Roasted Corn Pancakes with Bourbon Pulled Pork & Slaw

Dear fellow foodies, please help me in celebrating Natural Sugar's 100th post!  On such a special occasion, I thought I'd share a recipe with you that brings back one of my best memories from 2014.  Back in September, Christian and I threw a little dinner party.  It was meant to be a quiet dinner for 6 of our close friends.  It bloomed into a dinner extravaganza of 14 to celebrate the end of summer.  It.  was.  fantastic.  Great company combined with delicious food and wine plus wonderful conversation made it a total success.  

Today's recipe is the entree we served at our party:  Roasted Corn Pancakes with Bourbon Pulled Pork, Fresh Veggie Slaw and Spiced Popcorn.  It's a mouthful, literally.  It has several components and takes some time, but I promise you it's worth it!  This dish is whimsical, satiating and full of robust, fresh flavors.  The Roasted Corn Pancakes are soft and savory, the perfect pillow to catch the drippings of the sweet and smokey Bourbon Pulled Pork.  The Fresh Veggie Slaw adds bright flavors and the Spiced Popcorn finishes the dish off with a fun crunch.  Give it a try on a day when you've got time to spend in the kitchen.  You won't be disappointed.  

Roasted Corn Pancakes

1 C. Fresh corn, off the cobb (or frozen)

Olive Oil

S&P

Your favorite pancake batter

Butter

Preheat the oven to broil.  Spread out the corn onto a cookie sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle with S&P.  Toss to coat.  Broil until corn is golden brown.  

Fold the roasted corn and S&P into the pancake batter.  

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Ladle a spoonful of the pancake batter into the skillet.  Cook the pancake until bubbles form or until the bottom turns golden brown, about 2 minutes.  Flip and cook until the other side is golden, about 1 more minute.  Remove from heat.  Repeat with all pancakes.  

Bourbon Pulled Pork

1 lb. Pork Tenderloin (flavored is fine - go for teriyaki or garlic)

Olive Oil

1/2 Red Onion, sliced

1/2 C. Bourbon, divided (I like Bulleit)

Scant 1/4 C. Brown Sugar

S&P

Heat a medium skillet over high heat.  Drizzle olive oil.  When it glistens and the pan is very hot, add the pork tenderloin.  Sear on all sides.  Transfer to a slow cooker.  Add onions to the skillet with about 1/8 C. of the bourbon.  Cook for 3 minutes.  Transfer the onions and bourbon juice into the slow cooker.  Add the remaining bourbon, brown sugar and S&P.  Cook on low for 5-6 hours, or until the pork is cooked through and pulls apart easily with a fork.  Do not overcook.

Fresh Veggie Slaw

1/2 Yellow Pepper

1/2 Red Pepper

1/2 Red Onion

1 C. Fresh Corn

Cilantro, chopped

S&P

1 T. Vinegar (optional)

Thinly slice the peppers and onion and transfer to a medium bowl.  Add the corn and cilantro, S&P and vinegar.  Toss to combine.  

Spiced Popcorn

1 C. Popped Popcorn

Sprinkle of paprika

Sprinkle of cinnamon

To serve, top the roasted corn pancakes with bourbon pulled pork, fresh slaw and popcorn.  

Corn Three Ways:  Roasted, Fresh & Popped

Deepest apologies for such a long delay since my last post.  Since August, my life has completely filled up!  Huge back-to-back work projects + wonderful boyfriend + weekends chock full of fun = no time to talk about and take good pictures of food.  These great pieces of life continue still, but it's about time I jumped back into talking about, eating and photographing one of my favorite things:  FOOD!

Bacon, Bacon, BACON!

My dad has loved bacon his entire life.  And that love has been passed down to my brother and me.  When we're at a diner for breakfast and we're given the option between bacon and sausage, there's really no choice.  Bacon, please.  What would make those green beans a little more appealing?  Bacon, of course!

We truly add it to anything, anywhere, any time.  Let's face it.  Bacon makes everything better.  And this last weekend, we just made bacon even better, if you can believe it.

This year, my dad threw a bacon cook-off.  We were given explicit instructions to not return home for the holidays without at least 2 new bacon recipes each to showcase at the event.  It was a blast, cooking in the kitchen with my family, listening to Christmas music and stealing tastes of everyone's creations.  We fit bacon into all kinds of courses and foods including Bacon Bloody Mary's, Bacon & Blue Cheese Coleslaw, Bacon Oatmeal Cookies and even Chocolate-Covered Bacon.  Below are a couple of the recipes I brought to the table.

My dad smoking new tradition has already caught fire and it has me brainstorming bacon recipes for next year.  Join us in our bacon extravaganza!  We encourage you to get creative with bacon (and your other favorite ingredients) and throw your own delicious throw-down.

Sweet & Spicy Bacon

There's an adorable little restaurant tucked into my neighborhood called Katelina's.  It's roughly the size of a size 8 shoebox and somehow, they produce some of the best food in the city.  My favorite thing on their menu is the Sweet & Spicy Bacon.  I pretty much order it on anything and everything and it's always magnificent.  Indulge yourself and share in Katelina's simple, delicious, sweet and spicy revelry.  Naturally, I recreated this for the bacon cook-off.  This is my version:

1 lb. Bacon

4 T. Brown Sugar

1 t. Chili Powder

1/2 t. Chipotle Powder (or to taste)

Turn your oven to high broil.

Mix together the brown sugar, chili and chipotle powders.  Sprinkle the mixture onto both sides of the bacon, rubbing it in so it sticks.  Place the bacon on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet.  Broil to desired chewiness/crunchiness, about 4-6 minutes, per side, keeping a close eye so it doesn't burn.

Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Shrimp

These bite sized shrimp are tropical, sweet and smoky and a great addition to your New Year's party.  Exchange the teriyaki for your favorite Asian sauce or marinade for more variety.  

24 shrimp, cooked, peeled, with tails removed

12 slices of bacon, cut in half

24 pieces of pineapple

Teriyaki sauce

Preheat the oven to 350.  

Thread the shrimp and pineapple onto toothpicks.  Wrap with a half piece of bacon, securing it onto both ends of the toothpicks.  Place each shrimp on a baking sheet and brush with teriyaki sauce.  Bake until the bacon is cooked through and slightly crispy.    

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Bacon Bloody Mary's

Bacon Spanakopita, etc.

Bacon & Blue Cheese Coleslaw

Honduran Holiday Pork

This recipe is inspired by a traditional holiday meal served in Honduras.  I fell in love with it over dinner with a friend’s family and now I make it every year around the holidays.  This pork is dynamic and robust, with wonderful citrus flavors and smoky spices.  It’s incredibly easy to make and it will fill your home with delectable aromas.

Guide to Latin T Dishes:

Torta - sandwich on soft bread
Tortilla - obvious, but flat bread made from corn or flour
Tostada - crispy tortilla piled high with latin goodies
Taquito - rolled and fried tortilla with meat and cheese
Taco - if I have to explain this one to you, you may be reading the wrong blog

Crockpot Orange Pork

1 Pork Shoulder (one that will fit in your crockpot)
Salt & Pepper
1 T. plus 1 t. Smoked Paprika, divided
1 T. plus 1 t. Cumin, divided
1 T. plus 1 t. Sugar, divided
2 Red Onions, cut into slices
2 Oranges, cut into large chunks
1 Lime, cut into large chunks
¼ C. Olive oil
2 Tablespoons butter
Cilantro, Orange slices & Avocado, for garnish
Tortillas, for serving

Add the pork and onions to a large bowl and sprinkle generously with salt, pepper and the spices.  Squeeze the citrus over the pork and drizzle with the olive oil.  Cover the bowl with plastic and marinate overnight. 

In the morning, squeeze whatever is left from the citrus over the meat and onions.  Remove the citrus from the bowl and discard.  Carefully transfer the pork, onions and marinade from the bowl to a crockpot.  Set to high and cook for 8-9 hours until the pork is cooked through, tender and pulls apart easily with a fork. 

Move the pork to a large bowl and shred with 2 forks.  Skim the fat from the juices in the crockpot and doctor up the sauce with the butter and about one teaspoon of smoked paprika, cumin and sugar.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Add the meat back to the crockpot so it can soak up all those good flavors. 

To serve, pile the pork onto a warm tortilla and garnish with fresh cilantro, orange and avocado. 

Happy holidays and happy eating!

Honey Butter Pork Tenderloin

Last weekend, my parents visited me in Columbus for the first time and we had an absolute blast!  I was able to show them all around my new city and introduce them to the my closest friends.  All in all, it was a fabulous weekend.  And because we're O'Gara's, you can rest assured that our entire weekend revolved around food!  We shared appetizers and cocktails at Hubbard Grill and swooned over sinful desserts at Pistacia Vera.  I also took my parents on a tour of North Market where we found perfumed honey from a local beekeeper, which became the inspiration for our Sunday Family Dinner.

We made a fantastic (if we do say so ourselves) pork tenderloin that we ate with oven roasted potatoes, onion and fennel, as well as a fun, cheesy pull-apart bread.  Our pork tenderloin turned out so well, I figured it just had to be the next blog post.  This Honey Butter Pork Tenderloin is juicy and flavorful with a crisp, sweet crust that is perfect for a special Sunday dinner.

Honey Butter Pork Tenderloin

2 small pork tenderloins
Salt & Pepper
3 T. Cinnamon honey (or another flavored, local honey)
1/2 C. Butter
1/4 Onion, thinly sliced
1 T. Fresh thyme, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400.

Rub the pork tenderloin with salt and pepper so they are evenly and fully coated.

In a large non-stick skillet, melt the butter and honey over medium high heat.  Stir constantly until the honey and butter come together in a quick bubble.  Carefully place the pork tenderloin into the honey butter mixture.  Allow the pork to sit for about a minute without turning it so that it gets a good sear.  Turn and repeat until all of the pork has a crisp, dark crust.

Remove the meat from the skillet and place in an oven safe baking dish.  Add the onion to the honey butter sauce and toss until the onions darken, about 2 minutes.  Carefully pour these caramelized onions and sauce on top of the pork tenderloin.  Sprinkle with thyme and place in the oven.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the pork is cooked all the way through.  Remove the pork from the oven and allow it to sit for about 5 minutes so all those juices can redistribute.

Slice the pork on a diagonal (it looks nicer) and serve with oven-roasted vegetables.

*Local honey contains local pollen and can be helpful in warding off seasonal allergies.  Plus, you get to support a local farmer instead of a grocery conglomerate!  Check out Brad's Bees at https://www.facebook.com/BradsBees.

Apple Cider Pork Chops

It's September in Ohio.  And you know what that means, don't you?  Apple season!  Get. Excited. 

Another kitchen mishap gave birth to this scrumptious fall meal and incredible sauce.  My original plan was to make pork chops topped with garlic cream cheese and onions.  After removing the onions from the skillet, the brown bits began to burn, so I tossed my nearby glass of apple cider right in.  Once it hit the pan, it dawned on me:  apple cider glaze.  I let the juice reduce and took it one step further.  I mixed in my garlic cream cheese and a classic was born. 

This dish is sweet and packed with autumn flavor.  The pork chops are moist and juicy, the onions slightly sweet with a perfect crunch and the sauce is creamy and delightful.  Serve them with potatoes and something green for the ultimate impressive dinner. 

Apple Cider Pork Chops

4 pork chops

4 oz. garlic cream cheese at room temperature, recipe follows

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped into thin petals

1 ½ - 2 C. dark and cloudy Apple Cider
Chives or Parsley, to garnish

Season the pork chops with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.  Cover and set them in the fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes.  Bring to room temperature before cooking.

Preheat the oven to 350.

*If you'd rather not use your oven in addition to the stove, follow the instructions at the bottom of this recipe.

Heat a medium skillet with 2 T. olive oil over high heat.  When the oil is hot, add the pork chops and sear for 3-4 minutes per side.  When the pork has a delicious brown edge, remove it and place in an oven safe dish covered with aluminum foil.  Set in the oven to continue cooking for about 10 minutes.  

In the skillet, add 1 T. more olive oil and add the onions.  Cook them over medium until they have caramelized.  They do not need to be dark, just caramel colored.  Remove them from the skillet and set aside. 

Add 1 C. of apple cider to the pan to deglaze, pulling up all the brown bits with your wooden spoon.  Boil the apple cider until it reduces by one half.  Add the cream cheese mixture and whisk it into the apple cider.  It will be clumpy at first.  DON’T WORRY!  Just keep whisking until a smooth and glossy sauce appears.  It will work!  Add more apple cider if the sauce becomes too thick. 

To plate, place the cooked pork chop down and top with caramelized onions.  Drizzle the sauce on top and around the pork chop.  Garnish with something green, for looks. I used green onions as garnish and I served these pork chops with Horseradish Potatoes Au Gratin.  Recipe coming soon!

*To complete this recipe without using the oven, when you remove the pork chops from the skillet, allow them to rest on a plate and cover them with foil.  After you've whisked your sauce into submission, nestle the pork chops into the sauce and allow them to cook over medium low heat for about 10 minutes, or until the pork chops are thoroughly cooked.  You can even add the onions back into the pan, if you prefer.  

Garlic Cream Cheese

3 garlic cloves

4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

Thoroughly combine in a small bowl and refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to marry. 

**This can also be used as a dip for vegetables or a spread for toasted bread.  Add some thyme or dill for extra flavor and freshness!