No Cooking

Well, I had intended to prepare a meal last Thursday, or whenever, it begins to blur, but a friend invited us out to lunch and we had a big meal at Queen so no dinner. Instead The Mysterious Chinese Woman and I took a stroll down Atlantic Avenue to pop into Pete's Waterfront Ale House for a beer or two or three.

Between where I live and the old watering hole is this bookstore that just recently opened.

Ye Olde Book Shoppe


I am kind of a sucker for bookstores. I used to like to hang out in the Barnes & Noble down the block for me. Unfortunately it has turned into kind of a hangout for high school kids. They literally sprawl all over the floor in groups and it makes just getting to books difficult. This has been going on for quite awhile now and, for whatever reason, management doesn't seem to do anything about it. I have pretty much stopped going there.

This bookstore is kind of fun though, with all kinds of clutter (much like my apartment) and all kinds of interesting discoveries to be made.

The Way A Bookstore Should Look


It is kind of a mini-Strand, and just a fun place to spend some time browsing.

Hidden Treasures


Oh, Look, Another Hidden Treasure


I stumbled upon a book that I studied religously when I was still in high school. It was only four bucks, a discount from its original price of ten bucks when it was first published in 1961.

A Flashback To My Misspent Youth


Now I have to track down the companion book, Scarne On Cards, that I liked even better. Scarne was a magician specializing in sleight of hand card manipulation. He also became quite the expert in gambling and gave lectures and demonstrations to military personnel teaching them how to avoid being fleeced by card sharps and cheats. His books are still some of the best I have ever read about card playing and gambling in general. I credit them for whatever limited success I have had in playing poker.

Anyway, we then headed on down to Pete's Waterfront Ale House and ran into a few other regulars.

Andy, Adam, and Greg


We were being ably served by Jerry, the bartender.

Jerry, The Bartender


We stayed long enough to start acting a bit foolish, but then what else is new?

One Beer Over The Line


Bar Man thinks he needs to start doing a few more situps.

We stayed long enough for the changing of the bartenders.

Dimitri


You may remember from some of my previous posts that Dimitri also sings and plays guitar in a pretty dynamite band, the Black Coffee Blues Band. You should try to catch them. Of course they will probably be playing at this year's Atlantic Antic, October 4th. Mark your calendar.

I think Dimitri is begining to look a bit like Severus Snape.

I finally did a bit of cooking for a birthday party I went to yesterday. Interestingly, or not, I stopped into Pete's Waterfront Ale House on my way to pick up a couple of pork butts to make North Carolina style pulled pork sandwiches. Sam, an owner and manager there asked me how I was going to prepare them. I said I didn't have a smoker here in Brooklyn so was just going to do them in my over, about 300 degrees for around 5 hours. He said "Nope, 185 degrees for 14 hours."

Well, let me tell you. That was what I did and I have never had such tender pork butts in my life. The meat just fell apart, which you want it to do for these sandwiches, and they were really juicy. Absolutely fabulous. I owe Sam one.

Perfectly Done


After Cooling It Just Fell Apart


I had given them a rubdown with a nice Chipotle Chili powder and then injected them with a chipotle, garlic, lime juice concoction before putting them in the oven. Sam recommended an infusion with apple juice, and I will do that next time, but this worked out pretty well.

After it was all shredded I sprinkled it generously with kosher salt and some coarsely ground pepper and then stirred it all in.

Salted and Peppered


I then made a North Carolina style sauce, vinegar and mustard based. Pretty easy, just mixed up some cider vinegar, French's plain yellow mustard, and a couple of bottles (while, a couple of bottles minus two swigs) of Original Sin Hard Cider. Just cooked it down over a low heat until it thickened up a bit, poured it through a sieve, and voila, that's really all there is to it.

Poured On, But Not Stirred In


I stirred it all in and put it into a large container so it could kind of fester a bit. Then we schlepped it out to Long Island for the Lovely Loretta's birthday party where I reheated it and served it with potato buns. I know, traditionally you would serve this on a plain white bread like Wonder Bread or something. But I like potato buns. They also had some cole slaw out there and these sandwiches taste best, in my humble opinion, with a bit of that on top of the meat.

This was the first time I tried this particular recipe, and certainly the first time I ever cooked the pork that long at such a low temperature. But I will do it again. I got a lot of compliments and even one request for the recipe.

Today the Mysterious Chinese Woman and I plan on heading back to Kevin's for another brunch and then on to an art show in Red Hook. A friend of ours, Arden Suydam is displaying his work there. He is a photographer and one of his pictures "Night Crossing" has been featured in the promotions for the show. It is kind of an eerie picture of people crossing the Brooklyn Bridge at night.

Night Crossing By Arden Suydam


I should have some pictures to post about our trip tomorrow. Maybe I will check out Rocky Sullivan's to see if they are having any rooftop music later this afternoon.