ISLAND PORK

I have Arlene to thank for this one!! I was scheduled to cater a sweetheart banquet this past weekend. I was so excited to have another event to cater! Then wouldn't you know it, I was laid up for 2 solid weeks with a sprained back! PAINFUL! So the task fell to my precious daughters and daughter in law. I sent my recipes and notes with them and didn't have a worry in the world that they wouldn't be able to accomplish it. And do you know, they didn't call me even ONE time to ask for help! The nerve! haha Anyway, I digress. I had posted a few months ago about an international dinner we had at our church. I hosted a Hawaiian table, and made all Hawaiian recipes. Arlene then wrote and told me about a delicious dish that her Pastor's wife from Japan used to make, called Island chicken. I made a mental note to try it sometime. As this banquet approached, I began putting the menu together. When I heard it was a Luau theme, I went back to my old post to read again and was reminded of Arlene's chicken recipe. I had found pork roast on sale for .99 / lb and purchased it ahead of time with the intention of making some sort of pulled pork. I began to roll around the idea of using pork in place of the chicken in the recipe. So I purchased the ingredients and sent the girls off with a brand new recipe that I hadn't even tried myself yet! Why do I do that to myself? It just sounded like a real winner! Nothing in it sounded weird or yucky. They all came back with rave reviews about it. And Arlene you were right - my son said, as soon as he walked into the building he could smell this wonderful Asian food aroma! They said it just wafted everywhere! I made them promise to bring back some left overs so I could try it. That's on the menu for Sunday dinner tomorrow! ISLAND PORK 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 Tbs. cornstarch 1 clove garlic, minced 1/2 tsp. minced ginger 1/2 cup soy sauce 1 Tbs. vinegar 1 Tbs. oil 1 lg. can pineapple chunks, drained 1 onion, thinly sliced 1 green pepper, sliced into strips 3 lbs. Pork roast Mix first 7 ingredients together. Stir in fruit and veggies. Place pork in 13x9" dish. Pour sauce evenly over top. Cover and bake @ 375 for 3 - 4 hours or until internal temp reaches 220° Baste pork occasionally. You want the pork to fall away from the bone, so you can shred it. Serve over rice. Remove meat from bones and shred with forks. Pour sauce over meat and keep warm until serving time. You can serve it immediately, but letting it sit for a while makes a world of difference!