CAPRIAL PENCE

Every year, like a kid waiting for Christmas, I wait with anticipation for 4 days in summer.  These are the 4 days that we go away with a group of friends and family to eat and drink.  We plan these 4 days more than most people’plan their wedding.  We have theme dinners with crazy themes such as cowboy night and French night.  Many times there are costumes involved and always good food and friends.

It's been many years now that we’ve been going to a group of cabins just south of Mt. Rainier and just north of Portland called Whistlin Jack  Our little cabins sit on a beautiful river and each cabin has a hot tub and a pretty good little kitchen. It's almost always 80 some degrees with hardly any bugs -- its the perfect spot.

These weekends have four main elements.

The first: the dinners.  We've had many, many wonderful dinners over the years but my favorite ever was probably cowboy night.  On cowboy night everyone dressed up as cowboys and my Dad made his famous baked beans. On French night, our friend Mary made every person, from the youngest to the oldest, a French Beret.  That evening we had slow roasted pork loin for dinner and danced to accordion music under the stars.  The food is plotted and planned for months in advance, the menus go back and forth on e-mails until they are finally settled.  This year John and I made the carnitas, which we served on tacos.  The carnitas came out so good and it's so simple to make, perfect when you don’t have the best of kitchens.  Throw it in the oven with vegetables and cook very slowly, then shred, pour the stock and fat back over the shredded meat and cook in a very hot oven to crisp the meat. Yum! Then we gather together and celebrate.

The second: the wine.  We have drunk many, many bottles of wine.  I choose the wine and it must be the right mix of white and red wine. One year we ran out of wine and that was a very bad thing! The wine must be good quality, not too expensive, and quaffable.  It really doesn’t hurt that I can buy wine at wholesale either.

The Third: the hike.  I have friends who are really good at staying fit and so even though this is a crazy food and wine weekend they still exercise. There is the most beautiful hike in the world 20 minutes from where we stay.  It wraps around a mountain and there are alpine lakes, wildflowers, waterfalls, and sometimes a bear or two.  I never really want to go because I would much rather lay around and read my book but I give in to peer pressure and end up taking the hike anyway.  The vistas really are breathtaking and majestic.

The fourth: lying in the river.  We gather our cheap chaise lounges and plop them in the river.  We bring our trashy novels, chilled white wine, and lots of talk.  We just hang out!

Just before we leave we have a little board meeting and choose the weekend and the crazy person who is the camp leader for next year.  And once again as we drive out of the parking lot I begin to count the days till next year.

Here is our recipe for carnitas.

Pork Carnitas

5 pounds boneless pork shoulder

2 carrots, large dice

2 onions, large dice

1 head garlic, cut in half

3 dried chilis, your choice

3 stalks celery, large dice

salt and black pepper

In a large roasting pan place the shoulder and season well with salt and black pepper.  Add the vegetables and cover with water.  Bring to a boil, cover and place in the oven.  Cook until tender about 4 hours.  Remove the pork from the liquid and shred.  Place in a large roasting pan.  Strain the cooking liquid and pour over the pork until just barely covered.  Raise the heat in the oven to 425 degrees and bake 10 minutes.  Stir well and cook another 10 minutes until the tips of the pork are crispy.  Serve warm in tacos, enchiladas, or burritos.