Chipot-what? Never heard of it.

But of course I have. And like millions of Americans, I love it deeply. This past weekend I tried my hand at some Mexican fare and ended up recreating most of what they heap in to my burrito bowl. The guacamole, black beans and rice and corn and tomato salad were tasty, I won't bother you with recipes (hint: take all of those nouns and add lime juice and cilantro), but the real stars were the carnitas and roasted tomato salsa. Both simple, make-ahead dishes perfect for a summer party.



Carnitas
Adapted from David Lebovitz and Chow
Serves 10ish

Ingredients:

• 7 lbs of pork shoulder, cut in to large chunks, about 5 inches long/wide, fat left on
• Kosher salt
• 2 tbs vegetable oil
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 whole dried ancho chile peppers
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp oregano or marjoram
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 4 cloves garlic
• Water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Heat oil in large roasting pan over the stove. Salt pork and the brown on all sides, in batches so that you don't crowd the pan
2. When all the pork is browned, remove and deglaze pan with about a cup of water, scrapping up the browned bits. Stir in spices and garlic.
3. Add pork back to pan and pour over enough water to cover it about 2/3 of the way. Roast for 3 hours or so, until it shreds easily with a fork.
4. When done cooking, remove pork from pan and shred with two forks.  Discard chile peppers and cinnamon. Carefully pour pan juices in to a fat separator and then add them back in to pan with the shredded pork. Serve with variety of taco accoutrements like guacamole, salsa (see recipe below), queso cotiija, rice, beans, etc

Roasted tomato salsa
Adapted from Everday Food, May 2011

Ingredients:

• 3-4 largish tomatoes
• 3 jalapenos, seeded or not depending on the level of spice you'd like and the potency of your peppers. (I seeded two of mine and it still had quite a kick.)
• 1 large white onion, halved
• 3 cloves garlic
• juice from one lime
• handful of cilantro leaves
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat broiler. Place tomatoes, peppers, onion and garlic on baking sheet and broil until the skins start to blacken.
2. Remove garlic skin and toss the roasted vegetables in to a food processor. Process until just smooth. Season with salt and pepper and add cilantro. Process for just a few seconds more to combine.