Eastern NC BBQ

1 cup white vinegar

1 cup cider vinegar

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce, or to taste

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 pounds cooked pork shoulder, shredded

Combine the white vinegar, cider vinegar, brown sugar, cayenne pepper, hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper in a jar or bottle with a tight-fitting lid. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 days before using so that the flavors will blend. Shake occasionally, and store for up to 2 months in the refrigerator.

When ready to use it, combine with cooked shredded pork.

Salsa Verde

1/2 pound tomatillos, husked and rinsed

1 jalapeno, stemmed

1/2 small Spanish onion, quartered

2 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped

2 large green chiles, (such as Poblano, Ancho, Anaheim or Hatch) roasted and skins removed

1 lime, juiced

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the tomatillos, jalapeno, onion, garlic, and 1 tablespoon salt. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 5 to 10 minutes until the tomatillos are soft but have not burst. Add the cooked vegetables to a blender with the cilantro leaves, roasted chiles, and lime juice. Process to a coarse puree. Taste and adjust seasoning with more cilantro, lime juice, or salt.

Cilantro Garlic Yogurt Sauce

1 1/2 cups plain Greek-style yogurt

3/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic

3/4 teaspoon cayenne

Stir together all ingredients then chill, covered, at least 30 minutes (for flavors to blend). Bring to room temperature before serving.

Chili-based BBQ Sauce & Tacos

Ingredients

3 whole ancho chiles

3 whole pasilla chiles

4 cloves garlic, unpeeled

2 to 3 chipotles in adobo sauce

1/2 medium white onion, roughly chopped

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons dried oregano

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

4 pounds cooked pork shoulder, shredded

Corn tortillas, warmed, for serving

Assorted taco toppings, for garnish

Directions

If the chiles are dried, soak them in water for 2 hrs to rehydrate.

Put the ancho and pasilla chiles and the garlic in a bowl. Microwave on high

until soft and pliable, 2 to 3 minutes. Stem and seed the chiles; peel the

garlic. Transfer the chiles and garlic to a blender.

Add the chipotles, onion, 2 tablespoons olive oil, honey, vinegar, 1

tablespoon salt and the oregano to the blender; puree until smooth. Heat the

remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over high heat; add the chile

sauce and fry, stirring, until thick and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Pour in

the broth and reduce until slightly thickened.

Toss the already cooked, shredded pork with the chili-based BBQ sauce.

Serve the shredded pork in the tortillas, along with assorted toppings (cilantro garlic yogurt sauce, salsa verde, cheese, shredded cabbage).

Peanut Butter Balls

Ingredients

• approx. 16 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• approx. 2 tbsps. shortening
• 1 3/4 c. peanut butter
• 1 stick butter (softened)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• approx. 16 oz. confectioners sugar

Directions

1. Mix peanut butter, butter, vanilla in large bowl. Slowly add in confectioners sugar. Use more or less if necessary - consistency should be a little sticky to touch, but should not stick to your hands (think Reses peanut butter cups).
2. Roll into bite size balls and place on wax coated cookie sheet. Cool in fridge for 30 minutes.
3. In a double boiler or makeshift double boiler, melt chocolate and shortening. Consistency should be thin, but not soupy - you want it to easily dip but thoroughly coat the balls. *If you don't have a double boiler or can't find a way to make one, you can melt the chocolate in the microwave. This method just requires more upkeep to keep the chocolate thin. Add more chocolate and shortening if necessary.
4. Using a toothpick, dip the balls into the chocolate, coating to your desire. Place back on cookie sheet in fridge, and cool for another 30 minutes.
5. Store with wax paper in between layers in containers in fridge.

Tip - The shortening keeps the chocolate shiny and hard, and as they sit out on a table, it stops the chocolate from getting that white film that chocolate sometimes gets. Adding the shortening, however, can be eliminated, if you choose to do so.

Yield - approx. 5 dozen

Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients

5 boneless skinlees chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces

2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

1/2 cup all purpose flour, for dredging

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

1/3 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced, and rinsed

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3/4 cup dry white wine

1 ( 28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice

3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

3 tablespoons drained capers

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves

Combine the chicken pieces, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, and flour in a large ziplock bag. Shake well to combine ingredients.

In a large heavy saute pan, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and saute just until brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.

Add the bell pepper, mushrooms, onion and garlic to the same pan and saute over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, broth, capers and oregano. Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them to coat in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Continue simmering over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a platter. If necessary, boil the sauce until it thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Spoon off any excess fat from atop the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the chicken, then sprinkle with the basil and serve.

Well-Dressed Salmon

Another great way to enjoy this is to eliminate the tomato/cucumber salad topping and just use the dressing over the broiled or grilled fish. You can also toss some greens with the dressing and place the fish on a bed of greens.

Ingredients

• 1/2 seedless cucumber
• 2 small plum tomatoes
• 1 shallot or 1/4 red onion, finely chopped, divided
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus a drizzle
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh dill
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 (6-ounce) skinless salmon fillets
• Seafood seasoning (recommended: Old Bay)

Directions

On a cutting board, dice cucumber into 1/4-inch pieces - to peel or not to peel is up to you. Seed and dice the tomatoes into 1/4-inch pieces. Combine the cucumber, tomatoes and half of the shallots or red onion in bowl and reserve.

In a small bowl, whisk together mustard, sugar, and white wine vinegar and remaining half of the shallots. Stream in extra-virgin olive oil while continuing to whisk. Stir in dill and season dressing with salt and pepper, to taste.

Season the salmon with seafood seasoning and a little black pepper. Heat a nonstick skillet with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Place salmon rounded side down and cook until golden and a little crispy at edges, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and cook 2 minutes more for a pink center, 4 minutes for opaque fish.

Transfer salmon to dinner or serving plates, top with the cucumber-tomato relish and cover with a liberal amount of dill dressing.

Asian Cucumber Salad

Yield

8 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup)

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 2 cups chopped seeded cucumber
• 1 (10-ounce) bag matchstick-cut carrots
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted

Preparation

Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add cucumber and carrot; toss well. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Spicy Chipotle Grilled Chicken

Ingredients

1/4 cup canned chipotle chiles in adobo

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1/2 onion, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Juice of 1 lime

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 3 1/2-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces

Combine chipotles in adobo, olive oil, and garlic cloves in processor; puree until paste forms. Add chopped onion, chopped cilantro, lime juice, paprika, ground cumin, chili powder, and salt; process until onion is finely chopped. Transfer 1/4 cup chipotle mixture to small bowl; cover and refrigerate. Arrange chicken pieces in 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish. Spread remaining chipotle mixture all over chicken pieces. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Spray grill rack with nonstick spray. Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Grill chicken until cooked through, moving to cooler part of grill as needed to prevent burning and brushing with reserved marinade during last 5 minutes of grilling, about 15 minutes. Transfer chicken to platter and serve.

Pizza Dough or Foccacia Bread

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 cup warm water (temperature 105 degrees)

1 envelope of active dry yeast

1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

3 Tbsp. of oil for bowl, baking pan and bread

1 Tsp. salt

4 cups of all-purpose flour

In a small bowl, dissolve the sugar in the warm water. Sprinkle the yeast over water, stir gently until dissolved. Let stand in a warm place until a thin layer of foam forms on the surface, about 5-10 minutes.

Combine oil, salt, 4 cups of flour, and yeast mixture in a food processor using a dough blade and the dough setting.

Pulse the food processor until dough is formed. If dough is too sticky, add more flour. If dough is too dry, add more water.

Transfer dough to lightly dusted (with flour) cutting board. Knead until smooth and elastic. Add remaining flour as necessary to make dough not sticky. Shape dough into a ball.

Place in well-oiled bowl and turn dough to coat completely. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size -- 1 to 3 hours.

Gently punch down the dough roll on a dusted board. Form into a pizza crust or (to make foccacia bread) form it into a rectangle and place on a cookie sheet.

Pat the dough evenly, cover and let rise for an additional 30 minutes.

At this point, if you want to make pizza, add your toppings and bake until crust is cooked and toppings are hot (15 minutes in a 350 degree oven). Or get fancy and grill the pizza.

To grill the pizza:

- brush olive oil on one side of crust

- put crust olive oil side down over medium heated grill

- grill crust for 2-4 minutes or until crust is cooked. watch carefully so you don't burn the crust

- brush olive oil on other side of crust.

- place pizza toppings on already cooked crust side

- place pizza back on grill and cook until topping are heated through

To make foccacia bread:

1 Tbsp. sage

1 Tbsp. rosemary

1 Tsp. coarse salt

Dough should be on cookie sheet. With your fingertips, make indentions about 1 inch apart all over the surface. Brush dough with olive oil. Then sprinkle with sage, rosemary and salt. Bake until golden brown about 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

• 1 small container plain Greek Yogurt (or sour cream)
• 2 cucumbers, peeled and sliced
• 2 tbsp. white vinegar
• 1/2 onion, diced
• salt/pepper, to taste
  
• dill, to taste
  
• cayenne pepper (or crushed red pepper flakes), to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour before serving.

Marshmallow Fruit Dip

Yield

1 cup

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup tub-style light cream cheese
• 1/2 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt*
• 1/4 cup marshmallow creme

Preparation

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, and beat at low speed of a mixer until well-blended. Cover and chill for 2 hours.

*other flavored yogurts can be use (strawberry, banana, etc.) depending on your taste

Potato Salad

Ingredients

• 3 pounds Idaho potatoes
• 3 jumbo eggs, hard boiled
• 2 cups mayonnaise
• 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
  
• 4 green onions, finely chopped
• 3 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• parsley, finely chopped
• dill, finely chopped
  

Directions

In a large pot, add potatoes and water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender. Drain and cool. Peel cooked potatoes and cut into small chunks. Put in a very large serving bowl or container. Peel and finely chop hard boiled eggs and add to bowl. Add mayonnaise, red onion, green onions, celery, mustard, white pepper and salt. Mix until just combined. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 3 hours before serving.  Makes 6-8 servings.