Slow-cooked Ginger Pork and Coleslaw Wraps ~ by Molly

This recipe makes enough for 6-8 people, so I cut it half, since I was just making it for myself. I wish I hadn't, the leftovers were so good! For those of you that don't know what hoisin sauce is, it's basically a sweet Chinese BBQ sauce. Yes, they sell it at Fred Meyer's.

Hoisin and Ginger Shredded Pork

6 pounds pork roast, trimmed of thick fat

Salt and pepper

6 cloves garlic, smashed

1 large piece fresh ginger, about five inches long

1 bottle hoisin sauce (about 8 ounces)

2 T Molasses

Rub the trimmed pork shoulder all over with salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Put in the slow cooker (cut in pieces first, if necessary). Add the smashed garlic cloves, tucking them around the pork. Peel and cut the ginger in large chunks and put it in too. Pour the hoisin sauce and molasses over everything. Cover and cook on low for about 10 hours or overnight.

When finished and tender, remove the ginger and use two large forks to shred the meat and mix it with the sauce.

Crunchy Peanut Slaw
1 big bowl of slaw, serves at least 8

1 medium head green cabbage, outer leaves removed
1 1/2 cups roasted, unsalted peanuts
Salt and pepper

Dressing:
1/2 cup light oil, like canola
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar (or more, to taste)
1 teaspoon soy sauce (or more, to taste)

Shred the cabbage very finely. Toss with the peanuts in a large bowl, seasoning very lightly with salt and pepper.

Whisk the dressing until emulsified, then taste and adjust to your own preferences of sweetness and saltiness. Toss with cabbage.

To serve:

Put pork and slaw in a warm tortilla shell (I used whole wheat).

Meatloaf ~ by Jessie

Since I didn't become a contributor to the blog until the day after I made this last, I don't have a picture, but rest assured that it's beautiful. :-)

Don't be put off by the prunes, this is the best meatloaf I've ever had, and I believe they're a big reason for that. It's a recipe originally published by Gourmet in February 2008, but I got it from http://www.epicurious.com/ (my favorite recipe site). The first time I made it I didn't have ground pork so I used all ground beef and it was equally delicious.

1 cup fresh bread crumbs (from 2 slices firm white sandwich bread)
1/3 cup whole milk
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium celery rib, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
2 tblspns butter
2 tblspns Worcestershire sauce
1 tblspn cider vinegar
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 lb bacon (about 4 thick slices), chopped
1/2 cup pitted prunes, chopped
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
2 large eggs
1/3 cup finely chopped Italian parsley

Preheat oven to 350 with rack in middle.

Soak bread crumbs in milk in large bowl.

Meanwhile, cook onion, garlic, celery, and carrot in butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. cover skillet and reduce heat to low, then cook until carrot is tender, about 5 minutes. Removed from heat and stir in Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, allspice, 2 tsp salt, and 1 1/2 tsp pepper. Add to bread crumb mixture.

Finely chop bacon and prunes in a food processor, then add to onion mixture along with beef, pork, eggs, and parsley and mix together with your hands. Pack mixture into a 9"x5" oval loaf in a 13"x9" shallow baking dish.

See below if you like a little something on top of your meatloaf.
Bake until an instant read thermometer inserted into center of meatloaf registers 155, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.
I like a little glaze of sorts on my meatloaf and this recipe doesn't have one, so I make my own. When I make up my own recipes, I don't measure ingredients, so this is my best guess, but do it to your own taste.

1/3 cup ketchup
2 tblspns balsamic vinegar
1 tblspn brown sugar

Mix the ingredients together and spoon over meatloaf for last 45 minutes of cooking.

ENJOY!

**Edit 1/27/10 by Sarah**
Here are some pictures I took from when I made it tonight.  It was delicious!

Jessie's glaze recipe was so good!