PULLED PORK SANDWICH

Our tomato crop was less than spectacular this year. One plant was lost to blossom end rot, another to deer. We have yet to harvest a tomato. But the peppers are another story. The plants are thriving: paprika, hot reds and sweet green bells. We've been giving them away and using them and drying them in the attic. I subbed our fresh paprika peppers for the dried in this recipe, and also subbed one of our hot red peppers for the pickled jalapeno. I had half a jar of chipotle chile peppers in adobo sauce left, and I subbed that for the chipotle chile powder. This is
a good recipe, one that I'll use again.
We thoroughly enjoyed the pulled pork sandwiches; I froze the leftovers in small containers so we can have them again without all the fuss.
My thanks to elise.com (Simply Recipes) for this great recipe!

Pulled Pork Sandwich
Rating 8 out of 10
1 large onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1 pickled jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tsp. Chipotle chile powder
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1 tsp. paprika
1/3 cup ketchup
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 bay leaf
Salt
3 lbs. of pork butt shoulder roast, trimmed of excess fat
Hamburger buns

Puree all of the sauce ingredients (everything except the bay leaf, the pork and the buns) in a blender until smooth. If you have extra time, marinate the pork in the sauce overnight or for several hours before cooking.
Put sauce, bay leaft and pork into a large pot and add 1 quart of water. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer, coverd, turning frequently, for 2 hours or until the meat pulls apart easily with a fork. Remove from heat and cool pork in the sauce. When cool, remove the pork from the sauce and shred into small pieces. Set aside.
Reduce the sauce by two thirds. Add the pork back to the sauce. Salt to taste. Remove bay leaf before serving. Serve hot over open-face hamburger buns.

PEACH CREAM PIE GLACE`

Company for dinner Sunday night gave me an excuse to make a new dessert. Well, not really new.  This is an oldie but goodie, from McCall's Book of Cakes and Pies, circa 1965. There are some things that just can't be improved upon. This is one of them. A sweet lemonny cookie crust with a cinammon-flavored cheesecake filling, topped with fresh juicy peaches and pureed peach preserves. It doesn't get much better. Peaches and Cream. We all loved it --- again.

This dessert will only be as good as its ingredients. Taste the peaches to be sure they are sweet and juicy
before you go to the trouble of making this. This year, it seems the peaches are better than ever, extra-large and very juicy. And, BTW, if you use extra-large peaches, you will get a different design on the top than if you use a medium-sized peach.  Take a look at the top photo with the fluted edges. That's from the cookbook. Do you see how the center section is larger than mine? That's because my peaches were so large, they took up more room, leaving a small center. I didn't try to flute the edges because the dough was very short, and it was just easier not to. Have it your way -- fluted or not, but make this pie. It's a winner.

Peach Cream Pie Glace`
Rating: 9 out of 10
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Cookie Crust Pie Shell:
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 egg yolk, slightly beaten
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine flour, sugar, and lemon peel in medium bowl. With pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Stir in egg yolk and vanilla. Mix pastry, with hands, until well blended. Pat evenly in 9" pie plate; make a small edge on rim (or not -- I didn't). Refrigerate.


Filling:
12 oz. soft Neufchatel cheese
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. vanilla paste or vanilla
2 extra-large fresh ripe peaches (about 1-3/4 lb.)
1/2 cup peach preserves, purchased or homemade


Preheat oven to 375F.   In small bowl of electric mixer, at medium speed, beat cheese until light and fluffy. At low speed, beat in sugar, eggs, and cinnamon until smooth.   Pour filling into unbaked pie shell. Bake 30 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is just about set in center. Cool completely on wire rack.

Wash peaches; peel. Halve peaches; remove pits and slice. Arrange sliced peaches over cooled filling.
In small saucepan, combine peach preserves with 2 tsp. water. Cook, stirring, over low heat, until preserves are melted. Press preserve mixture through sieve, to puree. Spoon evenly over peach slices.  Refrigerate 1 hour, or until well chilled.  Makes 8 servings.

JUDY'S LOW-SUGAR PEACH PRESERVES

Since I didn't have any peach preserves for my Peach Cream Pie Glace`, but I did have plenty of nice, juicy South Carolina peaches, I made my own peach preserves. This turned out really good. Not too sweet, and very fruity.

Judy's Low-Sugar Peach Preserves
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2 cups of chopped peaches or puree
1 cup apple juice concentrate
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. dark corn syrup
1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Place all ingredients in a 1-quart heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to a low-boil and stir often to keep bottom from scorching. Cook for about 1 hour 15 minutes, or longer, until mixture is thickened. Pour into glass jar. Makes about 1 pint.

MORNING CALL'S #5 CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE WINNING RECIPE

The fifth-place winner in Morning Call's Chocolate Chip Cookie Contest is interesting. I've never tried cream cheese in a chocolate chip cookie. I am wondering if the cookie comes out flaky. I would like to try these, but can't because I'm on a weight-loss program. My 50th high-school reunion is coming up in November and I don't want to go to it looking like an overweight senior. My list of cookies to make when I get off this kick is so long, I fear I'll never get to these. So if you make these, please do come back and leave a comment letting us know how they turned out. If they're really good, I may put them at the top of my list of cookies to bake after I slim down.

Melissa Marsh's Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies
8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
12 oz. milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375F. Combine cream cheese, butter and sugars. Blend in egg and vanilla. Add in dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in chips. Grease cookie sheets and bake 15-18 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges. (The recipe doesn't state how much dough to drop, or how many cookies the recipes makes.)

MORNING CALL'S #4 WINNING CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPE

I have a prejudice against Crisco. I don't care if it's butter flavored or plain. I don't like tasting crisco in a cookie -- and I CAN taste it. So I'll not be making these. But for those of you who don't mind using Crisco, here's the recipe that won 4th place in the Morning Call's contest for new chocolate chip cookie recipes.

John Joseph Yanek's You Can't Have Just One Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 stick of butter-flavor Crisco
1-1/2 cups dark brown sugar, firmly packed
3 Tbsp. white sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp. organic honey
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
3 tsp. Kamora Coffee Liqueur
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup (heaping) Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup (heaping) Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup (heaping) Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375F. Combine shortening and sugars in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Beat in sour cream, honey, egg, vanilla and liqueur until mixture is blended and fluffy.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in another mixing bowl. Mix into creamed mixture at low speed until just blended. Stir in chips. Drop slightly rounded tablespoonfuls of dough 2" apart on cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minute, or till set. Do not overbake. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove onto wire racks to finish cooling. Makes about 7 doz. cookies.

CORNMEAL-CRUSTED OVEN-FRIED CHICKEN

I found this recipe on http://www.dayrecipe.com, and it sounded so good. Trouble is it called for buttermilk, and I didn't have any. I decided to sub lite sour cream, and it worked well until the chicken went in the oven. It just didn't crisp up. And that might also be because I eliminated the egg wash, thinking the sour cream coating would carry the chicken. Big mistake. It's not that it tasted bad. The flavor was excellent. It just wasn't crispy. So instead of giving you my "adjustments," I'm going to give you the recipe as it appears on the website. I will try this again -- without substitutions next time.

Cornmeal-Crusted Oven-Fried Chicken
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. freshly grated lemon zest
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
2 shallots, minced
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
2 tsp. salt, divided use
1-1/2 tsp. cayenne, divided use
3-lb. chicken, cut into 8 pieces
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley leaves
1/2 tsp. paprika
an egg wash made by beating 2 large eggs with 2 Tbsp. cold water + 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, zest, lemon juice, oil, shallots, thyme, 1 tsp. of salt and 1 tsp. cayenne. Add the chicken, stirring to coat it with the marinade, and let it marinate, covered in fridge, 3 hours or overnight, stirring it occasionally.

Preheat oven to 425F. In another large bowl, combine cornmeal, breadcrumbs, parmesan, parsley, remaining 1 tsp. salt, paprika, and remaining 1/2 tsp. cayenne. Remove chicken from the marinade with a slotted spoon, letting the excess marinade drip off. Dip it in the egg wash, and dredge it in the cornmeal mixture, shaking off the excess. Arrange the chicken in one layer on a rack and let it dry for 30 minutes. The chicken may be prepared up to this point 6 hours in advance and kept covered loosely and chilled. Arrange the chicken, skin side up, in one layer in a lightly oiled jelly-roll pan, drizzling the butter over it, and bake it in the middle of the oven for 35 minutes, or until it is crisp and golden. Transfer the chicken to paper towels to drain. Serve the chicken warm or at room temperature. Serves 4-6

JUDY'S BEST BOILED SHRIMP

I never buy shrimp already cooked;

IMHO, it has no flavor whatsoever. Another thing I don't buy is farm-raised shrimp. No flavor. I buy local wild-caught shrimp.

For the utmost in flavor, always cook the shrimp in its shell, because the shell helps to flavor the water. However, I don't do that. I like the veins out of the shrimp before it's cooked, because they're full of pollutants. But anyone who tastes my shrimp says it's full of flavor and delicious. Here's how I do it:

Judy's Best Boiled Shrimp

1 stalk celery with leaves

1 small onion

1 carrot

2 garlic cloves

1 bay leaf

1 hot pepper

a few sprigs fresh parsley

2 tsp. Old Bay or Chesapeake Bay seasoning

1 cup drinking quality white wine, or beer (optional)

1 lb. fresh or frozen wild-caught shrimp

Chop all the veggies coarsely. Add to a 3-quart pot with 2 quarts water. Bring to a boil over high heat; add seasoning and wine or beer (if using). Bring back to a boil; cover; reduce heat enough so that the water maintains a slow boil; cook for 20-25 minutes.

Turn heat back to high and bring pot to a rapid boil. Add shrimp; let pot come back to a boil; turn heat off. If you are using small enough shrimp, it will be done; if they are larger, they may take another 30 seconds or so to finish cooking. Drain the pot and add ice cubes if necessary to stop cooking quickly. You don't want to overcook the shrimp, and it gets done amazingly fast. Remember it will continue to cook after it comes out of the pot if it stays hot. So either cool it down quickly with the ice cubes, or let it finish cooking if you think it needs to. If you're not familiar with cooking shrimp, it might take you a few times to get used to it. I kind of just know now when it's done and whether I need to cool it down with ice cubes.

You can serve these shrimp, chilled, with a nice sauce; or use it for a shrimp salad. Or checkout an amazing crab-shrimp salad over at my other blog, http://freecrabrecipes.blogspot.com.

If you have any questions about this recipe, just leave a comment at the end of this post, and I'll answer you.