those southerners know how to eat...

And I don't mean that as an insult... I mean, they do.  Scrumptiously and deliciously - know how to eat.

Oofdah.  (Ok, that was spelled phonetically, anyone know how to really spell that exclamation? Because I think it fits well on most of my Yummy Monday posts...)

But especially this one.

See, mr and the other guy-folk from the fam went out for a boys' night.  They went to "Fat Mama's" and ate Po' Boy Sandwiches.  And apparently all mr could think about the whole time he was eating his was "I bet Kim could make this better..." (Aw, shucks.  Isn't he sweet?)

So when I asked mr what he'd like for our next picnicky dinner, he stated without hesitation "Po' Boys."

And on one hand, it was kind of nice of him.  I mean, if you aren't familiar with a Po' Boy, I'll tell you now: it's a sandwich that is a complete meal in itself.  No, I mean literally.  Like, you have your meat and bread, and then two different sides all RIGHT THERE on the sandwich.  So, you know, because of that I only had to make two things - dinner and dessert.  But that sandwich.  Wow.  That's one heck of a lot of work. 

And it's huge.

And you probably don't want to eat them like every week.  You know, that kind of sandwich.

This "recipe" is actually a sandwich in FOUR parts.  So here we go:

Part one: the meat.  I just whipped up my own pulled pork type recipe, and here it is.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

1 (2 lb) pork butt roast, or pork loin roasts (If you get the loin roasts, you don't even have to worry about de-boning.  Since we all know how I feel about that.  YEA!!)

1 bottle of Famous Dave's Original Recipe BBQ Sauce

1 bottle of Famous Dave's Sweet and Zesty BBQ Sauce

About 1/2 C water (or to taste)

Put your roast in the crock pot.  Slather it with the BBQ sauce - use about half a bottle of both kinds.  Make sure to get it down into the crockpot as well as up over the top of the roast.  Pour water in the crock pot to cover the roast.  Cook on high for about 6 hours or on low overnight.  Take the roast out of the crockpot and de-bone if necessary.  Pull the meat apart, shredding it.  Place it in a bowl or platter and empty the rest of the BBQ sauce into the meat.  mix it up really well.

Sometimes I cheat and use pre-made sauces, see?  I view this shortcut as efficiency, considering the rest of the recipe for these sandwiches... which brings me to

Part two: the coleslaw.  I used Bobby Flay coleslaw recipe, and I have to say - no exaggeration here - it was the best slaw I've tasted in a long time.  Even my mom said so, and she's picky with her slaw.

The recipe for Creamy Coleslaw can be found here.

But I changed it a little teensy bit - for my family's personal taste.  And that is below:

Creamy Coleslaw

1 package coleslaw cabbage mix

3/4 cup best-quality mayonnaise

2 tablespoons sour cream

2 tablespoons grated green onion

2 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons white vinegar

1 tablespoon dry mustard

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Combine the shredded cabbage and carrots in a large bowl. Whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, onion, sugar, vinegar, mustard, celery salt, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl, and then add to the cabbage mixture. Mix well to combine and taste for seasoning; add more salt, pepper, sugar or vinegar if desired.  I added a dash more vinegar to ours.

And this is the recipe I will make when asked to bring coleslaw to any family function.  But this is only the start.  Along with the meat and slaw, you need french fries and a tangy sauce to complete the whole thing. 

Part three: fries, and sauce.  I found a recipe here - it's Emeril's Roasted Pork and French Fry Po Boy. 

Again, I had to alter the recipe just a tad - mostly because I accidentally bought some incorrect ingredients.  But, you know, it worked out.  Also, I made my pork differently than him.  So here's mine:

Pork and Fries Po Boy

2 pounds Idaho potatoes, 

Vegetable oil for frying

salt

8 12-inch loaves of crusty French bread

Remoulade sauce:

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1/4 cup celery

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

2 tablespoons chopped horseradish sauce

3 tablespoons whole-grain mustard

3 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard

3 tablespoons ketchup

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Peel the potatoes and cut into shoestrings.  Heat veggie oil until 350 degrees.  Fry the potato shoestrings until golden and crisp.  Pull them from the oil and drain on paper towel on a plate.  Salt them to taste while still hot.

Prepare the remoulade sauce. Place all ingredients in a food processor and process for about 30 seconds.

No more cooking, you're done!  Phew.  So what's the final part?

Part four: assembly.

Pork and French Fry Po Boys

To assemble:  Slice the bread in half and spread remoulade sauce on both halves. Arrange a layer of shredded pork on top one half of the bread. Then pile a handful of shoestring potatoes on top of the meat. Spoon some coleslaw over that.  Cover with the other half of the loaf and cut sandwich in half. Serve immediately.

Both my mom and sister said this was the best sandwich they had ever eaten in their entire lives.  Either: 1) they were starving to death, 2) they are prone to gross over-exaggeration, or 3) they are just very complimentary and the sandwich was very good.  mr and my dad raved and requested them for the next time the entire family got together - a good sign.  I suggest making these.  You won't regret it.  If you assign out different parts of the recipe, you don't even half to do it all yourself!  But even if you do, it's worth it, I tell ya. 


mr said that remoulade sauce made all the difference... so don't skip that.


Anyone for dessert?  


I made this yummy concoction I got from Sweet as Sugar Cookies.  It's called Chocolate Trifle.  What I loved about it was that it was easy to put together.  Unfortunately, my trifle bowl is apparently a size small for this overflowingly-sized EXTRA LARGE dessert.  Whoops.

It was yummy.  And easy - did I mention that?  You should go over there and get the recipe.


It's a shame for this dessert that it came after such a show stealer... Or maybe it was ok - I could see myself eating the entire trifle bowl full otherwise...


Oh!  I almost forgot.  An essential part of this dinner.


The after dinner walk.  We eat like this ONCE A WEEK - I'd like to emphasize that.  And then we walk.

And walk.  

And walk.

And pretend to play the trumpet.

And walk some more.

*Be sure to check just below for all the fun parties I link to!