Tag: bbq

Pulled Pork with Tart, Tangy Cole Slaw

Pulled pork is something we've normally enjoyed in BBQ restaurants since Penny is not about to try preparing it in our tiny urban kitchen. But, she did spot a package of pulled pork among the fresh packaged meals, mains, and sides at our local Trader Joe's, recently.

We tried it and liked it. Since the sauce is a bit sweet and mayo is outlawed in our food, Penny's solution was to balance the sweetness of the pork with a tart, tangy cole slaw.

In addition to cabbage, carrots, celery, and scallions, we added a finely shredded hakurei turnip purchased from farmer Michael Docter of Winter Moon Farm at the Wayland Winter Farmers' Market. Those are his carrots too! And, below you see him offering samples of the carrots and turnips.

The dressing was malt vinegar, salt, pepper, a bit of honey, and a handful of yellow mustard seeds. This slaw is best made the day before you need it. Letting it sit and pickle mellows out the raw vegetable flavors and allows the mustard seeds work their zingy magic. Just give it a mix a couple of times as it sits in the refrigerator.

Shredding

In case you were wondering, the shredder Penny was using is a very old, now considered vintage, Borner Thin Julienne Slicer. This syle has long since been replaced by new versions. Here's the current one – Borner Thin Julienne Slicer. (It is fun to see things you use all the time listed on ebay as vintage goods.)

This tool cuts in both directions so it makes quick work of the slaw preparation and it's easy to clean under a stong spray of water. Make sure you use a guard. It doesn't come with one but we use one from another mandoline. The guard also makes it possible to shred almost all of the carrots or turnips with only a thin scrap left behind.

Assembly

As you see in the photo, we used the bread we had on hand. Softer bread is the usual choice for a pulled pork sandwich but our kitchen staple is crusty artisan bread. This was a ciabatta from Trader Joe's. And, because of that crusty texture, we opted for open faced sandwiches. Messy, but delicious!

Pulled Pork Tips

We did heat the pork in the microwave. Penny breaks it up a bit before she cooks it and removes the occasional piece of fat. (Yes, fat is flavor, but there's plenty of intramuscular fat in this product.) She also makes an effort to get all the sauce out of the bag, squeezing it like a pastry bag.

In this review of the product from SFGate, one of the testers thought it was dry. That could be because a lot of the sauce was left behind in the bag or that the meat was not fully shredded and mixed with the sauce. It was the winner in this taste-off of six prepared pulled pork products.

Have you tried some of these fresh Trader Joe's products? What did you like or not like?

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino

February 18, 2014
Healthy Storm Munchies: Biena Chickpea Snacks

One good thing we had on hand during the recent snow storm was a sampler of Biena Chickpea Snacks.

This dish holds a selection of four of the flavors offered by this Cambridge, MA based company: Sea Salt, BBQ, Honey Roasted, and Cinnamon Maple. They were a wonderful alternative to the junk food we learned people were stocking up on for the storm.

When companies offer to send us samples of their products, we usually decline. Most of these offers seem to come from big, national brands selling products we would never buy or recommend. But, when an email suggested we try samples of an interesting new snack food with some healthy credentials from a small, local business, we decided to take them up on the offer.

We're glad we did. Biena Chickpeas have already been added to our standard shopping list for Whole Foods. We haven't tried the Lime & Chili yet and are looking forward to it.

We taste-tested them ourselves and with some friends and learned that different people had different favorites. Penny likes the Sea Salt for nibbling with a glass of wine. Ed preferred the Honey Roasted to tuck into his pocket for a snack on the go. The 2-ounce bags make them perfect for this use.

On the company's website, founder Poorvi Patodia explained how the business came to be, "I love food, and I’ve wanted to start a food company for as long as I can remember. I grew up with a mom who is an incredible cook, and a dad who is really into healthy foods. So I guess it’s not a surprise that as an adult, I’m obsessed with discovering, eating and making healthy foods that taste great."

We'd say she's on her way. If snacks with a simple list of ingredients that deliver salty, crunchy, and healthy are something you'd like to try, click over to this list of stores carrying them. We think the names of the businesses who have decided that they want this product on their shelves is another positive endorsement. You'll find shops you like and trust. And for our readers in other parts of the country, you can buy them online.

We think the four lines on the front of the package – Protein, Fiber, Low Fat, and Gluten-Free – mean that these can be problem solvers when shopping for snack food. All that and tasty too!

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2013 Penny Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

Related articles

7 Energizing Snack Foods for Optimum Health

Biena Foods Expands Roasted Chickpea Line and Offers National Online Distribution Through Snackaisle.com

Honey Roasted Chickpeas

A Sprinkle of Urfa Pepper…

Boston Tweet's Terrific Late Night Dining List

February 13, 2013
Healthy Storm Munchies: Biena Chickpea Snacks

One good thing we had on hand during the recent snow storm was a sampler of Biena Chickpea Snacks.

This dish holds a selection of four of the flavors offered by this Cambridge, MA based company: Sea Salt, BBQ, Honey Roasted, and Cinnamon Maple. They were a wonderful alternative to the junk food we learned people were stocking up on for the storm.

When companies offer to send us samples of their products, we usually decline. Most of these offers seem to come from big, national brands selling products we would never buy or recommend. But, when an email suggested we try samples of an interesting new snack food with some healthy credentials from a small, local business, we decided to take them up on the offer.

We're glad we did. Biena Chickpeas have already been added to our standard shopping list for Whole Foods. We haven't tried the Lime & Chili yet and are looking forward to it.

We taste-tested them ourselves and with some friends and learned that different people had different favorites. Penny likes the Sea Salt for nibbling with a glass of wine. Ed preferred the Honey Roasted to tuck into his pocket for a snack on the go. The 2-ounce bags make them perfect for this use.

On the company's website, founder Poorvi Patodia explained how the business came to be, "I love food, and I’ve wanted to start a food company for as long as I can remember. I grew up with a mom who is an incredible cook, and a dad who is really into healthy foods. So I guess it’s not a surprise that as an adult, I’m obsessed with discovering, eating and making healthy foods that taste great."

We'd say she's on her way. If snacks with a simple list of ingredients that deliver salty, crunchy, and healthy are something you'd like to try, click over to this list of stores carrying them. We think the names of the businesses who have decided that they want this product on their shelves is another positive endorsement. You'll find shops you like and trust. And for our readers in other parts of the country, you can buy them online.

We think the four lines on the front of the package – Protein, Fiber, Low Fat, and Gluten-Free – mean that these can be problem solvers when shopping for snack food. All that and tasty too!

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2013 Penny Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

Related articles

7 Energizing Snack Foods for Optimum Health

Biena Foods Expands Roasted Chickpea Line and Offers National Online Distribution Through Snackaisle.com

Honey Roasted Chickpeas

A Sprinkle of Urfa Pepper…

Boston Tweet's Terrific Late Night Dining List

February 13, 2013
Healthy Storm Munchies: Biena Chickpea Snacks

One good thing we had on hand during the recent snow storm was a sampler of Biena Chickpea Snacks.

This dish holds a selection of four of the flavors offered by this Cambridge, MA based company: Sea Salt, BBQ, Honey Roasted, and Cinnamon Maple. They were a wonderful alternative to the junk food we learned people were stocking up on for the storm.

When companies offer to send us samples of their products, we usually decline. Most of these offers seem to come from big, national brands selling products we would never buy or recommend. But, when an email suggested we try samples of an interesting new snack food with some healthy credentials from a small, local business, we decided to take them up on the offer.

We're glad we did. Biena Chickpeas have already been added to our standard shopping list for Whole Foods. We haven't tried the Lime & Chili yet and are looking forward to it.

We taste-tested them ourselves and with some friends and learned that different people had different favorites. Penny likes the Sea Salt for nibbling with a glass of wine. Ed preferred the Honey Roasted to tuck into his pocket for a snack on the go. The 2-ounce bags make them perfect for this use.

On the company's website, founder Poorvi Patodia explained how the business came to be, "I love food, and I’ve wanted to start a food company for as long as I can remember. I grew up with a mom who is an incredible cook, and a dad who is really into healthy foods. So I guess it’s not a surprise that as an adult, I’m obsessed with discovering, eating and making healthy foods that taste great."

We'd say she's on her way. If snacks with a simple list of ingredients that deliver salty, crunchy, and healthy are something you'd like to try, click over to this list of stores carrying them. We think the names of the businesses who have decided that they want this product on their shelves is another positive endorsement. You'll find shops you like and trust. And for our readers in other parts of the country, you can buy them online.

We think the four lines on the front of the package – Protein, Fiber, Low Fat, and Gluten-Free – mean that these can be problem solvers when shopping for snack food. All that and tasty too!

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2013 Penny Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

Related articles

7 Energizing Snack Foods for Optimum Health

Biena Foods Expands Roasted Chickpea Line and Offers National Online Distribution Through Snackaisle.com

Honey Roasted Chickpeas

A Sprinkle of Urfa Pepper…

Boston Tweet's Terrific Late Night Dining List

February 13, 2013
Sweet Cheeks Q- Great Northern Brisket

We're enjoying slipping into Sweet Cheeks Q for lunch. If you're one of the fortunate few who has today as a holiday, add to the fun with lunch at this new spot in the Fenway. It could make your day.

Our latest shared tray was Great Northern Brisket with a cold scoop of potato salad and a hot scoop of broccoli cheese casserole. The usual pile of onions, pickles, and white bread rounded out the meal.

We admit that we are not experts in BBQ. We're New Englanders through-and-through and haven't experienced the many styles of smoked, slow-cooked meat that the experts love to discuss. We do, however, love great food and this tray falls squarely within our guidelines for delicious.

If you're from brisket country or have very set expectations for a serving of smoked beef, you should read the discussions over on Chowhound's Boston board about this offering. You'll also learn more about the other menu items people had, what they loved, and what they didn't.

But, if you just want to try some good food and prefer carefully-sourced high-quality, full-flavored BBQ meat, you can head to Boyston Street and enjoy this brisket.

Here are a few more of our visits to Sweet Cheeks Q:

Salt & Pepper Potatoes at Sweet Cheeks Q

Bourbon Beer? at Sweet Cheeks

Sweet Cheeks BBQ: A First Look

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Sweet Cheeks

www.sweetcheeksq.com

1381 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02215 (map)
phone: 617-266-1300
email: info@sweetcheeksq.com

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: © 2012 Penny Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those comments add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

January 16, 2012
Bourbon Beer? at Sweet Cheeks

If first impressions are as lasting as claimed, then we will definitely be regulars at Sweet Cheeks BBQ. While we’ve given you our Sweet Cheeks BBQ – First Look, I saved the “beverage” part of the meal for today.

I’m always ready to try a new beer, especially if the word bourbon is used to describe it. So, when bartender Rich told me about an ale that’s aged in bourbon barrels, I had to have one. I’ve been a bourbon-lover for years. But, that's certainly not a requirement for enjoying this brew.

My first sip of brilliant, amber-colored Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale from that mason jar was outstanding! Full-flavored, but not heavy, with hints of oak and vanilla. It complemented the entire meal, especially our butterscotch pudding dessert.

This beer is so good, it could be dessert!

Do you have a beer lover on your holiday gift list. How about something from Amazon's collection of beer glasses

Details:

Sweet Cheeks

www.sweetcheeksq.com

1381 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02215 (map)
phone: 617-266-1300
email: info@sweetcheeksq.com

Words: Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2011 Penny Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers’ comments, we welcome hearing from the people that are part of the places and services we cover. Often, those comments add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

December 13, 2011
Sweet Cheeks BBQ: A First Look

Looking for porky goodness? We found it last weekend at Sweet Cheeks in the Fenway. We had to pick up an item at the Landmark Center, so we checked our "restaurants to try" list for that area and decided on lunch at Sweet Cheeks. Smart move!



We grabbed two seats at the bar and put ourselves in the very capable hands of Rich who guided us through our meal, and saw that our every wish was granted two seconds before we thought of it. Phenomenal food with fantastic service. This is our kind of place.

The menu calls for decisions. Ed was too hungry to make many of those, so he went for the pulled pork sandwich on a bulkie roll (rather than Texas Toast) and added a hot side of collard greens. They were served in the blue mug.

Here's a close up on that pulled pork.

Penny went for the tray of ribs and chose her hot side as BBQ beans, and her cold side as the farm salad. There were also two slices of white bread and a pickle pile on the tray.

If this photo is not one of her best, it's because the aroma of those ribs were a serious distraction, and she was trying to hand the camera off to Ed so she could pull that pork off those bones. Ahhhhh! Smoky, sweet, salty, pork candy.

And, that salad! As those of you who follow BostonZest know, Penny is not a salad person. She seldom orders one, but this promised brussel sprouts and she does love spouts. It was a delight and might be a side she would return to Sweet Cheeks for, even if they didn't have all that incredible BBQ.



It may be dangerous that this place is within walking distance of our home. Having Marshall's Fenway Farm Stand a few doors away will only add to our excuses for a replay. We're already planning a table for 8 to fill one of the big hightops and to try the rest of the menu.



This is a Fenway spot, so get out there and enjoy it before baseball season has many of us staying away from anything in this area. Make it a winter of warm, wonderful BBQ from Sweet Cheeks.

Tomorrow, Ed will tell you about his beer and how it matched both meals right down to dessert. If you came in later, here's that post:.)

Here are a few follow up visits to Sweet Cheeks Q:

Salt & Pepper Potatoes at Sweet Cheeks Q

Bourbon Beer? at Sweet Cheeks

Sweet Cheeks Q- Great Northern Brisket

We try to direct you to delicious. If you enjoy the places we recommend, you can thank us by beginning all your Amazon shopping right here. Just click on any Amazon item or link (like this one), and they will put a few coins in our tip jar for every item you buy.

Details:

Sweet Cheeks

www.sweetcheeksq.com

1381 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02215 (map)
phone: 617-266-1300
email: info@sweetcheeksq.com

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: © 2011 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those comments add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

December 12, 2011