Chocolate Peanut Butter Poke Cake

ingredients

1 box yellow cake mix, plus ingredients to make cake

2/3 cup peanut butter

1 1/2 cup chocolate syrup (Hershey's)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

8 regular Reese's peanut butter cups, divided

8 oz cool whip, thawed

1 (16oz) can chocolate frosting

instructions

Prepare cake according to package directions, adding in 2/3 cup peanut butter before mixing. Bake cake in a 9x13-inch pan.

While cake is baking, mix milk and chocolate syrup until well blended.

When the cake is done and while it's still hot, poke holes in it with a fork or straw. Pour milk mixture over the cake. Allow cake to cool completely.

Chop Reese's cups into small pieces. Sprinkle half of the Reese's cups over cake.

Carefully combine chocolate frosting and Cool Whip. Spread over the top of cake, then sprinkle the remaining Reese's cup on top. Chill.

Tip: I like to refrigerate the Reese's cups so they chop easier.

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Crispy Pork Carnitas – These “Little Meats” are Special Treats

There’s nothing like carnitas. Cubes of fragrantly spiced pork are slowly cooked in lard until they’re crispy on the outside, while at the same time remaining soft and succulent inside. Bust some up on a warm tortilla, drizzle with braising liquid, top with a little salsa, onion, and cilantro, and you’re probably enjoying the world’s best taco.

I said probably, since these things can be debated forever, and who has that kind of time when there are carnitas to make? This is a very simple recipe to adapt to the home kitchen, and as long as you cook the pork until it’s fork tender before crisping, you’re almost guaranteed a gorgeous pile of memorable meat.

I show how to do a whole pan at once under the broiler, but you can just as easily crisp up small batches in a frying pan set on medium-high heat. Just spoon in some reserved fat, and cook until crisp. Either way, this is a very important step, and not to be skipped.

There are hundreds of different spice combinations you can use here, and I often switch things up. I always include the salt, pepper, orange, garlic, and cinnamon, but then see where my mood takes me. Having said that, this is a pretty typical ingredient list, except for maybe the Chinese 5-Spice.

Mine contained cinnamon, fennel seed, clove, ginger, and star anise; so if you can’t find any, just add a pinch of each of those things instead. It seemed to add a little extra sweetness to the meat, and I may even use more next time. Besides that, oregano and/or thyme are nice additions, as are various chili powders.

If you’ve never tried to make carnitas at home, I really hope this inspires you to try. If you’ve never had carnitas at all, I need you to call in sick tomorrow, and make this recipe immediately. It’s that good. And don’t forget the fire-roasted salsa. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 servings Carnitas:

3 pounds boneless pork butt (shoulder), rind removed, cut into 2-inch cubes

1 tbsp kosher salt (this needs to be salted generously!)

1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp Chinese 5-spice

1 orange, peel and juice

8 cloves peeled whole garlic

2 bay leaves, torn in half

1/4 cup olive oil

- Roast at 275 F. for about 3 1/2 hours or until fork tender

Fire-Roasted Cherry Tomato Salsa – Tastily Teasing Forward

Sorry to spoil the surprise, but I just had to give away the fact that this delicious fire-roasted cherry tomato salsa was created to go alongside some pork carnitas we’ll be posting next. They made such an incredible pairing, I was tempted to post it all together, but then I remembered it was Friday, and there was a baseball game coming on.

Speaking of which, whether you end up making the carnitas or not, this gorgeous salsa would shine on any big-game snack table. The fire-roasting brings out a tremendous amount of flavor, and provides just the right touch of smoky goodness. I’m sure your friends are more than happy with the jarred stuff, but once in a while it’s nice to see if they’re paying attention.

You’ll want the flame of your broiler (or electric heating element) about 3-4 inches above the food, which may or may not be how far away your top rack is. If it’s too close, just use the next rack down, and use a pan like I did in the video to get it to the correct height.

By the way, I know eating “burned” foods mean ingesting carcinogenic materials, but I don’t care. This is no different than eating grill marks on a steak, or the crispy blackened ends on a brisket, and I’m not about to stop eating those things, so why would a few spoons of this scare me?

Anyway, stay tuned for the pork carnitas video, and in the meantime, I hope you give this fire-roasted cherry tomato salsa a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredient for about 2 cups of salsa:
2 tsp olive oil

1 generous pint cherry tomatoes (Sweet 100’s if you can find them)

1 yellow onion, roughly chopped

8 whole cloves garlic, unpeeled

3 jalapenos, sliced
juice of a lime, or to taste

salt and pepper to taste

cayenne to taste

pinch dried oregano

1/4 tsp dried cumin

packed 1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves