Sour Cream Blue Cheese Dressing

In 1971 food was more important than cookbooks in the Rang family.  Fortunately we received two or three good ones as wedding presents, and Jerri’s trusty Dinner for Two Cook Book was still usable, even though we had a third mouth to feed by that time.

Maybe it was just the excitement of having some new recipes, but whatever the reason, we still treasure one of the cookbooks we acquired around that time.  Carol Truax’s The Art of Salad Making was half of a FREE “2 IN 1” Cookbook given away by a cigarette company which explains why we could afford it.

Older folks may remember these cookbooks:  At first glance they seemed to be an ordinary paperback book.  However, if you tipped them upside down, you had another book, in our case The Art of Barbecue and Outdoor Cooking by the Tested Recipe Institute.  I never got very excited about the recipes in that book, though the “Filled Bologna Roll” stuffed with pickle relish and cheddar cheese and roasted on a spit would have been within our means.

Inside the cover of The Art of Salad Making Jerri has written “Blue Cheese Dr p. 189.” and on that page below the recipe is a single word: “Good!”  We still agree with her judgment from many years ago.  This recipe uses sour cream instead of mayonnaise, so the dressing has a refreshing light flavor, less fat and fewer calories.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. minced onion
1/4 cup blue cheese

PROCEDURE:

Mix the first four ingredients together in a small bowl.  Crumble the blue cheese and stir it into the sour cream.  Let stand for at least 15 minutes before serving.

NOTES:  You can use any variety of blue cheese.  Gorgonzola works well.  Resist the temptation to thin this dressing as it may then turn watery in a day or so.  Even if it does, the dressing still tastes perfectly fine.

Crockpot Kalua Pork/Elk

If a graduation party or Memorial Day family reunion is on your calendar, here is a recipe that will make your life easier and wow your guests.  It takes about 5  minutes work in the kitchen, but the result is pulled pork that is moist, tender and delicious.  And if some of the gang say they prefer sloppy Joes, hand them a skillet, a can of sauce and a pound of hamburger.

We got this recipe from our daughter-in-law’s sister who lived in Hawaii when her husband was stationed there.  True kalua pork is made by wrapping the meat in banana and ti leaves and roasting it slowly for hours in an underground earthen oven.  The result is tender juicy meat that almost falls apart when it is unwrapped.

Most of us don’t have earthen ovens, but a slow cooker comes close to giving you the same great flavor and tender meat.  We have substituted elk in this recipe a couple of times and the result was very satisfactory, different from pork but still delicious.  Though elk is not as fatty as pork, the moist heat of the crockpot still gives you succulent pulled meat for sandwiches.   As you can see, the recipe is absurdly simple with just four ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:

4 to 5 lbs. pork butt or shoulder or elk roast
2 cups apple cider or apple juice
1 T liquid smoke
1 1/2-2 T Hawaiian or sea salt

PROCEDURE:

At least 12 hours before the guests are scheduled to arrive, rub the pork with the salt and liquid smoke and place it in the crockpot. Add the apple cider. Turn the crockpot on high for the first hour, then turn it down to low and leave it to cook for another 10 to 12 hours.

After about 6 hours, turn the roast over and add a little more cider if necessary.  Take the meat out of the crockpot and shred it with two forks.  Serve with sandwich buns and hot or barbecue sauce for those who like a little more zip to their meat.

NOTES: You can make pulled pork ahead of time, refrigerate or even freeze it, then warm it when you need it. You can use regular iodized salt if that is all you have.  Cole slaw, potato salad and baked beans go well with pulled pork sandwiches.