Cooking Live with Slashfood

It's time for another original episode of Slashfood in the Kitchen with Marisa (that's me!) and Scott. This time we make a classic yellow birthday cake from scratch and top it with a chocolate seven minute frosting. It's a quick and delicious way to make someone feel loved on their special day and do it in no time at all.

The cake recipe came from my copy of the Gourmet Cookbook (the big yellow one that came out a few years ago) but you can also find the recipe here on Epicurious.com. I used this seven minute frosting recipe, also from Epicurious, and added in 2 ounces of melted unsweetened bakers' chocolate at the end.

We'd like to thank Mastercard for sponsoring Slashfood in the Kitchen. They'd like us to remind you that whether you're an art-lover, a traveler, or a connoisseur of fine dining, search and you could win priceless prizes beyond compare.

For more Slashfood in the Kitchen, check out episode 1, 2 and 3.

Source

Here is an 8 lb. Smoked Pork Roast, bone in from Smithfield. Cut it out of the wrapper in the sink and rinse it well.



As you can see the roast is covered in fine netting.



Carefully remove the netting. It will come off with some firm pulling. Discard the netting.



Place the roast in a large pot and cover completely with water. Then put it on the stove.

The other day I posed the question, "Corned Beef or Smoked Pork Shoulder for dinner?" Then we made Corned Beef and Cabbage. Today it's time for my Boiled Smoked Pork Shoulder and Vegetables recipe.

Boiled Smoked Pork Shoulder and Vegetables

1- 7 to 9 lb. Smoked Pork Shoulder
1 Cabbage
1 Rutabaga (Sometimes called Yellow Turnip or Horse Turnip)
1-2 lbs. of Carrots
2-3 lbs. of Potatoes (Plain White, Yukon Gold, Fingerlings, Peruvian Purple- whatever you like.)
4-6 Sweet Onions
1-2 lbs. of any Root Vegetables of your choice (Parsnips, Turnips, Celery Root, Sweet Potato or Yam, Sunchokes, Radish or Daikon, Beets, etc.- Beets need to be cooked separately)
4-6 Garlic cloves
1/2 tbs. of Black Peppercorns
2-3 Bay Leaves
1 tbs. pickling or other cooking spices (Allspice, Cloves, Mustard Seed, Coriander, Ginger, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, etc.)
1-3 Bottles of Dark Beer

Total cooking time is 3-4 hours. (apx. 25-30 minutes per pound)


Click here to follow the recipe.

Throw in some Bay Leaves.


Add your Black Peppercorns and any other spices. I used a couple of tablespoons of assorted spices and pickling spice. Next time I would add even more.


Pour in several bottles of dark beer. I had Guinness available, but next time I would go with something richer and fuller since Guinness is on the light side when it comes to dark beer.

Bring the pot to a boil and then immediately lower to a bare simmer. You want to cook this low and slow. You will be cooking the roast for a total time of 25-30 minutes per lb. In this case for an 8 lb. roast I will simmer it for a total of 3 hours and 30 minutes. remember that you will be adding the vegetables near the end of the cooking time.

Now it's time for the garlic. Separate the cloves from the heqad and lay them on the cutting board. One at a time lay your knife on top of the clove. Make sure the edge is on the cutting board. Place the heel of your hand on the side of the and firmly press down until the clove is crushed.



See how the clove is crushed and popping out of the skin?



Repeat with all your garlic.



Throw away the peel, it will come off easily.



Dump all the garlic into the pot. I started out with six cloves, then added six more later. I would even go to a full head of garlic next time, since I used a lot of water and beer to cover the roast so that all the salt would be extracted during the long simmer.