Shredded Pork in Red Chili

As much as I complain about the ending of summer, it's always exciting when the time to make cold-weather comfort food arrives.  This recipe seemed like the answer to that pork loin stashed in my freezer, and I was intrigued by the idea of a pork chili.  In my hurry, I shaved an hour off the cook time and the meat was still fall-apart tender.

I made a few changes.  For one, the recipe doesn't say how much hominy to use, so I just left it out.  Also, I'm not fond of yuca and didn't have any, so I substituted a sweet potato.  I felt the sweet potato absorbed too much salty flavor, and might be inclined to leave it out or cook it separately next time.  And as a spice wuss I cut down on the dried chiles and chipotle.  The verdict: Joe was crazy about this dish, and I thought it was OK.  It was good, but I didn't feel wowed, like something was missing.  And not just the tongue-sear from omitting some chiles.  I might give it another go, now that we're officially in Dutch oven season.