Recipes

• 1 cup apple cider
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large shallot, peeled, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cups dried apples (packed)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
• 1 Tbsp yellow mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Pork Roast

• 2 1/2 pound boneless center-cut pork loin roast (short and wide - about 7-8 inches long and 4-5 inches wide)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1 Before starting on the pork, put the pork roast in the freezer for 30 minutes to make it easier to cut. While the pork is chilling, you can make the filling.

2 Bring all the filling ingredients to simmer in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook until apples are very soft, about 20 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, reserving the liquid. Use a rubber spatula to press against the apple mixture in the sieve to extract as much liquid out as possible. Return liquid to saucepan and simmer over medium-high heat until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, set aside and reserve this liquid for use as a glaze. Pulse apple mixture in food processor, about fifteen 1-second pulses. Set aside.

Ingredients

* 2 cups of refried beans, either from one 15-ounce can or homemade
* 1 teaspoon (or more) of bacon fat (or 1 strip of bacon, cooked and minced) optional
* 1 teaspoon of chipotle powder, Tabasco chipotle sauce, or adobo sauce, more to taste (or plain chili powder to taste)
* 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* Salt
* 1 cup shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
* 1/4 cup chopped green Anaheim chiles (canned) OR a Tbsp of chopped pickled jalapenos (more to taste)
* 1 avocado, peeled and chopped
* 1 hot house tomato, cut in half horizontally, seeds and juice gently squeezed out and discarded, chopped
* 1/3 cup of sour cream, or if you can get it Crema Mexicana (Mexican sour cream)
* 1/2 small can of sliced ripe black olives

Method

1 Heat the refried beans in a medium sauté pan or cast iron skillet. Stir in enough water to get a creamy, easily dip-able consistency, about 1/4 of a cup. The taste of refried beans is greatly enhanced by bacon fat; we'll add a teaspoon to canned beans or a tablespoon or more to taste if we are making the beans from scratch. If you don't have bacon fat, you can cook up a strip of bacon, chop it up fine and add that to the beans. If you are trying to avoid pork, note that most canned refried beans are made with added lard, so check the ingredients. You can use olive oil instead, to help the consistency of the beans.

Mix in the chipotle chili powder (or Tabasco, or adobo, or regular chili powder) and cumin to taste. Note that the avocados and the sour cream will cool down the spiciness of the beans considerably, so you can afford to be a bit more spicy than you might think. Stir in salt to taste, depending on how salted your refried beans are to begin with, and depending on how salty the tortilla chips are that you are serving with the dip.

2 Once the beans are hot and bubbly, spread them over the bottom of a warmed serving dish. Immediately add the shredded cheese so that the heat from the beans helps melt the cheese. (The cheese doesn't need to be completely melted, but even if it is just a little, it will help the dip stay on the chip.)

3 Layer on the chopped green chilies, chopped avocado, chopped tomato. Spoon on the sour cream (or crema Mexicana, crema fresca, or even cream fraiche). Top with sliced green onions and olives.

Serve immediately with tortilla chips.

canola oil cooking spray
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 pounds zucchini (about 3 medium), cut into 1/2-by-3-inch sticks
2 egg whites, lightly beaten

Oven-Fried Zucchini Sticks Recipe at Cooking.com
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DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 475°F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Combine flours, cornmeal, salt and pepper in a large sealable plastic bag. Dip zucchini in egg white, shake in the bag to coat, and arrange, not touching, on the baking sheet. Coat all exposed sides with cooking spray. Bake on the center rack for 7 minutes. Turn the zucchini and coat any floury spots with cooking spray. Continue to bake until golden and just tender, about 5 minutes more. Serve hot.

Cinnamon Chips

• 4 (7") Flour tortillas
• 1 T granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Salsa

• 2 medium Granny Smith apples
• 1 cup strawberries, sliced
• 1 kiwi, peeled and chopped
• 1 small orange
• 2 T packed brown sugar
• 2 T apple jelly

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. For cinnamon chips, lightly spray tortillas with water.
3. Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over tortillas.
4. Using a pizza cutter, cut each tortilla into 8 wedges; Place in single layer On round baking stone.
5. Bake 8-10 min.
6. Or until lightly browned and crisp.
7. Remove and cool completely.
8. For salsa, peel, core, and slice apples.
9. Cut apples into quarters and chop with chopper.
10. Slice strawberries.
11. Chop kiwi.
12. Place fruit in bowl.
13. Zest orange and juice orange.
14. Add orange zest, orange juice, brown Sugar, and apple jelly to fruit mixture, stir gently.
15. Serve with cinnamon chips.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS
1/4 pound sliced bacon, cut crosswise into thin strips
1 large onion, chopped
3 pounds baking potatoes (about 6), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
4-1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
6 ounces cheddar, grated (about 1-1/2 cups)
1/4 cup chopped chives or scallion tops

Potato and Cheddar-Cheese Soup Recipe at Cooking.com
DIRECTIONS
In a large saucepan, cook the bacon over moderate heat until crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat or, if you don't have 2 tablespoons, add enough cooking oil to make up the amount. Reduce the heat to moderately low.

Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the potatoes, water, and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove half the soup from the pan and puree in a food processor. Alternatively, mash some of the potatoes with a potato masher. Return the puree to the pan. Over low heat, add the cheese and stir until melted. Remove the pan from the heat. Taste the soup and add more salt if needed. Serve the soup topped with the bacon and chives.

VEGETABLE TIP:
Boiling potatoes have less starch than baking, or Idaho, potatoes and consequentially hold together better when boiled. This is why they're often used in soups and for potato salads. Not in this soup, though. Since we want some of the potato to break down into smaller pieces and thicken the soup, baking potatoes are the perfect choice.

WINE RECOMMENDATION:
Serve a Washington State merlot with this rich and smoky soup. Merlots from Washington's Columbia and Yakima Valleys are a bit more restrained than their brethren from California and have a distinct mineral undercurrent that makes them a natural here.