For starters let me say I am sorry for my absence, no excuses, just sorry. I will try not to let it happen again.Now, lets talk Pork. Last night was one of those cool, border line cold New England day's. All I could think of was comfort food, so I set about making a good old fashioned Mac n' Cheese 
and something stewed. Now I have not eaten, let alone made Mac n' Cheese in years, but I figured what the heck, how hard can it be? After all my shelves, much like yours, have some sort of pasta hanging around and there is usually some cheese in the fridge, 1/2 & 1/2, (or milk) and bread crumbs. So I sweated 1/2 an onion and a clove of garlic with 1 TBL of butter and 1 TBL of flour for a few minutes then added 1 cup of 1/2 & 1/2, bringing it to a boil. Some S & P, grated nutmeg and fresh thyme went into the pot with 1 cup of cubed aged Cheddar. With the heat off I let the cheddar melt while I boiled 2 cups of small pasta shells, leaving it a little al dente' so as to not overcooked during the final baking. Cooled and rinsed the pasta went into a buttered casserole dish covered with the cheese sauce and topped with some Pecorino Romano cheese and Panko, (Japanese), bread crumbs. This was covered with tin foil and put into the refrigerator for later. Now to getto the star of the evening, our friend the pig. I chose country style Pork ribs, bone in of course and was happy my market had some very meaty ones available. 2 pounds of Pork ribs were salted and went into a heavy bottomed pan to braise.
After one side had a nice color to it, I flipped the ribs and added 1 white onion, thinly sliced and 3 cloves of minced garlic, cooking for another five minutes. Then was added 1 can of diced tomatoes and 4 Chipotle peppers,(with Adobo sauce), 1 cup of Chicken stock, 1 TBL Sambal, 4 sprigs of thyme, S & P. Brought to a boil this was covered and turned down to a simmer where it cooked for 90 minutes, the last 30 uncovered. Now while this was simmering I boiled 3 beets
for 30 minutes and let them cool in their own liquid. These were to be added some Swiss chard sauteed with garlic and finished with the juice of one lemon. With an hour left on the cooking time for the ribs I put the Mac n' Cheese in the oven, set at 350 degree's, to finish up in time for the ribs to be done. The last 10 minutes of cooking for the mac was done uncovered to give it a crisp crust and some color. The house filled with the smell of ribs and baked goodness just as JM walked in the door from work and dinner was on the table in minutes. Proving once again that planning and timing win in the world of making a nice meal.
and something stewed. Now I have not eaten, let alone made Mac n' Cheese in years, but I figured what the heck, how hard can it be? After all my shelves, much like yours, have some sort of pasta hanging around and there is usually some cheese in the fridge, 1/2 & 1/2, (or milk) and bread crumbs. So I sweated 1/2 an onion and a clove of garlic with 1 TBL of butter and 1 TBL of flour for a few minutes then added 1 cup of 1/2 & 1/2, bringing it to a boil. Some S & P, grated nutmeg and fresh thyme went into the pot with 1 cup of cubed aged Cheddar. With the heat off I let the cheddar melt while I boiled 2 cups of small pasta shells, leaving it a little al dente' so as to not overcooked during the final baking. Cooled and rinsed the pasta went into a buttered casserole dish covered with the cheese sauce and topped with some Pecorino Romano cheese and Panko, (Japanese), bread crumbs. This was covered with tin foil and put into the refrigerator for later. Now to getto the star of the evening, our friend the pig. I chose country style Pork ribs, bone in of course and was happy my market had some very meaty ones available. 2 pounds of Pork ribs were salted and went into a heavy bottomed pan to braise. After one side had a nice color to it, I flipped the ribs and added 1 white onion, thinly sliced and 3 cloves of minced garlic, cooking for another five minutes. Then was added 1 can of diced tomatoes and 4 Chipotle peppers,(with Adobo sauce), 1 cup of Chicken stock, 1 TBL Sambal, 4 sprigs of thyme, S & P. Brought to a boil this was covered and turned down to a simmer where it cooked for 90 minutes, the last 30 uncovered. Now while this was simmering I boiled 3 beets
for 30 minutes and let them cool in their own liquid. These were to be added some Swiss chard sauteed with garlic and finished with the juice of one lemon. With an hour left on the cooking time for the ribs I put the Mac n' Cheese in the oven, set at 350 degree's, to finish up in time for the ribs to be done. The last 10 minutes of cooking for the mac was done uncovered to give it a crisp crust and some color. The house filled with the smell of ribs and baked goodness just as JM walked in the door from work and dinner was on the table in minutes. Proving once again that planning and timing win in the world of making a nice meal.
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