I tried making my own pulled pork barbecue in the crockpot the other day. I found this recipe (which is really just a combination of spices) online, although I don’t remember where. Combine the following spices:

• 2 Tablespoons black pepper
• 1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 Tablespoons chili powder
• 2 Tablespoons ground cumin
• 2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon oregano
• 4 Tablespoons paprika
• 2 Tablespoons salt
• 1 Tablespoon sugar

Come to think of it, I followed this part very loosely, using what I had and adjusting to taste. I don’t like a sweet barbecue, for example, so I cut back on the sugars. Anyway, once you’ve mixed these up, rub the spices all over a bone-in pork shoulder (about 6-8 pounds, although that makes a LOT of barbecue). Then wrap the meat in a double layer of plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 3 days. The longer you leave it, the stronger the flavors.

Once it’s ready to cook, remove the plastic wrap and put the shoulder in a slow cooker with 1/4 cup of water. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Then remove the meat to a large cutting board or cookie sheet and shred with fingers and/or two forks. (Thus the “pulled” part of the name — don’t cut it, tear it apart.)

Put the shredded meat back in the slow cooker with 1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce. This is where taste comes in again — it’s difficult to find a commercial sauce that isn’t overly sweet to my taste, especially if you’re avoiding high-fructose corn syrup. If you’re making North Carolina-style barbecue, you want something vinegar-based and a little tangy. Heat the sauced meat between 30-60 minutes until it’s all blended.

Then comes the question, once you’re done eating sandwiches with it (remember to serve with hot sauce, cole slaw, and hush puppies), what do you do with the rest? Here’s one idea.

Enchilada Lasagna

For this you’ll need

• 12 corn tortillas
• small can enchilada sauce (the recipe only calls for 4 ounces; the smallest can I found was 15, but I wound up using about half of it)
• 8 ounces canned corn
• 14 ounces cooked black beans (with the veggies, use whatever a standard size can is these days — they tend to shrink them over the years)
• one bag shredded Monterey Jack cheese, or one block, shredded
• about a pound of shredded cooked pork
• 1 chopped onion

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish with a thin layer of the sauce. Lay four tortillas on top. (Given the shape of my pan, I wound up using two whole and then breaking the others in half to better cover the dish.) Then add about a third of the corn, beans, and cheese. Then a layer of about a third of the onion and meat. Repeat layers — tortillas, veggies, meat ‘n’ onion — twice more. Then spread on another layer of sauce and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Cook for 45 minutes. Serve with sour cream on top.

I think this recipe originally had chilis or green peppers in it as well, but I don’t like those. If you wanted to add them back for more Mexican flavor, put them in with the meat and onion layers.

Note that you don’t have to make your own pulled pork to make this dish. You can buy prepared barbecue meat or substitute chicken. Also, I thought I’d be clever, since I had extra tortillas, and put those on top for a final layer. Don’t. They crisp up so hard in the oven that I had to pull them off after.

This is just a taste of her new book, Relish, which she describes as “stories, histories and recipes of food, all inspired by growing up with a chef for a mom. I signed it with First Second, and it’ll be in full color, out in a couple years.” (I can’t wait!) Plus, in the comments, she and others discuss reasons to get a Cintiq drawing tablet and model recommendations.

Take one can of artichoke heart pieces (not marinated). Drain and rinse. Chop them in a food processor or mini-chopper. (You can chop them all into tiny bits, or you can leave a few larger pieces for variety.)

Combine with one cup shredded Parmesan cheese and enough mayonnaise just to moisten and hold it all together. (The person who taught me this said 2/3 cup, but I use less to cut the fat.) Sprinkle with garlic powder and salt to taste. Stir it all together, then microwave until it’s warm and the cheese is melty. (2-3 minutes, usually.)

Really simple and tasty. Get a hearty cracker or toasted bread slices to hold up to it.

Make a piece of toast. Layer on it turkey, bacon, and a slice of tomato. Then pour gravy over the top.

I’m told that the traditional version used a Mornay (cheese) sauce instead of gravy, but who wants to cook something else if you’re having leftovers?

Take some potatoes, either white or red skin, and chop them into chunks. Boil them in a pot of water for 10-12 minutes with a sprinkle of coarse salt, until they’re tender (squishy). Drain the water. Add butter, a few spoonfuls of sour cream, a splash of milk, and prepared horseradish. Measurements depend on how many potatoes you have and how spicy (due to the horseradish) you like them. For four servings, try 2 pounds of potatoes, a tablespoon of horseradish, two tablespoons of butter, and 1/4 cup each of sour cream and milk.

When warming up leftovers, add a splash more milk before putting them in the microwave. I’m having extras tonight with steak and sauteed spinach and mushrooms.

And such a simple way to make something for Halloween!

Well, the last time I went, I had a poor customer service experience, so much so that I complained (politely) at their website. I got back a very nice apology and a certificate for two free meals. Before I could return to the restaurant, this location, the only one in town, closed. (I hope I wasn’t the last straw.) That’s a shame — I’ll miss the food. And the free prize wheel on Mondays.

Since I have no use for it, I’d like one of my readers to have a meal on me. According to their website, there are locations in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, DC, and West Virginia. If you live in one of those states and will be able to use a California Tortilla gift certificate, post a comment here, and on Monday, I’ll do a random drawing for a winner.

I’d managed to throw a roast into the crockpot, but I needed something else besides hash to make with the leftovers. Then it occurred to me: shepherd’s pie is easy, tasty, and filling. I found a basic recipe and started tweaking it to my taste. (The recipe originally wanted me to mix carrots into the potato crust, yuck, and used ground beef instead.) So here’s my variant:

Take 2-3 tablespoons of the juice/gravy left over from your roast. Heat it in a large skillet over medium heat. Add one small onion, chopped; one garlic clove, minced; and 4-6 ounces of sliced mushrooms. (The package I bought pre-sliced was 6 oz.) Saute them about ten minutes, or until everything’s tender.

During this time, make a package of mashed potatoes following the box instructions.

Stir into the onions and mushrooms your chopped leftover meat, 4 teaspoons of beef bouillon base (you can use granules, or I recommend Penzey’s soup base, which is a thick paste), 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of thyme, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. If you like peas in your pie, you can add a cup of them (if frozen, thawed) now, too. I don’t.

Increase the heat to medium-high. Sprinkle a Tablespoon of flour into the mess and stir constantly for a minute. I found at this point that I needed to add in some more of the leftover gravy, because everything had gotten very dry. If so, cook just a bit longer until everything’s moist but not drippy.

Put the meat mixture in the bottom of a casserole. Spread the mashed potatoes over top. Sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Let stand a few minutes, then serve. Yummy!

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

What a weird list, combining exotics, high gourmet, and lowest common denominator crap (yeah, I don’t buy into the whole Krispy Kreme myth, even though I used to live in their heartland). Probably the most recent things I’ve had on the list are the goat curry and aloo gobi, when I went to an Indian buffet last week. 49 out of 100, not bad. Especially since in many cases it’s aiming for the extreme instead of things that actually taste good.

My strikeouts, 12 of them, are those things I know I won’t like, whether because they’re overly spicy, I can’t stand the flavor (beets), or they’re just nasty (cigar? clay?). I don’t drink coffee or much alcohol. And as for the teas — I’ve lived in England and the South for much of my life, and I still never developed a taste for “dried leaves boiled in water”, hot or iced.

I’d like to have tried more of the cheeses, but America has laws and a not very refined palette in that area. Crocodile and snake both seem a bit repetitive; if one of them had been ostrich I’d have an even 50. Most of the remaining items I’m willing to try if the opportunity arose, but I don’t see the need to seek them out. Still, some fun thinking about food. Here’s the author’s FAQ if you want to know more.

Mix together in a food processor the following:

• 1 ½ cups mint leaves
• 1 bunch green onions
• juice of one lime (or less, if you like a less runny sauce)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 garlic clove
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground pepper
• sprinkle chile powder (original recipe called for 1 teaspoon minced seeded serrano chile, but I hate them)

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Coat 1 ½ pounds of scallops in cornmeal, then cook 3 minutes per side. Serve with sauce.

Wasn’t that easy? And so nice for summer.

Mix up the following to make breading:

• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1/8 cup (1/2 ounce) Parmesan cheese
• 1/8 cup finely chopped almonds
• 1 Tablespoon chopped parsley
• 1 clove crushed garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
• pinch ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Take a pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut them in half, and flatten them to about 1/2 inch thick. (Or use chicken tenders.)

Dip the chicken into olive oil, then the crumb mixture. Put in a shallow baking pan and bake for 25 minutes. That’s it! Delicious with a green salad and a side dish (I chose corn in butter sauce). Best of all, it uses items I always have in the house, so it’s great for last-minute dinner.

Cut up three slices of bacon into small pieces. In a large pot (or Dutch oven; this will hold your complete soup when finished), cook them over medium-high heat until crispy (about five minutes?). Remove the bacon, leaving the drippings in the pot.

Add to the pot one pound of chicken breasts, chopped into bite-size pieces; 3/4 cup chopped onion (about one-half of a good-sized onion); and 3/4 cup chopped celery. Cook 10-15 minutes, until the veggies are tender and the chicken cooked. (I admit, I left the celery out, because I don’t like it.)

Add 4 cups chicken broth (one 32-ounce box); one can of whole kernel corn; one can of creamed corn; 2-3 small potatoes, diced; and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender (12-15 minutes after boiling).

Stir in 1 cup of heavy cream; 2 Tablespoons of parsley; and a couple quick grinds of pepper. Simmer 2-3 minutes, stir the bacon (remember that?) back in, and serve.

This made six meal-size servings by my count. With a salad or fruit, it’s even relatively nutritionally complete.

I tried it tonight. I had a bit of trouble getting the potatoes to the right state in the microwave, and I think next time I’d make it with only 2 (or 3 smaller ones than the double-fist size I had). I’d also never cooked with evaporated milk before.

But once everything got into the pot, stirred up, and heated through, it was quite tasty. I put shredded cheddar cheese on top and a chopped green onion. Very filling, too, and I’m looking forward to having leftovers for lunch.

While your oven is preheating to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, mix the following:

• 1/3 cup dry sherry or vermouth
• 3 Tablespoons soy sauce (low-sodium variety recommended)
• 2 teaspoons of sesame oil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green onion
• 1 teaspoon ginger, freshly grated (ha! I used the jarred pre-minced stuff)
• 1 teaspoon garlic, finely chopped (same here, different jar)

I poured the sherry into a mixing cup and then added the other ingredients into the same cup, to avoid dirtying another item. Next time I do this, I’ll try vermouth, because it’s a more complex flavor; sherry is heavier and can be overpowering.

I like recipes that use sesame oil; once I bought a bottle a couple of years ago, it’s been tough using it up. Oh, and I didn’t bother measuring the green onion. I just cut up what I had left over from earlier in the week when I made a not-good batch of mushroom soup.

So, anyway, mix all that up. Put one pound of fish fillets in a dish that can go into the oven. Pour the sauce over and bake for 12 minutes. (Check for doneness by making sure the fish is solid inside, not translucent, and it flakes easily. I find that if some is more done than the rest, I can eat the part that’s fully cooked and save the “could go another minute” piece for leftovers, which I’m going to microwave anyway.)

I served this with a roasted sweet potato (wash, pierce, and put in the microwave for eight minutes) with butter and pre-cooked refrigerator edamame (soybeans) that I zapped quickly to warm up. Which made it easy to have everything ready at the same time.

First, season a London broil (may be labeled as top round steak) with olive oil¹, salt, and pepper. (She also calls for Worchestershire sauce, but KC doesn’t like it. I added a bit of it after, but it was too sharp without having baked in.) Broil it close to the heating element (on high) for six minutes per side. Then let it rest for five minutes before thinly slicing against the grain.

For the chimichurri for a one-pound steak, combine the following:

• 1 Tablespoon prepared horseradish
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil (she calls for more, but I like a less runny texture)
• juice and zest from half a lemon
• salt and pepper to taste

Stir well and serve over the meat. I added a baked potato and a mixed green salad topped with cherry tomatoes, hearts of palm, pine nuts, and vinaigrette. If there’s sauce left over, mix it with mashed potatoes for another meal.

As for the cookbook, there are an awful lot of variations on sausage dishes and burgers of various kinds. I’m about a third of the way through and have marked over a dozen more recipes to try, though. Her Italian background is prominent, although she also includes dishes influenced by other ethnicities.

I like the way she presents entrees plus side dishes, and I love the 30 minutes or less promise. (I hate spending more time cooking than I do eating the meal.) She also includes recipes and then runs variants on them by swapping out the meat or the spice mix, making it easier for people to learn how to really cook (instead of just following instructions). Plus, she encourages people to pay attention to what a teaspoon of seasonings or a tablespoon of liquid should look like, enabling them to adjust for their taste.

¹I refuse to use her EVOO abbreviation. Her cutesy language is why I’ve resisted opening this cookbook, which I acquired almost two years ago.

Pour 1 ¼ ounces vodka and 2 ounces cranberry juice over ice and shake exactly 20 times (according to a friendly bartender, it does matter). Pour into a martini glass, top with champagne, and add a thin orange slice.

If you’re looking for a classic cosmo, combine 1 ¼ ounces lemon vodka, ¾ ounces Cointreau, 2 ounces cranberry juice, and a dash of lime juice.

Mix in a slow cooker the following:

• 1 large onion, chopped (about a cup)
• 2 minced cloves of garlic
• 1 can of chicken broth (about 14.5 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper sauce (like Tabasco or Texas Pete)

Add a pound and a half of boneless, skinless chicken thighs with obvious fat removed. (If you can only find boned, see below.) Cook on low heat for 4-5 hours.

Take the chicken out, shred it, and put it back into the pot. (If you need to remove bones now, you can.) Add 2 cans of great northern beans, rinsed and drained; 1 can of white shoepeg corn, drained; 3 Tablespoons of lime juice (or juice of one lime); and if you want, 2 Tablespoons of chopped cilantro. Continue cooking on low for 15-20 minutes, just enough to heat up the vegetables.