Here's an excerpt from a recent New York Times article, "Smart Eating at Work - Part 3" Part of Marci Alboher's Shifting Careers column, this guest post from Marissa Lippert of Nourish nutrition and lifestyle counselling offers ten great ideas for smart snacks to keep at the office...although if your office is anything like my office (which is apparently inhabited by an invisible group of starving vultures), that means you'll need to label them clearly as your property!

(From NYT Business "Shifting Careers" 4.8.08)

Top 10 all-around picks, in no specific order, to stash at your desk or in your office fridge:

    1. Raw, unsalted nuts (almonds, pistachios, cashews, walnuts, pecans)

    2. Kashi TLC granola bars, Gnu Flavor & Fiber bars, Lara bars (or check out youbars.com and create your own)

    3. Low-Fat Laughing Cow Cheese, Coach Farm Goat Cheese or organic part-skim string cheese

    4. Fage 0% Greek Yogurt or Stoneyfield Farms Low-Fat Organic Yogurt

    5. Wasa, Finn Crisp, Kavli or Dr. Kracker wholegrain crackers

    6. Organic peanut, almond or cashew butter (any organic/natural
        brand will do, or get the freshly ground stuff at your local Whole Foods Market or health food store or through       
        FreshDirect.com)

    7. McCann’s Irish Steel Cut Oatmeal or Arrowhead Mills Organic
          Original Instant Oatmeal

    8. Kashi GoLean or Heart to Heart Cereal; Uncle Sam’s Cereal; Bear
        Naked Granola (watch portions!)

    9. Sweet Riot Chocolate Covered Cacao Nibs (for the occasional
        afternoon chocolate craving)

    10. Good Health Half-Naked Popcorn or Glenny’s Soy Crisps (1.3oz – small bag)

 Click here to read the whole article.

You can't really think about Memphis without thinking about Elvis. And Beale Street. But one thing this "home of the blues" is also know for is barbecue. Pork barbecue, to be precise. And what could be more traditionally Memphis than, yes, a big ole' Boston Butt?

I have my sister to thank for this mouthwatering discovery. Or, my sister's assistant, to be precise. Apparently it's not uncommon to sell smoked, frozen Boston Butts as a fundraising activity for various kids' sporting teams. So when I visited this weekend she and my brother-in-law broke out the butt. Which is how I also came to discover that making references to someone's ability to "do a good butt" can be extremely (and endlessly) entertaining. (For the person making the references, anyway).

I also discovered that a Boston Butt is actually a shoulder cut of pork . It's also called Pork Shoulder and Picnic Cut, and the resulting barbecue is usually called, quite simply, "Pulled Pork" (which gives rise to a whole new minefield of jokes...). Anatomically inaccurate nomenclature and double entendre aside, the Pork Shoulder - or Butt - is actually very easy to prepare - though in true Southern style, this of course means that there are a thousand and one different ways to prepare it (meaning everyone you ask will give you a different answer). (For a contemporary Southern classic version, check out Paula Deen's Smoked Boston Butt Roast recipe from The Lady and Sons).

The bottom line (or should I say the 'butt' of the matter) is that no matter what you call it, Boston Butt/Pulled Pork really does seem to be an ideal party food. There's hardly any real "hands-on" preparation time, it serves a crowd with ease, and for the busy modern girl who wants to spend a little more time with her friends and a little less time messing around with the meat, it's just about perfect. (Plus, it's also a definite guy-pleaser!).

The easiest way, of course, is to get yourself one of those frozen smoked butts (about 6 lbs) because the majority of the work has already been done for you -- all you have to do is place it in the oven on 150 degrees for a few hours until the meat literally falls off the bone and is easily shredded.

The next-best option is to take a fresh butt (oh, my sense of humour can't prevent me from grinning as I type this), rubbing your butt with some fresh spice (sorry, couldn't resist) then placing it in an oiled slow cooker with a bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce (since it was started by three local guys, I'm a huge fan of Sticky Fingers - especially their Memphis Original Barbecue Sauce, although the Carolina Sweet Sauce is a very close second!). Anyway, dice an onion and throw that in along with a couple of tablespoons of local honey and maybe a dash of pepper. Turn the slow cooker on LOW for 7-9 hours and your work is done. (Tip: If throw everything in the slow cooker and switch it on when you get up in the morning, then it will be ready by dinner time).

Serving is even easier - just set out a big platter of your pulled pork, a bowl full of homemade slaw, some fresh buns and plenty of napkins! Just don't forget the beer...

Alternatives:

If you're looking to spice up your butt, try my friends' Jessica and Christian's FAT ELVIS Memphis Dry Rub with their own Boston Butt recipe, Memphis-Style Pulled Pork with Fat Elvis. Jessica and Christian come up with some pretty amazing spice blends, specialty salts (my personal favourite is the Easygoin' Seasoned Salt), dry mixes, dipping oils and more...check out their recipe for Fat Elvis Ribs...If they've got your mouth watering, find out where to buy their blends in stores - or order online here!

Posted on Sunday, April 6, 2008 at 20:59 by moderngirl in On the Barbie, Road Food, Pork | Post a Comment | Email | Print