Christmas Remixed

Puerco Pibil

And now for something completely different. From the Yucatan Peninsula, a recipe with a variety of unusual ingredients that make this dish special.


We ventured off to both Indian and Asian grocery stores to find the spices and banana leaves for this delicious meal.

Puerco Pibil 

(Mexican slow-roasted pork)

5 pounds pork butt - trim and discard fat. Cut meat into pieces.

5 TB annatto seeds

2 tsp. cumin seeds

1 TB whole black peppercorns

1/2 tsp. whole cloves

8 whole allspice berries

2 jalapeno or habanero peppers, finely chopped (discard seeds or keep for extra heat)

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup white vinegar

8 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons salt

5 lemons

1 shot of tequila

banana leaves (not essential)

Method

Purchase a grinder that you'll use just for grinding spices. We found a Mr. Coffee grinder that worked pretty well.

Place the annatto and cumin seeds, plus the whole peppercorns, whole cloves and allspice berries in grinder. 

Process until you have a fine powder. Set aside.

Using a food processor or a blender, process the orange juice, vinegar, salt, whole garlic cloves and chopped peppers. Add the spice powder, the lemon juice and a shot of tequila and blend well.

Place the pork in a ziploc bag and add the blended ingredients. Seal and let rest a few minutes while preparing the pan. 

If you're using banana leaves, take them out of the package and get a photo of them. 

In a large roasting pan, place banana leaves on the bottom. If not using the leaves, just pour the pork and marinade into the pan.

Pour the pork and marinade onto the leaves.  

Cover with more banana leaves.

With or without the banana leaves, now is the time to cover the pan with aluminum foil. Seal the edges well.

Bake in a 325 F degree oven for 4 hours. Remove from oven and carefully remove foil.

The unveiling.

Serves 4-6 people. Nice with basmati rice. 


Basmati Rice

Soak 2 cups of rice in water for a half hour. Place rice in sieve and rinse until water runs clear. Place in pan with 4 cups of water. Add about 1/2 tsp. salt if desired. Cover. Bring to boil and immediately reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes.

Makes 4 cups cooked rice. 

It's coming on Christmas

They're cutting down trees. They're putting up reindeer and singing songs of joy and peace.

I wish I had a river I could skate away on. 

I hope you clicked on the above link and listened to this beautiful song. Yes, it's melancholic for the Christmas season, but beautiful nonetheless. It's not all sweetness and light for everyone at this time of year, you know.

Including me. I'm living away from where I grew up. Many things have changed in my life. And I'm in a warmer climate. How do people get into the Christmas spirit in a warmer climate? I don't get it. It's all in what we're used to apparently. And I'm not used to this at all.

Well, what better way to rally than to put up some greenery, a few lights, and candles. Yankee Candles. Christmas Cookie Yankee Candles. Yeah, that's the spirit!

And speaking of Christmas cookies... Here's one of my favorites.

Sugar Spice Cookies

Mmmmmm. So good. I got this one from my sister. Thank you, Dottie, for this recipe and for all the happy memories I have of spending Christmas Eve with you in your cozy home.

And now the printable version.

Sugar Spice Cookies

Mix together thoroughly:

3/4  cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup molasses

Sift together:

2 c. flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 tsp. ground cloves

3/4 tsp. ginger

Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Roll mixture in 1 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Press cookies down with cloth covered glass damped a bit on the bottom. Sprinkle with sugar (colored sugar is nice for Christmas). Bake 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees. If you like a chewy cookie, bake for about 8 minutes.

Merry Christmas everyone. Make yourself happy.

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