Peachy Keen Pulled Pork Tortillas

Lillian Russo turned me on to a new taste sensation a few months ago- pork sirloin cooked in salsa. My oh my, is this a nice treat. I use an inexpensive cut of meat, braise it on the stove top and yes my friends, it is delicious! This time I added Lillian's salsa of choice to the braise, which is peach, and thanks to Kevin at Tri Town Liquors, I also discovered a lovely little peach flavored libation (flavor enhancer, you know) to toss in.  So now I have 2 new ingredients to share and both worked like a dream.

Ready to cook? I sure was. Here are the ingredients I used:

Pulled Pork with Grilled Peach Avocado Salad
Serves 5
Inspired by Lillian Russo

1-1/2 pounds pork sirloin
2 T flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 T canola oil
1 medium onion chopped
1 jar (16 oz) Paul Newman Peach Salsa - I used medium heat
1 Serrano chili
1 bottle Smirnoff Ice Peach Bellini Malt Beverage
5 flour tortillas (7-8")

Grilled Peach Avocado Salad

1 peach sliced 1/2 inch
1 avocado  diced 1/2 inch
1 Serrano chili minced
3 scallions chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper
1 T chopped cilantro

Garnish
Greek yogurt and extra cilantro

Let's get cooking. Pat your pork sirloin dry and dredge in 2 tablespoons of flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Shake off any excess flour and heat oil in a large sauce pan on stovetop on medium. Brown pork on all sides to seal in the juices. Now add the onions, salsa, Smirnoff Peach Bellini and a whole Serrano chili. Bring to boil, cover and lower heat to simmer. For those who are not familiar with cooking with chilis, I must tell you that when they are cooked they become sweet and only slightly spicy. So if you want, you could certainly add another one.

Cook 2 hours and enjoy the aromas as they are wafting through your kitchen. I like to check on this dish every 1/2 hour or so, and turn the meat over, but as I've said before- I'm not sure it's necessary. By the time you get to the 1-1/2 hour mark, you'll find that the meat is done, and pulling itself away. I just give it that extra few minutes to get extra tender. Remove meat from cooking pan and let rest, tented with aluminum foil. Reduce liquid on stove top uncovered on medium heat to concentrate the flavors, about 10 minutes or so.

Ready for the salad?  While pork is resting, take out your stove top grill pan and grill your peach slices on both sides.

My advice to you is grill 2 peaches (I didn't do that)- you're going to want to nibble while you're putting the salad together and there's no better nibblin' than fresh grilled peaches. Dice the peach slices 1 inch, add chopped avocado, minced Serrano chili, chopped scallions, cilantro, a little salt and pepper and dress with lime juice.

I served this lovely dish on warmed tortillas. Pull your pork, toss it in the reduced cooked salsa combo, place on tortillas, add a little bit more sauce, top with the peach/avocado salad and garnish with Greek yogurt and cilanto. So good, and so worth making again and again.  

Buttermilk Peach Cobbler

Last night after the atrocious bombing incident at the Boston Marathon I wanted to keep abreast of new developments, but was too antsy to sit in front of the tv. So I put on news radio and decided to keep myself busy in the kitchen. My friend Diane Smith recently made a Blackberry Buttermilk Cobbler which has been in the back of my mind since I got the first glimpse of her delicious-looking pictures. And, for the first time in many years I had buttermilk in my fridge. So the plan was set, I'd make a cobbler. Comfort food. Just what this emotionally, shell shocked lady needed. Naturally I didn't have any blackberries but I did have a bag of frozen peaches in the freezer and decided I could work with those. Diane gave her cobbler a citrus undertone and since I was using peaches, I thought a hint of almond would work nicely in mine. Here's my recipe:

Buttermilk Peach Cobbler
Inspired by Diane Smith
Serves 6

2-1/2 cups frozen sliced peaches
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 cup of self rising flour- I made my own: combine 1 cup AP flour, 1-1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt
1-1/4 cups Splenda no calorie sweetener
1 cup low fat buttermilk
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. In small saucepan melt butter and set aside. Remove peaches from freezer and set those aside too.

They only partially defrosted, but it didn't seem to matter. If you have self rising flour, measure out 1 cup and set that aside. I made my own and mixed it with 1 cup of the Splenda.

To the Splenda flour mixture add buttermilk, half the melted butter and both extracts and whisk until combined.

In baking dish (spritzed with cooking spray) add the batter. I used my favorite soufflet dish that's about 40 years old. Top the batter with the peaches and top the peaches with the rest of the Splenda (1/4 cup).

Now drizzle the rest of the butter on top. It looks very rich, I know.

This baby is ready to go into your pre-heated oven. Bake for 1 hour, allow to cool a bit and serve warm with ice cream, whipped cream or even just plain cream the way my dad used to like it.

This is one creamy, crunchy, fruity dessert that I really enjoyed. It was the perfect food solution for a very stressful day. Thanks Diane, what an inspiration you are!