It Feels Like the First Time....

Hiyee y'all.  I'm the Frolicking Foodista. Food and fun are my way of life. I'm a bacon loving, BBQ chasing, bourbon girl who has a hankering for pastry. I also love turning leftovers into something new; it's actually a challenge that I enjoy. I'll spread the love of things culinary and the good times that revolve around them.  I'm a Twitter freak and will have Frolicking Foodista on soon to spread the silly shenanigans that I call my life.  I'm not joking when I say I have NO blogging experience, so this will be a learning journey for me.  Just keep that in mind when I make mistakes (-;

 

Let's get this blogging started!  Nothing says YUM like a microwaved leftover pork chop right? Wait, whaaaaat? Yeah, YUCK is what I though too. I had leftover bone-in loin chops that I had grilled and thought braising would be the best bet. So you know what, that's what I did.  Say hello to my little friend the tamale...

Aren't they pretty getting all flavored up with +Code3spices 5-0 rub before hitting the smoke. Oh, get used to the +Code3spices plug because I adore those guys and their mission for giving back to those who serve (Oh look, I plugged again).  These chops were reverse seared so they were smoked at a loooooow temperature and then finished on open flame.  YUM!

 

 

 

BEFORE

AFTER

Now it's bath time! Remember braise doesn't mean drown your meat.  Go about half way up the side.  Here I have sautéed onions, Swiss chard (yes, WITH the stems), and butternut squash.  I added a little oregano, chili powder, and an S-ton of garlic.  I used chicken stock but you can use vegetable stock if you want but I really don't know why you would bother because pork isn't vegan.  I covered the little piggies and put the pot in the oven at 300F for a couple of hours or until the chops were "forkable", as I call it, and the liquid was almost gone. Take the bones out of course, you don't want to eat those. Grab a fork and go crazy on it. At this point, you have a filling.  You could use this for enchiladas, ravioli, empanadas, chimichangas, potstickers, egg rolls ...you get the picture.

 

Make some tamale dough, which is like making pie dough except temperature doesn't really matter.  You take about 2 1/2 cups of masa harina, add some salt and mush it together with about 1 cup of vegetable shortening (or bacon fat if you're up for it).  Add enough chicken stock to make a thick paste....think mashed potatoes.  Soak your husks for an hour before you spread the dough and drop the filling. It's actually a lot of fun once you get all your ducks in a row. Steam away for about an hour.

 

 

Usually pork tamales are served with a chili sauce but I wanted something bright to offset the richness of the pork.  Sounds kind of fancy pants but hey, sometimes I'm like that.  I made a pineapple, clementine, black bean salad that had crumbled goat cheese, cilantro, and pistachios. You really don't need a starch to go with this but what the hell, I made Spanish rice to go alongside just because I can. The tamales were out of this world so I'm going to toot my horn...TOOT TOOT.

 

I hope you enjoyed my first blogging experience. Now I have to figure out how to post this without erasing everything I've done!  Love what you do, do what you love!