Pork Chops

For the longest time I always had trouble making decent pork chops. When I BBQ'd them they were often dry and if I pan fried them they were almost like shoe leather. I finally found a simple recipe that makes delicious moist and wonderful tasting chops. First start with good thick pork chops. Line a baking dish with tinfoil (makes clean up easy). Put the chops in the baking dish and pour over one small bottle of Kraft Sundried Tomato and Oregano dressing. Put in the oven at 350F for about 1hour and 10 minutes. It doesn't get any easier than this.

Rhubarb Snack Cake (From Something Edible)

I don't often make cake or any sweets for that matter but I had a lot of rhubarb from the garden and came across this recipe from Something Edible. Usually I just eat the rhubarb with a little salt. Yes, I know most people would rather use sugar but a friend of mine told me to try it with salt and since then I have been hooked. Today though, I decided trying my hand at making a rhubarb snack cake. Turned out very well. Here is the recipe as posted by Something Edible.

Ingredients:


The Cake

•1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar Packed tight into that measuring cup, of course.

•1/2 cup butter That's one stick; room temperature.

•1 egg A big one.

•1 tsp salt

•1 tsp cinnamon Fresh-ground if you can.

•1/4 tsp nutmeg Fresh-grated of course.

•1 tsp vanilla

•1 cup buttermilk

•1 tsp baking soda

•2 cups all-purpose flour (10 oz by weight for the persnickety.)

•8 oz rhubarb Fresh; sliced 1/8 in thick (Around 2 cups by volume using 2-3 stalks if i had to guess).

•2 Tbsps demerara sugar For garnish.

The Sauce

•8 oz rhubarb (Again, around 2 cups by volume).

•4 oz strawberries 1/4 inch dice; about 6 medium berries.

•1/3 cup sugar •1/8 tsp salt •2 Tbsps blush-style wine (Cranberry juice would do too.)

Instructions: For the cake, preheat oven to 375F. In a stand mixer cream butter and brown sugar, then add egg, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla and continue to beat on medium speed until the mixture lightens in color and in texture (about 2-3 minutes). Slow mixer to a stir; add buttermilk, baking soda and flour. Stir until integrated, then add the fresh rhubarb. Once the rhubarb is mixed in, spread the batter evenly into a lightly-greased 13x9 inch pan. Top with the demerara sugar and pop into the oven for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool to room temperature before slicing.



For the sauce (and you can do this while the cake bakes), combine all ingredients into a small saucepan over medium heat. When the mixture just comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally so as to make sure it doesn't burn. Sauce will thicken as it cools.



To serve, cut you a big ol' slice of cake, set it next to a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and top it with the sauce.



Notes: If you're a saucy person, you'd better go ahead and double that topping recipe. No worries if you got extra. It's swell by itself on ice cream on stirred into yogurt.

First BBQ with Charcoal

Bought a little Aussie charcoal grill. It is portable and has a pretty good cooking surface. At the price if I need more room to cook I will buy a second one. The first thing I made was my Ultimate Burger. Burgers turned out fantastic. The recipe for these burgers can be found on this site. Thanks to my friends at Serious Eats who put me on to cooking with charcoal.

New BBQ

Off to buy a new BBQ today. I think I am going to go with a charcoal BBQ. After doing quite a bit of research it seems coals are the way to go. I will post a picture of my first BBQ on the new grill.

Pulled Pork Phase One

I am beginning my annual summer food quests. Going to try to perfect the pulled pork sandwich. This one turned out fairly well. The pork was super tender but the sauce was a little too sweet. I will have to work on getting a sauce that is a little more tangy. Suggestions are welcomed. Sauce recipe was two cups of Diane's Regular BBQ sauce, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1/2 cup of water, 4 teaspoons of granulated coffee. I slow cooked the pork in a slow cooker with one can of root beer. Stay tuned for phase two.

Cavanagh's Crappy Weather Pasta Recipe

Got home from work last night and actually had to turn on the heat in the house. Feeling somewhat depressed by this cold rainy weather I went to the Serious Eats community looking for a crappy weather recipe that would raise my spirits. dmcavanah of the community posted this recipe for a true comfort meal. The end result was great. I do think I would up the heat a little with medium hot sausage and maybe some red pepper flakes. Served this with some good red wine and bread.

Here is DMC's recipe:

Cavanagh’s Crappy Weather Pasta Recipe


Here’s one I did the other night, and I wound up sharing it with some friends at work. Saute 3 cut up peppers (I like reds) in a little oil oil. Set those aside and then saute some sweet Italian sausage which I remove from the casing and break into small chunks. Remove the cooked sausage from the pan and lightly saute 2-3 chopped garlic cloves. Add a 28 oz. can of good quality crushed tomatoes, a teaspoon of oregano and salt and pepper to taste. Heat for just a couple of minutes to make a nice sauce. Now, add the cooked sausage and peppers back to the sauce along with some baby spinach and some already cooked cavatelli ( or any cut of pasta you like. penne works well) and heat through until the spinach is cooked down. You can also add some fresh basil leaves if you like. Serve with a generous finish of parmesan.

Chicken Stir Fry

I came across this stir fry recipe at http://alittleyum.com/2011/01/20/stir-fry-of-chicken-vegetables/ I made some modifications since I like more veggies in my stir fry. This is an excellent recipe. Since I am watching my carbs, I did not add any rice or noodle.

Ingredients


1/3 cup chicken stock

3 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp cornstarch or more to thicken

2-3 tbsp vegetable oil

½ tsp red chilli flakes (optional)

2 cloves garlic, minced

vegetables I used 2 carrots chopped, 8oz mushrooms sliced, broccoli about 2 cups, snow peas, 3 green onions chopped, one green pepper sliced, one red pepper sliced.

1 1/4 lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs or breast cut into ½ inch cubes (have the butcher at the store do this)

salt and pepper

Method

1. Whisk together water/stock, soy sauce, sugar and cornstarch till cornstarch and sugar are dissolved

2. In a large frying pan or wok heat the oil. Add the chilli flakes, is using and garlic and fry for 30 seconds. Add chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes

3. Remove chicken and fry the vegetables for 2-4 minutes (depends on vegetable you are using and how much crunch you like - I would add the carrots, mushrooms, green and red peppers first then the broccoli and green onions right at the end.

4. Add chicken and basil to wok and stir-fry for 30 seconds

5. Pour over the whisked mixture and bring to a boil and simmer for a couple to minutes. Ready to eat!