Barbecue For Real

In honor of the season---and the fact that I've got half a dozen jumbo cans of pumpkin---I decided to bake yesterday. These cookies are very moist and cake-like, without being annoyingly sweet.

John’s Pumpkin-Oatmeal Cookies

 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, at room temperature
 1 cup brown sugar, packed
 1 cup granulated (white) sugar
 1 cup prepared pumpkin/pumpkin puree
 1 large egg
 2 cups all-purpose flour
 1 1/3 cups rolled oats
 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
 ¾ teaspoon baking soda
 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
 ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
 ½ teaspoon salt
 ¾ cup dried cherries (or raisins)
 ½ cup pine nuts, toasted
 2 tablespoons bourbon or other whiskey

In a small bowl, soak the cherries in the bourbon, along with enough water to cover. Set aside for at least 20 minutes, or as long as a few hours.

Cream together the butter and sugars until thoroughly mixed. Add the pumpkin, egg and vanilla; mix until thoroughly combined.

Drain the liquid from the cherries; discard liquid. Blot cherries dry with paper towel.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Whisk to thoroughly combine. Gradually add the butter mixture to the dry ingredients, in 3 or 4 installments, stirring with a rubber spatula. When ingredients are just combined, fold in the pine nuts and cherries. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and store dough in refrigerator for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake cookies for 15-17 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Back again!

Getting back to actual barbecue (chili is good stuff, but it ain't barbecue): I haven't posted a recipe for pulled pork, one of my all-time favorites. Mostly that's because I make it differently every time. This time, though, I went ahead and recorded everything I did. It's a wee bit time consuming, but you've never tasted anything like it.

John's Apple-Flavored Shredded Pork

--2 1/2 to 3 pounds pork butt roast
--1 (14.5 ounce) can low-sodium chicken broth
--1/2 cup no-sugar-added applesauce
--1/4 cup white wine
--3 tablespoons tomato paste
--1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
--3 to 4 assorted peppers (hot or sweet), seeded and coarsely chopped
--2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
--1 to 2 dried chipotle peppers, or 3 to 4 canned chipotle peppers
--1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
--1 tablespoon whiskey
--1/2 teaspoon dried basil
--1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
--1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
--1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
--1/2 to 1 teaspoon black pepper, to taste
--salt, to taste

--2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil, for coating meat

If using dried chipotles, soak them in the white wine for at least 20 minutes, until softened. Finely chop chipotles, reserving wine used for soaking.

Heat your outdoor grill to medium heat. Rub the pork thoroughly with the olive oil. Grill the pork, turning every 7 to 9 minutes, to create a good sear and pronounced grill marks.

Place all ingredients except the pork into a large pot or Dutch oven. Over medium-high heat, bring liquid to a boil. Place the pork on top of the other ingredients, and bring the liquid back to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and allow to simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

When done, carefully remove the pork from the pot. After allowing the pork to cool briefly, use a pair of forks to shred the pork thoroughly. Be sure to remove and discard any bones. Return the shredded pork to the pot, and increase heat to medium-high. When the liquid boils, reduce heat slightly (do NOT cover pot) and allow to simmer for another 20 to 30 minutes, to thicken the sauce.

Serve on sub rolls, topped with cole slaw, if desired.

With the chilly weather setting in, I figured, what could be more appropriate than...chili?

This is a stove top recipe that I've been working on for a few years. In it's current incarnation, there's a nice balance between vegetation and meat.

John's Black Bean Chili

--1 1/2 pounds beef chuck, trimmed and cut into 1-inch chunks

--3/4 pound bulk Italian sausage, hot or sweet

--2 tablespoons olive oil

--3 1/2 cups black beans, pre-soaked (or two 15-ounce cans black beans)

--1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, along with can juices

--2 tablespoons tomato paste

--1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

--1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped

--3 cups (total) assorted peppers, coarsely chopped. May include jalapenos, Hungarian wax, habaneros, Italian frying peppers, etc. It all depends on what you have on hand, and how much heat you like!

--2 to 3 dried chipotle peppers

--1/2 cup white wine

--3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced

--1 beef bouillon cube

--2 tablespoons chili powder

--1 teaspoon salt

--1 teaspoon ground cumin

--1 teaspoon dried oregano

--1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (or more, to taste)

--1/2 teaspoon paprika

--1/2 teaspoon dried basil

--a few dashes Worcestershire (about 1 teaspoon)

In a small bowl, soak the dried chipotle in the white wine.

Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, and when oil is hot, crumble the sausage into the pot. Allow the sausage to brown for about 1 minute, stirring often. Add the beef chuck, and stir to evenly brown. If desired, drain excess grease (I don't bother with this step).

Add the beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, and onions, and stir to combine. Remove the chipotle peppers from the wine, and chop the chipotles into a fine dice. Add chipotles to the pot. Strain and add the wine to the pot. Add ALL remaining ingredients, except for the bell pepper and the assorted peppers. Stir to thoroughly combine. Cover pot, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, add the red bell and assorted peppers. Stir to combine, and taste chili; if necessary, adjust salt and/or black pepper. Cover, and allow to simmer over low heat for an additional 2 hours.

Serve chili in bowls, topped with shredded cheese, crumbled crackers, sour cream or whatever you like.

For the "assorted peppers", I used a combination of Italian frying peppers, wax peppers, cowhorns and jalapenos. I wanted a little background heat, but I didn't want it to be "5-Alarm" chili.

As with any chili, promptly refrigerate or freeze and uneaten portions. It improves with age!