The menu started with spicy shrimp with a sweet pineapple salsa and it just kept getting better with each subsequent dish. Dinner plates were piled high with salty mojo-marinated pork, sweet plantain and sweet potato mash, spicy black beans and rice and citrusy cabbage slaw. Although the pork is a lengthy (3 day process) the recipe below is well worth the effort.

Oh, and for dessert…coconut custard tart. Yum!

Mojo Marinated Pork Cubano (Lechon Asado)
chow.com
serves 6

For the spice rub:
2 tablespoons whole cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon whole coriander
2 tablespoons dried chile molido
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon paprika
5 pounds boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt)

For the mojo:
1/2 cup garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup cumin, freshly toasted and ground
1/2 cup coriander, freshly toasted and ground
2 tablespoons jalapeño peppers, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Scotch bonnet peppers, finely chopped
4 cups canola or vegetable oil
7 cups orange juice
1 1/2 cups cilantro, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup sherry vinegar

For the spice rub:
In a dry sauté pan, toast cumin, peppercorns, and coriander over medium heat for a few minutes until spices just start to smoke. Remove spices immediately from the pan. Grind smoked spices in a spice or coffee grinder. Mix together with remaining ingredients (except pork).

Trim any excess fat off the pork, discard the fat, and cut pork into six pieces. Liberally massage all of the spice rub into pork pieces. Place pork in a large resealable plastic bag or in a glass dish. Cover and leave in the refrigerator 24 hours.

On the second day, make the mojo.

For the mojo:
Combine garlic, cumin, coriander, jalapeños, and Scotch bonnet peppers in a stainless steel bowl.

In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, heat oil until hot (approximately 175°F). Pour warm oil over spice mixture and let cool to room temperature.

Simmer 2 cups of the orange juice in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat until it is reduced to 1/2 cup. Cool to room temperature.

Combine oil-and-spice mixture, reduced orange juice, remaining 5 cups orange juice, cilantro, and sherry vinegar in a blender and blend until smooth (do this in batches). Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Add 4 cups of the mojo to pork, cover, and marinate another 24 hours.

On the third day, preheat oven to 300°F and arrange the rack at the bottom. Place pork in a large baking dish or in a large, heavy pot with a tightfitting lid, and add remaining mojo and enough water to cover pork in liquid.

Cover with foil or a tightfitting lid and place in the oven. Cook until pork is fork tender, about 4 to 5 hours. (Check pork periodically and add a little water if the liquid is reducing too quickly.) Serve.

Let’s start at the beginning — Valentine’s Day.

As I’ve written before, Kyle and I have a Valentine’s Day tradition. He cooks….I eat….perfect. This year was no exception and he pulled together a great meal of salad, steak, roasted veggies and…drumroll please….espresso lava cakes!

I repeat – Espresso Lava Cakes. Choooocoooolate!!!!

Speaking of my love for chocolate…

Years ago Kyle went to Switzerland for work. When he returned, I was amazed that he came home without anything for me. I mean, the guy goes to Switzerland and I’m left at home to receive nothing upon his return? I’m not really someone who gets hung up on gifts, but he went to the land of Swiss chocolate and he didn’t even bring me a square???? He claimed he didn’t have time to buy anything (work trip — yadda yadda), and my exact response was…

“Wasn’t there even a chocolate left on the pillow that you could have brought me?”

“I didn’t know you liked chocolate,” he replied. Uh, WHAAAAT? This man, whom I had known for seven years didn’t know that I liked chocolate?

First of all, a broad assumption can be made that most people (I won’t narrow this to just women here) like chocolate. Second, any time I’m asked what flavor I want of something, it’s chocolate — chocolate milkshake, chocolate donut…you get the point. There was also a period of time in my life when I couldn’t pass up a piece of chocolate cake. EVERYwhere I went, I sought out chocolate cake. Simply couldn’t refuse it. Boy do I miss my teenage metabolism…

But to sum it up – I love chocolate.

Note: To give Kyle a little credit — a couple years later he went to Italy and, learning from his prior mistake, came home with some awesome shoes and an avocado green sequined belt for me (that he picked all by himself). If there’s one thing a girl could love more than chocolate, it’s shoes and accessories. All was forgiven.

But to get back to my Valentine’s Day meal. The kid really stepped it up in telling me he loved me this year — and he did it through chocolate. More specifically, he used these chocolate cakes to tell me he loves me best!

While the title seems to imply that the chocolate will flow like lava, it’s really just a moist cake with warm melty pieces of chocolate mixed in. No lava flowing, but the topper of an espresso whipped cream makes up for that oversight. Of course, bonus points were given when Kyle went off-recipe and added a pinch of Espresso Brava Salt that I had in my cupboard to bring an extra oomph! to the dish. Um, can you say YUM?!?

Chocolate Espresso Lava Cakes with Espresso Whipped Cream
Bon Appetit February 2002

1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
6 teaspoons instant espresso powder or instant coffee powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
12 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips (about 4 1/2 ounces)

1 cup chilled whipping cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar

Sift flour, cocoa powder, 5 teaspoons espresso powder, and baking powder into medium bowl. Place butter in large bowl; add both sugars and whisk until well blended. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time, then vanilla and almond extracts. Whisk in dry ingredients. Divide batter among six 1-cup ovenproof coffee mugs (about 2/3 cup in each). Top each with 2 tablespoons chocolate chips. Gently press chips into batter. Cover and refrigerate mugs at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

Combine cream, powdered sugar and remaining 1 teaspoon espresso powder in medium bowl; whisk until peaks form. Chill up to 1 hour.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Let mugs with batter stand at room temperature 5 minutes. Bake uncovered until cakes are puffed and crusty and tester inserted into center comes out with thick batter attached, about 30 minutes. Cool cakes 5 minutes. Top hot cakes with espresso whipped cream and serve.

Optional – top with a pinch of Espresso Brava Salt.

Two cooking clubs have come and gone in the past six months. The last one I did not photograph, as I was just a few months pregnant and was not feeling up to it. It was held around Halloween, so the theme was a “Goulish Fall Feast” and featured caviar moons, a dark and stormy drink and bbq ribs. Kyle and I were assigned a shrimp and pumpkin bisque, which turned out to be fantastic (if we do say so ourselves). It’s a bit of work to make your shrimp stock, but it is definitely worth the effort! The recipe is at the bottom.

Chilled Avocado Soup with Spicy Breadcrumbs
Bon Appetit
Soup
1 large ripe avocado (11 to 12 ounces), halved, pitted, peeled, diced
1 1/2 cups (or more) vegetable broth or low-salt chicken broth
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Generous pinch of coarse kosher salt

Breadcrumbs
1 4x4x1/2-inch slice soft white sandwich bread with crust
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preparation
Soup
Place diced avocado in blender. Add 1 1/2 cups broth, whipping cream, lime juice, and coarse salt. Puree until smooth. Transfer soup to 4-cup measuring cup; add more broth by 1/4 cupfuls to thin soup, if desired. Cover and chill at least 2 hours. DO AHEAD Soup can be made up to 4 hours ahead. Keep chilled.
Breadcrumbs
Finely grind bread in processor. Melt butter in medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add breadcrumbs to skillet; stir until golden, about 1 minute. Add paprika, coarse salt, and cayenne; stir until crumbs are crisp, about 1 minute longer. Transfer to small bowl and cool. DO AHEAD Breadcrumbs can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and store at room temperature.
Pour cold soup into eight 1/3-cup glasses or other small glasses. Sprinkle each serving lightly with breadcrumbs.

Pumpkin and Shrimp Bisque
Epicurious: The Herbfarm Cookbook
1 pound large shrimp (16 to 20)

Shrimp Stock
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 cup dry white wine
3 cups homemade or canned low-sodium chicken stock
Pinch saffron threads (about 24)
2 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
1 medium onion (about 8 ounces), coarsely chopped
4 fresh bay laurel leaves, torn, or 2 dried
3 3-inch springs fresh sage

2 cups pumpkin purée, fresh (see Note) or canned
1/2 cup heavy cream
About 3/4 teaspoon salt, less if using canned stock
Scant 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage

1. Shrimp stock: Peel and devein shrimp, reserving the shells. Cover the shrimp and refrigerate. Heat the olive oil in a medium (3-quart) heavy-bottomed saucepan over high heat until it begins to smoke. Add the shrimp shells to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until they turn deep orange and are just beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. This step—pan roasting the shells—gives the stock much of its flavor, so take the time to do it carefully. The roasted shells should release a concentrated, toasty, shrimp aroma that will fill your kitchen. Add the wine to the pan, first turning off gas flames to prevent the alcohol from igniting, then boil it over medium heat until all the liquid is evaporated. Add the chicken stock, saffron, celery, onion, bay leaves, and sage. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Partially cover the pan and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Strain the stock through a fine sieve, pushing down on the solids with the back of a spoon to extract all the liquid. Rinse out the saucepan and pour the stock back into it.
2. Soup: Whisk the pumpkin, cream, salt (omit if using canned stock), and cayenne into the shrimp stock. Bring the soup to a simmer, then cook very gently uncovered over low heat for 10 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice, taste, and season with black pepper and more salt if needed. (The soup can be made up to this point up to 1 day ahead store covered in the refrigerator. Keep the peeled shrimp in a resealable bag buried in a bowl of ice in the refrigerator.)
3. Finishing the soup: Pour the olive oil into a large sauté pan placed over medium heat. When hot, add the reserved shrimp and sage and cook, tossing often, until the shrimp is just cooked through, pink, and no longer translucent, but not curled into a circle, 2 to 3 minutes. They should still have a tender snap when you bite into them. Arrange the shrimp in warmed serving bowls or a tureen. Bring the soup back to a simmer and then ladle it over the shrimp. Serve right away.

I was highly anticipating the food we’d devour for dinners. I had lists of entrees, ingredients and the restaurants in which to find these delectables, but I didn’t have the Provencal mindset to go along with these. For instance, some restaurants are open all days but Monday and Tuesday. Others are open just for lunch on these days but not for dinner, and so on. Information posted in guidebooks (even recent ones) was found to be generally out of date.

It was time to take some advice. Our inn owner suggested that he call for reservations for us the following evening at a restaurant that he highly recommended. This is how we came to dine at Le Fournil on our final evening.

Asparagus was in season while we were in town, so it wasn’t surprising when a chilled asparagus soup arrived for our starter course. We both were giddy at how asparagus-y it tasted. And while I apologize for my lack of descriptive food writing here, simple food can sometimes only be described that simply. So I’ll say it again: it was the ultimate in asparagus-y. Served chilled, the grassy qualities came forward — a clean and refreshing way to start the meal.

I’ve fallen in love all over again with the simple, yet always stunning, caprese salad. Yum!

I wish I could say that I was involved in the rest of the pie-making process but, truth be told, after helping with the idea for the flavor I left town for a few days. When I returned on Sunday (just in time for dinner), she had made a delightfully light Meyer lemon mousse pie with a gingersnap crust.

Someday I’ll actually be in town when she makes the pie and I’ll catch her in the action with my camera (especially to learn how to make her homemade pie crust). Someday…

Lemon Mousse pie
from 500 Pies & Tarts by Rebecca Baugniet

¾ cup fresh Meyer lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
¾ cup granulated sugar
3 large egg yolks
pinch salt
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
¼ cup water
1 cup whipping cream
1/3 cup confectioners sugar
zest of 1 lemon to decorate

Preheat oven to 350. Press gingersnap crust (see below) into 9 inch pie plate. Bake for 15 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and cool to room temp.

Blend the lemon juice, zest, sugar, egg yolks, and salt in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens slightly- not as much as lemon curd. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water in a large saucepan. Set aside for a few minutes while you fill a large bowl with ice and water.

Add the lemon mixture to the gelatin and cook over medium heat for 3-4minutes, stirring continuously until the gelatin has dissolved. Pour the mixture into a metal bowl and set the bowl in the ice bath. Chill, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 min, until it begins to thicken.

Beat the cream using an electric mixer, adding 1 TBSp confectioners sugar at a time. Gently fold the cream into the lemon mixture, 1/3 cup at a time, until well combined. Pour the filling into the piecrust and refrigerate for 3 hours or until the filling has set. Sprinkle with lemon zest before serving with a dollop of whipped cream.

Ginger crumb crust:
1 c ginger cookie crumbs
¼ c melted unsalted butter
1 TBSP granulated sugar or honey
1 TBSP all purpose flour

Mix in food processor or if you have the crumbs you can mix by hand.

More photos and info about Febgiving here.