January 20, 2014 - Pork Belly Tacos

Good Morning, everyone!  The sun is shining off the frigid ice, the air is a balmy 28 degrees - I love winter.  (That is absolute and total sarcasm.)  Anyways... I made it over to Jenn's house Monday night for a pork belly dinner.  Why pork belly?  Why  not?  Actually, I had fried pork belly tacos at a restaurant at Mohegan Sun last year and they were mouth watering, finger licking, to-do-for and I wanted to replicate.  Unfortunately, it didn't quite turn out the way we wanted.  However, my new obsession with baby tacos is ramping up, so expect to see some mini taco ideas on the other blog!  (Yes, I plan on throwing up some dishes on there, too.  We cook pretty much every day, so may as well start taking some pictures, right?)

Cocktail - Melon Margarita

So when I made the salsa for the tacos, I bought a container of pre-cut watermelon, honeydew, and cantaloupe.  So I kept some of the mixed melons, threw it in the juicer, and then added it to tequila, triple seq, and a splash of lime.  That simple!  (And very delicious!)

Entree - Fried Pork Belly Tacos

http://www.foodrepublic.com/2012/05/03/smoked-pork-belly-carnitas-tacos-recipe

Okay, so conceptually, this is awesome!  However, I think I didn't really use my head in the prep work.  First off, I dusted the pork belly with the rub and then put it in the crock pot with the glaze.  Then I realized that my "tequila" was actually pre-mixed margarita mix, so I just used that instead of adding the OJ and the agave.  We left in crock pot for about 5 hours, cooled, diced and then tossed in a pan of oil and quickly fried until crispy.  The unfortunate part was that there was NO flavor!  So this is what I took away from it - rub GENEROUSLY!  Like, dump it on, rub it in, and make it a serious crust.  Secondly, follow the glaze exactly.  Third, I think it needs the smoker for the additional flavor.  However, while the pork had no flavor, by adding the toppings, it was still a delicious meal!

Topping - Melon Salsa

Okay, so I chopped up the watermelon, honeydew, and cantaloupe.  Then I added diced red onion, a little bit of minced jalapeno and some chopped cilantro.  Finish with a squeeze of lime juice and delicious!

Topping - Tequila Slaw

Okay, we cheated a little.  We bought the bagged broccoli slaw, added some cilantro, a little white wine vinegar, and some tequila.  Boom!

Topping - Roasted Corn

We simply threw a can of corn in a skillet with some butter and then dusted with spices like cumin, coriander, and cayenne pepper.  It was crispy and delicious!

Final Plate

Wine 

We used a house Rioja that was laying around.  Yum!

Dessert - Chocolate Churros

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Churros/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=churro&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page

Followed the recipe to a T, dusted with cinnamon sugar, drizzled with some melted chocolate, and gorged ourselves.  Delicious!  (And lots of possibilities with sweet and/or savory combinations!)

So while not our best meal, definitely not a bad one and it has a lot of potential!  We should be doing another blog dinner soon, but in the meantime, I know we'll be taking some pictures of our recipes for you, so please check back to this blog or our sister blog for some new food ideas!