My Monday and Tuesday were spent in Downtown Denver at the Colorado Convention Center for our annual trade show for the Colorado Association of Realtors. Around 1,500 Realtors and real estate related vendors came together for education, expo and entertainment. Our company Heritage Title was front and center as a prominent sponsor, so all of us Sales Executives were front and center, as well.
For me, the highlight of the event was attending the Keynote Speaker session featuring former Navy Seal Marcus Luttrell, The Lone Survivor. Luttrell stood alone on the stage and shared his experiences. In June of 2005 his team of four Navy Seals sat out on a mission called Operation Redwings, to capture, or kill, the notorious Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. Perched on the side of a Mountain in Afghanistan, Marcus and his team, surrounded by the Taliban, fought for their lives in a violent three-hour battle. He was the Lone Survivor, losing his three best friends…one of those being Colorado Navy Seal, Danny Dietz. Dietz’ family as well as many Veterans and current service men and women were in attendance. Here’s a clip of short part of the speech that a friend posted on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10205479652894487&set=vb.1345907300&type=2&theater
Marcus’ survival is a true miracle. I now have a small understanding when Veterans say they don’t and can’t talk about what happened while they severed during war time. I feel very honored that Marcus Luttrell shared his story with us. God bless all Veterans…saying thank you will never be enough!
Knowing I’d have long work days and commutes for the convention, a Saturday and Sunday project found this wonderful goulash type dish easy to re-heat for a weeknight dinner. This Pork Stew Recipe with Sauerkraut was a savory treat. Pork roast is slow cooked in a broth seasoned with hot paprika, sweet paprika and smoked paprika. There’s sauerkraut and sour cream involved and served over hot buttered noodles, a perfect dinner to celebrate the Fall season. The recipe is a little bit of a process. The pork is cubed and marinated overnight to prepare for a long savory simmer the next day. Thanks to Food and Wine Magazine for another great recipe. The only thing I changed was substituting a yellow bell pepper for Hungarian peppers, which I couldn’t find. And I added smoked paprika because I didn’t have quite enough sweet paprika.
Don’t forget a slice to bread to soak up all that flavorful broth on the bottom of the bowl.
- 6 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 4 red bell peppers chopped
- 2 medium yellow onions chopped
- Kosher salt
- 2 pounds trimmed pork shoulder cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 cup Hungarian sweet paprika
- 2 teaspoons Hungarian hot paprika
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 1 pound sauerkraut drained
- One 750-ml bottle red wine
- beef broth
- 4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 yellow bell pepper cubed
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- Cooked and buttered egg noodles for serving
- Sour Cream for serving
- In a food processor, puree half of the garlic, half the bell peppers and 1 onion with 1 tablespoon of salt until smooth. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, add the cubed pork and stir to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
- Drain the pork and pat dry with paper towels. In a large Dutch oven, heat the canola oil. Working in batches, add the pork to the pot and brown over moderate heat, turning once, about 4 minutes per batch. Transfer the browned pork to a plate. Add the tomato paste to the pot and cook, stirring, until lightly caramelized, about 2 minutes. Add the paprikas and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Return the pork to the pot and add the sauerkraut, wine, broth, water, marjoram and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the pork is nearly tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
- Stir in the remaining garlic, bell peppers and onions. Add the yellow bell pepper and cook until the pork and vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes longer. Discard the bay leaves. Stir in the black pepper and season with salt. Serve in bowls over cooked and buttered egg noodles with a dollop of sour cream.
Pork Stew with Paprika and Sauerkraut…It’s what’s for Dinner.
cheri says
October 25, 2014 at 5:01 pmHi Lea Ann, this sounds like a very special dish, perfect for this time of year.
Lea Ann Brown says
October 26, 2014 at 6:16 amThanks Cheri.
Karen Harris says
October 25, 2014 at 5:12 pmThis sounds wonderful Lea Ann! Love sauerkraut in stews and casseroles. What a great cool weather dish.
Lea Ann Brown says
October 26, 2014 at 6:15 amI’m a sauerkraut fan. And I bought an extra big jar and had sausage ad sauerkraut after these left overs were gone.
Debra says
October 25, 2014 at 5:59 pmGlad you had a great conference. I would love to come home to this meal.
Lea Ann Brown says
October 26, 2014 at 6:15 amThanks Debra
Vickie says
October 25, 2014 at 10:05 pmWhat a powerful story! Thanks for sharing that.
And this dish … that pork sauce sounds so flavorful! I Iove my paprikas and still have fresh marjoram growing! Very nice find!
Lea Ann Brown says
October 26, 2014 at 6:14 amI love my paprika too. And I’ve become quite fond of smoked paprika.
Sam @ My Carolina Kitchen says
October 26, 2014 at 5:50 amI’m so glad you had a nice conference and got to hear the Navy Seal’s powerful story. I would definitely want some comfort food when I returned home to count my blessings and thank all of the military personally for keeping us safe. Pork Stew with paprika would certainly fill the bill.
Sam
Lea Ann Brown says
October 26, 2014 at 6:13 amThanks Sam. And this is comfort food at it’s best.
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
October 26, 2014 at 7:35 amThat must have been such a moving presentation. Lucky you for being there.
Your pork stew does sound like an incredible treat!
Lea Ann Brown says
October 26, 2014 at 9:02 amI agree Maureen, lucky me.
Heather says
October 26, 2014 at 9:50 amThis would be perfect for a winter time party! I love anything with buttered noodles!!!!
Lea Ann Brown says
October 27, 2014 at 5:40 amUnfortunately so do I. I love eating just buttered noodles all by themselves.
Cathy at Wives with Knives says
October 27, 2014 at 7:14 amWow, this sounds delicious, Lea Ann. What a perfect fall dish. I bet this smelled heavenly as it cooked in the crockpot. I’ll be trying this for sure!
Lea Ann Brown says
October 29, 2014 at 6:40 amIt smelled heavenly Cathy. This is really a great dish.
Susan says
October 27, 2014 at 3:01 pmWhat a touching story of bravery. It must have sent chills down everyone’s spines listening to him.
What a great recipe to come home to after a long day. I love Food & Wine recipes! It sounds delicious.
Lea Ann Brown says
October 29, 2014 at 6:40 amThanks Susan. I think we were all too numb to feel any chills. It was a fabulous experience.
Larry says
October 28, 2014 at 1:28 pmSo glad you got to here the seals story. Most of us have no clue what these folks do. The pork stew is on the try soon list.
Lea Ann Brown says
October 29, 2014 at 6:41 amLet me know how you like that stew Larry.
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
October 29, 2014 at 7:37 amThis sounds like a very flavorful dish…something similar to what I had during our last trip to Austria.
Lea Ann Brown says
November 1, 2014 at 6:23 amI’ve not had a “real” goulash, but I’m thinking this is pretty close?
John@Kitchen Riffs says
October 29, 2014 at 3:56 pmMarcus’ talk must have been incredible! What an interesting experience. And what an interesting dish! Love all the paprika in this — the color is amazing, and I’ll bet the flavor is too. Thanks.
Lea Ann Brown says
November 1, 2014 at 6:24 amI love all of the paprika in this also. This really was delicious and a keeper recipe.
lisaiscooking says
October 29, 2014 at 4:06 pmThis looks like a great meal to come home to on a fall evening. The three paprikas sound delicious!
Lea Ann Brown says
November 1, 2014 at 6:24 amThanks Lisa. We thought it was incredible. I served it to friends and they raved.
Carol at Wild Goose Tea says
October 29, 2014 at 4:08 pmWhat a riveting keynote speaker you had. Not one you would expect at the realators convention—or I wouldn’t anyway.
Yes, this would make for looooong days. This slow cooker meal is so on my path as far as my taste buds
go. Delicious!!!!!!
Lea Ann Brown says
November 1, 2014 at 6:25 amThey always try to have an inspiring and powerful keynote. They did good with this one.
Chris says
October 30, 2014 at 3:25 pmWhat a cool conference! Great stew too, perfect for the cool weather hitting us this weekend.
Lea Ann Brown says
November 1, 2014 at 6:26 amYou’re getting cooler weather? Very nice. It’s still pretty mild here, but with a crisp feel.
Barb says
November 1, 2014 at 9:43 amI cannot imagine being in situations that military men and women face daily. My heart started racing just listening to the excerpt. I make a traditional PA Dutch pork and sauerkraut dinner to start the New Year. I love sauerkraut. I may give this new version a try in the next couple weeks to see if my husband likes it. My version only requires pork loin, sauerkraut, onions, seasonings, and a crock pot. We are due for snow here tomorrow into Monday. We need some!
Lea Ann Brown says
November 3, 2014 at 6:15 amI would love any version of pork and sauerkraut. Thanks Barn.
Adam J. Holland says
November 1, 2014 at 6:12 pmWhat a nice stew.. And different than what we usually serve around here. Bookmarked!
Lea Ann Brown says
November 3, 2014 at 6:17 amThis was absolutely delicious Adam. I hope you give it a try.
Fred Belli says
October 26, 2016 at 11:20 amCan this be made in a crockpot?
Lea Ann Brown says
August 6, 2017 at 11:33 amI suppose it would work fine. After the pork is browned.