candy pork

What’s in a cooking repertoire? Is it basics, like how to make rice and a go-to method for roasting chicken? Is it your family’s classics, like a plum cake or the roast a cousin makes on Christmas Eve? Is it a collection of durable, flexible recipes that might be the last you ever need? I’ve been thinking about this since gettingJessica Battiliana’sfirst cookbook,Repertoire, this spring. I loved the concept immediately: the recipes she relies on most — not demanding but rewarding; not fancy, but special. There are recipes for parmesan chicken cutlets, meatballs, and a simplified eggplant parmesan; chicken tortilla soup, pretzel rolls, and corn fritters. There’s a recipe for the thing that most quickly went into my repertoire — a negroni (although I made itboulevardier-style) and potato chips (spoiler: they’re from a bag) — and birthday cakes too. But it was this candy pork that I couldn’t forget about, and I’m so glad I chose it, well, second. [I wondered whatmycooking repertoire would look like but realized with 1200 recipes in the archives and 105 in each of my cookbooks, it’s probably a little late for that, as I could never choose, althoughI did my best here.] Battilana is a food columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle but also works on cookbooks, such as the incredibleVietnamese Home Cookingbook (we made thephohere) from Charles Phan. From Phan, she learned about Vietnamese-style caramel sauces laced with Thai chilies, ginger, garlic, and shallots. At his restaurant, The Slanted Door, it’s applied to clay-pot chicken but in Repertoire it’s used to braise chunks of pork shoulder and it’s one of the best things I’ve made this year. [Her kids call it candy pork becausekids know: nobody can resist candy.] There are so many things I like about it: a more salty-than-sweet sauce that’s glossy and dark, theshort ingredient listthat’s still wildly complex with flavor, the fact that it cooks so much faster than a full pork shoulder, and you can use the braising time to have fun with sides, like rice, and vegetables, or, I don’t know, snack on a negroni and potato chips, right? It was kid-friendly and the leftovers were perfect, which means it’s real life friendly too. And with a name like candy pork, how could you not want to make on the rainy, cold pre-Halloween weekend we have ahead? Some news!Speaking of kid-friendly… This month I start as columnist for Bon Appetít, with a focus on cooking for kids without descending into a steady diet of halved grapes and chicken nuggets (although I, in fact, adore chicken nuggets). It’s called “Picky Eaters Club” and the first column is in the November issue, on newsstands now, andonline right here. The recipe is fora hearty dinner strata with heaps of mushrooms, kale, and leeks bound with cubes of sourdough(I prefer whole wheat, if you can find it), eggs, and cheese, glorious cheese (which seals the deal) and I hope you love it as much as we do. One year ago:Sausage and Potato Roast with ArugulaandBakery-Style Butter CookiesTwo years ago:Russian Honey CakeandPumpkin BreadThree years ago:Cannoli Pound CakeandThe Broccoli RoastFour years ago:Better Chocolate BabkaandFall-Toush SaladFive years ago:Purple Plum TorteandLazy Pizza Dough + Favorite Margherita PizzaSix years ago:(Quick) Chicken Noodle SoupandPancetta, White Bean, and Swiss Chard Pot PiesSeven years ago:Pear, Cranberry and Gingersnap CrumbleEight years ago:Roasted Eggplant SoupandApple and Cheddar SconesNine years ago:Breakfast Apple Granola CrispandJalapeno Cheddar SconesTen years ago:Beef, Leek and Barley SoupandMy Family’s Noodle KugelEleven years ago:Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion GaletteandPumpkin Bread Pudding[New!] Twelve years ago:Winter Squash Soup with Gruyere Croutons And for the other side of the world:Six Months Ago:Crispy Tofu Pad Thai1.5 Years Ago:Granola Bark2.5 Years Ago:Carrot Tahini Muffins3.5 Years Ago:Carrot Graham Layer Cake, Wild Mushroom Pate, andWhy You Should Always Toast Your Nuts4.5 Years Ago:Baked Eggs with Spinach and Mushrooms