Not Eggsactly Posting As Often As I Should

I have been remiss in my postings for the last few months. I got working for a friend on his food
truck and my cooking with him meant I wasn't cooking for us, at least as much. But I still chronicled what I did cook, but have nolt had the time to properly post it. Now I am going to try to make up for my lax behavior by posting several meals/dishes in this one post

Frying-Pan Steamed Eggs
The first is steamed egss. I placed 3 Pyrex glass prep bowls in a frying pan with about half an inch of water in the pan. I Sprayed the prep bowls with non stick spray and cracked an extra-large egg onto each cup and covered the pan. I heat the water to steaming. Soon I had lovely egg that resembles a poached egg - white set, yolk runny. Perfect for dipping, which is the perfect use of an egg. If you try this, use a paper towel to remove the condensed steam.

 Scrambled Egg Nachos
Yup, eggs again! My wife loves scrambled eggs and it may be my least favorite way to eat eggs. That being said, they are still eggs and I love them! But I do try new ways to prepare them, and this day, I made NACHOS! Simply a layer of corn chips, topped with light fluffy scrambled eggs followed by the nacho toppings of your choice. Today I used salsa and cherry tomatoes. 

Grilled Hot Dogs with Home-Pickled Onions & Tomatoes - CARB FREE
After Eggs, hot dogs may be the most perfect food. These were simply grilled (adter being sliced almost in half then covered with some pickled onions I had just made and garden freesh pear & cherry tomatoes, with a trail of Dijon mustard on the side 

Capt. Len's Smoked Chicken & Root Veggies in a Crock Pot 
As I have mentioned, I have been helping out on a Capt. Len's BBQ food truck since last summer. One of the great benefit's of working on The Captain's food truck is, well, THE FOOD. Smoked Baby Back Ribs, Smoked Brisket, Smoked Pork Butt and Smoked Chicken! I brought home a perfectly smoked chicken and wanted to do include it in a dish at home. I sliced some root veggies (carrots, turnips and onions), and put them in the bottom of a lined crock pot with a can of cream of celery soup, and let them cook until almost tender. I then cut the whole chicken into quarters (my wife gets the white quarters), and placed it on the veggies. When the chicken was heated through, the veggies were tender and everything was delicious. You could do this with a rotisserie chicken, but smoked is SO good, why would you?

Scrambled Eggs for Dinner? - Of Course!
I mentioned earlier in the post that my wife ("Turkey") prefers her eggs scrambled. And unlike me, she does not care for breakfast. How do we make it work? Breakfast becomes dinner! She likes hers with lots of cheese and green onions, and how can you not love that! I top mine with Chili Sauce, which is really just chunky ketchup, but sooo much better! A few garden tomatoes on the side and toast from "Turkey's" homemade bread and dinner is complete and ready to eat.

Earl Cooks Gold Potatoes Stuffed With Smoked Pork

In our house we love gold potatoes! Their buttery color and thin skins are perfect for almost every dish, and they bake well too!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have some Apple-wood smoked pulled pork from Captain Len's. I thought it's flavor would go great topping a baked Gold Potato, and boy was I right!

Now you can smoke your own pork, if you have a smoker, or you can buy several brands at retail grocers, but mine is from a place passionate about smoked meats, Captain Len's! My wife also wanted to add a touch of his not-so-famous BBQ sauce which is out of this world!

Ingredients

• Gold Potato of choice
• Smoked, pulled pork, again your choice
• EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
• Freshly ground pepper and sea salt

Condiments (the first 2 are not really optional in my opinion)

• Real Butter
• Sour Cream
• More salt and pepper
• shredded cheese
• BBQ sauce

Instructions

• Preheat Oven to 425°F
• In a  baking sheet, drizzle EVOO all around, add salt and pepper to the EVOO.
• Wash and trim a needed your potatoes. You will be eating the skins so keep that in mind. 
• Add cleaned potatoes to the baking sheet and drizzle with more EVOO and salt & pepper
• Place in preheated oven for 45-60 minutes, turning once halfway through the baking time
• When you have about 15 minutes to go, place the pork in aluminum or oven proof container and set in oven to heat.
• When cooked, split open and top with pulled pork and your favorite condiments!

Conclusion

This turned out much better than I had hoped. My wife even took leftovers to work to eat the next day...high praise indeed!

Earl Cooks Pulled Pork Quesadillas

Smoked pork is my my favorite smoked meat...ribs, roasts, loin, ham and BACON. I had an opportunity to get some apple-wood smoked pulled pork from Captain Len recently, and walked away with a large pan full of the stuff. I have to treat it with the care and thoughtfulness it deserves, and waste NOTHING! I had the ingredients, I was hungry, that is a great combination!

Pulled Pork Quesadillas

Ingredients

• Apple-wood smoked pulled pork (mine was from Captain Len's BBQ but you can smoke your own)
• Flour Tortilla (I used store bought for this)
• Cheese (Shredded) I used mild cheddar because it is my wife's favorite
• 1 Yellow Onion (I prefer yellow to white and buy local whenever available. My wife can't eat red so they are always out of the question.
• Butter and Olive Oil for sautéing the onion
  Topping/Dipping
• Sour Cream
• Salsa Verde
• Guacamole or Avocado-based dip

Instructions

•  Prepare the tortillas by heating the tortillas in a dry pan to give them a bit of color on each side. Set aside and cover or wrap in foil or a kitchen towel. I use 2 8" per quesadilla.
• Slice onion  in half end to end then the halves in thin slices to prepare for sautéing. Add bit of butter and olive oil to sauté the onions. Cook the onions until partially translucent limp.
• Add your pulled pork to the onions and mix the pork and onions together. Mine was refrigerated so it needed a bit longer to come up to temp.
• While this is happening, grate your cheese and place on one of the tortillas which will be the bottom of your quesadilla. 
• When warmed through top the first cheese layer with the pork/onion mixture. It should be hot enough to melt the cheese somewhat. Top that layer with MORE cheese...it is a quesadilla after all, then top with second tortilla AND PRESS FLAT, or as flat as it will go. Place the completed quesadilla back in the skillet to complete the melting process and flip with a large spatula after first side has warmed up. BE CAREFUL, you will want to lift and tilt the pan to meet the quesadilla unless you are better at turning than I am.
• Cut each quesadilla pizza style and dip in suggested toppings or any you may like!

Conclusion and Thoughts

This is a great way to use leftovers and you can modify this by adding cilantro, jalapeños or other Mexican flavors you love. I wanted to highlight the smokiness of the pork so made it to do that. I will never buy a quesadilla at a fast food place again!

Earl EATS Captain Len's Apple-wood Smoked Pulled Pork Sliders w/Baked Beans

Our graduating class had it's 45th reunion reunion last Friday night. I was a small gathering but the food was catered by one of our own Captain Len! Having given up the legal profession, he is now happy to spend his time on Blues & Barbecues. And were those of us in attendance happy he does. He smokes the pork for at least 12 hours over locally harvested Apple wood, gives it a splash of his secret sauce and piles it high on a slider bun the tops it of with his own slaw...perfect! If you want he has his own BBQ sauce which is smoky and rich and I used it on the baked beans he had me slingin'. Great food, great folks. He brought his classic guitar, but we didn't have time. Look for his smokin' trailer in downtown Salt Lake City and BBQ Up!