Cooking my way through...Dinner

Yes, my obsession with NY Times' Cooking and Melissa Clark continues! 

I bought her latest book, Dinner: Changing the Game and plan on cooking my way through it. She has 26 recipes for roast chicken people...26!  It's the same chicken - just a different spice and flavor combination everyday!  I haven't started my journey yet, but next week, it's on!

Melissa Clark's story is definitely an interesting one.  I've been listening to her on some of my favorite podcasts lately and they are worth the listen:

Bon Appetit Foodcast Episode 104: Melissa Clark Can Fix Your Dinner Angst

Radio Cherry Bombe Podcast: Episode 104 (yes, the same episode number): Melissa Clark

She has a great story and is fun to listen to, but the Bon Appetit Foodcast and Radio Cherry Bombe Podcast are pretty much great listens every week!  Need a podcast player? Check out Overcast - it's my player of choice!

I hope you will follow my Melissa Clark journey on the main page of this site over the next few weeks.  

Here's to Dinner my friends!

Just a quick PS...if you are a fan of Top Chef, like I am, definitely check out Radio Cherry Bomb's Episode 102: Top Chef's Brooke Williamson and Shirley Jung.  You will LOVE it!

I'm in LOVE with my Insta Pot!

Well, it seems like I have been on quite the cooking hiatus since Christmas.  I feel like I have been in a food limbo - making some of my standby recipes, trying some different diets, and just not really feeling super creative on the food front.

However, I did see a recipe that made my mouth water a couple of weeks back for Pressure Cooker Spicy Pork Shoulder by Melissa Clark.  That recipe inspired me and so did the idea of using an electric pressure cooker.

Now, I could have used my slow cooker, but after watching the video with my husband, we both knew that we had to have an electric pressure cooker!  He ordered the Insta Pot Electric Pressure Cooker for me and once it arrived, the challenge to make that mouth-watering pork recipe was on! 

I will say the Insta Pot is a keeper!  It was nice to be able to brown the meat and cook it in the same pot - less mess to clean up afterwards. Overall, I think the pork was more moist and had better texture than the slow cooker.  I love my slow cooker and it is the perfect "set it and forget it" option, but the Insta Pot definitely gives the slower cook a run for its money.  It took about 15 minutes for me to figure out how to work it and brown the meat.  After the meat was browned and I added the liquid to the pot, it took 90 minutes (exactly) to cook.  I was scared to open the pot at first, thinking steam would fly out from every nook and cranny, but it didn't.  I think the directions (which I skimmed briefly) said there is a 10-minute cool down period once you decide to vent the steam.  One of the options that I really liked is the "Keep Warm" feature.  This lets you keep the food warm for up to 10 hours after it has finished cooking.  This would be nice if you are having people over...get things started in the morning, then let it sit on warm until your guests arrive.  

I followed Melissa Clark's recipe, with the following substitutions:

• Used Urban Accents Mozambique Peri Peri instead of Gochugaru, because that is what I had.

• Used too much Mirin (1/4 cup instead of 2 tablespoons), because I wasn't paying attention to the bottles.

• Didn't use the fish sauce, because I forgot to buy it.

• Added about 4 tablespoons of Famous Dave's Rich and Sassy BBQ Sauce just to give it a little extra zing.

The pork was delicious and had a nice sweet and spicy feel.  It wasn't too spicy, but it had that nice deep roasted chile after taste.  Putting it under the broiler before serving gave it those nice crunchy bits - OMG! You almost couldn't stop eating it - that flavor made you keep digging your fork in to take one more bite!

I definitely recommend giving the Insta Pot and this recipe a try!  And, if you want to see some awesome food picks, follow Melissa Clark on Instagram at @clarkbar!