Grand kids were scheduled for a visit and lunch on the deck last week. What to serve to a gathering with ages ranging around the table from 4 yrs. old to the early 70’s was the question?

It took only a short time to come up with a center dish that was easy and that everyone enjoys. That was a pulled pork sandwich. Cole slaw, a cold fruit salad, lemonade and Klondike bars completed the menu.

The pulled pork was a popular choice. After one bite my 15 yr old granddaughter said, This is so good it’s creating danger of seconds.

Easy Pulled pork

Ingredients:

Loin of pork- boneless or bone in (best buy)
Large hamburger rolls

Marinade Ingredients
Olive oil
Wine vinegar
Minced garlic cloves
Soy sauce
Salt & freshly ground pepper
Worcestshire sauce
Juice of a lemon

Preparation

Marinade the loin of pork for two to three hours
The marinade ingredients were what was on hand. Use a bit of imagination with what is in your cupboard or simply buy a commercial marinade package at the store.
Roast the pork in the marinade, covered, at 300’ for about 2.5 hours
Allow pork to cool and then pull it apart into shreds
Place in a container and douse liberally with your favorite BBQ sauce
We allow the pork and the sauce to stay in the fridge over night.

On a round roll build a sandwich with a generous pile of pork and top with a tablespoon of the cole slaw
At our table the teen age grandkids built the sandwiches for the younger kids

The danger of seconds of the pork was realized with almost everyone succumbing to that temptation.

At the market a few days ago the fish counter featured fresh cod fillets. It took us about 30 seconds to decide that the cod would be dinner that evening. I think that cod cooked in parchment is a perfect way to maintain moisture and incorporate whatever sauce is your preference in using with the cod. Here is a simple recipe that we used which was quick,colorful and most importantly, an excellent meal.

Ingredients:

4 fillets of cod (each 6 oz)
Salt and pepper
1 carrot- julienne thinly
1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
½ small cabbage head shredded
4 green onions diagonally sliced
1 cup fresh basil
½ cup cilantro

Sauce

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
2 tablespoons chopped garlic(Gilroy preferred)-
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450’
Place each cod fillet in the center of a 12” sq of parchment paper
Season cod with salt and pepper
Place carrots, bell pepper, cabbage, onions, basil on top of cod fillets
In small bowl mix olive oil, teriyaki sauce, garlic and ginger
Drizzle equally over each cod fillet
Seal the parchment and place the packets in a shallow baking pan
Bake for 18 minutes

Service:
Peel back the parchment and garnish with cilantro
Steamed or fried rice makes an excellent accompaniment

Note: en Papillote simply means –in parchment

Reading several blogs recently I came across a discussion string of which tools to use for various food preparation tasks. The most used tools in our kitchen were not mentioned

For mincing and chopping the food processor almost never comes out of its place in the cabinet. The preferred tool to rough chop and dice onions or peppers, finely mince Italian parsley or to julienne a carrot, the tool that we use is an 8 inch chef’s knife.
The curved blade rocks across the parsley and minces in a flash. The 3 or 4 inches near the handle do the mincing and a two handing motion keeps the blade moving safely. The full blade is used for the dicing and chopping.

For a typical recipe the chef’s knife does the job quicker than hauling out a food processor and cleaning it after use. Our fine Cusinart processor really seldom is used except when we are hosting a big event

When we do use a processor it is inevitably our small 4 cup model that does the job

A blender is used for blending liquids and really doesn’t do a great job when used for short cuts with mincing or making bread crumbs

Buy a decent knife as the first tool in the kitchen and spend a little time developing knife skills. You don’t need to have the speed of Bobby Flay but a decent level of skill will add to the enjoyment of meal preparation

July is getting close to peach time in Colorado and many peach growing areas across the country. The Palisade peaches in Colorado rival those from other areas for taste and color. Most folks think of Georgia and New Jersey as the peach states. The Colorado peaches are so good that they don’t get out of the West.

Peach pie made with Colorado peaches is simply great. This recipe will produce an excellent pie even if Georgia or Jersey peaches are used.

Peach Pie

Ingredients:

7 cups peeled and sliced peaches
2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
¼ cup tapioca
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Pastry dough for 2 crust 9” pie

Preparation

reheat oven to 375’
Roll out ½ pastry dough and place in 9” pie pan
Mix peaches, tapioca, flour, lemon juice and 2/3 cup sugar in a large bowl
Pour into the pastry lined pie pan
Roll out the remaining dough and place over filling
Seal and trim the edges
Cut 6 slits in the top
Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar
Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes
Remove foil and bake for additional 35 minutes until golden brown
Place on a rack to cool before serving

A small dip of Breyer’s vanilla ice cream is a useful addition to a slice of peach pie