Pork Chop Brine

I learned this great trick from the food science master himself, Alton Brown. Lean cuts of pork like chops, tenderloin and roast have very little fat and need additional flavor and moisture before cooking. A brine is a great way to inject both and ensure that your pork is never dry.

There are several recipes or ingredient lists to follow for a Brine, mine is simple, tried and tested with a few notes for modifications depending on what you have in the house:

Chicken stock
Garlic
2 Bay leaves
Fresh Thyme
1/4 cup Apple Juice if you have it
Dash of soy sauce
Equal parts of salt and sugar
Black pepper

Put your pork in heavy duty zip top bag, inside a bowl and fill w/the ingredients. Seal and chill, prefereably over night, or at least 12 hours.
Pork will be plump and juicy when cooked whether you grill, roast or pan cooked

Pork Chops Scarpariello

We love Pork Chops and Love chicken Scarp so I tried a combo...it came out great! A very quick and easy weeknight meal or could be a big fat Sunday dinner. I served it with roasted potatoes, arugula salad and fresh bread. This is another one that doesnt have many measurements but more of a ratio and formula:

Two important elements in this recipe:

• Brine for the chops, see the recipe below
• Hot peppers must be in the jar w/Vinegar, your favorite brand...or home made if you're that lucky to know someone that makes them, I've tried to use fresh hot peppers and its not the same flavor

Ingredients:

• Bone in or boneless pork chops - 1 per person is plenty
• 1:1 Ration of sweet and hot peppers - Hot peppers must be in the jar w/Vinegar, Sweet peppers can be fresh red/green/yellow bell peppers
• White Wine
• Chicken stock
• Juice of half lemon
• A few teasespoons of the hot pepper vinegar
• Shallots
• Garlic
• Parsley

S&P the chops and pan sear in a medium/high pan, with a nice brown crust on each side...about 2 mins per side

Once brown, remove from pan and place on plate/platter

Reduce heat and add veggies shallots, then garlic, sweet peppers and hot peppers - in that order. Be careful when adding hot peppers, the steam is spicy and will make you cough if you put your face in it to smell it! been there, it hurts

Let simmer for a few mins till peppers are soft

Add liquid: splash of wine, splash of stock, lemon juice and vinegar from hot pepper jar

Let simmer for a few mins and taste...add more stock to cut the heat...or more peppers to kick it up as needed

Add chops back in and cover w/sauce, simmer on very low for a few mins to heat through

Plate and pour sauce/peppers and sprinkle w/Parsley

Side dish ideas: Arugela and Parmesean salad, Polenta, Smashed potatoes or Rice Pilaf

Escarole and Beans

One of my favorite week night, hearty, healthy, warm and cozy meals. Its super simple and can be modified a few easy ways to expand into a main dish or a soup course:
One can Cannelloni beans
1 head Escarole, cut into large strips, rinsed
2 cloves garlic
1 shallot
2 cups chicken or veg stock
1/2 cup water
Red pepper flakes
Dried Oregano

Optional Additions:
Sausage - chicken or pork, spicy or sweet
Ditalini pasta

Brown sausage, remove from pan, add garlic and toast lightly
Add Escarole, stock, salt, pepper and cover for 10 mins
Cut sausage into bit sized pieces and add back to pan, with can of rinsed beans

Taste broth and S&P to taste and add Pasta if using

Serve with fresh parm and crusty bread

Hot Stuff

We had a cute little patio garden this summer, with a topsy turvy tomato plant, lots of rosemary, chives and oregano and some of the hottest peppers I've ever touched. Habanero peppers are whole different type of heat!! I made a few killer pots of chili but needed something different in order to use the harvest in bulk. So we created our own hot sauce recipe and its HOT!

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
5 habanero peppers/7 if small
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoon tomato paste
salt and ground black pepper to taste

• Roast all veggies, skin, seeds and stems on..under the broiler with a drizzle of oil and sprinkle of salt.
• Once browned and a bit blistered, remove from the oven and add to sauce pan with remaining ingredients. Bring to slow boil for 15 mins.
• Let cool for 10 mins, cooled add to blender and puree till smooth
• Once smooth, return to sauce pan and boil again for about 15 mins

Add more vinegar if needed to thin it out. Store in airtight bottle in fridge.
WASH YOUR HANDS before using the restroom!

Hot Pot of soup

More soup, more Asian inspired food...

This is a lunchtime favorite from a dodgy little place near my office. There's very little cooking in this recipe, the hot broth cooks the raw veggies in the bowl. The proteins and veggies can be customized for each serving. The spicy broth is perfect combination with the soft Udon.

Serves 4 lunch servings, or 2 big dinner servings
1 quart (home made) chicken stock
1 Tsp Asian Chili sauce - my new favorite ingredient!
1 Tbs soy sauce Udon noodles
1/2 cup Shredded carrots
1/2 cup blanched broccoli, cut small
2 heads shredded baby bock choy
1/2 thinly sliced red pepper
1/3 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
2 Tbs thinly sliced green onion
1/3 cup Thinly sliced pork, chicken beef, or Tofu

Saute protein in one tsp. sesame oil/olive oil, set aside Cook udon to package directions, set aside Bring stock, soy, and chili sauce to a boil. Divide up veggies, noodles, and meat into large serving bowls. Ladle hot broth in each bowl, cover w/plastic wrap and let sit for 5 mins. Uncover and serve - you'll need a spoon and fork for this one

Feeding My Man

Again, I've disappeared for a several months with my return comes a new purpose for cooking and a new outlook on eating. Still healthy, yet notso healthy sometimes, always simple, but always yummy. Now, its all about feeding my man. Lucky for me, i found a guy that loves to eat well...how rare, even luckier for him, he found a woman that loves to feed him.

The challenge I face is giving him good stuff that fills him up without filling up my skinny jeans.

He likes veggies, soup and generally good food so its not that hard to please him. He's down for a food adventure with a few classics along the way.

here we go.....

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This one is super easy, delisous, different and kinda fun for dinner....Yes, fun. The variety of toppings allows people to control the heat and amount of cheese per serving. A kid friendly recipe if they dont like the spice, likely the lucky 11 year old I often cook for likes it hot.

The toppings work very well together to cool and freshen up the soup. The avocado seems odd but works it compliments the crunchy chips and onions.

There is a complex option and a simple option, both yummy but one can be done in 30 mins and one takes a little longer with more ingredients.
Option 1: Easy and Quick

• 1 can Mild or Medium Enchelada Sauce
• 2 quarts Low sodium chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken

Option 2: A few extra mins and things

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium white onions, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
• 4 ripe medium tomatoes, seeds removed, chopped small (canned works here)
• 2 quart chicken stock
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place a stockpot over medium heat and coat with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, jalapenos, and tomatoes; cook, stirring for 15 minutes until the vegetables are cooked down and pulpy. Pour in the stock, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Ladle the hot soup into soup bowls and put a pile of shredded chicken on top of each. Let people add their own toppings in each bowl, thats the fun part.

Toppings:

• 8 corn tortillas, cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips, fried or baked till crisp
• 2 avocados, halved, pitted, peeled, and diced
• 1 cup shredded Jack cheese or queso fresco
• 2 Diced jalapenos, seads removed unless you like extra spice
• 1 lime cut into wedges
• Green onion, diced green section
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves, this can but half parsley/half cilantro for the cilantro haters like me