Pork Scallops
I found an old copy of Cooking Light magazine (actually several years old!) and was skimming through when I caught a recipe for a pork tenderloin and spinach, arugula, sweet potatoes, roasted garlic... The concept sounded pretty good, but the recipe itself wasn't quite what I was in the mood for. But it intrigued me...
I was shopping all over town today - I started by taking Victor's mom to her favorite Acme because her car is still in the shop. It's not my favorite store (and I really prefer shopping by myself) so after dropping her off at her home, I headed to the local PathMark. I spent a goodly amount of time shopping, gossiping with the employees (and one of my neighbors works there) drinking coffee and seeing what looked good this week. I then headed to work to pick up a couple more things. Car loaded down, I headed home with lots of groceries and several ideas...
I had a full pork loin that I had picked up, so I first cut it into nice, thick chops and took the smaller pieces to pound for scallopine. The chops were vacuum-packed for the freezer and dinner was started.
- 1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 tbsp butter
- 4 oz mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup brown rice
- pinch cinnamon
- salt and pepper
- 1 bag arugula
I diced the onion and into a skillet with the butter and mushrooms. When they were pretty well cooked, I added everything but the arugula. Brought to a boil, covered, and simmered for about 35 minutes. I stirred in the arugula and let it all wilt.
In the meantime, I floured the pork scallops and sauteed them in a bit of butter and olive oil.
When everything was done, the sweet potato/rice/arugula mixture went onto the center of the plate, and the pork scallops on top.
It was really good.
Pork Chops and Pears
I didn't realize just how often I make this dish until I went to upload the picture. I have quite a few variations on a theme, here! It is such a quick and easy dinner that I can get it on the table in under 30 minutes. It's also fancy enough to be a company dish! Ya gotta love it!
This is Lidia's recipe. I usually tweak things around a bit, and it's dinner for two, not four. She's a lot more exacting than I am...
Lidia’s Pork Chops with Pears and Caramelized Red Onions
- 2 cups balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled
- 4 center-cut pork rib chops, each about 12 ounces and 1 1/4 inches thick
- 1 large red onion, cut into 8 wedges
- Salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 2 ripe but firm Bosc pears, peeled, cored and each cut into 8 wedges
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
In a small saucepan, bring balsamic vinegar to a boil over high heat. Adjust the heat to a gentle boil and boil until the vinegar is syrupy and reduced to about 1/3 cup. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet with a flameproof handle over medium-high heat. Whack garlic cloves with the flat side of a knife and scatter over oil. Cook, shaking the skillet, until brown, about 2 minutes. Lay the pork chops in and cook until the underside is browned, about 6 minutes. Remove and reserve the garlic cloves if they become more than deep golden brown before the chops are fully browned.
Turn the chops, tuck the onion wedges into the pan and continue cooking until the second side of the chops is browned, about 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. About halfway through browning the second side, tuck the pear wedges in between the chops.
Stir the red wine vinegar and honey together in a small bowl, until the honey is dissolved. Pour the mixture into the skillet and bring to a vigorous boil. Return the garlic cloves to the skillet if you have removed them. Place the skillet in the oven and roast until onions and pears are tender and the juices from the pork are a rich, syrupy dark brown, about 30 minutes. Once or twice during roasting, turn the chops and redistribute the onions and pears. Handle the skillet carefully — it will be extremely hot.
Remove skillet from the oven. Place a chop in the center of each warmed serving plate. Check the seasoning of the onion-pear mixture, adding salt and pepper if necessary. Spoon the pears, onion and pan juices around the chops. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar reduction around the edge of the plate.
Makes 4 servings.
So tonight I used a really fun Lingonberry vinegar I bought at Ikea. And I used red pears - unpeeled. (Like I'm going to peel pears...) And the balsamic reduction was just a drizzle of really good 15 year old balsamic. It really was fun flavors. That's pretty much the beauty of Lidia's style of cooking - a few really good ingredients speaking for themselves.
30 minutes. I have to admit I was lazy and didn't cook brown rice tonight. Oh well. I ate all of my spinach, though. Actually, I cleaned my plate. I almost took a picture of that, but decided that would be silly and I really didn't need to go quite over the top. Tonight. Who knows what tomorrow might bring!
Pork, Puff Pastry, and Pumpkin Polenta
It seems that the custom of eating pork on New Year's is based on the idea that pigs symbolize progress. The animal pushes forward, rooting itself in the ground before moving. The Pennsylvania Dutch add sauerkraut and mashed potatoes to the pork for luck - but - according to tradition - it's supposed to be the first meal eaten in the new year for it to be lucky.
I'm not superstitious, nor am I Pennsylvania Dutch (although my father's mother's Irish grandfather was born somewhere in Pennsylvania in the 1830's... But I digress...)
I wasn't raised with the idea of eating certain foods at New Year's and really didn't even hear of the tradition until I was in the Navy living with all those Southerners... Black-eyed peas were de rigueur whilst I was in Uncle Sam's Yacht Club, along with greens. I don't recall the first time I had Hoppin' John - black-eyed peas and rice with ham hocks. Probably in Boston in the early 1980's with our landlady who had roots in the South and the Caribbean. Maureen and her sister Evelyn were great cooks.
But that has nothing to do with tonight's dinner... I decided on pork because it was already in the house. Actually, the whole menu was already in the house. It's cold outside and I wasn't leaving for nothin'!
Last week when we met David, Martha, and Harriette for dinner, Martha gave us jars of cranberry chutney and a pear conserve that she had made and canned. Outrageously good. I thought the pear would go really well with the pork.
I chopped it up a bit finer and added a bit of chipotle sauce to cut the sweetness and add a bit of heat. I did a quick sear on the pork chops and chilled them. When they were cold, I covered them with the sauce, wrapped them in puff pastry and placed into a 425° oven for about 35 minutes.
Meanwhile, I made Pumpkin Polenta - one of my more favorite dishes. I got the original concept out of Today's Diet and Nutrition magazine. (I was very bad - we were at Victor's foot doctor's office and while I was waiting, I was thumbing through the magazine. I saw the recipe and cut it out. I then went home and subscribed...) I digress, again...
Pumpkin Polenta
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 can pumpkin puree
- 2/3 cup polenta
- salt and pepper to taste
Bring milk, cream, butter, salt, pepper, and pumpkin to a boil. Slowly stir in polenta. Reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked - about 30 minutes. (I used a really coarse polenta that takes up to 45 minutes. Finer-grained polenta will take less time.)
I had leftover chicken gravy from Tuesday night, so I took some of it and added a couple of tablespoons of Sofrito sauce to tweak it towards a more latin sauce. It worked really well!
And then spinach - greens for money, I think the saying goes.
In a couple of hours there are brownies for dessert.
Happy New Year, indeed!
Pork Chops with Pears
I always like it when I have a semblence of a plan for dinner when I leave the house in the morning. I had pulled pork chops out of the freezer before going to bed last night and had an idea I might make Lidia's Pork Chops with Pears and a balsamic reduction.
Lidia's Pork Chops with Pears and Caramelized Red Onions
- 2 cups balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled
- 4 center-cut pork rib chops, each about 12 ounces and 1 1/4 inches thick
- 1 large red onion, cut into 8 wedges
- Salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 2 ripe but firm Bosc pears, peeled, cored and each cut into 8 wedges
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
In a small saucepan, bring balsamic vinegar to a boil over high heat. Adjust the heat to a gentle boil and boil until the vinegar is syrupy and reduced to about 1/3 cup. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet with a flameproof handle over medium-high heat. Whack garlic cloves with the flat side of a knife and scatter over oil. Cook, shaking the skillet, until brown, about 2 minutes. Lay the pork chops in and cook until the underside is browned, about 6 minutes. Remove and reserve the garlic cloves if they become more than deep golden brown before the chops are fully browned.
Turn the chops, tuck the onion wedges into the pan and continue cooking until the second side of the chops is browned, about 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. About halfway through browning the second side, tuck the pear wedges in between the chops.
Stir the red wine vinegar and honey together in a small bowl, until the honey is dissolved. Pour the mixture into the skillet and bring to a vigorous boil. Return the garlic cloves to the skillet if you have removed them. Place the skillet in the oven and roast until onions and pears are tender and the juices from the pork are a rich, syrupy dark brown, about 30 minutes. Once or twice during roasting, turn the chops and redistribute the onions and pears. Handle the skillet carefully -- it will be extremely hot.
Remove skillet from the oven. Place a chop in the center of each warmed serving plate. Check the seasoning of the onion-pear mixture, adding salt and pepper if necessary. Spoon the pears, onion and pan juices around the chops. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar reduction around the edge of the plate.
Makes 4 servings.
While at work, though, I thought that some gorgonzola cheese instead of the basamic reduction would probably be good, so, when I got home, I followed the basic premise of the recipe - the pork chops, red onions, and pears, but when juuuuust about done, I crumbled some gorgonzola over everything and then drizzled some 10 year old balsamic over all.
WOW! The gorgonzola really played off the pears and onions well. And the little hint of balsamic brought it all together. It was yummy.
Fresh green beans and Carolina Plantation Aromatic Rice finished the plate.
The Carolina Rice is a bit of an un-wedding gift from our friends Mike and Barbara down in South Carolina. It should have been thrown at the wedding-that-wasn't (even though we explained to them that at our advanced ages, the last thing we needed were fertility rituals.) It's a medium grain rice with a great flavor. Definitely better eaten than thrown.
They also sent up a nice big bag of Carolina Plantation grits. I'm working on a Sunday Breakfast idea...
Pork Chops with Asian Peach Salsa
I had some beautiful bone-in pork chops that were just screaming to be grilled tonight! Of course, I didn't want just plain ol' pork chops... I decided Asian was the ticket!
I made a marinade of:
- soy sauce
- garlic
- sriracha sauce
- sesame oil
- black pepper
- black sesame seeds
and marinated the chops for about an hour. Onto a hot grill they went.
Meanwhile, I made an Asian-Inspired Peach Salsa, similar to what I made for the Peach Iron Chef Cookoff.
- 3 Peaches, diced
- 1/4 Red Onion, diced
- 1/2 tsp Sambal Oleck (Chili Paste)
- 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 Tbsp Rice Wine
- 1/2 tsp Sesame Oil
- Cilantro, chopped
- Basil, chopped
Dice peaches and onions and place in bowl. Add remaining ingredients and lightly mix. Chill until ready to serve.
I topped the pork chops with the salsa, plated some rice and voila! Dinner was served!
Iron Chef Barbecue
Kenny's leaving - being transferred to Ardmore. This is a tough good-bye. Kenny started our Iron Chef competitions. While it's a good move for him, it shall leave a void in our Culinary Competitions unless someone else steps up to the plate right away. I am bereft. I have never won one of the competitions, but I've always walked away with a full stomach and a lot of ideas.
His last day with us is Thursday, July 3rd, so, in honor of his last day, we're having Iron Chef Barbecue. The rules of the past competitions don't apply this time. It's a wide-open dish-has-to-come-from-the-grill-event. I'm ready.
Today, I made sausage. A bit of an Asian-inspired recipe. Victor's mom - the consummate Italian Mother - was over as I was boning the pork and starting the marinade. She could not believe I was actually putting soy sauce and other Asian-type ingredients in the marinade. She thinks in terms of Italian Sausage. Mild or Spicy. Certain foods are sacrosanct. (She wouldn't touch the Amaretto Pizzelle's I made years ago, only to begrudgingly say they were "okay" when I made them again the following year.) But I digress...
I bought an 8 1/2 pound bone-in pork shoulder and boned and marinated it in:
- Soy Sauce
- Chinese Rice Wine
- Sriracha Sauce
- Fish Sauce
- Black Pepper
I ground it up with:
- Onions
- Peaches
- Cilantro
- Black Sesame Seeds
And then stuffed it into casings.
I'm heading out to the grill right now to cook some up for dinner at Victor's brother's house.
Lookin' good.
And they taste GREAT!!!
Iron Chef - Peach
What a day! What a challenge. What FUN FOOD! Every couple of months, the folks at work get together and decide to do an Iron Chef-like competition. An ingredient is chosen and we get to come up with fun foods. My favorite ingrediet upo to this point was when we did pumpkin back in October.
Today was Peach.
Not as many entries as in the past, but what we lacked in quantity, we gained in quality. This was a really unique and rather ingenious crowd!
I made an Asian Peach Salsa, served over a Pork Tenderloin. I have to admit i did a pretty good job on this one!
Asian Peach Salsa
- 12 Peaches, diced
- 1/2 Red Onion, diced
- 2 tsp Sambal Oleck (Chili Paste)
- 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- 2 Tbsp Rice Wine
- 1 tsp Sesame Oil
- Cilantro, chopped
- Basil, chopped
- Lenon Verbena, chopped
Dice peaches and onions and place in bowl. Add remaining ingredients and lightly mix. Chill until ready to serve.
The salsa is great with chips, but is really really good with pork, chicken, or fish. It's pretty spicy, but you can adjust the heat by the amount of chili paste you use.
The next recipe was just plain outstanding. Joe Poston made a Peach Salmon Chili. You read that right. Peach Salmon Chili. Definitely one of the more unique dishes I have had. And it really worked!
Peach Salmon Chili
- 2 jars Peach salsa
- 2 cans White Kidney Beans, drained
- 1 1/2 pkgs pre-cooked Salmon
- 1 Mango, sliced ito small pieces
- Chili powder until it is as hot as u like it
Combine ingrediets in a crock pot set on low. Wait. (About 6-7 hours.) Not my recipe, but I'm sue you could let it simmer on a stovetop, too.
I was impressed.
There was also Chicken in a Peach BBQ Sauce, Peach Chipotle Ciabatta Bread, Peach Soda, a salad with a Peach Vinaigrette, and a Peach and soymilk just-like-ice-cream yummy dessert.
More info as I get recipes!
Definitely a good time was had by all!
Memorial Day
Tis the season to BBQ. Okay - I really mean 'grill' because I'm of the propane tank crowd nowadays. I'll admit that the flavor from the right charcoal is out of this world, but I can have something on the gas grill in minutes. It's one area where I have succumbed...
We started off Sunday with the typical foods - ribs, baked beans, and potato salad. But each had their own little twist.
The ribs were dry rubbed with a really interesting assortment of spices and herbs. I found the concept in a herb and spice book and switched things around a bit... This makes a goodly amount!
Spicy Dry Rub
- 2 tbsp cumin
- 2 tbsp chili powder (I used chipotle powder!)
- 2 tbsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp cloves
- 2 tbsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp oregano
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp salt
Mix well and use liberally!
I rubbed the ribs and let them set overnight in the fridge. I brought them to room temperature before putting them on a slow grill with indirect heat. They cooked for about an hour and a half - and were perfect! The cloves and the cinnamon really come out, but don't over-power. Just great!
The baked Beans come from my baby sister, Phoebe! They have become the only baked beans I cook anymore. I love 'em! She got the original recipe from Cooking Light magazine...
Phoebe's Baked Beans
- 1/2 cup minced shallots
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/2 cup tomato puree (I use tomato paste - I never have puree in the house!)
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 chipotle chiles, canned in adobo sauce, seeded and chopped
- 2 (28-ounce) cans baked beans
Preheat oven to 300°.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shallots; sauté 4 minutes or until golden. Add cumin and garlic; sauté for 1 minute. Add tomato puree and oil, and cook for 2 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Add remaining ingredients (except beans.). Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Combine beans and shallot mixture in a 2-quart baking dish. Bake at 300° for 1 hour or until thick and bubbly.
And finally, my Mom's Potato Salad. I have no idea on amounts here. This is one of those recipes that I just make without thinking about it. It's a close approximation to what she made - and she never used a recipe, either.
Mom's Potato Salad
- Russet potatoes, peeled, cubed, cooked, and cooled
- Celery, diced
- Carrots, diced
- Pickles, diced
- Onion, diced
- Hard cooked eggs, diced
- Radishes, diced
- Mayonnaise
- Catsup
- Mustard
- Garlic powder
- Salt and pepper
Mom used russets, because back in the day, the two types of potatoes available were russets or red bliss. I make it with yukon golds once in awhile and almost always peel the potatoes. Every now and again I'll make it with unpeeled potatoes and it works really well.
Play with it. Make it loose (lots of mayo) or dry (less mayo) as you like. Chop up other veggies, whatever. It's potato salad. Go for it. It won't be bad no matter what!
Naturally, I made enough for an army. We're going to have some great leftovers! I can't wait for round two!
Con-Fusion
"Fusion" - in culinary terms - is the blending or combining of different cultures and styles of food. Tonight, our dinner was definitely fusion. CONfusion...
I started off with Chimichurri Rice. Chimichurri is a sauce or marinade originally from Argentina, but popular in parts of South and Central America. On our last trip to San Francisco, we stopped off at Cost Plus and picked up some chimichurri spice mixture. The directions say to make it into a marinade. I thought rice was a better idea.
I first sauteed onions, bell pepper, the chimichurri spice in olive oil and then added canned diced tomatoes. One cup of rice went in next, along with beef broth. Cover, simmer 20 minutes.
I took boneless pork steaks and covered them liberally with ancho, pasillo, birdseye, and arbol chili powders, and a bit of salt. Onto the grill they went.
The confusion part comes with the serving - in pitas!
Lettuce and chopped heirloom tomatoes and a Greek yogurt, cucumber, dill, and lemon sauce. The yogurt abd cucumber sauce was really necessary - the pork was s-p-i-c-y! It was yumlicious.
Simple Spring Salads
We're seasonal eaters in our house. I know that I can buy just about anything semi-fresh from some country around the world, but I don't want to eat fresh raspberries in January. I also don't want to eat acorn squash in July. I like the flavors of the seasons... And by the end of March I want big salads, again.
I know it's pushing the envelope just a bit, but... that big plate of greens topped with whatever happens to be handy was calling my name last night.
I had some thin-sliced pork chops thawing, so I made a marinade of chipotle powder, a homemade raspberry sauce left over from Easter, and some olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper.
Onto the plates went my bed of greens, hard cooked eggs (also from Easter) some chow-chow, dried raspberries, and lots of tomatoes... I also had some cheddar cheese curds that were perfect.
I grilled the pork chops and made a quick dressing of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, more raspberry sauce, a smidge of chipotle powder, and S&P.
Topped the salads with the pork, topped the pork with the dressing, and dinner was served. I had a bit of the Easter bread left over and that went along with it.
Dinner took 15 minutes to get on the table.
I can't wait to be doing this every night - with fresh berries!
A Simple Sandwich
I can't believe how maligned bread has become. I love bread in all its many guises - from crusty baguettes to focaccia, beer bread to soda bread, flat bread to Italian pane. Even squishy white bread has its place for a Thanksgiving turkey sandwich.
But... it seems folks just don't appreciate bread anymore. Bread has somehow become evil. It is responsible for weight-gain everywhere. It is to be avoided at all cost - and then eaten only if it is whole wheat. Then it's okay. Granted, whole wheat bread has more nutrients, but if you're going to make a sandwich, your nutrients can come from your filling, and the bread can be something to compliment - not compete. Bread itself is not evil. And breads made with white flour can be extremely good.
Which brings me to tonight's dinner...
I had cooked a pork loin the other night and had a goodly amount left over. I hadn't any real thought in mind when I cooked it - I just knew there would be leftovers and at least one meal I didn't have to think much about. That was tonight. Pork Sandwiches on Focaccia.
OMG! I did good!
I sliced the focaccia in half and on the bottom I layered roasted red and yellow peppers and then topped with sliced pork loin. I sauteed about 6oz of mushrooms with a small onion in roasted garlic butter that Victor had made a few days ago. (Oven-roasted garlic cloves cooled and then mixed into slightly softened butter. Use for everything!!)
They went onto the top half, topped with sliced yellow and orange tomatoes and then covered with sliced Iberico Cheese. Onto a sheet pan and into the oven until everything was hot, and the cheese soft and gooey.
With the help of a big ol' spatula, I got the top half onto the bottom half, cut it into quarters, and Voila! Dinner was served!
I had some curly fries in the freezer, and they were baked off and served on the side.
20 minutes start-to-finish. And it was a mighty fine dinner.
Posole
In a recent issue of Smithsonian magazine, I spied an article about Native Harvest and the White Earth Land Recovery Project in Minnesota. They spoke of having real Wild Rice - actually wild and collected by canoe (not cultivated as with wild rice sold in the stores.) Intrigued, I went to the website. What fun for a foodophile! Real, natural, minimally processed food! I ordered a couple of pounds of wild rice - and a couple of bags of hominy.
Hominy is not something I grew up with in San Francisco. Other than hominy grits when I was in the Navy, it just wasn't part of my dietary routine. But my grocery store treks and natural curiosity about food found me buying dried hominy every once in a while - and then wondering what to do with it!
Posole has been the usual dish - it's a stew of sorts, usually made with pork and peppers, simmered for hours and just plain ol' good. The native harvest hominy looked interesting - and am I glad I bought some!
It is probably the closest thing our ancestors had when they arrived here many moons ago! Just flat-out great!
So... I made Posole.
I didn't follow a recipe, I just threw things into the pot. I simmered some pork for a couple of hours until it was fall-off-the-bone tender. I added onions, peppers, garlic, tomatoes... LOTS of chipotle powder and other chili powders from the cabinet, salt and pepper, and a bit of cloves. I then added the cooked hominy, and let it simmer even longer.
What a treat.