Momofuku Bo Ssam

This is a wonderful Korean dish.  I was introduced to it by our friend, Gerald.  He made it for a Saints party and I devoured it.  I couldn’t wait to try making it myself.  It not hard to make, the most difficult part is to find the ingredients for the sauce at the Asian market.

Ingredients:

Pork Butt:

• 8 lb. bone-in Boston Butt Roast
• 1 C. sugar
• ½ C. kosher salt, plus 1 T.
• ½ C. brown sugar

Ginger-Scallion Sauce:

• 2 C. green onions, thinly sliced (green and white parts)
• ½ C. fresh ginger, minced
• ¼ C. grapeseed oil
• ½ T. soy sauce
• 1 t. rice vinegar

Ssam Sauce:

• 2 T. ssamjang (fermented bean and chili paste)
• 1 T. kochujang (chili paste)
• ½ C. rice vinegar
• ½ C. grapeseed oil

Accompaniments:

• 4 C. white rice, cooked
• 2 heads bibb lettuce, washed, drained, and leaves seperated
• Kimchi (not necessary)

Directions:

1. Rinse the Boston butt in cold water and dry with paper towels.
2. Place the pork in a large, shallow bowl and then combine the sugar and salt in another bowl. Rub the mixture all over the meat and then cover with plastic wrap.
3. Place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.
4. When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 300 degrees, remove the pork from the refrigerator and discard the juices.
5. Place the Boston Butt in a roasting pan, fat side up and bake for 6 hours, basting with the pan juices each hour. After 6 hours the roast should begin to collapse easily to the tines of a fork.  (the bone should become visible when this happens)
6. Remove the roast from the oven and allow to rest for up to one hour. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
7. While the roast is resting, make the Ginger-Scallion Sauce by mixing all of the ingredients in a medium size bowl.  Place a spoon in the bowl for serving.
8. Next, make the Ssam Sauce in a medium bowl and whisk together using an immersion blender.
9. Finally, mix the 1 T. of kosher salt with the brown sugar and rub this mixture all over the cooked pork.  Place in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes or until a dark caramel crust has developed on the meat. 
10. Remove the roast from the oven and shred the meat.
11. Serve with the accompaniments.

Tips and Tricks:

• Momofuku Bo Ssam is best when served as a lettuce wrap.  Take a leaf of lettuce and place some rice in the leaf, cover the rice with some pork, spoon some Ginger-Scallion Sauce over the pork, and finally pour some Ssam Sauce over that. Wrap it up and dig in.
• The ingredients for the sauces can be purchased at an Asian market.  I used Sambal Oelik ground chili paste and Wang brand ssamjang sauce.

Italian Salad

This is a great salad to serve with a pizza.  I made this salad for friends when we ordered pizza.  It is supposed to serve 4 – 6 people, but the 3 of us ate it all.  Yeah, it was that good.  Making that creamy Italian dressing really takes it up a notch!

 Ingredients:

Dressing: 

• 1 C. mayonnaise
• ¼ C. milk or half and half
• ¼ C. red wine or balsamic vinegar
• ½ t. of sugar
• 1 envelope of Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix

Salad:

• 1 lb. Italian blend salad mix or romaine lettuce, torn into bite size pieces
• 1 (5 oz.) jar of small stuffed green olives
• 2 oz. pepperoni slices, cut in half
• 1 (12 oz.) jar of sweet pepper rings, cut in pieces
• 1 C. Italian blend cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. Make the dressing combining all of the ingredients by whisking until fully incorporated.
2. When you are ready to serve the salad, combine the salad ingredients and pour ¾ C. of the dressing over the salad and toss. 
3. Serve immediately.

Tips and Tricks:

• I use an immersion blender to incorporate the dressing ingredients.  It works better and faster than whisking.
• You can use any lettuce you like for this salad but I have tried it with iceberg and I don’t think it tasted as good.
• If you can't find Italian blend cheese, just use 3/4 C. mozzarella and 1/4 C. Romano or Parmesan.

Wedge Salad

I love to order a wedge salad when we go out to eat.  My favorite is a deconstructed wedge salad that is served at Ruth's Chris.  I tried to make mine like that one, but for presentation sake it remains a wedge.  

Ingredients:

• 1 head of Iceberg lettuce
• 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 4 strips of bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
• 2 green onions, chopped fine
• 1 can French’s French Fried Onions
• 4 oz. of Blue cheese, crumbled
• 1 C. of Chunky Blue Cheese salad dressing

Directions:

1. Remove the heart of the head of lettuce by firmly pounding it into the counter
2. Fill the head of lettuce with water and allow to drain
3. Cut the lettuce in half , then into fourths
4. Place each wedge on a plate
5. Pour ¼ C. of salad dressing over each wedge
6. Sprinkle each with green onions
7. Next add the following to each wedge: 1 strip of bacon, ½ of a tomato, 1 oz. of blue cheese, and ¼ can of French Fried Onions
8. Serve with salt and pepper

Tips and Tricks:

• I like to drizzle some Balsamic vinegar over my wedge also.
• This makes a great presentation for a dinner party.

Berry Good Shrimp Salad

What a beautiful salad for a nice Spring meal.  I bought what looked fresh and pretty on the day I made it.  The balsamic vinaigrette recipe follows this one.  It is easy to make and so good with this salad.

I used yellow cherry tomatoes and blackberries this meal.

Ingredients:

• Baby Greens
• 3 lbs. of fresh jumbo shrimp
• 1 T. Tony Chachere Creole Seasoning
• ½ of a Vidalia onion
• 1 pint of cherry tomatoes
• 1 pint of blackberries or raspberries
• 6 boiled eggs
• 8 oz. of crumbled feta cheese
• Balsamic vinaigrette

Directions:

1. Boil eggs, then peel and cut them into circles with an egg slicer
2. Rinse the berries
3. Cut the onion into thinly sliced semi-circles
4. Cut the cherry tomatoes into halves
5. Grill the shrimp, that have been seasoned with Creole Seasoning, for about 2 - 3 minutes on each side on medium-high heat in a grill pan
6. Toss the greens, tomatoes, onions, and berries with about ¾ C. of dressing
7. Divide evenly to six plates
8. Top each with sprinkles of cheese, 1 egg, and 5 – 6 shrimp
9. Serve the vinaigrette on the table for those who like additional dressing

Tips and Tricks:

• Boiling eggs that peel easy is tricky.  Click on my link in the ingredients list to see MY tricks.
• This salad can be made with any lettuce, but the baby greens have a great flavor with the vinaigrette and berries.
• My balsamic vinaigrette recipe is attached through a link.  Click on the balsamic vinaigrette link in the ingredients list.