100th post

I realized this afternoon that my next post would be my 100th post.  I was initially planning on preparing something a fancier in celebration but I just didn't have the time this evening.  I walked in the door right at 5:35 p.m. tonight which means I had 35 minutes to say hello to S, change clothes, get dinner going and get out the door so I could be at the gym by 6:30 p.m. for my training appointment.   As I was staring in the fridge to see what I could pull together quickly I noticed the jars of sauerkraut that I made a month or so ago.   You can find the sauerkraut recipe in my post titled Oktoberfest Update from late September.

Menu
Pork Chops with Homemade Sauerkraut
Roasted Red Kuri Squash with Mint
Alexandra Potato Dumplings

To make the pork, in a oven safe baking dish I layered the bottom with some of the sauerkraut, added two bone-in pork chops that I seasoned with black pepper and then topped it with the remaining sauerkraut.  The sauerkraut has plenty of salt to help season the pork so don't add any additional salt this dish.  Cover the dish with a lid and placed it in the oven on 325 degrees.  I put it in the oven right before I walked out the door.

I found the squash recipe in the November issue of Bon Appetit magazine, Roasted Squash with Mint and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds.  The recipe actually calls for acorn or butternut squash, however I had some slices of Red Kuri squash in my fridge so I went with that.  I also omitted the toasted pumpkin seeds just to avoid the extra step.  I think it still turned out really great.  I placed the squash slices on a baking sheet, drizzled them with olive oil and seasoned them with salt and pepper.  I called my husband when I left the gym and he threw them in the oven.  The squash was ready to come out of the oven shortly after I got home.  I drizzled them with balsamic vinegar and topped them with mint leaves.

The potato dumplings were by far the easiest part of the meal.  When I got home I put a pot of water on the stove and followed the boiling instructions.  When they were finished, I drained them and placed a tiny bit of butter on them and seasoned them with some pepper.

Chris was very happy because he was able to start watching the Bears game and dinner was ready by 7:30 p.m. so we weren't eating as late as we normally do on a night I go to the gym.  So everything worked out well.  Even better was the fact that the meal was quite good.

This meal was rated 3.5 asparagus spears

Balsamic and Blue Cheese Pork Chop with Caramelized Pears and Onions

We are getting ready to leave for our Big Birthday Vacation on Saturday so I am trying to cook with as many ingredients I have on hand to use everything up before we leave.  You are probably wondering what the Big Birthday Vacation is? My birthday and my husband's birthday are a day apart, so this year we decided we would go on vacation to celebrate since I am turning the Big 3-5! We are going to San Francisco for a night and then off to Napa for 3 nights.  I am excited about our trip however I am having heart palpitations about not seeing S for 5 days/4 nights or approximately 108 hours.  I have only been apart from her for about 18 hours since she was born so I think I am having separation anxiety.  She is staying with her grandparents so at least she will be in good hands while we are gone.  Getting back to tonight's meal.

Menu
Balsamic and Blue Cheese Center Cut Pork Chop
Caramelized Pears and Onions
Roasted Cremini Mushrooms and Summer Squash

Making the Pork Chops
Take two boneless center cut pork chops and place them in a shallow baking dish.  Pour about 1/4 cup of White Balsamic Vinegar over the top of the pork  chops.  Season with salt and pepper. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees. The cooking time will depend on the thickness of the pork chop however the internal temperature should be between 160 degrees (medium) to 170 degrees (well done).  Once the pork chop is done you will take it out of the oven and add some Point Reyes Blue Cheese crumbles to the top of the pork chop. Place under the broiler for a couple minutes just long enough to melt the cheese and get a slight crust on the top.  Be sure that your pork chop is not in there too long or it will get overcooked and become tough.

Pears and Caramelized Onions
Peel and slice 1 medium large or 2 small sweet onions
Core and slice 2 Bartlett Pears (Sliced into strips)
In a saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive and 1 tablespoon of butter.  Add the pears and onions and cooking on a medium-low heat.  Stir occasionally. Season with kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper and a little thyme. Add a little more butter if needed.

Summer Squash and Cremini Mushrooms
In another shallow baking dish, add slices of summer squash and cleaned cremini mushrooms.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with Montreal Steak Seasoning and some minced garlic.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees

Serve the pork chop over a bed of the caramelized pears and onions.  The blue cheese really compliments the pears and onions so be sure to get a bite with both the chop and pears/onions.

This meal was rated 4 asparagus spears

Eh!!

The other night I made Mango-Cucumber Salsa and a Guava Marinated Pork Chop.  It didn't turn out quite as I had hoped, my reaction was Eh!  My husband's was the same, in fact he gave this meal my lowest score yet, 2.5 asparagus stalks.  His biggest complaint was the toughness of the meat.  We won't point out to him that he actually did the cooking as far as the pork goes (ha,ha). He also thought the flavor of the marinade was not strong enough. 

I do think there are just a few tweaks that need to be made to the dish to make it a good meal.  One thing I would do next time is let the pork marinade longer and secondly I would not cook the pork in a grill pan on the top of the stove.  My original intent was to grill the pork chops on the grill however it was pouring down rain when we were trying to cook so we had to come up with a plan B.  I think plan B should have been baking it in the oven.  The issue with the grill pan was the guava glaze started to burn and the meat got a little tough because it took so long to cook through.

Mango-Cucumber Salsa
In a bowl combine the following ingredients:
2/3 cup of diced mango
2/3 cup of diced cucmber
2/3 cup of diced red onion
1/3 cup of diced red bell pepper
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
1/4 cup of diced green bell pepper
1 tomato diced
Chopped Cilantro
Salt

I think its a good idea to make this a little ahead of time so that it has time to incorporate some of the flavors
Guava Glazed Pork Chop
I used bonless center cut pork chops
1 cup Jumex Guava nectar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
Salt and Pepper

Combine all of the ingredients in a ziplock bag and add pork chops.  Let the pork marinade for at least 3 hours.
When you are ready to cook I would say the preferred method would be to grill the pork until done.
If you want to brush the pork with a little of the marinade while it is grilling be sure to reserve a bit before you add the meat to the ziplock bag.

I will have to try this one again to redeem myself. :)

Mushrooms again!

Chris walked into the kitchen, saw me slicing vegetables and immediately started giving me grief about cooking with mushrooms again. What can I say; I needed to use them before they went bad.

Menu
Center Cut Pork Chops in a White Wine and Mushroom Sauce served over egg noodles
Sauteed Zucchini

In a pan (I used Le Creuset French Oven) heat 1 tablespoon olive oil, add 3 large chopped garlic cloves and roughly 1/4 cup chopped sweet onion. Sauté  for approximately 1-2 minutes. Add center cut pork chops that have been seasoned with salt, fresh ground pepper and Olde Thompson Steak & Burger seasoning. (Any steak seasoning would work, Montreal Steak Seasoning is another great option.) Brown the chops on both sides. Add approximately 1/4 cup of dry white wine, I used Chardonnay.  Be careful not to let the wine drip over the side of the pan like I did;  it causes a large flame. Let the alcohol burn off and stir the brown bits off then bottom of the pan. Add 10 oz of sliced Cremini mushrooms, 3 chopped scallions (use green and white parts), 4 sage leaves chopped. Season mushrooms with a little fresh cracked pepper and a couple pinches of White Truffle Salt. Lower the temperature, place the lid on French oven and cook for approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Right before you are ready to serve remove the chops from pan and add 1 teaspoon of sour cream to the mushroom mixture. Make sure to stir well so that the sour cream is incorporated into the sauce.  Add approximately 1 tablespoon of chopped curly leaf parsley and  let cook for a few more minutes.  

Cook about 4.5 handfuls of egg noodles per instructions on the package. Drain noodles.  Add cooked egg noodles to mushroom mixture which should be on low heat, continue to stir to coat noodles. Once the noodles have been combined with the mushrooms you are ready to plate up the meal.

In a separate pan heat a little olive oil and add sliced zucchini, season with salt and pepper, sauté for approximately 10 minutes.

Note: I used pork chops that were bone-in, next time around I think I would use boneless chops.

This meal was rated 3.5 asparagus spears