I’ve struggled in the past to make mashed potatoes with the texture I really like – the really fluffy, smooth, creamy kind. Maybe I’d been using the wrong kind of potatoes or I wasn’t cooking the potatoes for long enough or I could have benefited from a tool like a potato ricer…but I think the real reason I wasn’t getting the result I wanted is that I was reluctant to use enough of a few key ingredients. Namely butter and cream.

Well, I’ve gotten past that now.

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We love living in California but if my husband and I could change just one thing it would be to have our families closer. Both sets of parents and most of our siblings live on the East Coast. On Mother’s Day we catch up with our moms on the phone and send cards but we usually aren’t near enough to sit down together for a good old-fashioned Mother’s Day brunch. So this year, in honor of our moms, I’m preparing a little “virtual” brunch on Cooking On the Side  – along with an IOU to make the real thing the next time we see each other. Two dishes, this post and the next, both special occasion-worthy and incredibly delicious.

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I always get the carnitas.

Mexican food is the cornerstone of local cuisine in San Diego, where I live. My husband and I have our favorite restaurants and taquerias but whenever we branch out to try a new place I always order the carnitas as a sort of benchmark of how good the food is. It’s a simple dish – succulent braised pork shoulder, served with warm tortillas and a host of fresh accompaniments such as sour cream, tomatoes, salsa and cilantro. Any guilt I may feel over the less-than-healthful manner in which carnitas are traditionally prepared (i.e., in lard) disappears immediately after I wrap them up soft taco-style with “the works” and take a big bite.

I found this recipe for a somewhat healthier version of carnitas on a package of pork shoulder. It calls for braising the pork with onions, garlic and green chiles in chicken broth. While you give up the crispy strands that slow-cooking in lard yields, you still get very moist, flavorful chunks of pork that taste wonderful in a soft taco.

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