Open faced pulled pork sandwiches

I've been kind of lazy with my blog lately, but I have a good excuse. At least, I think it's a pretty good one. With my parents being here visiting from the U.S., we have dined out a lot, especially since it's venison season and most local restaurants serve all kinds of delicious dishes.

Also, I've just been out of town for the weekend. I went to... drumroll please... BERLIN! I had always wanted to go and, finally, I've made it there. It was amzing trip, although a short one. I'll tell you all about it in a different post, though, with pics and all that other fun stuff.

For now I'm just going to share a recipe with you, the first ever made with my brand new crockpot. You have to know that slowcookers are not popular in Europe. I know, I know. It sounds crazy, since they are so awesome and useful... still, you cannot find them anywhere. Most people don't know what they are. I missed mine so much, I started thinking about having my mom ship it to me from Florida. But then I found one on Amazon.it and forwarded the link to my sister asking her to give it to me as a birthday present. And the rest is history. I now have a crock pot and it came just in time for me to make some good slowcooked, fall recipes.

I decided to inaugurate it by making spicy pulled pork. It turned out great, and when I came home from work the house smelled delicious.

PULLED PORK
Adapted from http://www.skinnytaste.com

• 2.5 lb pork shoulder
• 6 cloves garlic cut into slivers
• cumin
• garlic powder
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2-3 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• 2 bay leaves

Season pork with salt and pepper. In a medium sauté pan on medium-high heat, brown it for about 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

Using a sharp knife, cut small holes into meat and insert garlic slivers. Season with cumin and garlic powder all over.

Place chicken broth in the crockpot, add bay leaves and chipotles. Add pork in crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours. After 8 hours, shred meat using two forks and combine well with the juices that accumalated at the bottom. Adjust salt and cumin. Let it cook another 15-30 minutes.

Spicy pork chili

So here's the thing: I couldn't care less about football or Superbowl. I'll be brutally honest with you: I find the game too long and not packed enough with action to hold my interest and, until yesterday, I was convinced -hopeful, really- that Superbowl Sunday was today. I say hopeful because after Superbowl is over there is a few months  of peace and quiet when I don't have to listen to football talk. Not that anyone would directly talk to me about football, but you know, they talk loud enough for me to hear. And if they are not talking they are updating their Facebook status with all-caps nonsense about the Colts or whoever else could make it to Superbowl.

One thing I like about Superbowl is the chili-eating aspect of it because chili happens to be one of my favorite dishes. Besides the fact that I love soupy meals, I like the fact that everyone makes chili in a different way and, at least when it comes to food, I will never get bored at a Superbowl party. I have three or four favorite chili recipes so far -this particular one is the latest addition. It's from -yet again- the Jan./Feb. issue of Cooking Light and it's made with pork instead of beef. I had to change the recipe a little bit, mostly because I forgot to buy some of the ingredients, but it turned out amazing: the ham hock gives it a wonderfully smoky flavor and the Mexican hot sauce delivers a nice kick.

SPICY PORK CHILI

Cooking spray

2  pounds  ground pork

3  cups  chopped onion

1  chopped green bell pepper

3  garlic cloves, minced

3  tablespoons  tomato paste

1  cup beer

Salt

3  tablespoons  chili powder

1  tablespoon  ground cumin

2  teaspoons  dried oregano

3/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper

6  tomatillos, quartered

2  bay leaves

2  (14 1/2-ounce) cans plum tomatoes, undrained and chopped

1  (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained

1  (7 3/4-ounce) can Mexican hot-style tomato sauce

1  smoked ham hock (about 8 ounces)

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add ground pork to pan, season with salt and pepper to taste; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to slightly crumble. Drain well. Transfer pork to an electric slow cooker.

Recoat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and bell pepper; sauté 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add tomato paste; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in beer; cook 1 minute. Transfer onion mixture to slow cooker. Add salt, chili powder, and next 9 ingredients (through ham hock) to slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH 5 hours. Remove bay leaves and ham hock; discard.

Serve with fresh cilantro, chopped green onions, or sour cream if desired.