Pulled Pork and final thoughts

Hi there!

Guess what? Voter turnout is probably going to be around 64% of the electorate and possibly the highest in 100 years! That is awesome and so exciting! I am so delighted that so many people turned out to make their preference known. The total is probably around 131 million which is nearly 9 million more than 2004 if you can imagine and I vaguely remember some saying turnout was good then. In any case, thanks to all of you who voted and thank you for sharing your stories with me.

Our election watch party ended up being pretty small just us and the Hoppers + a brief visit from Tracie. The boys seem to finally be actually playing together a bit more than just being in the same space. They are so cute and they know so many words now. So much fun to listen to. We had a great time and Allie is so smiley and happy too. It was a really comfortable, happy, special evening.

With that, it is time to reveal my favorite hostessing secret - The Perfect Recipes for Having People Over - It is my complete fall back for things like this. Yesterday's event included Creamy Baked Mac 'N Cheese from this book. I've slightly altered her recipe along the way and promise to post it soon as it is so awesome. However, the night grows late so I'm going to give you the "recipe" for the pulled pork I also made instead as it finally turned out the way I like it. (This is a mix of recipes but part one is largely copied from here).

Ingredients:
pork shoulder roast (bone in or not) 3lbs (can easily double)
1 large onion - quartered
6 garlic cloves - smashed
6 quarts of water
ample salt & pepper
medium/large bottle of "Head Country BBQ" or whatever your favorite BBQ is

Instructions:
Trim the Roast and cut it into 4 x 2 inch pieces (just medium hunks). Add the pork, water, onion and garlic to a large pot or crock pot. (I used the stove this time so I'll give those times, but I think a crock pot would work well too). Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 90 minutes or until shreds easily. Strain the water and remove the chunks of onion and garlic (or leave them if you like). Let the pork cool, possibly even overnight. Shred the pork with a fork to pull it into strands while removing any unwanted fat or gristle. Add the pork back to the pot and add the BBQ sauce. The amount you add depends on how watery you like it. I usually add some water with the sauce to allow for evaporation while it simmers for at probably 30 more minutes or longer if you have time so the flavors can meld.

I've tried it many times with many recipes and even made the sauce myself before. Recently though, I realized I really just wanted my BBQ to taste like Head Country so I've simplified and it is good if a bit labor intensive. Yesterday, I made a double batch and am freezing about half of it for later and hoping that works out OK. I do love pulled pork, but don't often make it so it is a nice treat and nice to be back where Head Country is readily available and I don't feel the need to conserve it as I did in VA. Enjoy and let me know if you stumble on to any wonderful recipes or election statistics!

Ps. sadly no pictures of the party as my camera was broken, but hopefully we'll get that worked out soon.