Fall flavors

In my last post, I extolled the benefits of the pressure cooker. Today it’s the crockpot. I’m reinventing the leftovers from last night’s intimate dinner party (roasted pork tenderloin with tomato-pear chutney and sweet and sour butternut squash) to be today’s game day repast for the boys (pulled pork). Nothing says “Fall” like pulled pork, yum. I just pulled out the crockpot out of the cabinet, threw in the little bit of leftover pork tenderloin (which I had roasted only with lemon pepper and garlic last night) and another pork tenderloin, because I’d bought the value pack of tenderloins on sale, along with the leftover chutney (about 2 cups), the leftover squash (about 1 cup), and a cup of my homemade BBQ sauce, put it on low and let it go. When the boys sit down to watch the UMass football game at 3:30, it’ll be falling apart and ready for some crusty bulkie rolls and pineapple-cole slaw. Bear in mind, that you don’t have to have the same leftovers to do what I have done. Whatever flavors you had together as your first meal will meld wonderfully into your new meal. Usually the key to pulled pork is some sweet (fruit or molasses or sugar) and some acid (vinegar), it’s also a good idea to add something spicy (jalapeños). In this case, the fruit from the chutney and the squash will just melt into nothing but flavor when the pork falls apart. You can also use a cheaper cut of pork, but I used what I had on hand because I had bought the value pack. Slow cooking is a great method for tenderizing less expensive cuts of meat, and the crockpot is the best for slow cooking on a day when you have a lot of things going on. As a final note, many of the meals you can cook and leave in the crockpot, you could also cook quickly, at the last minute, in the pressure cooker. Test out your favorites in various methods, or click on these links to try some of mine.

Tomato-Pear Chutney
The first time I made chutney of any kind it was tomato-pear chutney, from the pears from the tree in my yard about 10 years ago. The trees have since stopped producing usable fruit, but I was feeling nostalgic for the chutney.

2 ½ c plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 ½ c pears, peeled and coarsely chopped
½ c raisins
½ c green pepper, diced
½ c onion, diced
1 c brown sugar
½ c white vinegar
1 t salt
1-inch piece fresh ginger
½ t dry mustard
⅛ t cayenne pepper
1 jalapeño, minced

Combine all ingredients in saucepan or crockpot. In saucepan, bring to a boil; boil gently, stirring frequently, until mixture is thickened and reduced about one-half in volume (about 45 minutes), stirring occasionally. In crockpot, simmer on low for 4 hours. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Can be packed in clean, hot jars, and sealed using the pressure cooker, or can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 weeks or in the freezer for 6 months.

Sweet and Sour Squash

3 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium butternut squash (about 2½ lbs), peeled, seeds removed, and cut into 1-inch cubes
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
1/3 c balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 350°. Toss squash with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, and place in a single layer in a casserole dish. Bake for about 2o minutes, until squash is golden. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature. Experiment with this dish with your other favorite vegetables. I’ve also done this on the stovetop, and with green beans and shallots or broccoli and golden raisins.

I made the most unbelievably easy comfort food for dinner tonight. It was another one of those crazy, busy days when it was unlikely that we’d sit down for a family dinner, so I pulled out the pressure cooker. What a savior for a busy family! With the crisp, Fall weather, butternut squash was a natural, and nothing is more “comfort” than creamy, cheesy risotto.


The trouble with most 30-minute-or-less recipes, and what most people don’t know, is the ingredient lists. If the recipe says that it takes 30 minutes to complete it, but lists 2 lbs butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed, that means that the squash has to be prepped before you begin the work, the peeling, seeding, and cubing time is not included in the time estimate. So, at 3:08 pm I pulled out the pressure cooker and the ingredients and got started. (I’m a big fan of the chop-and-throw method, that way you don’t have to worry about pre-prepped ingredients, you just chop (or dice or cube) and throw them in the pot as you go.) I poured the olive oil in the pressure cooker, diced and added the pancetta, onion, rice, butternut squash, chicken stock, and white wine (thank God for my neighbor, Ellen basically sharing her pantry with me; I was out of white wine; the payoff is that I sent her some risotto when my son went to babysit for her son), placed the cover on the pressure cooker and brought it to full pressure. I cooked it for 20 minutes, turned it off, and was in the car on my way to my son’s football game by 3:38. Thirty minutes exactly.

Now, the pot just needed to let the pressure come down while I was gone. When I returned from the game I mixed in the butter, parmiggiano-reggiano, and sage (from Ellen’s beautiful pot of herbs), and dinner was ready. If I had been really prepared, I would have had my other son make a salad while I was at the football game, then I wouldn’t have even had to do that before I sat down to eat.

But wait, there’s more, this can be one of those everready go-to recipes for you too. When I buy pancetta, I only need ¼ of the piece, so I cut the rest into individual pieces and store it in the freezer for future batches. I also keep frozen butternut squash on hand so I’m always ready.

And, even my anti-vegetable son had seconds ... it’s amazing how a little cheese and rice can change the character of a vegetable.

Butternut squash risotto with pancetta and sage

2 T olive oil
4 ozs pancetta
1 medium onion
2 c arborio rice
1 small butternut squash
6 c canned low-salt chicken broth
1 c dry white wine
2 T butter
½ c parmiggiano-reggiano cheese
6 fresh sage leaves

Place the pressure cooker on the stove over medium heat. Add olive oil. Coarsely chop and add pancetta, sauté until it’s a little crispy. Finely dice and add the onion until it’s a little soft. Add the rice and stir to coat. Chop the butternut squash into large pieces and add them (when the risotto is done, you will have some larger pieces of squash in there, if you like a smoother risotto, cut your squash into smaller pieces).

Add chicken stock and white wine, place the cover on the pressure cooker, and bring it to full pressure. Cook for 20 minutes, turn it off, and let the pressure come down. (If you’re in a hurry, you can run it under cool water to bring down the pressure more quickly.)

While the pressure comes down, grate your parmiggiano-reggiano and chop your sage leaves finely. Once pressure is down, mix in the butter, parmiggiano-reggiano, and sage. Serve immediately, with freshly ground pepper and more parmiggiano-reggiano for the top.