Last month I decided Hurricane/Tropical Depression Felicia was a good enough reason to invite people over to eat. At first I was hesitant to announce my party plans, but after a few days of watching the trajectory, it seemed like it wouldn't do major damage and would die down before landfall. Afterward, I was super-juiced that "my" hurricane didn't kill anyone.
Since Felicia was on a path from Baja to Hawaii, I thought a Mexi-Hawaiian menu would be quite appropriate.
- Bottled Coke (USA and Mexican)
- Elotes Asados featuring Japanese Kewpie Mayo
- SPAM Musubi
- Slow Cooker Kālua Pork Tacos
- Dulce de Leche-filled Churros
As with most common with my dinners, I rarely remember to photograph what I make. The only pic was of the last cob of grilled corn schmeared with Kewpie mayo, showered with cilantro, sprinkled with Cotija, just awaiting a sprinkle of two of my shortcuts to extra flavor... mouth-puckering Tajín seasoning (dehydrated lime juice is surprisingly addictive) and/or smokey bacon salt.
The Kālua Pork was my first time trying to dry-roast a piece of meat in the slow cooker. I took a hunk of bone-in shoulder, seasoned it with some salt, liquid smoke, and wrapped it in [frozen] banana leaves. The amount of fat it shed was positively shocking. A little Mi Pueblo salsa and fresh corn tortillas warmed on the grill made those suckers tasty, but a the meat was little dry.
Low sodium SPAM was the dark horse and clear winner of the evening. Nga helped my wrap them using my new acrylic sushi mold. There's something deeply simple and pleasurable about rice and pan-fried SPAM.
Stacey and Mark picked up the filled churros at Mi Pueblo. We reheated them on the grill and admired how the dulce caramel oozed from the center of every inch - in one continuous stream, top to bottom.
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A couple weeks ago, I ended up improving the pork by using fresh banana leaves to line the pot and added a touch of Coke to keep the meat moist. I drained and shredded the roast and seasoned it with a little Mr. Yoshida's sauce a la Costco. I made 17 lbs. of the pork and less than half a pound remained for a crowd of 50.
