Hawaiian-style Pork Roast

My husband got a slow-cooker from one of the "white elephant" exchange gifts we had this holiday season. He's been wanting to get one, and he finally got it. So for the Christmas party we attended the following weekend, the slow cooker was out of the box and ready to make some succulent dish. He found a good slow cooker recipe from the Martha Stuart magazine "Everyday Food" which I'm going to share here. However, we used pork Boston butt roast, instead of the beef short ribs in the original recipe. We did not alter any measurement or cooking time, and it still worked well. The other modification my husband made was he made some gravy out of the liquid that came out of the roast. For those who do not have a slow cooker, you can still cook this using your oven.

Ingredients:
2 red onions, cut into 1-inch wedges
4 garlic cloves, smashed
2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
2 medium sized carrots, sliced about 1-inch
4-5 lbs. bone in pork Boston butt roast
(if using short ribs, divide the ribs in 3 to 4 inch-pieces)
1 1/2 cups dark-brown sugar
1 cup soy sauce
6 tbsp vinegar (rice or coconut)
1 tbsp chili sauce
1 can pineapple chunks or slices
2 tbsp flour dissolved in ¼ cup water (for gravy)
cooked rice for serving

Place onions, garlic, ginger, and carrots in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Top with butt roast (or short ribs) in a tight layer. In a medium bowl, whisk together brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, and chili sauce and add to slow cooker. Cover and cook on high until roast are almost tender, about 4 hours. Add pineapple, including the juice, and cook until pineapple is tender, 1 hour. For oven cooking, pre-heat oven to 200 degrees F. Follow above instructions, placing all ingredients in a deep roasting pan. Cover the pan with foil and roast until tender, about 4 hours. Add the pineapple, and cook for 1 more hour.

With a slotted spoon, transfer roast and pineapples to a platter and cover with foil. Using a ladle, skim fat from cooking liquid. Transfer cooking liquid to a medium-sized sauce pan, straining the remaining solid ingredients. Bring the liquid to a boil on medium-high heat, reducing to about half. Bring the heat to medium-low. Stir the dissolved flour and pour into the reduced liquid, stirring constantly until thick. Season with salt and pepper (and a little bit more sugar, if desired). Slice the roast, arranging the pineapples on top, and then pour over the gravy. Serve with cooked rice.

Chicken cordon bleu with mushroom sauce

For our Thanksgiving potluck, I was hoping to do a turkey version of this dish, but could not find turkey breasts in our local grocery store at the last minute. So I just made the usual chicken cordon bleu, and it was still a hit. This recipe looks complicated, but it wasn't actually. The only tricky part for me is the rolling & sealing because the chicken pieces could get slippery to the hands and you do not want the cheese to ooze out of the rolls while cooking.



4 boneless chicken breasts, skin removed
salt
pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
4 slices cooked ham
4 slices Swiss cheese
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
toothpicks or butcher's twine for sealing
vegetable oil

Mushroom Sauce:
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup heated milk
1/2 cup chicken broth
salt
pepper


Make a horizontal cut down the length of the thin side of each chicken breast using a sharp thin knife. Open the breasts up like a book so the cut-sides are exposed facing up and the skin-side is down, with the "spine" of the chicken horizontal on your work surface. Place each piece of chicken between 2 sheets of wax paper or in food storage bag. Pound gently to flatten, using a rolling pin or smooth side of meat mallet. Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt and pepper. In a deep dish, combine beaten eggs with milk. Place chicken pieces in mixture, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Put panko in a food storage bag and seal. On a flat surface and using a rolling pin, crush the panko until slightly fine. Set aside. Place a piece of ham in the center of each flattened piece of chicken. You may trim the edges of the ham so it fits the breast, with a small border around the chicken. Fold the cheese slice in half and place on top of the ham. Fold ends over the ham and cheese; rolling tightly away from you. Secure rolls with toothpicks or butcher's twine. Dredge chicken with flour then dip in remaining milk mixture; roll in crushed panko to coat well.

Heat 1/2-inch of vegetable oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Fry chicken rolls for 3-4 minutes each side. When browned all over, place the chicken rolls in a baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve with mushroom sauce.

Mushroom Sauce
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute mushrooms in 2-3 batches until browned (Sauteing in batches would properly brown the mushrooms). Set aside. In the remaining butter, add flour and stir until mixture is well blended. Gradually stir in hot milk, chicken broth, and mushroom. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sauce begins to boil and thickens. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer, stirring frequently, over very low heat for 5 minutes. Makes about 1 cup of medium thick sauce.

I'm back!

I cannot believe that it has been one full year since I last posted in this blog. I have been meaning to add more recipes here, but I guess some busy days and what-nots kept me from it. Anyway, it's that time of the year again. Christmas season means parties, parties, and more parties! Thus, Jaemi's kitchen has been busy again since Thanksgiving. My husband and I did some old and new dishes this year, so I will try to keep this site updated with more recipes... And I hope a few more people will read this :P

Happy Holidays & enjoy the kitchen!