Pulled Pork (adapted from Valerio's Pulled Pork Sandwich on allrecipes.com)

Dry Rub:

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons ground black pepper 

2 tablespoons red pepper flakes 
2 tablespoons salt 
2 tablespoons paprika 

1 (3 1/2) pound pork butt roast

Cooking Liquid:

4 cups beef stock 

1/3-1/2 cup hot sauce 
3 tablespoons honey 
1 tablespoon molasses 
1 tablespoon maple syrup 
4 cloves garlic, crushed

BBQ Sauce:  

1 tablespoon vegetable oil 

5 cloves garlic, minced 
2 cups ketchup 
1/2 cup honey 
2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce 
2 tablespoons molasses 
5 tablespoons cider vinegar 
salt and ground black pepper to taste 

Coleslaw:

1/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons white vinegar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon celery seeds

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 (16 ounce) bag coleslaw mix

8 Kaiser rolls, split

Directions

1. Combine brown sugar, garlic powder, 2 tablespoons black pepper, red pepper flakes, 2 tablespoons salt, and paprika in a bowl. Rub the spice mixture over pork butt, cover, and refrigerate 5 hours or overnight.
2. Pour beef stock and hot sauce in a pressure cooker. Stir in 3 tablespoons honey, 1 tablespoon molasses, maple syrup, and 4 crushed garlic cloves. Place the pork butt in the pressure cooker, seal the lid, and bring up to low pressure over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, maintaining low pressure, and cook for 2 hours.
3. Turn off the heat and let the pressure reduce naturally; remove the lid and let the pork rest for 5 minutes. The meat should shred easily with a fork. If it doesn't, reseal the lid, turn on the heat, return the pressure cooker to low pressure, and cook for another 30 minutes.
4. Remove meat from the pressure cooker, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Shred the meat using two forks and set aside.
5. Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in 5 cloves of garlic; cook and stir until the garlic is fragrant and just starting to turn brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in ketchup, 1/2 cup honey, 2 tablespoons hot sauce, 2 tablespoons molasses, cider vinegar, and reserved cooking liquid. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium heat.
6. Fill each Kaiser roll with two big forkfuls of pork, two tablespoons of barbeque sauce, and 2 spoonfuls of coleslaw.

(I used store-bought BBQ sauce instead of making it. We don't put coleslaw on our sandwiches but serve it as a side.)

Crunchy Szechuan Green Beans (An Open Cookbook)

Sesame seeds, toasted

Olive oil for sauteing

1 pound green beans, cleaned and trimmed

1/4 onion, chopped thinly

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce

1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil

1 Tbsp water

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

1 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Heat a small saute pan on medium heat.  Add sesame seeds.  (Depending on your preference level for sesame seeds, use as much as you like.  Continually toss the seeds in the dry heat until they start to brown and become aromatic.  Pour into a small bowl and set aside.

If adding a protein (egg, chicken, tofu, pork, shrimp, etc.), cook next and set aside.

In a larger pan, add olive oil over medium heat.  Add the beans and onions.  Cook until tenderly crisp.  This may take awhile depending on the thickness of the beans, about 10-20 minutes.  Make sure to keep on medium heat though, so the onions don't burn.

While this is cooking, make the sauce.  Combine the rest of the ingredients (hoisin sauce through red pepper flakes).   Whisk thoroughly until the consistency is that of cake batter.  Set aside. 

When beans have slightly charred and tenderized, remove from heat.  Add the sauce and mix well.  Toss in the sesame seeds and cooked protein (optional).  Immediately plate and serve.  Add extra red pepper flakes or your favorite hot sauce for more spice.  Can be served alongside rice for a main course or by itself as an appetizer.

Buttercream Frosting

1 cup milk
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup unsifted, all-purpose flour
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup butter, at room temperature

Combine milk and flour in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Cream butter and sugar until very fluffy. Add vanilla and cooled flour mixture. Continue to beat at medium speed until frosting is very fluffy and sugar is completely dissolved.

CAUTION: If buttercream is to bused for tube work, borders, etc, flour and milk mixture should be rubbed through a wire strainer before it is added to creamed buter and sugar. Yield: 3 cups; enough to frost, fill and border a 9" cake.

VARIATIONS:
For coconut cake frosting, combine remaining canned coconut milk with regular milk and double this receipe.

For chocolate frosting, melt two squares unsweetened chocolate in the heating milk.