slow braised pork in caramel sauce

1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup chicken broth or water
1/2 cup fish sauce
3 shallots (1/4 lb.) thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced diagonally,
green and white parts kept separate
1 lb. boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 tsp black pepper

cook sugar in a dry 3 quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, undisturbed, until it begins to melt. continuje to cook, stirring occasionally with a fork, until sugar is melted into a deep golden caramel. carefully pour in broth and fish sauce (caramel will harden and steam vigorously) and cook over moderate heat, stirring until caramel is dissolved. add shallots, garlic and white parts of scallions and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 4 minutes.

toss pork with pepper in a bowl and stir into sauce. bring to a simmer then cover pan and braise over low heat, stirring once or twice, until pork is very tender, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.

stir in scallion greens just before serving.

serve with or over white rice

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inside out carrot cake cookies
makes about 13 cookies
active time: 20 minutes start to finish: 45 minutes

1 1/8 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup plus 2 tbls packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup plus 2 tbls granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup coarsely grated carrots, (2 medium)
1 scant cup walnuts (3 oz.) chopped
1/2 cup raisins ( 2 1/2 0z.)
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup honey

put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375 deg. butter 2 baking sheets

whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a bowl

beat together butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. mix in carrots, nuts, and raisins at low speed, then add flour mixture and beat until just combined.

drop 1 1/2 tbls batter per cookie 2 inches apart on baking sheets and bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, untiol cookies are lightly browned and springy to the touch, 12 to 16 minutes total. cool cookies on sheets on racks 1 minute, then transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.

while cookies are baking, blend cream cheese and honey in a food processor until smooth.

sandwich flat sides of cookies together with a generous tablespoon of cream cheese filling in between

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parsley and sweet onion sandwiches
makes 16 hors d'oeuvres
active time 10 min. start to finish 20 min

1 large vadalia or other sweet onion ( 1 to 1 1/4 lb.
at least 4 inches in diameter)
8 very thin (1/4 inch) slices firm white bread, crujsts
removed
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup finely chipped fresh parsley

cut 4 (1/8 inch thick) slices from widest part of onion, keeping rings intact.

spread each slice of bread with about 1 tsp mayonnaise and top slices with 1 onion slice each. top with remaining bread slices, mayonnaise sides down, then trim onion flush with bread. quarter sandwiches into small square or triangular sandwiches.

arrange 2 sheets of wax paper on a work surface. spread remaining 2 1/2 tbls mayonnaise in a thin layer on 1 sheet and spread parsley evenly on the other.

dip all edges of 1 sandwich in mayhonnaise to coat, then dip in parsley.

transfer to a tray and repeat with remaining sandwiches.

sandwiches can be made 2 hours ahead. wrap in plastic wrap and chill.