Pulled Pork Barbeque and Sauce

Do you remember the promise I made you here?

I knew I wanted to try the pulled pork recipe found at the back of Delicious and Suspicious and when I saw a pork butt (which comes from the shoulder, oddly enough) in just the right size at WalMart last week, I jumped at the opportunity. I was filled with anticipation as the aroma of slowly roasting pork wafted through my home on Friday. As I put together the sauce I realized I didn't have any chili powder, but I didn't let that worry me. My husband doesn't like his food very spicy and I already knew I would cut back on the cayenne, so I didn't think it would hurt to just leave it out.

Okay...let me cut to the chase. This was the most delicious pulled pork barbeque I think I've ever eaten in my life!! Tender. Succulent. Flavorful. It defies description!! I will definitely make this again (and again, and again). I wrote the author and she graciously gave me permission to share the recipe with you here. Enjoy!

Pulled Pork Barbeque and Sauce

Dry rub for the pork:

3 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon salt
1 (5-7 pound) pork roast, preferable shoulder or Boston butt

Mix all the ingredients (except the pork) in a bowl and rub the mixture on the pork. Refrigerate for an hour or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 300F degrees. Roast the pork in a roasting pan for 6 hours (until it's 170F degrees), or until it falls apart.
When the pork is cooked, remove it from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes. While it's still warm, pull the pork with a fork. Serve on hamburger buns with sauce.

And now for the sauce:

2 cups ketchup
2 cups tomato sauce
1-1/4 cups brown sugar
1-1/4 cups red wine vinegar
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
4 teaspoons hickory-flavored liquid smoke
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon butter

1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Over medium heat, mix the ingredients in a large saucepan until it bubbles.
Reduce heat to low and simmer for up to 20 minutes.

Nemesis by Lindsey Davis

Nemesis by Lindsey Davis is the 20th of the "Marcus Didius Falco" novels. One of my favorite series, I look forward to each offering with great anticipation. Filled with the usual dry humor, entertaining characters, and clever writing, this book had a darker edge to it than some of the previous Falco mysteries. Although I enjoy the installments that have Falco traipsing around the Empire, I was glad to have him back in Rome for the majority of this one. Davis does a great job of keeping her characters from becoming stale and I think this was one of her best to date.

From the inside cover:

"In the high summer of A.D. 77, Roman informer Marcus Didius Falco is newly bereaved and facing unexpected upheavals in his life, so it comes as a relief for his to consider someone else's misfortunes. A middle-aged couple who supplied statues to his father, Geminus, have disappeared in mysterious circumstances. They had an old feud with a bunch of notorious freedmen, the Claudii, who live in the Pontine Marshes, terrorizing the neighborhood.

When a mutilated corpse turns up near Rome, Falco and his vigiles friend Petronius investigate, but just as they are making progress, the Chief Spy, Anacrites, snatches their case away from them, making it clear that the violent Claudii have acquired protection at the highest level.

Refusing to abandon their inquiries, Falco and Petronius instead dig deeper, seeking answers while a psychotic killer keeps taking more victims, and the shocking truth creeps closer and closer to home."

This book was my first for the R.I.P. V Challenge and my fifth for the Typically British Challenge.

Play it again!

This time last year I posted an entry about a wonderful evening I spent at the symphony listening to the music of The Eagles, of all things. If you missed that one, you can click here to see what I'm talking about.

Last night our regional symphony kicked off their current season, Music of All Nations, with a similar treat..... the return of Jeans 'n Classics, this time with the music of Pink Floyd!!! As much as I like The Eagles, in my opinion their music just can't compare with that of Pink Floyd. The evening was everything I anticipated (and for months, at that)!!

The first half of the program was dedicated to setting the stage. They performed music of that era which lent itself well to orchestration. The selections included Conquistador (Procol Harum), Crime of the Century (Supertramp), Space Oddity (David Bowie), Acid Queen (The Who), Lucky Man (Emerson, Lake & Palmer), Living in the Past (Jethro Tull), and two Pink Floyd numbers - Wish You Were Here and Another Brick in the Wall Part 2.

Following the intermission, they performed Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety! You may remember it appeared on my Favorite Five - Albums list. What an experience!!! Thinking the evening couldn't get any better, they gave an encore with Comfortably Numb, the crowning jewel from The Wall album!

Jeans 'n Classics have a large repertoire. Dare I hope they return another year - maybe to do Led Zeppelin?

One of those days

Ever have one of those days? You know the kind... anything that can go wrong will and as the day progresses, it only gets worse.

Yesterday was one of those days for me. Usually I can draw myself out of my funk by stopping and thinking about how good my life is. Seriously, I am SO blessed! I try to make a conscious effort to thank God for this on a regular basis. Still.... my pity party continued throughout most of the day.

Pictured here is something that I don't think I've ever seen in our house before. That certainly provided an interesting temporary diversion! Also, I tried another new dish for supper last night (see recipe below) and it ended up being really good - another positive for the day.


Things, of course, look brighter today. God doesn't promise that life will be easy, but He does promise that He will always be there for us. A comforting thought.


Grilled Caesar Chicken Breasts

taken from Simple & Delicious

(Marcia Wallenfeldt ~ Kent, OH)

1/2 cup creamy Caesar salad dressing
3 Tablespoons olive oil
3 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
6 garlic cloves, minced
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (5 oz. each)*

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the dressing, oil, mustard and garlic. Add the chicken; seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

Drain and discard marinade. Grill chicken, covered over medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 6-8 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 170F.

*I used a 20 oz. package of chicken breast tenders and cut back the broiling time.

Favorite Five - Love Songs

Okay. I'm not a romantic kinda gal and I don't have a playlist on my iPod for "love songs", but... I've had a request for a Favorite Five post on this topic. Without letting myself think too long and hard about it, here's what I've come up with. I've included some YouTube clips, but they don't always do the song justice.


1. I Only Have Eyes For You (Art Garfunkel) - I remember listening to this as a teenager and my mother coming into my room singing along with it. I was surprised to find out it was a cover of a song that had been recorded several times before! YouTube clip

2. Waiting For a Girl Like You (Foreigner) - This one brings back memories of a time that wasn't so pleasant. I try not to let that ruin the song for me. YouTube clip

3. Don't Want to Wait Anymore (The Tubes) - The memories are a little better with this one even thought they're from pretty much the same time period. YouTube clip (The studio version is SO much better!!)

4. Love Me Now (Gino Vannelli) - Actually, this song is best when listened to with the song that preceeds it on the album, Storm at Sunup. I use to listen to this in my college dorm using a pair of those huge headphones.... really, really getting into it. YouTube clip

5. Ain't Nobody (Rufus & Chaka Khan) - There was a time where I used this as the personalized ringtone for my husband on my phone. YouTube clip

Worth mentioning: Your Song (Elton John), He Stopped Loving Her Today (George Jones), Unchained Melody (The Righteous Brothers), Shake You Down (Gregory Abbott), Run to Me (The Bee Gees), Sometimes When We Touch (Dan Hill), My Prayer (The Platters).

As always, I know I've left out some really good ones! What are some of your favorites?

Crispy Roasted Chicken Breasts with Orange and Cardamom

Back during the winter I confessed to you my obsession with The Food Network.

This summer, Quid and I sat in front of our respective TVs each Sunday evening, texting back and forth as the Next Food Network Star was decided. We both were pleased with the results and agreed to watch Aarti Sequeira's new show "Aarti Party" and to try some of her recipes. You can click here to find Quid's first review, for "Sloppy Bombay Joes".

Tonight I tried the "I Ain't Chicken Chicken: Crispy Roasted Chicken Breasts with Orange and Cardamom". While searching the Food Network site for the recipe, I was surprised to find a slightly different version of the recipe as well as the one linked above. If you are interested, you can compare the two before deciding which to try.

The things I liked about the recipe were the way the skin crisped up, how moist the chicken was, and the delicious flavor.

What I didn't like was the high temperature at which the recipe cooked causing the oven to smoke.

Will I make this again? Probably not, but it was certainly enjoyable this one time.

A Day at the Farm

The first weekend in September is traditionally the opening of dove season in Arkansas. I haven't hunted the past couple of years and the last time I did it was right here at our house. This year my husband, his brother, and I decided to drive over to the Mississippi River Delta to hunt. Legal shooting begins a half hour before sunrise, so we began our journey in the dark.

As we drove through the night, I gazed up at Orion (my favorite constellation) thinking how glad I am that I live in the country. I don't believe I could be happy again in town where the lights dim the stars. The faintest hint of daylight was appearing just as we reached my favorite part of the drive... where the Delta begins. It's a noticeable change in topography as the forest gives way to flat farmland.

I was glad I had the sense to take a long-sleeved shirt as there was a definite nip in the air. Perhaps Fall isn't far off! Overall, it was a fun morning. We've definitely had better hunts, but still got enough for a few meals. I'll be honest... as much as I enjoy hunting, I'm getting pretty soft-hearted in my old age. There were moments when I was torn between shooting with my gun or with my camera. Here are a few offerings from the latter. Click on them for a larger view. Don't worry, no dove pictures.

One of several nests I saw.
The sun had not broken the horizon at this point.



The sun rose quickly behind the grain bins.



While watching for dove I photographed some of the farm equipment.

A massive track hoe!

We have loads of dragonflies around our house, but the ones in the Delta put ours to shame! Veritable B-52 Bombers!!
Theirs may be larger, but ours are prettier.

Isn't this beautiful rice?!

Who Do I Lean On? by Neta Jackson

There are some books that fall into the "comfort food of reading" category. You know the type. Light, easy reading, yet not totally mindless. Books that leave you warm and satisfied at the end.

Neta Jackson's "Yada Yada Prayer Group" series falls into that category. The original series contains seven titles and follows the ups and downs of a diverse group of women in the Chicago area. Thrown together into a prayer group at a Christian Women's Conference, they decide to continue meeting and praying together on a regular basis after the conference ends. I love the interactions between the women and their families, both good and bad, as they struggle and rejoice in life's offerings.

Who Do I Lean On? is the third novel in her second series called the "House of Hope" novels. They take place in Chicago, too, with a new set of central characters, yet continue to draw from the original series allowing you see the original characters in a different light. There will be one more book in this series and I'm really looking forward to it! In the meantime, Dave Jackson (Neta's husband) has a second "Harry Bentley" book coming out soon. Dealing with the same characters, they are written parallel to the House of Hope books, but from a man's point of view.

Does it sound confusing? It's really not. Just click here for more information about these "comfort food books" from Dave and Neta Jackson.

R.I.P. V Challenge

I just discovered a reading challenge at Jenners' blog that I don't think I can pass up! Hosted by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings, the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril V Challenge embraces mystery, suspense, thrillers, dark fantasy, gothic, horror, and the supernatural. This is the fifth year for the challenge (thus the V) and the gorgeous artwork associated with it is by Jennifer Gordon.

Since I started a new book last night that fits the bill (a mystery) I decided I might as well jump in a give it a go. I'm going to be brave and attempt the "Peril the First" and read four books. The challenge officially runs from September 1st through October 31st. If you want all the particulars on the challenge (and perhaps join in), you can click here for all the info.


I have several books on my shelf that will fit the challenge. I do know that two of my four will be Nemesis by Lindsey Davis and The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths. In keeping with mystery and suspense.... the other two books remain to be seen!

Comments

Boonie had a post not long ago concerning comments that got me to thinking. Click here to read it.

I visit quite a few blogs. Some have many followers, some just a few. I realize the number of followers doesn't necessarily indicate the number of readers. I know in my case I have a few followers that I'm fairly certain rarely, if ever, visit my blog. By the same token, there are non-followers (and some non-bloggers) who visit regularly including some lurkers who never comment. This post is geared towards my fellow bloggers or anyone who leaves comments on blogs.

I've noticed that some (but certainly not all) bloggers reply to the comments they receive. I think this is a nice personal touch and I always appreciate being acknowledged. That said, I don't usually do this in my own blog. The exceptions are when someone has asked a question that I don't think is rhetorical or when I post an entry that sparks discussion, such as a "favorite five" or an "iPod Roulette". Also, if someone new comments, I usually leave a reply thanking them for stopping by and leave a similar comment at their place in case they don't check back. In fact, I think the main reason for my habits is that I figure folks never do come back to my blog for a second look after their initial comment on a post.

So tell me... what is your policy? Do you always reply to comments? Maybe just those asking a question? Does it bother you when bloggers don't reply to your comments? As readers, do you usually go back to an entry once you've left a comment there? If you do, are you disappointed when there isn't a response?

I'm curious. What's your opinion?