Sunday dinners #3: Pulled pork and cohort love

My cohort in graduate school is a pretty tight-knit group. Six women, working hard to survive graduate school and support each other, in work and in life. We'll drag each other across the finish line. Even though there are only six of us (most cohorts in our department have 10-12 students), it's not easy to find time for all of us to come together. But when we do, we throw some amazing potlucks. We always have an exciting mix of food, catch up on what's happened in our lives since the last time we all were together, celebrate each other's life events, and have interesting conversations (what is a hipster, really?). Technically our most recent potluck was held on a Saturday, but I think about Sunday dinners as a concept, a big wonderful meal shared with great people, on Sundays or any other day of the week. 

For my third cochon dinner, I decide to make some pulled pork. This recipe is so easy I can hardly believe it. That seemed to be the theme of the night -- everyone was almost embarrassed at how easy their dishes were to prepare, but each one was simple and delicious. I made cabbage salad to accompany the pork. My friends brought udon noodle salad, steamed egg custard, cous cous with vegetables, crostini with olive spread and cucumber feta spread. For dessert, I made a berry crisp to use up more of my blueberry stores (inspired by this breakfast crisp recipe), which we enjoyed alongside espresso chocolate from one member's recent trip to Switzerland.

Photo taken by my friend Carly

So easy pulled pork
Adapted from Slow Cooker Revolution

Time: About 5 active minutes, at least 8 hours to marinate, at least 6 hours to cook
Serves: You and 5 guests, with plenty of leftovers

Ingredients
1/4 cup brown sugar (I used beet sugar)
1/4 cup paprika
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp mustard powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp salt

Picnic roast or pork butt (2-3 lbs or more)
1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce (I used Lillie's Q Smoky)

Method
1. Mix your spices together to make the rub.

2. Cut you meat into quarters and dry with paper towels. Rub with the spice mixture and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours (up to 24).

3. After it has marinated in the spice blend, unwrap the meat and place in your slow cooker. Cover with barbecue sauce and cook on high for about 6 hours or on low for about 10 hours.

4. When the meat is done cooking, shred with two forks and mix so that it is fully drenched in sauce.

5. Serve on its own, over mashed sweet potatoes, or on a roll or some white bread.

Mixed fruit crisp
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Time: About 10 minutes to prepare, 35 minutes or so to bake
Serves: You and 5 guests

Ingredients

1 peach
1 large handful cherries
2-3 cups blueberries
3 tablespoons sugar (up to 6 if you'd prefer a sweeter crisp)
Generous sprinkle of cinnamon
Juice from 1/2 a lemon

1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 tablespoons butter (1/2 of a stick)
6 tablespoons sugar (again, I used beet sugar)
Sprinkle of salt 
Sprinkle of cinnamon
Handful of almonds and cashews, chopped

Method
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Perfect if someone was already using it to toast some crostini.

2. Chop the peach and cherries into small pieces (about the size of a large blueberry) and add with the blueberries to an 8x8 baking dish. Mix with the sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice.

3. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. When the butter is melted, stir in the sugar, flour, and salt. Mix thoroughly and spread over the fruit. It won't look like much, but it will cover the fruit. Sprinkle the nuts on top.

4. Bake for about 35 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling and the top is golden brown. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before digging it; the fruit will be hot. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

I liked this crisp so much that I made it again the next day (since there were no leftovers). I love crisp topping, so I increased the proportions and subbed out regular flour for whole wheat flour. It came out ok, but not as good as the original version.