Fourth of July Food

Yes, I did end up going to a few restaurants recently, but no, I'm not going to write about them yet. This entry is about the meal I helped prepare at my parents' house on the 4th. Holidays are pretty important in my family, as is food on said holidays. On past 4th of Julys, me and my dad typically fired up the gas grill and cooked hamburgers or hot dogs. We probably did that every year until I was 15 or so. During college I spent at least one July 4th with family, though I ended up spending more time with friends, for example one memorable 4th being with my friends Wil and Seth in Santa Barbara the summer after Sophmore year (I think).

The last five July 4ths or so, since I started working, have been spent at my parents' house. I've tried to vary the traditional "hot dogs and hamburgers" menu, though, and I've made slow-cooked pork ribs (and boneless pork loin cuts) for dinner.

This year I deciced to try pork again, but I saw a decent-looking recipe in Cook's Country magazine, a new publication by the people who make Cook's Illustrated. For those who don't know, Cook's Illustrated is a 32-page black-and-white magazine that has no advertising, offers recipes with photos and detailed instructions and reviews various food products and cooking utensils/appliances.

Cook's Country focuses on "traditional" American food and, so far, has more of a focus on food from the Midwest. So, this 4th I went with a "Ranch Chili" recipe. I made a few alterations, though I stuck close to the original recipe (well, close for me at least).

Here's the original recipe:

3 1/2 pounds boneless Boston butt roast (it's actually the shoulder roast, though they call it Boston butt for some weird reason-the cut doesn't look like a butt or anything...whatever) trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch cubes.
Salt and pepper
8 slices bacon, chopped fine
1 large onion, minced
3 large jalapenos chiles (about 2 1/2-inches long), seeded and minced
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
5 medium garlic cloves
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
3 cups water
2 (16-ounce) cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Now, here's my take on the above recipe:

3 pounds of pork shoulder roast (Boston butt, if you really like that term or something), w/fat trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
8 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped fine
2 small onions, reserve 1/2 of one for garnish, if desired
1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped fine
2 tablespoons chili powder
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
5 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 large shallot, also minced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 (12-ounce) can of tomato paste
5 medium hothouse tomatoes, seeded and diced
4 cups water
2 (16-ounce) cans of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Some notes: First, this recipe took about 3 hours total prep and cooking time. It took about 1 hour just to chop everything up.

Instructions:

First, chop up the shoulder roast. This took me about 20 minutes. Salt and pepper the diced pork then add the paprika, onion powder and garlic powder to it. Toss it until it's evenly coated. Set the pork aside.

Cutting up the meat...

Post-seasoning pork, ready for browning.

Next, cook the bacon over medium-low heat in a stainless-steel pan until it's browned and crunchy, then set it aside on paper towels to absorb some of the grease. Reserve the rendered pork fat (a.k.a. grease) and pour it into a small bowl. You'll be using it again. No, this recipe is not low-fat.


You'd be amazed at how much bacon fat we had left over for cooking the rest of the meat and vegetables.

Now, get out a big stew pot, add 2 tablespoons of rendered pork fat and toss in half the diced pork. Take the meat out and put it on a clean plate. Cook it until it's browned and then repeat the same process with the other half of the meat. Take the rest of the meat out of the pot and add it to the pile of meat already on the plate.

Okay, now put 3 tablespoons of the rendered fat into the stew pot and add the chopped jalapeno, onion, garlic, shallot, cumin, oregano and chili powder. Cook it on medium-low heat until the vegetables start to brown. Next, throw in the diced tomatoes, bacon, browned pork and water. Mix it all up, then turn the heat up to medium until the mixture starts to simmer. Cook it uncovered for about an hour, stirring occasionally.


Vegetables on the chopping block...er, cutting board.

After the first hour, add the half-can of tomato paste to the chili. Stir it in and continue to cook it for another 45 minutes or so. Stir it a bit more frequently during this 45-minute period. At the 45-minute mark, rinse and drain the two cans of kidney beans and mix the beans into the chili. Cook the chili for about another 15 minutes, stirring often. You don't want the sauce to be too watery.


Adding the tomato paste to thicken the chili.


The two cans of kidney beans go in last.

Finally, take the pot off the stovetop, bring it to the table and serve. For garnish, we used diced red bell pepper, chopped fresh cilantro, chopped scallions (green onions) and chopped white onions. Grated cheddar would also make a decent topping (maybe a little sour cream, too). This recipe makes about 8 medium-bowl servings or about 5 large-bowl servings, probably with a bit left over.


We used diced red bell pepper, chopped onions, green onions and cilantro (not shown) for garnish.

To go with all this my mom made potato salad. We also made grilled zucchini. We chopped up a very large zucchini, tossed the pieces in olive oil and lemon juice and then seasoned them with salt and pepper. We put them on the grill for about 25 minutes or so. We also had reduced-fat Hebrew National hot dogs to with the chili. My dad turned his hot dog into a chili dog and said it was pretty good.

For dessert, we made a fast, 4th of July family favorite: Cool Whip and Yogurt pie with a Keebler graham cracker crust. No, this isn't gourmet; we got the original recipe years ago off of a Keebler pie crust label. I think this recipe became a tradition because my family usually puts the most effort into the main entree as opposed to desserts or sides on the 4th. I know that all of my time went into the chili, so it was great to have a dessert that took about 5 minutes of actual prep time.

The Cool Whip Yogurt Pie recipe is simple: Mix half a tub of Cool Whip with 2 single-serving containers of yogurt, your choice of flavor. This year we went with lemon chiffon. Fold the Cool Whip into the yogurt. Spoon the mixture into pie crust and refrigerate it for about 3-4 hours. From what I can tell, a diet version that sets well is hard to make. We use the regular (i.e., not low- or non-fat) yogurt and regular Cool Whip. This year we also toasted some coconut and put it on top.

Dessert ready for the fridge. It didn't look too different from this after it had set.

So, after all was said and done, we had a good, food-filled 4th of July. Plenty of illegal fireworks in my parents' neighborhood ended the evening rather spectacularly. Well, spectacular by local standards anyway.

Happy 4th of July, everyone, and I hope the people out there reading this had a good holiday surrounded by friends, family or both.

Peace out.