Final exams are OVAH!! All four exams went well, and I’ve actually received a few grades already (my professors are speedy). This intense semester of schoolwork, work, and internship is behind me, and now I am a little over a year from becoming a Registered Dietitian. Just call me Jessie E., RD-to-be 😀
I’m very excited about this summer. In June, I will be doing something special (which I will reveal in the next post 😉 ), and then for the rest of the summer I’ll be working on various projects, including some projects for the RD for whom I work. This summer will be exciting and full (full of good food, too).
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To celebrate the end of my semester, Peter cooked up a fabulous Cuban feast that had me saying: (phrase removed for apparent vulgarity!) (I wish I could say those words meant something like “You’re awesome” or “This food rocks my socks”, but what it actually means is “Get out of here!” )
He began by smoking a four pound pork shoulder for 9 hours until it was super tender. You might have seen my note on Twitter about the billows of smoke coming from our deck. Yes, I said billows.
Peter insisted I show you a picture of him preparing the meat, so here we go:
He’s wearing his smoking outfit. I do not jest.
Peter also baked some crusty whole grain rolls from Peter Reinhart’s Artisan Breads Every Day so that we could have Cuban pulled pork sandwiches.
He also caramelized some onions to go with the pork.
Lastly, he ground a garlic paste to make a garlic-mayo aioli (potent!):
He hand-ground the garlic in our basalt molcajete, a pig-shaped behemoth we call “Watchpig“:
You might wonder why a young married couple would have a molcajete in their kitchen … the only answer I can give you is:
After shredding the pork, we piled everything together with a little Jarlsberg cheese and popped the sandwiches into the oven to melt the cheese. We tied the sandwiches with string to keep them from falling apart.
With a side of panko-crusted asparagi 🙂 :
Action shot! (Altered for modesty’s sake)
Peter also made a tres leches cake to complete the Cuban theme. The recipe was from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Rose’s Heavenly Cakes.
This is a pretty heavy cake, so a little goes a long way.
Thanks for a wonderful dinner, Peter! I am certainly well-fed 😀
I’m off to enjoy a night of relaxation – the first in a while! Stay tuned for an exciting announcement on SUNday-SUNDAY-Sunday!
Q: What’s your favorite way to relax after a busy day/week/month/year?
hahaha you crack me up! I wish we had a molcajete! I’m jealous after seeing Rick Bayless’ haha. I love your modesty alteration – yuo’re too funny! Dinner looks absolutely delicious and I’m jealous that you have one of those men that knows how to cook! haha
Congrats on the exam results (which I’m sure are brilliant) my wonderful American friend! 🙂
This bread looks professional! 🙂 My mum, though a beyond amazing cook, still hasn’t got the hang of bread-making! 🙁
The sandwiches look amazing but wasn’t this dinner a little heavy with all the pork and bread and cheese and mayo and the cake afterwards? But I suppose it’s fine if it’s for the end-of-exams celebration!! 🙂
Usually when a busy period in my life is over I just need to sleep some of the tension and fatigue away, and then I may party, or go do some serious shopping (I’m a girl after all). But the best way to relax for me is a trip (to an island with great beaches with my bf preferably). At the end of my high school final year exams (the most stressful I’ve ever had) my dad took me on my first trip to London. Seeing a new place and leaving the stress behind, can you think of a better way to relax? 🙂
Oh. Em. Gee. That meal is right up my alley! I love tres leches, I make a mean one actually but I haven’t done that in a while because it is trouble.
No jodas made me lol. It reminds me so much of Honduras.
haha, was that supposed to be Al Roker…SUNday…SUNDAY!!
Peter can come over to our house ANY TIME and cook this meal. In fact, please, send him over right now 🙂 I love pork!! What a great way to celebrate finishing your exams. I like to relax at home with a good home-cooked meal and a nice cold beer or glass of wine after a stressful week. It’s always perfect.
Have a great weekend!
Congratulations!! You must feel so relieved and freeee 🙂 And this: “We tied the sandwiches with string to keep them from falling apart” added to my many laughs today 🙂
Good ways to relax…I like going to the beach, going for a walk, watching a good movie, reading a book, listening to music blah blah blah lots of fun things 🙂 The best thing is just not having that feeling of something hanging over your head – it’s good to feel liberated 🙂
Have a fantastic weekend, Jessie!
Congrats on being done!! I’m living vicariously through you because I’ve still got another year 🙂
The panko-crusted asparagus looks amazingggg & I love the strategically places star haha
Favorite way to relax is to just surf the net and blog. 🙂
Gosh, that Cuban sandwich look FREAKING good! And how cool that you guys have a molcajete!!
Jessie, now you have me so curious as to what your “surprise” might be! I am such a curious person..some people would call it nosy but I say no way, I am simply curious!
Congrats on being done! That’s really exciting. It sounds like you have a lovely summer planned.
You are too funny with the huge star for “modesty”…I love that you’re censoring your posts in style haha. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
congrats! you must be so relieved!
i love going out to eat after a busy week. always makes me happy!
What a great meal 🙂 my favourite way to relax is to be a home and eat good food, so simple 😀 or in winter going to sauna and having a drink after it, that’s soooo relaxing too!
Congrats on surviving all your exams!
Congrats on finishing your exams!!!
I like just chillin’ with my husband over a nice meal and the dvr.
Congrats on rocking it babe! I knew you could do it!
It was SO sweet of Peter to do all this for you…what an awesome meal! I need to find a man to slow-cook pork for 9 hours for me. They are hard to come by!
What kind of pickles did you use for your Cuban sandwich? Any yellow mustard? And Jarlsberg?!? Peter is getting a bit liberal with his sandwich definitions. =)
We didn’t use pickles or mustard in the sandwich because Peter was trying to model off of this sandwich we had in Seattle that he claims “changed his life” (I don’t think he said the same thing after we were married … 🙂 ). The Jarlsberg was an unexpected addition, but pretty darn tasty!
A real man would make his own mustard (and proceed to burn his tongue because it was too strong and concentrated)
Ah, so you speak from personal experience, eh? 🙂
Haha, I totally got the Al Roker reference! I’m not normally a pork fan, but holy smokes (pun fully intended) that looks great!
Ok, when I first saw the title of your post, I thought, is her last name “Thih?” How is that pronounced… Peter doesn’t look like he would have a last name like that… ooooohhhhhhh, right, got it now, it’s an acronym for your bloggie’s name… I’m not feeling like the brightest crayon in the box right now, haha! 😉
Anyway…….. 😉 YAY for being done with your exams, Mrs. RD-to be!!!!!! 🙂 Peter is a whiz in the kitchen!! I need to show this to Andrew so they can get some friendly competition going… I mean it can only mean a good thing for you and me, right??!! 😉 Lots of happy bellies all around!! 🙂 That cake seriously looks fabulous. Yum, yum, yum!!!!!
Hope yall have a wonderful weekend!! 🙂
Haha! Oops, I should have thought of that 🙂
I bet you are relieved to have so much out of the way and not much longer until you can take the RD exam. Looking forward to your big news.
CONGRATS JESSIE!!! 😀 Did you feel that huge rock lifted off your shoulders? Ok you and Aletheia need to be spilling some beans soon. Whatcha girls trying to do to me? So with that said, congrats! You’ve just made it to #1 on my list of people to stalk 😉 Spill those beans, spill them quick haha.
Boy oh boy can Peter make a mean looking sandwich. Seriously, I don’t really eat pork but I wanna sink my teeth into that delicious looking pork-filled goodness. Never thought those words would come outta my mouth…teehee. Two thumbs up for your sweet hubby to make you such an awesome dinner!
My fave way to relax is to go out for dinner with my family. You know how much I luvtoeat 😉 Hope you have a lovely (now truly) relaxing weekend Ms. RD-to-be 😀
My
This is what happens when someone who has never taken Spanish starts throwing words around.
Har har.
wow! what an amazing meal from start to finish!
Congrats on finishing those exams!!! PHEW i totally remember how stressful they were back in my college days. I think that sandwich and tres leche cake is a BRILLIANT way to unwind. I love eating a dinner at home after a long week at work on Friday…particularly if it’s something delicious i can pick up along the way home from work. Then i veg with my bf in front of the TV catching up on all the shows we missed during the week. 🙂 teehee
I LOVE vanilla cake!! Always heard of pulled pork – so thanks for the visual Peter! haha. I just want to say too that I love the pic of you for your profile on the sidebar, so pretty and “clean” like 🙂
All of this food looks to die for! And that’s awesome you are so close to becoming an RD. I’m impressed!!
What a nice celebration! Those sandwiches look sooooooo good!
Hmmm, way to relax….read blogs! Oh, and movie with my family 🙂
Looks like so amazing food!!!
Congrats on finishing the semester! And I’m excited to hear your news. 🙂
goodness gracious!!! YALL KNOW HOW TO DO IT RIGHT!! This is so impressive…………and delicious. I’m coming over next time!!!! 🙂
What a wonderful way to celebrate. I need to find a man that can cook. haha.
I am so glad you are done with finals. You are almost there! You will make a great RD..I can already tell!
Wow congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that is so awesome.
I love to relax with a bubble bath, a good book, and some candles. If I’m not feeling so fancy, just a book and the couch will do! 😉
How do you like Artisan Breads Every Day? Is it something I should add to my Peter Reinhart book collection?
Ooh, tres leche cake! I am thinking of making one of those…
OMG – Jessie!!! I’m drinking tea and when I saw your strategically placed star, I almost snorted tea out my nose ROFLMAO You are hilarious!! LOLOLOL *sigh* Seriously, I need to do a load of laundry now – tea down my top and on my shorts….
Congrats on your finals! Must feel great huh? Wow Peter is amazing in the kitchen – lucky you! I really feel like trying to make that Tres Leches Cake!
You have a great husband there! He cooked a HUGE feast. That is super special. I know I enjoy it when my husband cooks, I mean it is super darn sexy! Congrats on a year behind ya. It must feel wonderful!