Recently I was at a local food store when I spotted in their meat case a small pork shoulder perfect size for pulled pork for two people. While I have a vinegar based slow cooker recipe that I’ve been making for years, I found a recipe on the New York Times Cooking app for Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork by Margaux Laskey. She says she’s viewed pulled pork recipes online that call for a dark cola such as Dr. Pepper or root beer. This is the first that I’ve heard of this, but apparently it’s added because as it cooks infuses the pork with sweetness through caramelization. So, would you prefer a pulled pork with sweetness or tartness?
 
Here’s what I discovered on the website “Eat This, Not That” in their article “The 6 Types of Southern Barbecue in the US-and What Exactly Makes Them Different.” There’s the Eastern North Carolina style which is basting the meat in a vinegar-based sauce. Western North Carolina likes a barbecue sauce that has tomato or ketchup mixed in. South Carolina is the same as Eastern North Carolina but adds black pepper, salt and cayenne to their vinegar mixture. East Texas prefers barbecue marinated in a sweet tomato-based sauce, with South Texas using molasses in theirs. Alabama, uses a white mayonnaise sauce with a bit of tang. ​

​I recently went through my ”Southern Living Magazines” from the fall and clipped several pages of recipes. One that caught my eye from the December issue was an article entitled, “Suppertime - Crowd Pleasers.” The assorted recipes were geared to serving a small crowd. Beef Stew Pot Pie looked delicious from its picture. It’s served up in individual casserole dishes. However, as I’m just feeding two people, I cut the recipe in half and tried it in a cast iron skillet (The recipe gives directions for this option.)
 
For the recipe you’ll need a package (17.3 ounces) frozen puff pastry sheets, 2 pounds top sirloin steak that’s 1-1/2-inch-thick cut into 1/2-inch pieces, black pepper, kosher salt, unsalted butter, all-purpose flour, tomato paste, fresh garlic cloves, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, fresh thyme leaves, 2 (10 ounce) frozen mixed vegetables (green beans, peas, corn and carrots), 2 cups frozen cubed hash brown potatoes and 1 large beaten egg.

​Sometimes I prepare so many new and exciting recipes, that we never have them twice.
 
As it’s been so cold the past few days, I would like to suggest a Broccoli and Arugula Soup. This recipe was found in the January 2022 issue of “Charleston Magazine.” The soup was thick and creamy despite there being no cream in the soup. Both my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
 
Some of the best recipes from 2022 came from The New York Times/NYT Cooking. One such recipe is Kay Chun’s Korean Cheeseburgers with Sesame-Cucumber Pickles. These are not your parents’ cheeseburgers. The burgers are flavored with soy sauce, scallions, garlic, pepper and sugar. They’re served with a mayonnaise dressing flavored with the same ingredients as the burgers plus toasted sesame oil. These burgers were incredible. I also made Ali Slagle’s Chicken Parm Burgers that were fabulous. Between the aromatic basil, the intensity of the tomato paste, these burgers were packed with flavor.