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Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas Tacos!

My friends know well that I am a big fan of food trucks, better yet, I am a big fan of taco trucks.  I have a few favorites in the city and will try to hit them up as often as possible.  A few months ago, my brother's friend, Gabi, came to visit us for a few days. This was my first time meeting her and we hit it off. Being the good hostess I try to be, I decided to cook for Gabi. I decided to try my hand at replicating the taco truck's Carnitas Tacos. I cooked them in my slow cooker because I wanted to make sure they were super tender and as flavorful as possible.  

They. Were. Amazing. 

Better than the taco truck's... and that is saying something. 

So here we go... 

INGREDIENTS: 5 or 6 lbs pork shoulder, preferably bone in 2 tbs sea salt 1 tbs cumin 1 tbs ground black pepper 2 tbs ground dried oregano 2 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp cayenne pepper 8 garlic cloves, smashed and sliced 1 small can of chipotle peppers 1 white onion, chopped 1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped juice of 2 limes 1 cup medium salsa 1 cup orange juice 1 cup vegetable broth 1 can light beer

INSTRUCTIONS: Rinse the pork and place it in the slow cooker. The one I bought came pre sliced, but you don't need to.  Rub all the dry seasonings onto the pork. 

Add the chipotle peppers, salsa, onions, jalapeños, lime juice, garlic, orange juice and vegetable broth. 

Cover with beer and cook on low heat for 8 hours. I like to cook it on low to make sure the meat is as tender and juicy as possible. 

Take the pork out of the slow cooker. Shred the pork using two forks, it should be super easy because the meat has been cooking for so long.  

Preheat your broiler. Place the pork in an oven safe container and sprinkle with a few spoonfuls of the sauce it cooked in. Broil for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are crispy. 

And that is all! 

For best results, serve on soft tortillas and garnish with cilantro, sliced radish, pineapple chunks, cotija cheese, salsa verde, chopped red onions and fresh lime juice. 

Trust me... these tacos are delicious! 

The spiciness of the chipotle, cumin and other spices go very well with the lime juice and pineapple chunks. The fresh radish and cilantro are a refreshing contrasting taste. 

And in case you were curious, we paired the tacos with a nice light beer ;)

We all enjoyed this amazing dinner. Hope you enjoyed reading about it and try making it at home!  

xo Josie

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Emil timed me while i made tonight's dinner: pasta carbonara (with peas)!  It takes a little over 15 minutes from start to belly. 

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Last night's dinner was a sausage and veg stir fry!!

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Taking advantage of leftover whole wheat flatbread. Made a personal pizza w/pesto, monterrey jack cheese, genoa salami and sundried tomatoes topped with cilantro and arugula with balsamic vinaigrette! Yum! 🍕🍴

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Sliced pork belly on whole wheat flatbread with sundried tomatoes, cucumbers, arugula, Monterrey jack cheese and cilantro. Yum!

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We had meatballs for dinner last night!!!

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Tonight's dinner: spicy, roasted ribs and summer veggies! #josieskitchen #summer #veggies #ribs #cooking #homemade

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I went to Iceland in June: jumped all over the place, ate lots of food and drank plenty of Viking beer!

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Pan roasted salmon over mixed spinach and herb salad with warm, roasted pears and a pepper-citrus vinaigrette. Summer in a plate!

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Lomo Saltado: Peruvian Style Stir-Fry!

Can you imagine a dish that is spicy and tangy, salty but also a little sweet and citrusy? Sounds delicious, doesn't it? Well, that dish is Lomo Saltado! I discovered this dish during my travels in Peru and fell in love with it. It was my first real meal there. Lorraine and I decided we wanted to walk away from all the touristy places our map highlighted and see where the road took us. We ended up getting hungry and walked into this comedor (cafeteria) and I ordered us grilled pork chop for her and lomo saltado for me. 

And I had it a second time at dinner later on that week. 

It was delicious both times! It has so many different flavors working together. It was filling but not too heavy. I knew then I had to recreate it once I got back home. So a few weeks ago I decided it was high time I made this. I wanted Emil to taste the deliciousness of lomo saltado. 

Lomo Saltado: Peruvian Style Stir-Fry!

INGREDIENTS: 1lb pepper steak 1 tbs distilled white vinegar 2 tbs + a splash of soy sauce (I used low sodium soy sauce) 2 limes 1 medium red onion 2 roma tomatoes 1 handfull of perejil 2 garlic cloves 1 small yellow chili pepper - preferable peruvian aji amarillo (jalapeños are ok) 1 1/2 cups frozen french fries vegetable oil as needed salt & pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS: Start by marinating the beef. Place the beef in a bowl or shallow dish and add the soy sauce, vinegar and salt & pepper. Set it aside. 

Start cooking the fries. While the fries cook, wash and cut the tomatoes and onion into thick slices. 

Scoop out the seeds of the yellow pepper using a spoon. This dish is supposed to have some heat, but it should not overpower the other flavors. It complements them. 

Chop the pepper into tiny tiny pieces. 

Use a mortar and pestle to crush the garlic cloves. 

Rough chop the parsley and cut the limes.

Fries should be done by now. Take them out of the oil and let them rest on some paper towels to absorb any excess oil. 

Cook the beef (without the marinade) in about 1 1/2 tbs of vegetable oil. 

Cook the beef for about 3 minutes on each side. Remove from the heat and get all your ingredients ready!

Time for the tomatoes, half of the chopped parsley, onions, garlic and yellow pepper to hit the pan!

Add the steak (notice on the top left corner of this picture I started cooking my eggs around this time).

Add a splash of the soy sauce and the juice from the limes. Toss everything together and cook for about a minute. 

Toss in the fries. 

Add the remaining parsley and that's it!

Top with fresh parsley when you serve and accompany it with rice and black beans topped with a fried egg. 

There are so many flavors in this dish, and the beef is juicy and tender. As you can see from the pictures, this is an easy and fun dish to prepare. I had the music blasting and a glass of wine to help keep the festive mood hahahaha! 

Oh... by the way, there were zero leftovers, of course hahahaha! Emil loved it! 

Hope you enjoyed this post and try making lomo saltado at home.  That's all for now. Thank you for stopping by! 

Hope you are having a great week!

xoxo Josie

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Impromptu Sunday Night Dinner Party!!

I went to dinner and drinks with a coworker after work last wednesday. As we were chatting and getting to know each other we discovered we live about 3 blocks from each other and there is another girl from work who also lives in the neighborhood. This was great news, I love the idea of having friends near where I live. So after a few more pints of cider and a whiskey or two I decided it would be a fantastic idea to have a few work friends in my apartment for dinner... that Sunday. Yup... in 4 days... of which I was working 3... great idea. 

Did I mentioned there were a few of these consumed... hahahaha! 

Thank night I came home and asked Emil (via dry erase board) if it was ok to have a few friends over. It is his apartment as well, so I wanted to check with him first. I woke up on Thursday to find this:

And just like that, it was official! I was hosting a dinner party! In 3 days!

First step was creating the menu. My friend Tom was online and I knew he would have great ideas for the menu. He gave me a few items and I went from there. I wanted something light and springy. One of the girls is vegetarian so I wanted to make sure there were options for her as well, not just salads.  I had a menu with about 15 items in it by the time I sent out the invite. 

I sent an invite to about 10 people (all work friends), of those only 5 said they would go, 1 said maybe, 2 declined and 2 did not respond. Since my guest list was cut in half, so was my menu. No big deal, it was actually for the best. In the end there were 5 of us here and we ate about 95% of all the food. 

Here is what I made/served:

Savory: 

Dominican Style Potato Salad

Mushrooms and Asparagus 

Feta, Tomato & Basil Salad

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

Shrimp & Tomato Stew

Jully's BBQ Ribs

Sweet:

Flan (Regular caramel flan, not pumpkin like the recipe says)

Bourbon Bread Pudding

Libations:

Red Wine Sangria

Sparkling Bourbon Iced Tea

Beer

Wine

Dinner was delicious and almost everything was gone within a few minutes. We ate and drank to our hearts' content. 

The ribs were, of course, a hit! Jully's recipe was a success once again.

Everything else I pretty much made up as I went. 

For the shrimp I added garlic, parsley, cherry tomatoes,  siracha, canned tomatoes, green onions, celery and olive oil. It was not as spicy as I wanted it to be, but it was still pretty good. 

I wanted to use as many fresh ingredients as possible. 

I love veggies cooked in a simple, no fuss style. 

Take the mushrooms and asparagus, for example. I only cooked them with butter, sea salt, cracked black pepper and chili powder. Simple, yet delicious. 

The potato salad is my family's recipe. I used idaho and red skinned potatoes, celery, corn, sweet peas, apples and carrots. I love it, I can eat plate after plate of this thing. 

Dinner was successful and heaping plates of food were throughly consumed. 

And then, it was dessert time!! I made flan, which is a staple in any gatherings I host and a bread pudding with a bourbon glaze.  We ate about 20% of each and now I have a fridge full of flan and bread pudding calling my name. Thankfully, there is a new gym opening up in my neighborhood because I have the feeling i will be eating these!! 

I was scared to host a dinner party with such short notice but it ended up being great. It was a lovely, rainy afternoon with friends, food and booze. We laughed so much and ate so much. It was pretty awesome! 

Now I guess it is time plan (or wait until 3 days before) my next party. Wonder who'd want to come? ;)

Have a wonderful day and even better week. 

Until next time.

xoxo,  Josie

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Coq Au Vin!!

If you are in New York City you know that although it is technically spring, it still feels like winter. Most of last week was very windy and cold. We were too spoiled with short winters last year and now we are being babies about this one. The one good thing about this long winter is we get to enjoy stews for a little longer (not that I wouldn't cook stew in the spring or summer mind you). I decided to make this classic french stew: Coq au vin! 

Stews are so easy to make, and a great way to use veggies. This was the first time I made coq au vin. This French stew is usually made with a rooster but you can use chicken as well as I did. coq au vin is essentially chicken, bacon, veggies and wine. What's not to like?!

INGREDIENTS: 1 cup of thick cut bacon, chopped 1 1/2-2lbs bone in chicken 3-5 carrots 3/4 medium white onion 1 medium shallot 4 garlic cloves 1 pckg of fresh mushrooms 2 tbs butter 2-3 bay leaves 4 sprigs of thyme (remove the stems) Fresh parsley 2 cups chicken broth 3/4 bottle of red wine (not too sweet - I used Shiraz) 3-4 oz of cognac 6-7 black peppercorns 1 tbs tomato paste Salt and pepper 1 tbs flour

INSTRUCTIONS:

Start by washing and chopping up the carrots, onions, shallots, garlic and mushrooms. 

Using a large and heavy pot cook the bacon on medium heat.  Cook the bacon for 5-6 minutes until it starts to crisp up.  Be mindful not to let it burn.  

Wash and season the chicken with salt and pepper and set aide for now.  

Remove the bacon from the pot and add the chicken, skin side down. Brown the chicken for about 7-8 minutes.  

Remove the bacon from the pot and add the chicken, skin side down. Brown the chicken for about 7-8 minutes.  

Meanwhile, in another skillet melt the butter. 

Add the mushrooms and season them with salt and pepper. Cook the mushrooms on low heat. 

Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside.

Add the chopped onions, carrots, shallots and garlic to the pot.

Remove the onions and carrots from the pot and set aside. (Lots of adding and removing here hahahaha!)

Add the chicken back to the pot and pour in the cognac.  

Light a match or a lighter so the cognac ignites! 

Once the flames go down it is time to add everything to the pot. Add the onions and carrots, mushrooms, bacon, bay leaves and thyme.

Add the tomato paste, 1/2 of the bottle of wine and chicken stock. Mix the tomato paste in and braise covered for 30 minutes. 

Mix in the flour with a few spoonfuls of the broth and use it to thicken up the stew. 

Mix in the flour with the stew and add the remaining wine to the stew. 

Cook for another 5-10 minutes and serve. 

Top with fresh parsley and serve with some crusty bread and red wine and enjoy!

This is such a happy and filling dish. 

I used the bread to soak up the broth. Emil and I ate the whole thing. This was delicious and we kept going back to the pot for refills. 

When I first started cooking this I was nervous because it seemed like such a daunting task but it ended up being quite easy. I found that having the ingredients cut up and ready to go really eased up the process. 

I hope you try making this at home. My parents are in town so I might try making this for them sometime soon. 

This is all for now. I hope you had a great weekend and an even better week ahead. 

xoxo, Josie

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Josie's Adventures: Machu Picchu, Peru - February 2013!

I am finally writing about Machu Picchu... yay!

Machu Picchu is an Inca site located on the Urubamba Valley in the Cusco region of Peru. Although it was built around 1450, the site was not discovered until 1911. It has since become an important tourist attraction. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981 and voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. 

Machu Picchu is about 50 miles northwest of Cusco. We took the one day trip to the site, which started at 4am. 

We took a bus from Cusco to a town called Ollantytambo, there we took a train to a town called Aguas Calientes, and from there we took another bus to the entrance of the park. 

The train ride from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes. 

Bus ride from Aguas Calientes to the entrance of Machu Picchu National Park.

We arrived at the entrance of the Machu Picchu National Park at 8:45am. We began the tour shortly after. We walked for about 30 minutes and then, the lost city appeared right before our eyes!

I could not believe I was there. Sometimes I still can't. 

The fact that I took these pictures, in person, is pretty mind blowing!! 

As part of the tour, we were able to walk around the city and learn about the how the Incas lived. It is pretty amazing how they built this city. Everything has a use, there is a complex water drainage system and each area has a specific use. Oh, and have I mentioned they did all this without the wheel?! Yeah! I know! WOAH!

The tour took about 2 hours and then we had free time to explore Machu Picchu independently. 

We brought in sandwiches and water and had a picnic. This was our view:

yup!

THIS!

So after lunch, we walked around some more. There was so much to see everywhere!

I was the typical tourist: water bottle, backpack, 4 cameras... hahahaha!!

The pictures do not do this place any justice. It was breathtaking, and I am not just talking about the altitude (Machu Picchu is 7,970 ft above sea level)!! 

This was such an educational and peaceful experience. I have always wanted to go to Machu Picchu; I had to pinch myself while I was there!  

Now I need to plan my next adventure!!

Well, this is all for now.  If you know me, you know I took many more pictures (I had FOUR cameras on me that day. FOUR), you can check out my flickr page for them. 

Alright, until next time my friends. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

xoxo, Josie

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Eggs with Tomatoes and Chick Peas!!

Hey! Hey! Hey!

I made this dish last night for Emil and I. We wanted a quick dinner and since it was already past 9pm, I wanted something that would not be too heavy. I took a look in the fridge and coverts and came up with this: eggs with tomatoes and chickpeas!

INGREDIENTS: 3 large eggs 1/4 large white onion 3 garlic cloves 5 pieces of sun-dried tomatoes 1 large can of chick peas 1 large can of diced tomatoes 1 tbs chopped basil 1 tbs chopped parsley 1 tsp chopped thyme 1 tbs olive oil salt & pepper

INSTRUCTIONS: Start by getting all the ingredients ready. Chop up the onion, garlic, basil, thyme, parsley and sun-dried tomatoes.

Drain and rinse the chick peas. 

Heat up the olive oil in a heavy skillet. Cook the onions, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and half of the thyme, parsley and basil for 2 minutes.  

Mix in the chick peas and cook them for 3-4 minutes. 

Mix in the diced tomatoes and the rest of the herbs and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Cook the tomatoes and chick peas for 4-5 minutes. 

Crack open the eggs on top of the tomatoes/chick peas. 

Cook covered unti the whites are set. 

That's it! 

Top with some fresh chopped parsley and basil and serve with a light salad or some bread and enjoy. 

This is such a light but filling dish. I love the combination of chick peas and tomatoes. 

Emil and I really enjoyed this dinner. Quick, filling and tasty! Not bad for a pantry dish, huh?

I hope you try making this at home one day. I promise it is wonderful. 

Have a great day!!

xoxo, Josie

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Josie's Adventures: Cusco, Peru; February 2013

At the begging of January I was growing restless and tired of winter. I have never liked the cold, I tolerate it since I live in New York, but I am not a big fan. After the huddle and bustle of the holidays, I was bored. The days were short, dark and cold. I needed out. I had always wanted to go to Machu Picchu; so I figured I deserved it after the crappy months I’ve had. So I got to planning. While chatting about it with my friend Lorraine, she sort of invited herself on the trip (classic Lorraine) and It was settled, we were going to Peru the third week of February!

We arrived in Cusco after some 27 hours of traveling. 

When we told our friends we were going everyone told us to take things easy on the first day there because of the altitude. Cusco is 11,200ft above sea level and the altitude can really knock you down. 

But Lorraine and I, being the awesome people we are, hit the ground running.

We went to the San Blas neighborhood, one of the highest points on Cusco. This is an artisanal neighborhood where we found musicians and artists working on traditional artisanal pieces. They were gorgeous!

AND OF COURSE... We found an irish pub (OF COURSE!) so that night we decided to go out for ONE pint... that didn't work out. We were out dancing until 7am. Which we did every night during our time in Cusco.  It was so much fun!

The architecture in Cusco is beautiful. It is mainly Spanish colonialist but there are Inca elements everywhere.  For example, a lot of the building have Inca foundations. You can see it in the picture above with the big boulders on the bottom and colonial elements as you go further up. Most of the houses have wooden balconies, which have these beautiful details. 

As we explored Cusco, we fell more and more in love with it. 

This city was beautiful but noting could've prepared us for Machu Picchu. The lost city is absolutely breathtaking.  

But I will stop for now. I will write about the lost city in my next post. I should get ready for work now ;)

If you want to see more of my pictures from this trip, check out my Flickr. I was THAT annoying tourist with 4 cameras at all times. It was fabulous! HA!

Until next time!!

xoxo, Josie

PS. Today is this blog's anniversary. Happy Birthday Blog!! 

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What's been going on with Josie?

I had this whole post written out full of lies about how I was finally back and had recipes in the back burner and whatnot. The truth is that until 2 weeks ago I hadn't cooked in months. Cooking was my stress reliever and my favorite way to show my love to those I loved. And then my life changed and the rug was yanked from under my feet. I was left to figure out what happened.  In that process I completely ignored the kitchen, I was not cooking or eating. I moved apartments and found myself with a new kitchen. I felt this was not my kitchen. When I would go into the kitchen to cook I was filled with this incredible sadness and anger. Both because I'd been robbed of the pleasure I got from cooking. Because my life had, in an instant, changed completely. I was lost.

So I got out of the kitchen and would only wander into that part of the apartment to grab wine from the fridge. I either ate at the restaurant I work at or ordered in. This continued for a few months during which I made the wonderful discovery that my brother Emil is a wonderful cook (I guess this runs in the family). He has a few dishes in his repertoire and boy, they are delicious. The boy is talented!

I ignored the kitchen and the blog completely, along with questions and not so subtle nudges from friends and family regarding the matter.

And then I took this trip to Peru... To Machu Picchu (YES, It was wonderful! I will write more about it and post tons of pictures and stories about it). The experience was fantastic. I climbed to the ruins of the lost city and found myself surrounded by nature. I felt really small in the face of such beauty. It was liberating and emotional and fun. When I got back from Peru (with a stop to see my parents in Dominican Republic), I was so relaxed and at peace. So, of course, I volunteered to host friends over for brunch the weekend right after I returned. I'm not quite sure what possessed me to volunteer but I did (maybe I just can't relax....). I returned to the kitchen and this time it was for more than to get some wine, but don't worry.. Wine was definitely involved. 

Don't you love that I decided to start cooking again with such a challenge? There were about 18 of us altogether... Go big or go home, right?! Having so many people in a NYC apartment can be challenging. First, is the logistics of cooking for so many people (and hoping they like it) and then, where would we all sit?! We ended up sitting on tables, windowsills, the floor... anywhere really.... The brunch was a total success, only one glass of sangria was spilled and 98% of the food was consumed (on the menu: baked potatoes & eggs with rosemary and thyme, french toast casserole, bacon, sausage, mixed greens with corn and scallions, flan, mimosas, beer and sangria). But more importantly, I showed people I care about just how much I appreciate them by feeding them until they couldn't breathe. And that made me happy. I cooked again on Monday night (spaghetti carbonara) and Tuesday night (BLTs and tomato soup). I was on a roll!

Yesterday I got an email from my web hosting company asking if I would be renewing the URL: www.josieskitchen.com. That's it. I couldn't ignore it any longer. And I won't.

I am not saying I will be posting three times a week as I was before, I am not ready for that yet, but I will definitely post more (starting with the Peru post). And since brunch was so great I hope to make it a monthly thing (yes, if you are in NY you can come) and post all about it. 

So, this is too long now. Thank you for sticking around. You are awesome! 

xo, Josie

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Secret Recipe Club: Mini Corn Dogs!

Secret Recipe Club time!! I gotta say, I was so happy when I received my assignment for this month's reveal. 

I was assigned Angie's blog. Angie is over at Big Bear's Wife. She has such a beautiful blog with great recipes.  Please check out her blog, she also has beautiful crafts and amazing photographs!

It was quite the challenge to pick just one recipe. In the end I chose this one because, well... 

Mini corn dogs are fun!

I still don't want to let go of summer.

Mini corn dogs are fun!

I knew my brother would like this recipe. 

Mini corn dogs remind me of fairs and I love fairs! 

Seriously... it is corn dogs... in a miniature version!

INGREDIENTS: 6 hot dogs, cooked (I used 5 because that's what we had) 1 cup flour, plus extra for dusting 1 cup cornmeal 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon paprika Dash of salt and pepper 1 egg 1 cup milk Oil 

INSTRUCTIONS: First things first... cook the hot dogs. You want them cooked ahead of time because the dough cooks really quickly and the dogs would stay raw. So cook the hot dogs first. Cool.

Ok, mix together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. 

Whisk them together so they are evenly combined. 

Whisk together the milk and egg in a separate, smaller bowl. 

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well. The dough will be a bit thick, if you need to just add a little more milk. 

Slice the hot dogs into three pieces. 

  and dust them with flour. 

Next, fry them in oil until golden brown. Angie used a deep frier, but since I don't have one I just used my handy skillet. 

  Worked like a charm!

Mine did not come out as smooth as Angie's but I think that is because I used tongs to transfer them to the oil. Maybe I should've used a spoon. 

These were really yummy and fun! They are perfect for parties or simply a quick snack. The whole process took about 30 minutes and that included me stopping to take pictures. 

You can check out more SRC below and check out our website for awesome blogs and how to become a SRC member! 

I hope you have a fabulous Monday and an even better rest of your week! 

Hasta luego,