Pork Chops and Peaches

Four pounds of peaches really doesn't seem like a lot until they all start ripening at once.  And there's only two of you to eat them.

Grilled peaches last night, peach salsa today, and peach ice cream later on tonight still leaves a few peaches for tomorrow... Peach upside down cake, perhaps?!?  Peach BBQ sauce?!?  I'm gonna have to think about this...

In the meantime, the peach salsa came out pretty good atop bone-in pork chops.    I used a Caribbean salt rub (Sarah's Sea Salt - another gift) on the chops that set off the peach salsa quite nicely.

Peach Salsa

  • 2 ripe peaches, diced
  • 1/2 small red onion, diced
  • 2 jalapeño peppers. minced
  • 2 tbsp cilantro, minced
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Mix ingredients and chill.

The salsa is about as basic as it gets.  Add lemon or lime juice, or anything else that strikes your fancy.  It's pretty difficult to screw up.

The mashed sweet potatoes had a bit of a twist, as well.  I mixed in Boursin cheese!  I used it a lot for white mashed potatoes, I figured it would go with the sweets, as well.  It did.

It hit 81° today.  The windows are all still open and a slight breeze is blowing through the house. Perfect temperature for homemade peach ice cream.

More on that, later...

 

 

 


Porchetta in Norristown

This past Saturday night I worked a function at the Elmwood Park Zoo.  It was a fundraiser called Beast of a Feast and local shops donated their wares for charity.  The event attracted close to 500 people from all walks of life and the vendors were just as diverse.

The table next to ours was from an Italian deli/cafe called Sessano.  They were making huge roast pork sandwiches on great bread made locally in Conshohocken.  Naturally, I had to schmooze with the owner and get one for myself.

And was I ever glad I did.  It was totally different than anything I had had before.  And absolutely delicious.

This was actually the first time I had ever had Italian pulled pork.  I have made pulled pork many many times, but I always do it with a southwestern/Mexican style.  I've also had it many times in may restaurants, but, again, with that southwestern flavor profile.

It was impressive!

I had read about Italian porchetta in La Cucina Italiana magazine a while back.  Street food of Italy.  It was a bit (okay, a lot) more labor-intensive than I wanted to do.  I filed it away.  But after having it Saturday, I knew I was going to Norristown on Monday to get some for home.

The folks working the booth were really, really nice.  Fun, friendly, and justifiably proud of their product.  The kind of folks you would want to shop with and support.

One of the guys working the event was behind the counter and recognized me the minute I walked in.  In a matter of minutes I was heading home with two pounds of porchetta, a container of peppers, and another container of extra broth.

Heaven.

The flavor is rich and vibrant.

It's beautifully balanced and at the same time screams Italy!  You can taste the Italian herbs but they're not overpowering.   It's easy to see how they have won numerous "Best Of" awards over the years.

There are a few things in this world I just never make because someone else makes them too good to even bother.  Sessano's porchetta has just been added to the list.  Out of this world good.  I know I shall be doing a monthly trek to Norristown to get more.  It's only $7.50/lb.  Worth every penny and the travel time to get there!

I used Italian rolls and sliced thin slices of aged provolone from a ball I picked up earlier.  Topped with the hot peppers.  I didn't have to do anything to it.  It was done for me.  My stomach is smiling.

Sessano Cafe and Deli is in a fairly nondescript shopping center and you could easily pass by without seeing it.  I had a GPS and still missed it the first time around.  The center looks like it's getting a nice face-lift, though.  Lots of building going on.  A good sign!

Sessano Cafe and Deli
1840 Markley St.
Studio Centre Norristown
(formerly Logan Square Shopping Center)
Norristown, PA 19401

610-270-9607

sessano@sessanocafe.com

 

 

 


Post-Apocolyptic Pork Chops

Boy am I glad the world didn't end today.  Not that there's not a whole lotta people I wouldn't mind seeing evaporate, or whatever, but I had a pretty good dinner planned tonight - something I had never made before and I wanted to see how it would come out.

I made Banana Salsa.

Really.

I've been staying pretty close to the house this week since the knee surgery... I definitely haven't been walking around grocery stores.  So when I hit the larder today for dinner, the pickin's were getting a bit slim.  Actually, not entirely true.  There's lots of stuff in the house, it's just a bit disjointed - or not what I'm really in the mood for.

I had pork chops and I had sweet potatoes - they go well together - and I was really thinking in terms of a fresh fruit salsa - but the only fresh fruit was three over-ripe bananas.

I decided banana salsa was it.

Banana Salsa

  • 3 ripe bananas, chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped red onion
  • 2 minced jalapeño peppers
  • 2 limes, juiced
  • 1 tbsp minced cilantro
  • 1 tbsp rum
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients and chill.

This really worked!  It was fun.  It was banana-y without being dessert-ish.  Definitely a keeper.

I placed it over cumin-crusted pork chops.  I took whole cumin seed and roughly crushed them with a mallet.  I added some salt and pepper and rubbed it all over the chops and then grilled them nover hot heat.

Served with sweet potatoes with olive oil and allspice roasted in the oven.

A perfect Post-Apocalyptic dinner!

And I have Lucille's Cheese Cake in the oven for dessert tomorrow!

 


Pork Pasta

It only took seventy-two hours but I was back in the kitchen last night!  Oh joy!

I had a pound of ground pork I had picked up a while ago with the notion that I'd make egg rolls or something... I decided it would make a better pasta sauce.

And it was the most basic of sauces...  chopped onion, garlic, red wine, diced mushrooms, tomato sauce, and Italian seasoning.  Nothing fancy...  just good, basic food.  Cooked up some pasta, shaved sone pecorino romano on top, and called it dinner!  It was a really thick ragu.

It was good getting back into the kitchen.  I love having Victor cook, but I feel guilty sitting around and having him do all the work.  Sharing the chores is the way to go.

I'm still far from healed - the knee is still stiff and swollen and I'm not quite ready to hit the disco floor - but every day brings it a bit closer.  I have my follow-up appointment the day after tomorrow and physical therapy after that.  (And that fun Urology exam on Friday.  Oh joy!)

But back to dinner...

There was lots of leftover ragu, so today we had sloppy joe's for lunch.

I think I'm going to miss this being home stuff.....

 

 

 


Polyface Farms

When my friend Vanessa said she would be stopping by Polyface Farm on her way back home from her trek south, I knew I had to have her pick me up some goodies!

For those of you not in the know, Polyface Farm was featured in the book The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan.  He called it "exemplary sustainable agriculture." It is seriously living with the land instead of taking and not giving back.

The owner, Joel Salatin, is highly influenced by religion in his approach to farming and to the land.  He firmly believes that his Christian religion directs how he raises and slaughters his animals and gives back to the earth.  While I am usually extremely skeptical of anyone who claims God is their driving force, I have to admit that the Salatin family is walking the walk.

Vanessa brought us back eggs, ham, two chickens - one old stewing hen and a fryer - as well as bacon (chunks and sliced,) pork ribs, and ground beef.  Quite the picnic basket!

Tonight we went for the ham.

This was NOT your basic grocery store ham steak.  First off, the curing ingredients were salt, sugar, and pepper.  That's it.

From a leading retailer: Cured with Water, Contains less than 2% of Salt, Sugar, Potassium Lactate, Dextrose, Sodium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Diacetate, Sodium Erythorbate, Sodium Nitrite.

Salt, sugar, and pepper.  What a concept.

And we tasted the difference right away.  These were probably aged at least 8 months and probably longer.  They tasted like real pork with a wild, natural flavor that can't be mimicked or recreated in a chemistry lab.  They were salty without being salty.  Sweet without being sweet.  They were properly dry and had a consistency that almost verged on a prosciutto, and if they hung for several more months, that's probably what we would have.  The last time I had a ham steak like this was probably in Brown County, Indiana at the Nashville House.  First time I ever had red gravy and fried biscuits with baked apple butter.

You heard right - fried biscuits.  They rock.  Totally.

I could see this ham cut into a julienne and being mixed with pasta or cubed and cooked into a real macaroni and cheese.  Lots of possibilities.

I'm looking forward to working my way through the rest of the goodies in the coming weeks.

 

 


Stuffed Pork Tenderloin and Friends in Cairo, IL

When I think of pork tenderloins, I usually think grill or cut into cutlets.  When Victor thinks pork tenderloin, it's stuffed.

Yummy-stuffed!

Before leaving for work this morning, I took a tenderloin out of the freezer with the intention of doing a quick marinade and grilling it for dinner.  Nothing fancy, just a quick, easy meal.

When I got home, Victor said that dinner had just gone into the oven - stuffed tenderloin!  Love it!

As I have said many times before, I love cooking - but I also love someone else cooking.  If you're cooking, I'm eating and not complaining.

And I'm especially not complaining if Victor is cooking.  He's a really good cook.

Tonight's gastronomical delight was the aforementioned pork tenderloin stuffed with breadcrumbs, sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella, with baby broccoli and rice.

Classic goodness.

And to make a perfect meal even better, there's apple cake for dessert!

A perfect meal.

And as I sit here and write about my perfect meal, friends of ours have just evacuated from Cairo, Illinois.  Lori and Ev have had to leave all of their earthly goods and their beautiful home with no idea what is going to happen.  Their home could literally be under water at any moment.  Missouri House Speaker Steve Tilley (R) actually stated that it would be better to flood Cairo than to open up the floodway and flood farmland.  Farmland that is specifically set aside since 1928 for such a disaster.   Missouri actually sued to keep the Army Corps of Engineers from breaching the levees because farmland is more important than poor people in a small town.  Fortunately, they lost.  The bastards.  It's unconscionable.

So... Think of them tonight and send positive thoughts to the southern tip of Illinois.

They need it.

 


Pork and Pappardelle

If I hadn't been so lazy, I would have gone down to the store and gotten another tank of propane.  Or, I could have cleaned the charcoal grill.

The rain didn't materialize and the weather was actually nice.  I had options.

Lazy won out. I cooked indoors.

I had a pork tenderloin all nice and thawed so I cut it into about 1" cutlets and popped them into a nice, hot skillet.  After they were nicely browned, I added a splash of marsala, and after it cooked down, I added some leftover chicken gravy from the bird I roasted Monday.  It's the dinner that keeps on giving.  I have a gallon of chicken stock that needs to get into the freezer, too.

While that simmered away, I cooked up some pappardelle pasta and some frozen mixed vegetables.

Lazy never tasted so good!

And Victor just made banana Bread.  It's in the oven right now.

 

 


Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Slow-simmered pork shoulder and spicy BBQ sauce - what could be better?!?  A winning lottery ticket, perhaps, or maybe a split of champagne at Fouquet's on the Champs Elysées... but a  dreary wet Friday evening in Strafford?!?  Pulled pork sandwiches win hands down.

Victor put the pork into the oven at 275° for about 3 hours while I was at work.  He used a heavy caserole with a tight-fitting lid.  The pork shoulder was seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic - very basic - and he then added a couple of cups of water to the pot.  Closed it tight and into the oven.

When I got home, it was fall-apart-tender.  I drained the pot, shredded the pork, and added a bottle of Gates Kansas City BBQ Sauce.  I popped it back into the oven for another hour just to get it sassy.

And sassy it was!

I seriously thought about making a BBQ sauce but remembered I still had one bottle of the Gates sauce in the cupboard.  Gates is definitely one of the better bottled sauces available.  "Tomatoes, vinegar, salt, sugar, celery, garlic, spices, and pepper." Can't beat the ingredients.

I baked off a couple of ciabatta rolls and added some Red Dragon cheese.  Good ol' Wikipedia states: Y Fenni  is a variety of Welsh cheese, consisting of Cheddar cheese blended with mustard seed and ale. It takes its name from the Welsh language name of Abergavenny, a market town in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. Y Fenni, when coated in red wax, is also known as 'Red Dragon', a name derived from the dragon on the Flag of Wales. It really is tasty.  It has a good mustard-y tang and the ale undertones are just discernible enough to be complimenting to the cheddar and the mustard seed.

The pork came out great and I'm glad I resisted making a sauce.  Sometimes a classic sauce just works best and in this case, it worked perfectly with the cheese.

 

 


Pork Tenderloin

Tonight's dinner started with a baguette.  I found the perfect baguette this morning and knew that whatever it was, a baguette had to go along with it.

In no time, I thought pork tenderloin.  With sauteed onions and pears.  And a rice medley.  And asparagus.

So I forgot to buy pears.  I got home and decided to marinate the pork in a balsamic vinaigrette and grill it.  I still had a bit of Happy Hal's Balsamic Vinaigrette (it was a private bottling not available to the general public) and it worked perfect.  I cut the tenderloin into six chunks and marinated it for about an hour before grilling.

The rice medley became am Israeli couscous medley and the asparagus got a lemon mayonnaise topping.

Lemon Mayonnaise... Mayo, lemon zest and lemon juice.  How simple is that?!?  Pretty simple.

Dinner was ready in no time.

So it's getting towards the end of March and I'm starting to crave salads.  Unfortunately, Mother Nature is not cooperating with my taste-buds... A dusting of snow this morning and some pretty cold weather have me wanting greens but thinking soup.

I'm done with winter this year.

 


The Kitchen Is Finished

Done.

Well...  other than a bit of hole-filling and minor detail work on the trim, it's done.  And to paraphrase Billy Chrystal, It Looks Mahvelous!

I really couldn't be happier.  It's one of those things I never thought we would do, that I (ten years ago) didn't want to do.  But it has made a huge improvement in the room.  Everything looks better.

I am going to have all sorts of fun making messes in here!

Since we had our corned beef and cabbage on Monday and sandwiches on Tuesday, I decided to marinate pork chops in soy sauce, rice wine, garlic, sesame oil, and sambal oelek.  While they were marinating, I was putting up the final trimwork.

Out to the grill I went, cooked up a bit of baby broccoli and some rice.

One more dinner and it's off to San Francisco!

There are going to be LOTS of great meals coming our way.

CAN'T WAIT!


Cheesy Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches

This should be titled "How to really screw up a frying pan" but I don't want to scare anyone off from making it.  It is really good!

It's yet another variation of Ruth's fabulous mushroom and caramelized onion and cheddar sandwich.

In this variation, I sliced up a pork tenderloin and sauteed it in a pat of butter with garlic, salt and pepper.

I then added about 4 ounces of sliced mushrooms and cooked everything until it was nicely browned.

Into the skillet went my clean-out-the-refrigerator-cheeses - a bit of blue, jack, and cheddar.  I continued stirring until the cheese was all melted and nicely-glued to the bottom of the pan.

And then into sliced baguettes.

The pan.  Victor soaked it and it did come clean, but oy, it does make a mess.

On the other hand... The sandwich was so good the mess didn't matter.

 

 


Stuffed Pork Chops

Saturday is rapidly becoming my favorite day of the week.  Since I now work until 4pm on Saturday, Victor has been cooking dinner.  It's been a gastronomic pleasure every week!

Last night was stuffed pork chops - with a Victor-twist.

The chops were just under an inch thick - perfect for making an open-faced-stuffed chop!

He sliced them almost all the way through, keeping sides and bottom intact.

The stuffing started with pancetta!  He sauteed it until almost crisp and then added chopped carrots, celery, and onion.  When the vegetables were almost done, he added about 3/4 cup of chicken stock to deglaze the pan.  He let it reduce to almost nothing.

Into the bowl it went with handfuls of bread crumbs and then just enough chicken stock to moisten.  Salt, pepper, and garlic powder, to taste.

Before adding the stuffing to the chops, Victor added a layer of goat cheese into the cavity!  What a flavorful surprise!

They went into a 350° oven for about 25 minutes.

The green beans were sauteed with balsamic vinegar and the potatoes roasted with the pork chops - olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.

Everything worked together perfectly.  The crispy pancetta with the goat cheese was brilliance.  It was a totally unexpected flavor which made it all the better.

Fun food, indeed.