I’ve been moseying around Toronto recently stopping in at various places for lunch during work and have come to love the smoky flavours and the tender meat of pulled pork sandwiches. After sampling some different recipes I began to wonder how difficult it would be to make at home. Much to my surprise, it is incredibly easy. I thought to get the melt in your mouth texture of the pork you’d need to keep a keen eye on it for hours. Although pulled pork does take a long time to cook, its a task that becomes less daunting with the use of a slow-cooker. I searched the internet and came across this recipe which I re-created over the weekend. Everyone loved it, it was a very unique taste with the inclusion of the Root beer, you’ll see what I mean below. This recipe works great for the working family as well because all the ingredients go in the cooker, turn it on and eat up when you come home. My only concern with it was it was a bit too much on the sweet side, but I think that was because of the type of BBQ sauce I used at the end.This recipe works well with coleslaw and beans as side dishes. Hopefully you will enjoy this recipe as much as I did.

Ingredients

• 1 Pork tenderloin, or a pork shoulder cut of meat
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1-2 cans of root beer
•  1 bottle BBQ sauce
• Salt & Pepper
• Buns

Ingredients

• 2lbs of tomatoes, feel free to use whatever type you would like (Plum, Beefsteak, Roma, etc.), this roughly equates to 11 Roma tomatoes
• Half an onion, or if you have them handy I like to use shallots
• 4 cloves of garlic
• a large bunch of fresh basil
• 1/4 cup of a high grade olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• Loaf of bread, Italian or french loaf are preferred.

1. Step one is to start chopping! Finely chop your onion and garlic, the tomatoes should be a little more coarse.
2. Chop up your basil,and combine onions, garlic, tomatoes and basil in a bowl
3. Add the 1/4 cup of olive oil
4. Season with salt and pepper
5. Serve on top of bread and enjoy!

So I bought a cookbook a while back, I was in the mood for some authentic Italian and I came across Carmine’s. For those of you that haven’t heard or been to Carmines before, its a rather famous Italian eatery in New York, I’ve added a link in case you’re curious.  This recipe is a staple in my cooking repertoire. It is very simple to make, tastes unbelievable and will give your kitchen/house a very pleasing aroma that draws in some very curious people.  I have a weak spot personally for garlic, everything tastes better with it, and this recipe definitely uses quite a bit. But don’t be shy, the garlic and the fresh basil are really what creates the great flavour of this simple sauce. One thing I need to note, is it is essential that you use San Marzano tomatoes for this recipe. They can be found at your local grocer but are sometimes rare so stock up. These tomatoes add a larger depth of flavour than regular canned tomatoes. If you have a hand mixer you can make the sauce more viscous or if you prefer a chunkier marinara sauce don’t blend it. This sauce is very versatile, it serves well over pasta or as a base for a vodka sauce, and can be used quite well assembling lasagnas. Possibilites with a good marinara sauce are high, coupled with the fact that it freezes well for later use. If you’re in the mood for a big batch of sauce, look no further. This recipe will always please. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 3 28-ounce cans of San Marzano plum tomatoes, crushed
• 1/4 cup good quality olive oil
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped garlic (about 12 cloves or 1 head)
• 18 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 2 teaspoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper

1. Drain the tomatoes in a colander set in a large bowl for 5 minutes. Reserve the tomato liquid.
2. In a large pot or dutch oven, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over medium heat.
3. When the oil is hot, add 1/4 cup garlic and cook it, stirring, for about 5 minutes or until golden brown. If the garlic cooks too quickly, reduce the heat. Make sure you do not burn the garlic, as this will alter the flavour.
4. Add 18 chopped basil leaves, 2 teaspoons parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste.  Mix well and saute for about 2 minutes.
5. Add the canned tomatoes, increase the heat to high, and cook them for about 5 minutes, using a wooden spoon or long-handled fork to break them up, or until the tomatoes boil.
6. Reduce the heat and simmer the sauce for 10 minutes or until the tomatoes break down.
7. Add the reserved tomato liquid.
8. Increase the heat to high and bring the sauce to a boil.
9. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until it starts to thicken, stirring frequently to prevent the bottom from burning.
10. Usually at this point I like to take a hand mixer and blend the tomatoes, I prefer a less chunky sauce but it’s all about personal preference.
11. 1. The sauce is now ready to be served with your favourite dish. I hope you enjoy this as much as I have

So the other day, I got an irresistible urge to make some sliders for the family. As I was looking through the grocery store for the proper buns I found there was a lack of tantalizing options. So what to do? Well thanks to the power of the internet a few short searches led me to this recipe for home made brioche buns. This recipe is made much easier if you have access to a stand mixer, if not get ready for a little elbow grease. Nonetheless if you follow these simple instructions you’ll have delicious home made brioche buns in no time at all. They really were a crowd pleaser and  look really impressive with the egg wash. So, here is how to make them

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons warm milk
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3 cups bread flour
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• Sesame seeds

1.  In a small bowl, measure out and combine the water, milk yeast and sugar, mix well and let it stand for about 5 minutes until the surface is foamy.  In the meantime begin beating one egg.
2. In a large mixing bowl or you stand mixer combine both flours and salt. Once this is mix begin to add the butter.  I found the easiest way to break up and mix the butter in is to get your hands a little dirty and break up the balls that form with your fingers.  You want it to resemble breadcrumbs, that’s when you know you’re mixed.
3. Once the flour and butter have been mixed, add your ‘wet’ ingredients (yeast/milk/water mix) with your dry ingredients (flours/butter). This is where the stand mixer comes in handy since you can just turn it on and it will do all the work. otherwise I suggest a spatula to help combine and blend. Make sure to scrape off the sides often so as not to form small balls of flour which can be quite unpleasant when eating.
4. Once the dough is formed placed it on a well floured surface and proceed to knead the dough. This is a good time to let a little aggression out, your boss been giving you a hard time? Tough relationship recently? No problem, let it all out on the dough.  Beat, slap and pound the dough to get all the air bubbles that are trapped out of it. This usually takes a good 8-10 minutes of steady kneading.  Keep in mind, the dough will be slightly on the sticky side, you can remedy this by adding more flour, but as a general rule of thumb, the more flour you add the tougher the buns will be once they come out of the oven, so please use discretion.
5. Once the kneading is finished form the dough into a ball and place it in a bowl, cover with either a towel or plastic wrap and place it in a warm location and let the dough rise until it is roughly double in size. this can take anywhere from 1-2 hours.
6. Line a baking sheet either with wax paper or use some non-stick spray. Take the dough and divide it into equal sections and place on baking sheet. Depending on the size of bun you are trying to achieve will determine the size of the balls of dough you make.
7. Once the balls are formed, cover the baking sheet with wax paper and leave them to rise for another hour or two.
8. After they have risen the second time you should have a rough idea of the size, but they will continue to rise while baking. When you are ready prepare the egg wash (Beat one egg) and apply it with a sauce brush to the outside of the bun. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Set your over for 400 degrees with the rack in the center of the oven.
9. Once the oven is hot enough, place the buns in. Try to turn the sheet halfway through cooking and bake for 15 minutes. Take them out once the tops begin to turn a nice rich brown.
10. Remove the buns from the oven and give some time for them to cool before slicing and serving
11. Last but not least, Enjoy!