Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Pork...the Favorite Food of American Politicians

The Urban Dictionary has some really colorful definitions for the word pork. There are the obvious definitions such as a slang term for having sex, well, who hasn't used that. And then there are these rather interesting versions, the non kosher meat, and my favorite, to describe someone who is fat, as in, Camilla Porker Bowles.

Anyway, hours of time could be wiled away on that website. Go there peruse, have fun.

I have never made pork chops. Again, this is due to the fact that I don't usually eat meat. I don't eat it for a host of various reasons; I'm not a foot stopping PETA activist, I just have my reasons. Anyway, CB eats anything, so when I saw that these were on sale at the market, I knew he would want them. I didn't have a recipe, I just made them, so here goes.

Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops with Orzo and Spinach.
1 egg
1/4 C milk
3/4 C bread crumbs
1/4 C Parmesan cheese
Spinach
1 Cup Orzo Pasta
Olive Oil
Garlic
Butter

Pork Chops
Heat a sauté pan with oil and butter. Combined the egg and the milk in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl combine the breadcrumbs and the cheese. When the pan is hot, take pork chops one at a time and submerge in the egg mixture, then place in the bread crumb mixture and coat both sides. I did this twice per pork chop to ensure a nice crush on the outside. Place in hot oil/butter mixture and cook each side until golden brown and cooked through the middle.

Spinach
Saute the spinach with a little butter and garlic. That's it.

Orzo
Prepare according to directions. When complete add grated parmesan cheese (as much as desired.)

ENJOY!

Monday, April 24, 2006

Mo' Mojito


We had friends in from Columbus, Ohio this weekend. One friend was taking her anesthesiology boards, which, I'm not completely sure, but I'm guessing are REALLY FRIGGING HARD. So, after all her tests, classes and seminars were done, a few of us got together and decided to celebrate.

I thought that the occasion deserved a drink with a little more gusto than just a beer cracked open with one's teeth, or the glug glug of wine being poured, so I made a pitche of Mojitos. They rocked.

I decided to make the simple syrup on the stove top and added mint so that the flavor would infuse the whole pitcher. I placed four cups of filtered water in a pot on the stove, added a little over a cup of sugar, and a handful of chopped mint. I brought the mixture to a boil, when the sugar had dissolved I turned the heat down and intended to let it simmer for a few minutes. I INTENDED to let it simmer for a few mintues, but due to the fact that the day before I had two cosmopolitans before dinner, and then shared a bottle of Reisling with dinner, compounded by the fact that I was out way way past my bedtime, I proceeded to fall asleep on the couch and let the syrup simmer for at least an hour and a half. You know what? The syrup flavor really condensed and came out so damn good. Gooey, but good.

Mojito Pitcher
3/4C light rum
1.5 Liter Raspberry Lime Seltzer
1C Simple Syrup
1C Chopped Mint

Mix together in pitcher and serve in a highball glass with ice.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Penne with Spinach Sauce


So, I’m not a big fan of Giada De Laurentiis of the Food Network. I can’t stand watching her, with her perma teeth grin, which makes her look like she’s always in the middle of a fluoride treatment. Or the fact that her breasts are far too big for her twig like structure, and are always on display in her low cut shirts. Has this women ever heard of a turtle neck? Anyway, I don’t particularly like watching her, but the let’s face it, the bitch can cook.

So this recipe is from the infamous De Laurentiis collection. It’s super easy and tasted great.

CB has lost a little weight due to all the manual labor he has been putting in the house at night, and also the stress associated with buying a house and selling a house at the same time. So in order to make this meal a little more beefy, I added chicken to the pasta. CB needs his protein. With the protien from the chicken and the iron from the spinach, he'll be back to popeye shape in no time.

1 pound whole wheat or multi grain penne
3 garlic cloves
2 ounces goat cheese
1 ounce reduced fat cream cheese
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the penne and cook until it is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes.

Mince the garlic in a food processor. Add the goat cheese, cream cheese, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and half of the spinach leaves. Blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Set the cheese and spinach mixture aside.

Meanwhile, place the remaining spinach leaves in a large bowl.

Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Spoon the pasta atop the spinach leaves in the bowl. Scrape the cheese and spinach mixture over the pasta mixture and toss to coat, adding enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the Parmesan over and serve.

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Truckin'...

I'm truckin' in more ways than one. It's move time. Pack up your shit and make an ungodly amount of trips to and fro time. Put it all in a box wrapped in newspaper, only to unwrap it and take it out of the box the next day time.

Yes, it's the big move this weekend for me and dear cb. It's been a long time coming and we are more than thrilled to move to our new home. This does mean however that I will have to put a hold on all food posts because there will not be a pan nor pot that is not packed away awaiting burly men to carry it to a new home.

Moving sucks. It sucks enough to make you drink, so that is what all my posts will be about until I can unpack my crap and get it all into working order. So without further ado...I present Red Truck, apropos don't you think?

I visited Cline Vineyards while in Sonoma this fall and it was a wonderful little place with great people running the show. They offer a variety of reds and whites. CB has been drinking Red Truck for years, and you can get it in almost every local wine and liquor store. It's a blend, of Syrah, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Franc, Grenache and Mourvedre. It's "medium-bodied and delicious flavors of dark berries, licorice and chocolate with smooth tannins." It pairs well with pizza and tomato based dishes...and considering I don't have any dishes, it pairs well with a powerbar.

CHEERS!

Monday, March 27, 2006

The Spice is Right #1: Ancient Spices - Curried Chicken in Boston Lettuce Cups


Curry Powder is based largely on four spices: coriander, cumin, fenugreek and turmeric, with the possibility of many other ingredients including: Cloves, Garlic , Curry Leaves, Fennel Seeds, Ginger, Chillies, Mustard, Red Pepper, Salt, Cassia, Black Pepper, Poppy Seeds, Anise, Bengal Gram, Cardamom, Cassia buds, Celery Seed, Cinnamon, Dill Seed, Mace, Nagkeser, Nutmeg, Onion, Trifala, and White Pepper

Reasons for chosing curry powder - #1
I love the absolute smell of this spice. The second you smell it, you know what it is, and one never forgets the smell. It really is so unique, and has the power to completely transform the foods with which it is working. I don't consider it a spice that enhances, I consider it a spice that defines.

Reasons for choosing curry powder - #2
A July 11th article on Forbes.com titled Curry Spice Shuts Down Melanoma states that “Curcumin, the ingredient that gives curry its yellow hue, blocked the growth of melanoma tumor cells and even stimulated their death in the laboratory, researchers report.” The article then went on to highlight all the research that has been conducted about the spice and its documented cancer fighting abilities.

There have also been a number of articles describing the link between curry and decreased incidents of Alzheimers disease. Curry powder is largely composed of
turmeric. Turmeric is the source of Curcumin, among many other compounds. The other spices and herbs in curry powder, almost every one, are known from early times for improving mental functioning. This may help explain why India has one of the lowest rates of Alzheimers disease in the world.

It seems that right now, all signs point to including curry in your diet. Some unpleasantness may be noticed if one suffers from advanced gall bladder trouble, since curry powder stimulates the gall bladder. But if you do not suffer from gallbladder ailments, load it on and help your body fight disease in more ways than one. It seems this ancient spice is a wonder drug in and of itself.

Curried Chicken in Boston Lettuce Cups
I watched Dave Lieberman make this recipe and thought that it looked extremely easy and delicious and it is. I use the left over stock from cooking the chicken thighs to cook rice, cous cous or orzo. It gives more flavor than if I just used water, and it’s a great alternative to just throwing away the stock pot.

4 whole chicken thighs

1 lemon, quartered
1/2 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro stems
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 scallions, thinly sliced
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
3/4 cup halved seedless red grapes

Boston Bib lettuce leaves, for serving

Put the chicken thighs, lemon, cilantro leaves and stems into a skillet or saucepan. Fill with water just to cover the chicken and season generously with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to maintain a very gentle simmer. Cook until the chicken is tender and falling from the bones, about 40 to 45 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the poaching liquid and allow to cool. When cool, remove the skin and strip the meat from the bones, discarding the skin and bones. Reserve the meat.

In a bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, curry, honey, and lemon juice. Stir in the scallions, celery, and grapes until combined. Add the cooled chicken meat and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve heaping portions of the salad in butter lettuce leaves.

Want to play along in the next Spice is Right Blog Event? See information at Tigers and Strawberries website. http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2006/03/05/announcing-the-spice-is-right-1/





Monday, March 20, 2006

Armoniche with Prosciutto and Spinach


I've been traveling for work and spending time in our new condo doing renovation work, so my opportunities to cook have been sparse. It was such a relief to come home last night and be able to pull together a wonderful and easy dinner. Move over Rachael Ray - I've got a 30 minute meal here that is sure to please.

When I first started cooking about 4 years ago, I was literally a novice in the kitchen. In order to cook the easiest of dishes, I needed to follow a recipe strictly outlining ingredients and directions. I knew that I was becoming a better cook when I started to pull dishes together sans recipes. I love spending time in the kitchen now and just putting ingredients together and seeing how they work.

This particular dinner came about because we had a ton of proscuitto left over after a party last week where my mom and I made a crap ton of scallops wrapped in prosciutto - which literally flew off the tables into peoples mouths, it was amazing. Anyway, the whimsy recipe is as follows:

1 lb Armoniche pasta (or whatever pasta you so desire)
3 cloves garlic
1 half red onion
proscuitto thinly sliced and chopped
1 lb organic spinach
1/2 c dry white wine
Butter and olive oil to coat bottom of saute pan

I heated the onion and garlic for a few minutes over low heat then added the proscuitto and let cook for a few minutes. When the pasta was half way done I added the spinach to the sauté pan, poured in the wine and covered until the pasta was done. After draining I added the pasta to the sauté pan and mixed together.

I sprinkled the top with parmesan cheese. Everything tastes better with a little sprinkling of the parmesan.