Sunday's at the White House.....

No I don't live in Washington and security isn't nearly as tight but, we are the only white house in what I believe to be an 8 block radius-ish...hence the kitchy title. This is where I spend my sundays in my kitchen. Most Sunday's lately I strive to cook a really great meal for myself as it's one of the 2 days a week that I get off and I feel I actually have the time to do it justice.

So today as I watched the snow fall sparsely from the sky, warm spicy thoughts filled the back of my brain and $4.06 for the pork shoulder I saw at the market sealed the deal. I decided to do a little braising in my slow cooker & bake a really great GF dessert.

It's a wonder I never tire of baking, but even on the bad days cooking and baking seem to be the only thing that truly soothes when hugs aren't to be had. Even as I stare at the aftermath of all this cooking my eyes gravitate to the dark chocolate & peanut butter chips that are screaming to be made into fudge...tomorrow perhaps.

... Until then here are the Recipes:

* Red Wine Pork Shoulder with Caramelized Onions *

Serves 2 (Light eaters, 1 really hungry person)

1 medium Red Onion (Julienned)

1 Large 1/4

thick Slice Pork Shoulder

4 c. Red Wine ( If you wouldn't drink it, don't use it. I used a Cabernet Syrah blend that I love.)

1/4 c. Red Wine... see above notation...

4 Cloves Garlic (Diced)

4 T EVOO

*Sauteed Spinach*

2 T Butter

1 Clove Garlic (Diced)

3 oz. Baby Spinach

Pork Preparation:

Salt & Pepper both sides, the courser the salt the better. Apply a Spice rub of your choosing, keeping in mind you're adding red wine to it. The one I like has Ancho chile powder, Tellicherry black pepper, cayenne, nutmeg, paprika, sage, crushed red pepper and basil. Put aside.

In a cold saute pan, warm the evoo over medium heat add julienned onion and coat them with the warm evoo. Saute 5-7 minutes & add 4 cloves garlic. Saute 2-3 more minutes & then add 1/4c Red wine slowly to the pan. (This will loosen up anything that has caramelized to the pan=more yummy flavor) Pour all of this into the slow cooker.

In the same pan, on high heat, sear both sides of the Pork Shoulder for 2-3 minutes each side. Place in slow cooker and top with 4 c. of Red Wine. Cook on High for 30-45 minutes and reduce to low for 2 hours, or until desired tenderness is reached.

Spinach:

Melt 2T butter in Sautee pan.

Add Spinach and Salt & Pepper.

Sautee until almost wilted & add garlic, Finish wilting spinach so it gets a nice dark green. Approximately 3-5 minutes.

Dessert Anyone?

*Boozy Apple Crisp ( GF style)*

Grease the bottom of the 9x13 pan and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350

4 Large Fuji apples; peeled, cored & sliced.

2 T Arrowroot sta

rch

1 T Vanilla

1.5 c. Dark Brown Sugar

1 t. salt

2 t. vietnamese cinnamon

1 t. ground ginger

1 t. nutmeg

2 eggs

1/4 c. bourbon whiskey

Whisk the eggs & toss all the ingredients together. Place in the bottom of the greased 9x13 pan.

Topping:

2c. GF Oats

2c. Almond Flour

1/2 c. grapeseed oil

1/2 c. Agave syrup

1/2 t. salt

1 t. cinnamon

1 T. Vanilla

Combine oats, almond flour, cinnamon & salt in a small bowl.

In a measuring cup combine grapeseed oil, agave, vanilla & egg until emulsified (really well mixed and nothing is separated.)

Add wet to dry and spread over the apples.

Bake covered with tinfoil 45 minutes, remove foil & bake 5-10 more or until golden brown.

I like this version but I'm going to work on a version with butter. Wouldn't Paula Deen be proud? However this version would be better for a diabetic... but not by much.

Next weekend I believe a cheesecake of sorts is in order... with a nice beef stew...

Happy Eating!

Courtney