Good Jazz-Good Food

Ingredients for a Perfect Summer Night
Adapted from KWJZ Cool Jazz Festival at Chateau Ste Michelle
Jackiem Joyner
Brian Bromberg
Acoustic Alchemy
Fourplay
Pulled Pork Sliders
Chipotle Cole Slaw
Pluot & Frangipane Tart with whipped creme
Couple of bottles of Chateau Ste Michelle Canoe Ridge Estate Chardonnay
Beechers Jamaican No Woman Cheese
Rosemary Raisin Pecan Raincoast Crisps
1 lb of Rainier Cherries

Photo from Chateau Ste Michelle

Take the first 4 ingredients and put them on the outdoor stage at Chateau Ste Michelle Winery, add a grassy hillside covered with blankets and appreciative jazz fans.
Lay out the rest of the ingredients on a blanket along with all of your plates,utensils and glasses.Sit back,take in the beautiful blue skies, the great energy from all the people sitting around you-laughing and drinking .
Toast the one you are with ,Chin Chin,and thank the Universe for how really good life is and how fortunate you are to be in that moment enjoying good music,good food, good wine and good people.

Sunday started out looking like a typical summer day in Seattle,grey skies and rain !  But by the afternoon, when we were headed out to the Jazz Festival ,miracle of miracles, the rain had stopped, the skies had cleared, and what clouds were left helped keep the hot sun off of the thousands who showed up for an afternoon and evening of some of the best jazz in the world !  Since I had to work we got a late start but still got decent seats just outside the stage on the hillside. We couldn't see the back of the stage, but had perfect views of the performers at the front of the stage.  And the sound was perfect.  Plus we were sitting close by the entrance where all the musicians were entering and exiting.  Now if only we were allowed cameras I could be showing you some great shots of the artists-but alas-no cameras thus no pictures .  But more than the pictures I wish you could have been there to hear the music-it was incredible. Truly a great night. 

I had spent the day before making some scrumptious pulled pork-I will never use another recipe after using this Cook's Illustrated version.  I love pulled pork sliders and my goal is to try and make one as good as Maximus Minimus, a local Seattle Food Truck.  I also love their Cole slaw with a touch of chipotle and tried to replicate their recipe based on what I remembered tasting.  And for dessert-Pluot and Frangipane Tart with a polenta crust and whipped creme..mmmmm.  Great picnic food, easy to pack, easy to serve and oh so good to eat !  Wish you all could have been there but since you weren't you can still enjoy the music and the food in your own kitchens.  Bon Appetit !

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
1-6 to 8 lb. pork shoulder
1/4 cup water
For the spice rub
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated Test Kitchens
1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon dried oregano
4 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons table salt
2 tablespoon granulated sugar

Mix together the spice rub in a large Ziploc bag, shaking it to combine the spices thoroughly. Add the pork shoulder and vigorously shake the bag until the pork is fully covered in the spice rub. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
On cooking day, remove the pork shoulder from the Ziploc bag and place it in the crock pot. Add the ¼ cup of water,  and set the cooker to low. Cover the pot with the lid and allow to cook for an hour. Turn the pork shoulder over after an hour and continue to cook for another hour. Turn the pork shoulder over one more time and let it continue to cook for another four hours. After six hours, check to see if the pork is starting to tenderize. (I cooked mine on low for a total of 8 hours).  When the pork has started to tenderize and shreds easily then shred it with a fork and stir the shredded meat around in the sauce created during the slow roasting. Cook for another 30 minutes to an hour (depending on your crock pot). You can serve the pulled pork by itself or with a barbecue sauce -it's delicious without a barbecue sauce-trust me you won't want to cover the incredible flavors.  I divided mine between 2 batches-one I left as is and the second batch I made up the following sweet sauce and mixed it in-it took some of the bite off of it for those you don't like spicy !

Sweet Sauce:
1 Tablespoon molasses
3 Tablespoons Tamarind Sauce
3 Heaping Tablespoons of Honey
Mix the 3 ingredients together and then pour over the shredded pork-mixing all together. Yummy !

Chipotle Coleslaw
2 small heads of cabbage-shredded
2 cups dried cranberries
2 bunches of radishes-sliced thinly
1/2 bunch of cilantro chopped
1/2 - 1 cup of Hot Squeeze Chipotle Sauce ( I want to put this on everything in site-it's my new crack sauce!)
1 Teaspoon celery salt
Salt to season
Red pepper flakes-only if you want some heat
Toss all of the ingredients except for the Hot Squeeze Sauce,in a large bowl.  Add the sauce just prior to serving-that way your cabbage will be nice and crispy !

Pluot Frangipane Tart
Recipe adapted from Dolce Italiano, Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen
Makes one 10inch tart shell
1 1/3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup of instant of fine ground polenta-I used a fine-medium grind and it gave it a nice crunchy texture
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
freshly grated zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup unsalted butter -cold and cut into small 1/4 inch cubes
1 large egg
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
I also added 1 teaspoon of limoncello-since I made my own I've been adding it to everything !

Place the flour, polenta,sugar,salt and lemon zest in the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse to combine.  Add the cold butter and pulse until the mix resembles coarse sand and you don't see any large lumps of butter.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, olive oil,vanilla extract and limoncello.   Add the wet ingredients to the food processor and pulse just until a ball of dough forms.

Press the ball into a disk and wrap tightly in plastic. Chill the dough until it is firm enough to roll-1 to 2hours.

Frangipane
3 oz butter- at room temperature
1 1/4 oz sugar
1 1/4 oz powdered sugar
1 1/2  cups ground roasted almonds ( roasted at 350 on a jelly roll pan for about 10 minutes-cool before grinding)
1 large egg plus 1 egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

After roasting and cooling the whole almonds pulse them in the food processor along with the sugar and powdered sugar.  Once the almonds are ground to a nice almond meal add the butter and pulse until combined.  Then add the egg and egg white along with the vanilla pulsing until all combined.  Set this aside while you roll out the tart shell.
Fruit
About 6 average to large size pluots
Slice the pluots into even slices about 1/4 inch thick-try to keep them even so that they look pretty and even!

Assembly:
Roll out the tart dough on a lightly floured surface.  Using the tart shell as a guideline roll out approximately 12 - 14 inches in diameter.  Carefully roll the dough around your rolling pin then place the rolling pin over the tart shell and gently unroll the dough so that it falls ever so gently into the tart shell.  Using your fingers press the dough gently into the bottom and along the sides of the tart pan.  Take your rolling pin and roll it over the edges of the tart pan trimming off any excess.

Take the frangipane and using an offset spatula spread it gently on the bottom of the tart shell .  Take the sliced pluots and arrange them in a circle inside the tart shell.  Bake at 400 for about 30-45 minutes or until the tart shell is nicely browned.  Once the tart cools sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Serve with a topping of fresh whipped creme. Sit back and enjoy the accolades because everyone will love this !

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