Edges should be golden (see photo above). If you like your oatmeal a little more crumbly and dry, bake another 3-5 mins. If you like it more soft and chewy-moist, take that pan out a couple mins earlier and let sit for about 5 mins before serving.
Serve warm with a drizzle of maple syrup, if desired, and berries (either fresh or frozen) or chopped fresh fruit of your choice.
Adaptations:
Almond Baked Oatmeal: – Cut vanilla down to 1 tsp or omit, add 2-3 tsp almond extract. Add about 1 cup of sliced/flaked almonds to mixture and sprinkle a few on top. This version is amazing topped with blueberries, cherries, or sliced pears!
On busy mornings when I have a lot of short people needing to be fed somewhat quickly and with something that will sustain them for a good stretch of time, this proteinacious and straight-forward breakfast is a frequent winner in our home.
We lovingly call it “Breakfast Mess”, but “Skillet Scramble” probably sounds better.
Versatile, adaptable, filling, and delicious, my kids have been known to eat it for breakfast and then cheerfully devour any leftovers for lunch as well! Try it and see what you think.
Breakfast Skillet Scramble (Breakfast Mess)
The following is less of a recipe and more of a method.
Eggs
Frozen shredded hashbrowns, or cooked chopped boiled potatoes, or leftover chopped french fries or tater tots, or leftover baked potato, diced, whatever you have!
Chopped/diced ham or turkey or crumbled sausage or chopped cooked bacon, or leftover steak or pulled pork… you get the idea.
Chopped vegetables – I have used leftover steamed broccoli, fresh sliced peppers, chopped steamed green beans, frozen green peas, chopped cooked spinach, chopped roasted asparagus… I just usually stick with one kind each time.
Seasonings you like – salt, pepper, granulated garlic, granulated onion, cayenne…
Shredded or grated or crumbled cheese – you pick your favs, I’ll pick mine: I usually go with cheddar, feta, smoked gouda or whatever I can find in my fridge.
All right. Ready? Let’s do this!
First, heat up your griddle to medium heat. If you don’t have one, use a skillet or a frying pan. Lightly grease it. Spray oil, butter, bacon grease… you pick.
Start with the potatoes, mostly so they have a chance to get a little crisped up. Stir them around a little so they get a bit golden, maybe 3-5 mins.
Add the veg. Today I had some sliced peppers and leftover steamed broccoli, so that’s what I used, adding them to the frozen shredded hash browns.
Once it’s all mixed about and nicely heated, start cracking eggs over the top. Depending on how many you’re cooking for, or how hungry you are, this number for me can be anywhere from about 8 eggs to 15 eggs. (I think 16 was the most I’ve done on one skillet so far.)
Cook till the eggs are a little set and the whites have become, well, white. Then break the yolks and drag them about to ensure a pretty even eggy layer throughout all that potato-vegetable goodness. This is exactly the part that earned the name “Breakfast Mess”.
Season it with what you like! I usually go for salt, granulated garlic, black pepper, and sometimes granulated onion.
Let it cook till it’s set enough to start cutting into wedges with your spatula. Then start cutting into wedges with your spatula. Like this:
Then cut the wedges into squarish chunks so you can flip them over, like this:
Now, sprinkle on your cheese of choice, if you’re choosing cheese. I went with feta and cheddar today. And I added a bit of chopped parsley, because I had some and felt like being fancy and irritating my kids:
Et, voila! A delicious, messy-looking, but scrumptious and filling breakfast delight. You’re welcome.
A handheld riff on the classic Eggs Benedict, this is an easy, delicious Miller family favorite!
I love Eggs Benedict.
Butter filling the crevices and pockets of a warmly toasted English muffin, the creamy tang of smoothly whisked Hollandaise sauce, savory bacon or ham, and a perfectly poached egg perched above. Clean, brightly flavored parsley sprinkled on top for contrast – lovely!
And yet. With a large family, this can become an operation equaling the efforts of a small restaurant, without the benefits of a crew of kitchen staff all working to make it happen (since it’s usually just me in the kitchen so far). So. I have adapted and tweaked and come up with my own version that is far more family-friendly, with the flavors and textures we still love.
(Attempting to combine Saturday-morning-ease with feeding a large tribe, foodie purists may blanch at some of my tweaks. Please forgive me for my low-bred adaptations if you find them beyond what you can bear. In the meantime, my family will continue to enjoy our speedy, handheld version of this classic, elegant brunch specialty without apology or hesitation.)
Hoping you enjoy this riff on Eggs Benedict!
Eggs Benedict Breakfast Sandwiches
English muffins, one per person, split, toasted and buttered generously
1 egg per person – fried gently as desired (i.e. sunny side up, hard, scrambled…), lightly seasoned with salt and pepper
1-2 slices ham, or sliced turkey, or 3 strips of bacon per person
about 2 Tbsp “Hollandaise/Fauxlandaise” Sauce per person- see below for recipe
1 Tbsp minced fresh parsley per person, optional
Take two halves toasted and buttered English muffin. On bottom, spread about 1 Tbsp “Hollandaise/Fauxlandaise” sauce. Layer with ham, turkey, bacon, or meat of choice. Gently lay fried egg on top, dollop another tablespoon “Hollandaise/Fauxlandaise” sauce, sprinkle with tablespoon fresh parsley. Place second half of English muffin on top, place on plate. Place in front of grateful and hungry diner. Bon appetit!
Another option is to cook two eggs per person, and layer them more like an open-faced Eggs Benedict, one egg on each English muffin half, with the sauce, ham, and parsley on each. Then you will need knives and forks to eat it, but it might increase the elegance quotient if that’s what you’re after. Or just increase the protein/serving size quotient to satiate children with appetites like bears with hollow legs. (That’s usually what I’m after.)
“Hollandaise/Fauxlandaise” Sauce
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1 heaping Tbsp yellow mustard (or dijon)
1 Tbsp lemon juice or white wine vinegar
dash salt
dash ground black pepper
dash cayenne pepper
dash granulated garlic, optional (but I always do)
2-3 Tbsp butter, melted, optional. (This is if you want to be just a step closer to genuine and assuage your conscience, but I often don’t, shamelessly.)
Whisk ingredients together in small bowl till smooth. Taste and adjust as desired. Set aside. Keep leftovers in refrigerator.
Makes about 1 1/2 cups.
(This recipe was inspired by Jane Rodmell’s “Virtuous Hollandaise” in her cookbook Best Summer Weekends, pg. 248.)
These are some of my most favorite cookies. They are rich, dark, chocolatey, and have that tang of flakey sea salt. And they use only one stick of butter! Seriously reasons to rejoice.
This is an adaptation of Valerie Aikman-Smith’s recipe in the cookbook Salt, which was given to me as a birthday gift, and I flipped through the book to the dessert section where I landed on this and was immediately smitten forevermore. (Thank you, Hana!)
I make a recipe, then bake only one dozen, and save the rest of the dough in an airtight container in the fridge. It’s like a surprise present for myself later when I am craving a warm, gooey, chocolatey mouthful of joy but only have the patience to scoop out blobs of cold dough and bake for 10 minutes to experience the melty, dark bliss these contain. I wish you the same joy.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 stick butter, softened, at room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp dark or light rum (not white), optional
1 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips (Yes, this is a second set of chocolate chips. If you’re like me, you’re already excited about this fact.)
Fleur de sel (if you’re super fancy) or regular sea salt
Heat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C.
Whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a smallish bowl.
In another smallish microwave-proof bowl, carefully microwave the 2/3 cup of chocolate chips in spurts of 20 seconds or so, stirring after each set of seconds till smooth and melted.
Cream together butter and sugars with a mixer (or electric handheld beater) on high speed till light and fluffy, scraping down bowl as necessary. Add egg, vanilla, rum, and melted chocolate. Continue to beat till smooth. Reduce speed to slow, add flour mixture. When that is well mixed, stir in remaining 1 1/3 cups chocolate chips.
Put mixture in refrigerator for 5 mins to harden slightly (or if you’re like me, skip this part because extending the wait seems unbearable at this point). Scoop tablespoons of mixture onto lightly greased baking sheet, about 2 in/5 cm. apart. Flatten slightly with spoon. Sprinkle a little fleur de sel or a pinch of good sea salt on top of each cookie and bake in preheated oven 10 mins.
Makes approximately 24-36 cookies, depending on size of ‘tablespoons’. I make this last for at least three separate batches of 12, because they’re just exquisite when they’re warm-from-the-oven.
