Pork. The Other White Meat

Jackie Culmer Photography

With all of the photography and party designing I've been doing, I was starting to feel a little guilty for neglecting my housewife duties. I couldn't remember the last time I had tried a new recipe, let alone bought something other than a boneless, skinless chicken breast. The October issue of Martha featured some recipes using pork shoulder - one cut, three ways. I was inspired by a picture of beautifully ruffled pappardelle with juicy shreds of braised pork mixed in between the ribbons of pasta. It looked so fancy yet so comforting at the same time. Then, I came across another picture of Smoky Pork Pappardelle in my Food and Wine Cookbook that used granny apples, honey, and champagne vinegar. I was sold.

The recipe looked easy enough, but who knew it was so hard to find pappardelle? After two grocery stores and a failed attempt at finding a specialty Italian market I'd heard of that I was hoping might have fresh pappardelle, I found it at Trader Joe's. I picked up two 8oz. packages at $1.99 each. I also could not find "smoked salt" and substituted kosher salt and a little bit of paprika instead. Next time, I might try The Meat House for the smoked salt.

Everything turned out lovely. The pork was falling-apart-tender as I tried to transfer it to a casserole to shred, and the house smelled amazing. I highly recommend this on a chilly fall evening with good friends and family. To try and be a little healthy, I served it with a side of kale tossed in, olive oil, vegetable stock, apple cider vinegar, and salt and pepper. This recipe is easy to follow but takes 3 hours to braise. If you're stuck at home because your toddler has an afternoon naptime, it works out perfectly. Get the recipe here. :)