Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder Ingredients 1 bone-in, skin-on fresh pork picnic shoulder (6 to 7 lb.) 1 head garlic (2 1/2 oz.) 1 tablespoon coarse salt 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground pepper 1 onion (10 oz.), peeled and sliced 1 carrot (4 oz.), rinsed and sliced 1/2 cup oloroso or cream sherry 4 cups fat-skimmed chicken broth 1/4 teaspoon dried hot chile flakes 1 1/2 teaspoons sherry vinegar or balsamic vinegar Preparation 1. Rinse pork and pat dry. Score skin in a crisscross diamond pattern, making 1/8-inch-deep cuts about 1 inch apart. Separate and peel garlic cloves. In a mortar and pestle, crush garlic, salt, oregano, thyme, and pepper into a coarse paste (or mince garlic, then mix with salt, herbs, and pepper). Rub garlic paste all over roast. Set roast, skin side up, on a rack in an oiled 9- by 13-inch roasting pan. 2. Roast in a 450 oven (see notes) until deep golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes. 3. Remove pan from oven and scatter onion and carrot slices around pork. Pour 1/4 cup sherry and 2 cups broth into pan. Add chili flakes. Baste pork with some of the pan juices. Reduce oven temperature to 225 and bake until a thermometer inserted through the center of thickest part at bone reads 170 to 175, 8 to 9 hours (do not insert thermometer before the last hour of roasting). If pork is done before you're ready to serve, reduce oven temperature to 160 and hold in oven up to 4 hours. 4. About 30 minutes before serving, transfer pork to a carving board. (For extra-crisp pork skin cracklings, see notes.) Cover pork loosely and set in a warm place. Pour the remaining 1/4 cup sherry and 2 cups broth into the roasting pan (drippings will be dark) and set on a burner over high heat. Bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan. Boil, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced by about half, 7 to 10 minutes. Pour through a wire strainer set over a bowl, pressing on vegetables (discard vegetables); you should have 1 to 1 1/3 cups drippings. Skim off and discard fat. Stir in vinegar. 5. Lift skin off pork and cut it into bite-size chunks or strips; pile on a platter. Slice meat across the grain and arrange on platter. Drizzle about a fourth of the pan juices over meat; serve remaining to add to taste. NOTES: You may need to order the pork from your meat market in advance. Monitor oven temperature with a thermometer before starting, and adjust temperature as needed. If you hold the roast in the oven after it is done, check to see if oven is still on after 12 hours of continuous use; some ovens turn off automatically. A convection oven is not recommended. For extra-crisp cracklings, pull skin off cooked pork, separate into bite-size pieces, and place in a shallow pan. Bake in a 400 oven until crisp and puffy, about 10 minutes. Sue

The reviews were very good on this. I'll have to see if I can bum a bottle of beer from my neighbour :) Pan-Seared Chicken Thighs (Fine Cooking) 8 small bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (4 to 5 oz. each), trimmed of excess skin and fat Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 tsp. vegetable oil 2 medium shallots, minced 1-1/2 tsp. all-purpose flour 1 cup amber lager 1/2 cup lower-salt chicken broth 1-1/2 Tbs. pure maple syrup 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme; more for garnish 1 Tbs. whole-grain mustard 1 oz. (2 Tbs.) unsalted butter Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and place a large rimmed baking sheet on the rack (to catch any spatters). Heat the oven to 475F. Season the chicken thighs all over with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a heavy-duty ovenproof 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering hot. Swirl to coat the pan bottom. Arrange the chicken in the pan skin side down in a single layer (it will likely be a snug fit), cover with an ovenproof splatter screen (if you have one) and cook until the skin is deep golden-brown, about 7 minutes. Turn the thighs and transfer the skillet and splatter screen, if using, to the oven. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh registers 170F, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Pour off all but 1 Tbs. fat from the skillet. Add the shallots and saute over medium heat until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the flour until combined. Stir in the beer, chicken broth, maple syrup, and thyme. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits from the skillet with a wooden spoon. Simmer vigorously until reduced to about 1 cup, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the mustard, then the butter. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. To serve, dip each chicken thigh in the sauce and turn to coat. Arrange 2 thighs on each of 4 plates, spoon additional sauce over them, and garnish with the thyme. Serve immediately.

Potato and Cauliflower Casserole Ingredients: 2 large potatoes, peeled and chopped 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets 3 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 cup heavy cream 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese salt and pepper to taste Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium casserole dish. 2. In a pot with enough water to cover, boil the potatoes 10 minutes, or until tender but still firm. Drain, and set aside. 3. In a pot, place the cauliflower in a steamer basket over boiling water. Steam 5 minutes, until tender but still firm. Set aside. 4. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, and whisk in the flour. Gradually stir in the heavy cream until thickened. Remove from heat, and mix in 1/2 cup Swiss cheese until melted. Season with salt and pepper. 5. Arrange the potatoes and cauliflower in the prepared casserole dish. Pour the cream sauce over the potatoes and cauliflower, and sprinkle with the remaining Swiss cheese. 6. Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until bubbly and lightly browned. Sue

Zesty Slow-Cooker Pot Roast (Campbell's) 4 medium potatoes, cut into quarters (about 4 cups) 4 medium carrots cut in chunks 1 stalk celery, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 3/4 cup) 1 medium Italian plum tomato, diced 1 beef bottom round roast or beef chuck pot roast (2 1/2 to 3 pounds) 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's Condensed Tomato Soup 1/2 cup water 1 tbsp. chopped roasted garlic or chopped fresh garlic 1 tsp. each dried basil leaves, dried oregano leaves and dried parsley flakes, crushed 1 tsp. vinegar Place the potatoes, carrots, celery and tomato into a 3 1/2-quart slow cooker. Season the beef with the black pepper. Place the beef into the cooker. 2 Stir the soup, water, garlic, basil, oregano, parsley and vinegar in a small bowl. Pour the soup mixture over the beef and vegetables. 3 Cover and cook on LOW for 10 to 11 hours or on HIGH 5-6 hours until the beef is fork-tender and the vegetables are tender. 4 *To roast garlic, place 1 whole garlic bulb onto a square of aluminum foil. Drizzle with vegetable oil. Wrap the foil tightly around the garlic. Roast at 350 degrees F. for 45 minutes or until the garlic is soft. Peel and chop the garlic.