Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Fun Playing with Pork and Winter Squash Stew

Since Christmas, my husband Bob has been Mr. Meat Roaster. First it was whole leg of lamb, then a Snavely Pork Roast. After a brief trip to Florida, we enjoyed a Nature's Basket Roast Chicken. Then, for a change, Bob made a big pot of chili. All of these were hearty, winter-inspired meals. But Bob was running out of ideas. What to make next?

Yesterday, I suggested that he look for inspiration in Linda and Fred Griffith's wonderful (but unfortunately out of print) cookbook Cooking Under Cover. When I arrived home, the garage was perfumed with the smell of stew.

A couple of hours later, we enjoyed Bob's variation on Spicy Pork Stew with Hubbard Squash and Escarole. He left out the Escarole and used two of our home-grown Acorn Squash for the Hubbard component. The recipe has an Indian influence, with the addition of cardamom, cumin and cloves, and some hot chilies. In addition, the pot contained red bell pepper, tomato, garlic, onion, red wine vinegar and garden JalapeƱos. I noticed when I first walked into the house that the pot gave off a smell I did not like - which I attribute to the pork shoulder being "supermarket" pork (it was the smell I remember from the hated occasional pork chop of my youth) - but the bad smell cooked off somehow. The final product was tender and delicious - I've never enjoyed our winter squashes quite like this!







As the recipe suggested, we served it over rice. And, as you can see from the link to Amazon, above, Cooking Under Cover can be purchased over the internet. The book is highly recommended.

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