Striped skies

I swear I've been trying to limit the amount of grainy cell phone pics I post, but sometimes it's the only gadget I have handy to capture the moment. Plus, I figure this cool photo of the Washington Monument with a background of oddly striped clouds was a bit more interesting than what I had planned to write,which was about one of my houseplants. I'll save that thrilling account for tomorrow. (Consider yourself warned.)

Split Pea and Sausage Stew

The one good thing about this reluctant spring weather is that it’s given me a lot of time to cook.  So, I’m trying to take advantage of that, rather than being bummed that our weekend beach trip was rained out or that the footing is too muddy to take the dogs for a hike. It seems I’m also on some kind of weird mission to use these amazing chicken and apple sausages anywhere I can.  First, we ate them by themselves as an entrée with some braised cabbage on the side. Then, they started sneaking in to pasta. Now they’ve managed to totally steal the show from the poor little split peas in this soup.

And now feel free to insert your own off-color joke about loving sausage here. Don't think I can't hear your muffled giggles, Internet. You're so immature.

Split Pea and Sausage Stew

Serves 4-6 as entrée

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken and apple sausage, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 ½ c. dried split peas, rinsed
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• Cracked pepper
• 4-5 cups chicken broth

Directions:

1. Heat large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add sausage, onion, carrots, celery, garlic and potatoes and stir about. If mixture starts to stick, add olive oil. Cook until sausage is browned and onions starts to turn translucent.
2. Add split peas and spices and stir. Add broth and bring to simmer, then reduce to medium-low heat. Cover and keep at a low simmer, stirring occasionally, until peas are completely soft and soup is nice and thick (although you can add more broth if you’d like), about 30-40 minutes.

Me and my boy

I don't spend a lot of time on the other side of the camera lately, so I appreciate this photo Chris took of the Peanut and me even more. Lack of make-up, ugly dining room window and all.

Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork

When the Pioneer Woman posted this recipe earlier in the week, I knew that making it would be in my near future. Her super easy  brisket has successfully fed many carnivores at my house, and this pork sounded like it was in the same vein. We ended up with a chilly weekend and no plans - the perfect excuse to slow cook a giant hunk of meat. Chris described it as "pretty good for indoor pork", which seems like an accurate description. For something that wasn't dry rubbed overnight and then smoked for hours over apple wood, the results were quite tasty.

I wish I had used the larger can of chipotles, as PW recommends. I was trying to ensure it would be toddler-friendly, but it could definitely have used a little more kick. I also wish I'd used more onions. At the end, I chopped up the onions and peppers and threw them back in the shredded pork. More onions would have been nice. Before serving, I reduced the cooking liquid to concentrate the flavor and make it a little thicker and I also added a bit of mustard. Overall, an incredibly simple and delicious pulled pork with a lot of versatility. We served on rolls with purple coleslaw, but it might end up on tortillas or in pasta sauce later this week.

Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork
Serves 8-10
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

• 1 5-8 lb pork butt or shoulder (my cut had a large bone in the center, not sure if it was mislabeled or not)
• 1-2 large onions, cut in to wedges
• salt and pepper
• 1 can chipotle peppers (I used 7 oz, PW calls for 11 oz.)
• 2 cans (or 3 cups) Dr. Pepper
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• 2 tbs mustard

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread onions over bottom or large dutch oven or roasting pan. 
2. Season pork liberally with salt and pepper. Place over top onions. Pour chipotles and Dr. Pepper over pork. Dissolve brown sugar in a bit of Dr. Pepper and pour over meat as well.  Tightly cover pan and place in oven. 
3. Roast for six hours (carefully turning every hour or so),  until meat easily pulls apart.
4. Remove meat to cutting board. Pull apart with forks, discarding large clumps of fat and bone. Chop onions and peppers and mix in with meat.
5. Pour juices in to a fat strainer. Once separated, pour about two cups of juices in to small sauce pan. Bring to simmer and reduce to about half. When reduced, add mustard.
6.  Add juices back to shredded meat and serve.

Snow repellent

 Or so I hope. They're calling for snow tonight and tomorrow and, as you can imagine,  I am none too impressed with that forecast.

Friday bliss: Frites and Allagash White

I met Chris for lunch at Victoria Gastro Pub today and was pleasantly surprised to find that what used to be a Bennigan's is now a pretty dang good place to eat. We started with frites fried in duck fat, topped with rosemary and truffle salt and accompanied by a draft of Allagash White Ale. The frites were pretty amazing, but the lobster grilled cheese that followed was out of this world. I'd honestly put in on par with Central's lobster burger, it was that delicious. Chris went with a boring old burger, but it was topped with caramelized onions and mushrooms, so I think he was pretty happy. We finished off with a perfectly rich chocolate cake with crushed pralines.  I was hoping it the food would be decent, but it far exceeded my expectations. Score for the suburbs!

These are not cherry blossoms

Today I learned that a surprising number of tourists mistake magnolias for D.C.'s iconic cherry blossoms. They were so excited that  I didn't have the heart to correct them.