Chris from Daytime Tri-Cities is ready for Food City Friday!
Labor Day meals shouldn’t put you in a sweat. Here are three tasty dishes that will be a hit with your guests. And you can make them the day before, so you can actually get a break along with everyone else!
Easy Crock Pot Pulled Pork
Sure, slow cooked pork in a smoker is amazing, but here’s a way to get most of that flavor with a lot less work. First, I make a dry rub that keeps for months in a sealed container. I make a large amount, so whenever I need it, it’s ready to go. This recipe is on the mild side, but you can certainly ‘spice’ it up if you like. Feel free to make substitutions or add your own additions. That’s what I did, to a recipe I found in Joy of Cooking. (This rub also works great on chicken!)
Barbeque Dry Rub
½ cup ground cumin
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
½ cup smoked paprika
½ cup sweet paprika
½ cup chili powder
1 tablespoon chipotle pepper
2 tablespoon ground allspice
1/2 cup salt
¼ ground black pepper
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and store in a sealed container.
Once you’ve made the rub, use a GENEROUS amount and rub it into all sides of your pork. I have used many cuts of pork with equal success. I put about 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar into the bottom of my crock pot, along with several squirts of liquid smoke. Place the pork into the crock pot. If you have a lot of pork, just stack it up. Liquid does not have to cover the meat. Put on the lid and cook on high for at least three hours, until fall-apart tender. If you have lots of extra juices, you can discard some of it. Pull pork apart, removing bones if you pork was not boneless. Add your favorite barbecue sauce to taste and reheat until bubbly. Serve warm on buns. Keeps well in the refrigerator for ‘planovers.’
Layered Salad
There are many variations of this summertime favorite. The common ingredients include lettuce with different colorful and fresh veggies, but always topped with frozen peas and a creamy dressing. Many include hard boiled eggs, cheese, and bacon as well. Here’s my variation of the creamy dressing: 1 16 oz container of slaw dressing, 1 cup of sour cream, and 1 package of ranch dressing mix. I added the bacon and chesse on top right before serving, but put the rest of the ingredients together the night before. You can toss the salad right before serving, or let your guests dig down through it themselves.
Banana Pudding
You can certainly make this classic with instant pudding and non-dairy whipped topping, but I prefer to make mine with homemade French custard and whipped cream. You can make the French custard a day or two in advance and assemble the dessert the day before you serve it. In fact, this gives the vanilla wafers a chance to soften and the flavors to meld. Kids love putting this one together!
French Custard
With a mixer, beat until light and fluffy:
6 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
Mix in 1/4 cup of cornstarch. Add a tablespoon of vanilla bean paste. (If you don’t have this, omit and add a tablespoon of vanilla at the very end.)
In a microwave, heat until very hot:
2 cups half and half
Slowly pour hot half and half into egg mixture. In a large glass bowl, cook in the microwave 2 minutes at a time, mixing each time, until mixture is thickened. Cool completely. Add sweetened whipped cream to taste, usually about 2 parts of custard to one part of sweetened whipped cream.
To make banana pudding, I layer in a large bowl vanilla wafers, French custard, sliced bananas, and whipped cream.
