One Pot Pork Chops, Gravy, & Veg

Made this up today based on the contents of our fridge and the fact that it's freezing outside. Started out sauteeing two thick boneless pork chops in the pan and then just kept adding stuff. Turned out lovely:

• 2 thick boneless pork chops
• 1 can chicken broth
• rosemary
• salt
• pepper
• pearl onions (I used a combination of yellow, white and red)
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• cornstarch

As always, vary this a million different ways based on what you like and what you have in the fridge that needs to get used up....

Sprinkle chops with salt, pepper, and a pinch of rosemary and sautee in pan to brown both sides.

Add 3/4 of the chicken broth and start tossing in chopped garlic, onions and potatoes. Cover for a bit to cook veggies.

Uncover, add butter & milk. Stir remining chicken stock with a bit of cornstarch and add to thicken.

Cut up chops, put them in little crocks and cover with the veggies and broth/gravy/sauce. Sprinkle a little extra salt & rosemary on top.

Quick. Easy. Comforting. And it's not even soup, for once.

Tuscan Carbonara

Carbonara is a little tricky to make because you're dealing with egg yolks and you don't want them to solidify, but remain part of the sauce. Might take a little practice - just cook it really gently.

• 1lb spaghetti
• 1/2lb pancetta or bacon
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 5 large egg yolks
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese (dude, you can use regular or even dried parmesan but don't expect it to be the same. Geez, stop trying to cut corners.)
• salt
• ground black pepper
• I think people put peas in this, too. So feel free. I hate them.

Cook the spaghetti til al dente (done, but not mushy).

Meanwhile, fry the pancetta & onion over medium heat in a large, straight sided skillet until the pancetta is crispy and the onion has softened. Turn the heat off.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together yolks, cream & grated cheese.

When the spaghetti is ready, drain & toss it into the skillet w/ the pancetta & onion.

Quickly pour the egg mixture over the spaghetti, & toss everything together to combine.

So I stole the image from the BBC. Mine looked like this. Mostly.

Fennel Serrano Salad w/ Pomegranate & Deconstructed Vinaigrette

Made this up and I must say it turned out lovely, no?

Here's what I did:

• arugula
• shaved fennel
• serrano or proscuitto, cut into ribbons
• pomegranate seeds
• balsamic vinegar reduction (on another page, you basically simmer it for a long time with butter)
• orange oil (all i did was put a bunch of orange rinds (cut in small pieces) into a small container of olive oil and let it sit over night. By morning, I had a very lovely orange oil. Ok, moving on.
• Compose arugula & fennel in the center of the plate, and arrage it with the proscuitto ribbons.
• Sprinkle pomegranate seeds around and make it pretty
• Balsamic reduction goes along one side of the plate, and I drizzled the other rim of the plate with the orange oil. This way, you have a vinaigrette that you can create and play around with the flavors. It's fun, pretty, and really not that bad for you.
  

I am so fancy!!!

Pan-Seared Scallops w/ Apple-Onion Marmalade, Bacon & Cider Sauce

This is even better than it sounds. Perfect for autumn.

• 6 slices lean bacon
• 18 large sea scallops, patted dry
• 1 cup apple cider
• salt & pepper

For the marmalade:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 large vidalia onion, cut through the stem into thin wedges
• 1 large golden delicious or other baking apple, cored & cut into thin wedges
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• ground black pepper

Making the marmalade:

In a large fry pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onions & cook, stirring often, until they begin to soften, about 15 minutes.

Stir in apples & cumin seeds. Cook, stirring, until the onions are golden & the apples begin to soften, about 30 minutes more. Add the cider vinegar, salt & pepper and remove from heat. Set aside.

For the scallops:

In another large fry pan over medium-high heat, fry the bacon until crisp, 3-5 minutes. Using tongs or slotted spatula, transfer to paper towels to drain. Discard all but about 1 tbsp (a light coating) of the bacon drippings from the pan.

Sprinkle the scallops lightly with salt & pepper. Return the fry pan to med-hi heat. When the pan is hot, add the scallops a few at a time & cook, turning once, until lightly browned on both sides, about 1 minute on each side. Transfer to a plate & keep warm while you cook the remaining scallops. When all the scallops are cooked, add the apple cider to the pan & boil until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Pour any juices that have collected on the scallop plate into the fry pan. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, reheat the marmalate over med-low heat until heated through. Serve creatively:

PG County Pork Chops

I call it PG because it includes ketchup and canned soup in the ingredients and it's only 4 steps. All thats missing is cornflakes and it would be full on ghetto. Still, it's quick, cheap and really really good.

• 4 pork chops
• garlic powder
• salt
• pepper
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
  3/4 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• 5 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Brown chops on medium-high heat with garlic, salt & pepper.

Put chops into roasting pan.

Combine remaining ingredients and pour over chops.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

**Serve with purple drink**

Mom's Ham & Bean Soup

There are few things I love more than being in the kitchen with my mom. I try so hard to absorb as much information as possible so I can have my recipes turn out like hers. They never do. The beauty of this recipe is it's simplicity. She doesn't overwhelm it with all kinds of seasonings and extras (a bad habit of mine). So the lesson is, keep it simple and you'll be able to bring out the best flavors of your main ingredient. Simple. Lovely. Again, there aren't amounts on some of the ingredients because you should add an amount that you like. Make it your own!

• 1 leftover ham bone (ours is from Easter. Apparently ham keeps longer than regular meat because it's been cured. Makes sense but I didn't know that. Did you?)
• one 1lb bag of dried navy beans
• celery, chopped fine
• onion, chopped fine
• carrots, chopped fine
• bay leaves
• cornbread (to go on the side with your cucumber & vinegar salad) - these are my moms direct instructions. If you're making ham & bean soup, you clearly will be making cornbread to go with the cucumber & vinegar salad.

Rinse the beans & cover with water in the pan.

Put them on the stove, bring to a boil and skim off the froth. (or you could soak them overnight).

Reduce heat & add the ham.

Let them cook until the beans get soft (at least an hour).

Add chopped celery, carrots, onion, bay leaves & maybe some celery leaves for added flavor.

Simmer until the beans are completely tender and your family can't stay away from the pot anymore. Also, as my mom suggests, consider serving with cornbread, and a salad of cucumbers and vinegar. I love my mom :-)

Leftovers Frittata

Made this this morning with leftover bits from the fridge....

6 eggs, beaten

1-2 oz grated cheese (I used the gouda I had leftover from Jossie's birthday canapes)

fresh ground salt & pepper to taste

1 tbsp butter

1/2 - 1 cup chopped leftovers. I used tomato, ham & onion

Chopped fresh herbs (I used wilted arugula from the fridge. Yes I know it's not an herb. Whatever. I also used a bit of sage and parsley. Happy now?)

Preheat oven to broil.

Blend eggs with a fork, adding cheese (parmesan, cheddar, etc.), salt & pepper.

Heat 12-inch non-stick oven-safe saute pan over medium heat (lot of hyphens, there...).

Add butter to pan & melt.

Add veggies & meat to pan & saute for 2-3 minutes.

Pour egg mixture into pan & stir with rubber spatula.

Cook for 4-5 minutes or until the egg mimsture has set up on the bottom and begins to set on top.

Sprinkle with herbs & put the pan in the oven to broil for 3-4 minutes until lightly browned & fluffy.

Remove from pan & cut inot servings.

Suggestions: try drizzling it with truffle oil/salt, sprinkle more grated cheese on the top, mix other herbs in there as well as leftover meat, peppers, corn, etc.

Mustard Spice Glazed Ham

I'm not roasting a ham or anything over here. Just have a few yummy slices of ham steak and wanted to spice things up a bit. I researched a few recipes for homemade mustard, and then made this mustard spice glaze for the ham. It was sweet, spicy and really really good!

• 3oz mustard seeds (I used black but others would do fine, I think)
• pinch of mustard powder
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp tumeric (or any bright yellow curry blend)
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp cloves

Put mustard seeds, powder, brown sugar, salt, tumeric & black pepper in mixer or blender and blend. Then add wine. Mixture will be watery.

Move to saucepan, add flour (to thicken) and bring to a boil.

Serve as a dipping sauce or pour directly over ham.

3-Ingredient Sausage Balls

Another of my mom's. Three ingredients. Yes really. It's delicious - feed this to everyone you know. Ok not the vegetarians, but everyone else.

• 2 cups Bisquick
• 10oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1lb package hot sausage (any kind, beef or pork)

Combine everything together (uncooked) & roll into balls (about 1-2 inches big)

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

THAT'S IT!!!

Broccoli Salad...with Bacon

Another mom-recipe of mine! Definitely worth passing on. It's great without bacon, too. There's a healthy way to do this (low fat cheese, sugar substitute, light mayo, etc) or the full on fat way. Your call.

• 1 large bunch fresh broccoli, cleaned and cut into 1" pieces
• 1 red onion, finely chopped (any sweet onion works well too. Especially Vidalia)
• 1 pkg. shredded cheddar cheese (I know, that could mean anything. Use what you like)
• 1 lb bacon, fried & crumbled (you can also use those fake bacon bits you find in the produce section, although who knows whats in that)

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup sugar (or sugar substitute...I guess)
• 1 cup mayo (light mayo works fine too)
• 2 tbsp vinegar

Just combine & toss with the dressing mix. The end.

Crazy Spicy Jambalaya

Don't remember where I got this recipe but I made it last May and it's very spicy. I had to have our friend Davie come over and eat it because it was too spicy for us to eat more than one bowl. Still, it was delicious & if you go easy on the cayenne, you can make it milder. Many jambalaya recipes call for okra, and I'm not a fan so I was glad to find one that doesn't call for it.

Again, I took the recipe and altered it because just following a recipe is like doing a paint-by-number. It gets boring ... fast!

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped celery (I think I used a full cup)
• 2 tbsp cayenne pepper (less! less!)
• 1 lb smoked sausage (I used sweet italian), sliced into 1/4 inch slices
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• 1/2 head chopped garlic
• 2 cups white rice (or less, mine was a little rice-heavy)
• 4+ cups chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cups frozen shrimp
• 1 cup chopped green onion

First, grab yourself a massive saucepan. Heat the vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions, peppers & celery (the creole "holy trinity" as opposed to the french "mirepoix" of carrots, onions & celery).

Season with salt & cayenne (easy on the cayenne!).

Saute the vegetables for about 5 minutes, or until wilted.

Add the sausage & saute for 2 minutes. Add the bay leaves, tomatoes & garlic. Saute another 2 minutes.

Stir in the rice & saute 2 more minutes. Add the stock.

Season with salt & more cayenne (resist! taste first!). Bring liquid to a boil & reduce to a simmer.

Cook the jambalaya for 30 minutes, covered, or until the rice is tender & all liquid has been absorbed.

Stir in the shrimp & green onions. Re-season to taste.

Invite a spicy-food loving friend over in case you overdo it with the cayenne.

Creole Holy Trinity: onions, peppers, celery...

Risotto with Prosciutto & White Truffle Oil

Ok I just tried making this last night so I'm updating it today (2.12.09) with some pictures! Here are two of my great loves - truffle salt, and truffle oil, not to mention risotto & proscuitto...

• Olive Oil
• 2-3oz sliced prosciutto, cut into strips or chunks
• 3 tbsp butter
• 2 shallots (or 1 small onion), minced
• 2 cups arborio rice
• 6-8 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• white truffle oil
• truffle salt (optional)
• 1 cup white wine (I also tossed in a splash or two of sherry)

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet.

Add small slices of prosciutto & cook until it begins to turn dark in color & slightly crispy.

Remove from the skillet with a slotted spoon & set aside on a paper towel-lined plate, to maintain the crispness of the prosciutto.

Heat 3 tbsp of butter in a large pot over medium-high heat.

Add minced shallots & cook until soft.

In a separate pot, simmer 6 cups of chicken stock over medium heat (add more if necessary).

In the pot with the butter & shallots, stir in 2 cups of arborio rice. Stir until the rice is completely coated in the butter.

Allow the rice to simmer until it starts to turn golden, but be careful not to let the rice stick to the pot.

Add the chicken stock 1 cup at a time. Simmer & stir. Simmer and stir some more. You want to keep doing this continually until it's all absorbed. The rice should be creamy but not stiff. Once the last of the stock has been added, slowly stir in the wine.

Once you have the consistency that you want, stir in 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese & pepper to taste.

Finish by sprinkling with truffle salt & drizzling with truffle oil.

Top with prosciutto.