Pork and Potatoes

I love to celebrate. It doesn't even matter what the occasion is...Thanksgiving, 4th of July, my son's birthday, Friday afternoon, lunch hour - well, you get the idea.

Father's Day is no exception. My son is 7 and experiencing a golden age for embracing manners and a deep concern for others. I wanted him to own today in a new way and take charge of honoring his father. Sure, I had to offer a few suggestions, like "Why don't you make a card for Daddy? Here's a piece of paper. Would you like to fold it long-ways or short-ways?"

After that, he was happily working on an Angry Birds Space themed Happy Father's Day card.

We also worked together to bake his father's favorite cake: yellow box cake with chocolate frosting from a tub. Really, we're both getting off easy with this one. But a man can't be blamed for what he decides is his favorite cake.

I also wanted to cook something special. I didn't want to spend the whole day slaving in the kitchen - I had much better things to do, like lounging on the couch with my kiddo - but I did want to express my appreciation to the guy by making a tasty home cooked meal.

So, pork and potatoes it was. Items that practically cook themselves.

SHREDDED PORK ROAST
This morning, I unwrapped the pork roast and cut off a little of the excessive fat. I sprinkled it with one of my all-time favorite all purpose spices (in this case, Adobo) and chucked the whole thing in a crock pot set on low. I may have turned it over once...about 4 hours into the cooking session. As soon as the roast flakes with the light pressure of a fork - that's when it's done. I turned off the heat and raked a fork across the entire roast while it was still in the crock pot (and yes, still in the juices). Then I got a BBQ like sauce and poured some in - just enough to make it wet and sticky...like great shredded pork should be! And then I let it sit and rest.

Tip: Keeping it in the crock pot helps it to stay warm for the upcoming meal.

CILANTRO ROASTED POTATOES
I grabbed a handful of potatoes out of the pantry. I washed them, chopped them into cubes and dumped them into a casserole dish. I poured in a bit of olive oil; sprinkled in a heap of dried Cilantro, some coarse salt and fresh-ground pepper; and then gave it all a thorough toss with a spatula. I covered the dish and placed it into a 400 degree oven for about an hour.

These potatoes are great hot from the oven, but they're also great when cooled.

That's how we ate them today. Cooled just a little along with pulled pork made into sandwiches on hoagie buns. It was delicious...and EASY...and homemade. He was appreciative. So much so, that we had to wait a little bit of time before there was room for box-cake.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY
I hope you're eating good.