Cooking for a crowd - Part 1

This past weekend I prepared not one but two menus that would not only feed a large crowd, but are SO easy to pull together! In this post I will share the details of the first menu which included Pork Carnitas with homemade White Barbeque Sauce, Pico de Gallo, Pickled Red Onions, and a crowd pleasing dessert, Triple Fruit Dump Cake!

Pork carnitas can take all day to make, but if you own an Instant Pot (or pressure cooker), it can be made in less than an hour. I started as always by preparing the ingredients - sliced onions, poblano peppers, garlic, and orange zest. (The red onions are for the rice.)

The first step in the cooking process was to brown the meat, approximately three pounds of pork shoulder cut into one half inch cubes, in olive oil using the sauté setting on the Instant Pot. Once completed, I removed to a bowl and added the onions, peppers, and garlic to the pot and cooked until softened.

The sauce included all of the spices shown here plus the can of soda and the juice and zest of the orange, and the juices from the pork. I pressure cooked the whole thing for 25 minutes, let the steam release naturally for fifteen minutes, and then I released the rest manually. I then shredded the meat (which was already falling apart on its own) on a sheet pan and as an optional step, I placed the pan under the broiler for a few minutes to crisp on the edges, and then mixed with the remaining sauce in the pot.

You cannot serve carnitas without a wide choice of toppings. Mine included (clockwise from top left) White Barbeque Sauce (also known as Alabama White Sauce), Pico de Gallo, lime wedges, shredded Mexican cheddar cheese, jalapeños, pickled red onions (not pictured) and cilantro. The white barbeque sauce is made from mayonnaise, whole grain mustard, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, brown sugar, horseradish, chives, salt, and pepper. It has quite a tang and is perfect with the pork. My homemade Pico is also easy and is made from a can of diced tomatoes with chiles, diced red onions and fresh jalapeños, lime juice, cumin, salt, and pepper. The longer it sits, the better it tastes. For the pickled red onions, I brought white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, and coriander seeds to a boil, poured into a jar with the sliced red onions, and let it sit until it cooled.

The Mexican Red Rice starts with sautéed red onions and garlic in olive oil and butter.

I then added the long grain rice, a can of diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, and chicken stock. I brought it to a boil, lowered the heat, and covered to let it simmer for about thirty minutes.

I finished with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and fresh cilantro.

I chose soft corn tortillas for the carnitas which I warmed but you can use any type of tortilla or taco shell. Now this is what I call a spread for a crowd!

And to finish, I made a crowd pleasing dessert - Triple Fruit Dump Cake. Dump cakes are exactly what they sound like - dump the ingredients into a pan and bake. Fruit #1 is cherry pie filling which I mixed with a touch of vanilla extract. Fruit #2 is apple pie filling which I mixed with a touch of cinnamon. Fruit #3 is peach slices in heavy syrup which I mixed with a touch of almond extract. I put each fruit into a third of the bottom of the pan, topped with diced cold butter, and then I dumped a box of plain yellow cake mix over it all and added even more butter. I baked at 350 degrees for about an hour and served with a scoop of ice cream, or you can use whipped cream.

Make this. You'll thank me later. I promise.

In my next post, I'll show you how I cooked for an even bigger crowd the next day by making my favorite Hot Dog Bar!