Carnitas is one of my favorite foods so I’m celebrating Cinco de Mayo with carnitas fresh from the oven. Those of you who love Mexican food are probably saying, “What? The oven? Carnitas is supposed to be deep fried.” You’re right, my favorite restaurants boil then deep fry the pork to get that perfect combination of tender chunks of meat with a crispy coat. I’m too lazy to go to that much trouble so I’ve found an easy way to make carnitas that will rival any restaurant. Here’s the secret.   3 lbs. Pork shoulder roast (often called a butt roast) Liberal amount of salty pork or chicken seasoning (I use onion salt, sage, and any other spice that looks good that day) 3 Limes squeezed (you can substitute 1/4 cup orange juice in a pinch) 1 shot of Tequila (just to get a dirty look from the wife – for more dirty looks drink a few shots while cooking) Bake for 3 hours at 300 degrees in a quality

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It’s starting to get overcast, windy, and ready to rain in Northern California.  Chili season has officially begun.  My wife absolutely loves chili.  She even orders it as a meal at restaurants on occasion.  It was something I could never understand.  In fact, I used to mock her about it…until she forced me to go to a Chili Cook-off.  After trying several styles of Chili I realized that there is a chili for everyone’s taste.  My favorite style consists of beef, anaheim peppers, onions, a few beans, hot peppers, and of course the secret spices.  My thanks goes out to a guy named Gene who runs a transmission shop and added one more thing to my life that I enjoy…even if my wife now has one more thing with which to mock me with “I was right and you were wrong”. My mother (who was a fantastic cook…and I’m not just say it because she’s my mom), taught me that cooking is not about recipes.  Cooking is actually about ratios. 

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