Pigskin, Pork & Pinot Fest w RCP's

Last Sunday, Traci and I hosted our first ever Pigskin and Pork Fest...with more Syrah than Pinot but it was still a blast. If anyone wants the recipes, I'll post them separately but here was the menu prepared by me unless noted:

1. Prosciutto Wrapped Melon
2. Figs w/ Bacon - figs brushed with balsamic, top with piece of bacon and blue cheese and baked in the oven.
3. Bacon wrapped stuffed olives - blue cheese, jalapeno, garlic, feta
4. Bacon candy - bacon wrapped dates stuffed with almonds
5. Chipotle Meatballs - ground veal, ground pork, bacon, cumin, chipotle peppers and lime wedges
6. Prosciutto, Arugula and Mushroom pizza (Traci!)
7. Memphis Stlye BBQ Pulled pork nachos
8. Spice crusted pork tenderloin w/ andouille sausage gravy and accompanied by crispy green beans with lemon zest and bacon..

Too bad about the Cowboys winning, though.

So, if you can cook, how come Traci and I had to do all the work when I would come over????

So, if you can cook, how come Traci and I had to do all the work when I would come over????

Because he can only cook pork products.

[David M. Bueker]

I want to know how to make those meatballs!!!

and welcome Tony. We have not crossed paths on this side of the web.

Too bad about the Cowboys winning, though.

So, if you can cook, how come Traci and I had to do all the work when I would come over????

Cuz it's easier to watch you two chef it up and then enjoy the fruits of your labor...

I want to know how to make those meatballs!!!

and welcome Tony. We have not crossed paths on this side of the web.

David - thanks. Here's the recipe (RCP) for the meatballs. They were excellent and one foodie decided she had to take them home and have them for breakfast.

1/3 cup whole milk
1/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs
6 bacon slices, chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped seeded canned chipotles in adobo
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons water
3/4 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground veal
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Garnish: lime wedges

Stir together milk and bread crumbs in a large bowl.
Cook bacon in a 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.
Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet, then cook onion, garlic, chipotles, cumin, and oregano in skillet, stirring, until onion is softened, about 3 minutes. Add water and cook, stirring and scraping up brown bits, until water has evaporated, about 1 minute. Stir into bread crumb mixture, then add ground meats, egg, parsley, bacon, and 1 teaspoon salt and mix well with your hands.
Preheat broiler.
Form scant tablespoons of meat mixture into balls and thread 3 balls 1/2 inch apart onto each skewer, arranging skewers on a lightly oiled broiler pan. Broil 3 to 4 inches from heat (do not turn) until browned and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.

The recipe was from epicurious and the only difference is they direct you to make smaller ones and thread 2 or 3 on a soaked skewer. I opted to make them just a bit smaller than golf balls and just serve with a toothpick and some limes. Would have been fun to make a chipotle aioli or some sort of dipping sauce but they were excellent on their own.

[David M. Bueker]

very nice! thanks

BTW - I have a few pictures on a website http://www.tonyvelebil.shutterfly.com password is pinot

[Jenise]

TONY!

Great party theme and great pictures. Always love looking at food (those pulled pork nachos--I need that recipe, even if it means it won't be in time for me to eat that for breakfast ) but even better--now we know what you look like.

Say, you do know that you and I grew up in the same town, don't you?

TONY!

Great party theme and great pictures. Always love looking at food (those pulled pork nachos--I need that recipe, even if it means it won't be in time for me to eat that for breakfast ) but even better--now we know what you look like.

Say, you do know that you and I grew up in the same town, don't you?

You grew up in Whittier? Really? What high school? WHittier, Pioneer, Cal High or La Serna...here's the Nacho Recipe..

ingredients
2 pounds Hog Wild Style Flour Tortilla Chips, recipe follows, or corn tortilla chips
2 pounds pulled pork shoulder, recipe follows
1 pint BBQ sauce (recommended: Hog Wild Killa Wet Sauce)
1 quart Nacho Cheese/Queso Sauce, recipe follows
3 tablespoons your favorite dry rub (recommended: Hog Wild Special Dry Sauce)
Directions
Arrange chips on a large serving platter. Cover with BBQ pork shoulder. Top with BBQ sauce and then smother with the Nacho Cheese/Queso Sauce. Sprinkle generously with rub and then serve immediately.
Hog Wild Style Flour Tortilla Chips:
1 gallon vegetable or canola oil
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons your favorite dry rub (recommended: Hog Wild Special Dry Sauce)
24 (10-inch) flour tortillas
Place oil in a deep fryer or in a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven. Heat oil to 325 degrees F.
Meanwhile, combine salt and dry rub in a small bowl. Cut tortillas into chip-sized triangles. When oil is 325 degrees F, carefully add cut tortillas and deep fry for about 3 minutes, turning at least once until a light golden brown. Remove chips from oil and dust with salt-dry rub mixture.
Real Memphis BBQ-pulled Pork Shoulder (Boston butt):
1 (8-pound) Boston butt pork roast
16 ounces your favorite wash (recommended: Hog Wild Hog Wash)
5 ounces your favorite dry rub (recommended: Hog Wild Special Dry Sauce)
Preheat a charcoal grill for indirect cooking to 225 to 250 degrees F.
Inject the meat with wash. Alternatively, you can also marinate the pork in Hog Wash overnight in the refrigerator. Season pork generously with dry rub. Place meat on grill and cook until the internal temperature of the meat is consistently 180 degrees F for at least 1 hour; it will take about 8 hours to reach 180 degrees internally. Remove meat from grill and let rest for at least 15 minutes.
Pull the meat with your hands and remove any fat or gristle. Gently sprinkle pulled meat with dry rub and then toss like a salad.
Nacho Cheese/Queso Sauce:
1 pound pasteurized cheese (recommended: Velveeta)
8 ounces shredded Cheddar
8 ounces shredded Monterey jack cheese
1 (14-ounce) can tomatoes with green chilies (recommended: Ro-tel)
1 tomato, diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, finely diced
1/2 red onion, finely diced
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ancho or chipotle (or other) ground chile pepper
Kosher salt
Combine all ingredients in a double boiler and stir until melted. Season with salt, to taste.

PLEASE NOTE WE PURCHASED CASA SANCHEZ TORTILLA CHIPS THICK CUT...

[Jenise]

You grew up in Whittier? Really? What high school?

Whittier. Lived at the top of Philadelphia. You went to Pi, right?

You grew up in Whittier? Really? What high school?

Whittier. Lived at the top of Philadelphia. You went to Pi, right?

Wow, small world. I know exactly where that is of course! I went to Pioneer. Grew up right around Broadway and Hadley.

Crazy...

BTW - I have a few pictures on a website http://www.tonyvelebil.shutterfly.com password is pinot

Great pictures. Traci is a real cutie and it is nice to put a face with a name after all these years.

[Jenise]

You grew up in Whittier? Really? What high school?

Whittier. Lived at the top of Philadelphia. You went to Pi, right?

Wow, small world. I know exactly where that is of course! I went to Pioneer. Grew up right around Broadway and Hadley.

Crazy...

And Traci and my husband both went to the same college!

Broadway and Hadley? That must have placed you right about the cutoff point for Whittier and Pioneer--a lot of kids I went to school with lived around there.

Broadway and Hadley? That must have placed you right about the cutoff point for Whittier and Pioneer--a lot of kids I went to school with lived around there.

Very funny...and yes the location was right around the cutoff. if we were on the other side of Whittier Blvd, Whittier High it would have been. In fact, my mom started at Whittier High and then was in the first graduating class at Pioneer High. Then my uncle and aunt went to Pioneer High after her...and my brother used a friend's address to go to Whittier High. They were off Beverly/Norwalk.

I'm going to have to try those meatballs. Thanks for posting the recipe.

-Paul W.