Right Now at Sobsey's - Jonagold Apples

Things to do with apples:

Roast 'em

Poach 'em (with honey)

Juice 'em

Cut 'em up in bake them in bread (really good)

Crisps, crumbles and tarts - oh my!

Throw 'em (the rotten ones)

Juggle 'em

Use 'em for target practice (for your bow and arrow)

Sauce 'em

AND DON'T FORGET TO PUT 'EM IN PIE! And then send me one.


These red beauties are at Sobsey's right now - very crisp, and a good combo of sweet and tart.

MORE FOOTBALL TOMORROW! Don't forget to check out our pulled pork, and vote on whose hair you like better, John's or Mark Sanchez'.

Are you ready for some football? And pulled pork sliders?

Fellas!  Time to chill out on the mini-pumpkin-and-adorable-jars-of-honey chatter in favor of some Football inspired food thoughts, naw mean?  Word.  And who doesn’t like football?  Even the hippest of hipsters draft fantasy football teams and attend Super Bowl Parties these days.  And I’m extra excited myself; the Jets are looking good this year and my lingering tan provides me with the requisite amount of delusional confidence to convince myself that me and “The Sanchize” were very possibly separated at birth.



Indeed, the “Gridiron” and its surrounding festivities, heavily involve food.  So here are some can’t miss recipes to satisfy even the Rex Ryan of appetites.

Pulled Pork with Slaw (with much help from Tyler Florence)

Dry Rub:

3 Tablespoons paprika

1 Tablespoon garlic powder

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

1 Tablespoon dry mustard

3 Tablespoons coarse salt

1 (8 lb) pork roast, preferably should or Boston butt (hehe)

Cider Vinegar BBQ Sauce:

1 1/2 cups cidar vinegar

1 cup yellow or brown mustard

1/2 cup ketchup

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 garlic cloves, SMASHED!

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teasoon freshly ground black pepper

12 hamburger buns

1 recipe Slaw (recipe follows)

Pickles!

What to do:

Mix the paprika, garlic powder, brown sugar, dry mustard, and salt together in a small bowl. Rub the spice blend all over the pork and marinate for as long as you have time for (as little as 1 hour, or as long as overnight - covered, in the fridge).

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Put the pork in a roasting pan (one of those disposable foil dealios will be just fine) and bake for about 6 hours. Basically, you are roasting the pork until it's falling apart and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 170 degress F (btw, I hardly EVER use the thermometer. I'm not even sure where mine is).

To make the BBQ sauce: combine the vinegar, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, salt, cayenne, and black pepper in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer gently, stirring, for 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves.

Remove the pork roast from the oven and transfer to a large platter (maybe something that has decorative footballs or team logos on it). Allow the meat to rest for about 10 minutes. While still warm, take 2 forks and "pull" the meat to form shreds. Using these 2 forks, shred the pork by steadying the meat with 1 fork and pulling it away with the other. Put the shredded pork in a bowl. Pour 1/2 of the BBQ sauce on the shredded pork and mix well to coat.



To serve, spoon the pulled pork mixture onto the bottom 1/2 of the hamburger bun, and top with spicy slaw. Serve with pickle spears and remaining sauce on the side.

Slaw:

1 head napa or savoy cabbage, shredded
4 carrots, shredded
2 Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
Leaves from 1 bunch fresh mint, for garnish

Slaw Dressing:
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 lemon, juiced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

What to do:

Combine the cabbage, carrots, apples, and onion in a large bowl. Mix well with your hands and set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together the mustard, sugar, mayonnaise and lemon juice until blended. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss well to coat. Taste again for seasoning, throw it in a bowl and garnish with mint leaves.

Happy Weekend!

This was my desk this morning. It's a mess. I thought I would give you a little sneak peak into my day. As you can see, the highlight is definitely my Van Leeuwen Americano. I got free coffee today too, because I reached the 10th coffee cup on my little coffee card (which you should get if you plan on frequenting the truck for your caffeine needs).

Anyway, happy weekend to you all. Remember all the fun we had this week? In case you forgot:

We had breakfast at City Cakes. And it was #$%^ good. Rumor has it they have a chocolate basil cupcake. I think you should go get it. Get me one too, k?

We traveled to St. Louis and saw a rhino (pretty rare, if you ask me)!

I dragged John all the way to BK for ice cream. And he liked it!

Don't forget, there's still time to enter the Kelvin Slush photo contest (or nom our photos because they are CLEARLY the best. Just sayin').

Next week, we are bringing you FOOTBALL WEEK!! I know, crazy, right? You all better put on your helmets. I am already wearing mine.

Also, on a personal note, I will be competing in my first triathlon next Saturday. If you leave words of encouragement on this here blog, you may be rewarded with a PRIZE. And yes, I do realize that I am bribing you all to encourage me. So what?

Now, get out of here and go make some mini pizzas.

Something Simple from a Goat Shepherd Extraodinaire!

On one of my walks through the Union Square Green Market, I encountered a certain goat cheese vendor. It's a dairy, actually, called Patches of Star Dairy. They specialize in goat cheese. Elly mans the booth in the market, and is very knowledgeable. In fact, the position listed on Elly's business card is "Goat Shepherd Extraodinaire." That's fancy.

I would like to be something "Extraordinaire". I'm open to suggestions if you have any.

Anyway, I think Elly's title is fitting. She must be doing something right, as the goat cheese she sells is excellent. I have tried two varieties: lightly salted and cranberry almond with honey (pictured below).



This is the flavor I used to create the above dish: Mini Pizzas with Cranberry Almond Goat Cheese, Grilled Zucchini and Pecans. And it's very easy. Here's how:

Ingredients:

1 Pizza dough (make it or buy it)

1 green zucchini

1 yellow zucchini

goat cheese from Elly

handful of pecans

What to do:



Heat up your oven (and pizza stone if you're using one. I used a cookie sheet this time, but either will do) to 500 degrees F. Roll out the pizza dough. Then with a cookie cutter, cut the dough into little rounds as if you were making cookies.

Place the little guys on the cookie sheet.

Slice up your zucchini into thin rounds. Heat some olive oil in a grill pan (if you have one, if not a frying pan will do, but you won't get those pretty "grill lines"). Throw in your zucchini rounds and grill for a few minutes on each side. Remove from the pan and set aside on a plate.

Spread some of the extraordinary goat cheese on your cookie-style pizza doughs, layer with zucchini (just two or three rounds per mini pizza) and top with a couple of pecans. Drizzle some olive oil over them, and pop 'em in the oven for about 10 minutes.

Take 'em out and eat 'em.

Kevin Slush Photo Contest - Update!

A while back we mentioned the photo contest Kelvin Natural Slush Co. is having over at Foodspotting. We've thrown our hat into the ring, and we think you should too.

It's fun!

Clearly, from the above photos, you all know I should find some other hobbies. Don't worry, I know it.

Go nominate our photos and check out the pool of contenders here.