My Cooking Adventures

Newsflash: So I recently left my job. Which hopefully means, for readers of this blog, that I will have more time to cook & bake. Yay! Last night, I made dinner for two. It felt great to be back in the kitchen, really putting my all into the food. I love the smell of fresh herbs, like thyme and rosemary, especially when chopping them up, as the aromas are released. Shallots + garlic sauteing in the pan with olive oil create such a distinct smell as well, anyone around knows there's something delicious about to come. I hope to start back with cooking on a regular basis, and sharing in my adventures like I used to. Especially now that I've come such a long way from before!

Pork Tenderloin Diane
adapted from allrecipes.com

1 whole pork tenderloin, cut into 8 pieces crosswise
2 tsp lemon pepper
1 tbsp butter
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tbsp Worcerstershire sauce
3 tsp mustard (Dijon or regular)
1 tbsp minced parsley

Place each piece of tenderloin between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Flatten slightly with heel of hand. Sprinkle surfaces of pork with lemon pepper.

Heat butter in heavy nonstick skillet; brown pork evenly, about 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove to serving platter, keep warm.

Add lemon juice, Worcerstershire sauce, and mustard to skillet. Cook, stirring with pan juices, until heated through. Add pork back to pan, and let simmer for about 5-7 more minutes, turning pork over half-way through. You can either add parsley to the pan, or sprinkle on medallions after removing from pan. Remove medallions from pan, pour sauce over medallions, and serve.


Herbed New Potatoes
adapted from the Bon Appetit cookbook by Barbara Fairchild

1 pkg Organic red potatoes, scrubbed, quartered
2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 clove shallot, minced
Assorted chopped fresh herbs (I just used rosemary)
Salt + pepper to taste

Steam potatoes until tender, about 10 minutes.

Heat oil in large skillet over med high heat. Add garlic and shallots, and stir 30 seconds. Add potatoes and herbs; sprinkle lightly with salt & pepper. Saute until potatoes are heated through and golden, about 8 minutes. Season to taste with more salt & pepper, if desired. Transfer to bowl and serve.

Tonight's meal was enjoyed with a bottle of Yellowtail Shiraz.

This is so easy to make, yet so delicious. I got this recipe from Giada's Easy Italian recipe book (I made a few adaptations). I made it with a side of mashed potatoes.



Pork Milanese

2 pork loin chops, bone in (trimmed before pounding & cooking)
1/3 cup flour
2 large eggs, beaten to blend
1 1/4 cups plain Panko Japanese bread crumbs
2/3 cups shredded Italian cheese blend
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp butter
1/3 cup oil (olive oil, veg oil, safflower oil, etc.)

Place the flour in a wide, shallow bowl. Place the eggs in another wide, shallow bowl. Mix the bread crumbs, cheese, basil and thyme in a third wide, shallow bowl.

Using a meat mallot, pound the pork chops on the work surface until they are 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle the pork chops with 1 tsp each of salt and pepper. Working with one pork chop at a time, dredge the chops in the flour to coat lightly, then dip the chops into the beaten eggs, allowing the excess egg to drip off. Finally, coat the pork chops with the bread crumb mixture, pressing gently to adhere. Set the pork chops in a single layer on a baking sheet.

In a large, heavy saute pan with high sides, melt the butter in the oil over medium heat until hot. Carefully place the pork chops in the oil mixture and cook until light golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the chops to a plate and sprinkle with more salt to taste.

What's great about this recipe is the leftovers make for a great sandwich the next day! Giada even has a recipe in her book for a Milanese sandwich! It has avocado, arugula leaves...it looks so yummy!

The gravy didn't work out so well for me when I made this dish last night, so I ended up with just plain seasoned pork chops. I think I had too much olive oil (I added about a tablespoon more to help with the frying). Next time I might try draining some of the olive oil and see if that helps.

Smothered Pork Chops

From: Tyler Florence on Food Network

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 pork chops, 3/4-inch thick, bone-in
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup buttermilk
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

Put the flour in a shallow platter and add the onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly. Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels to remove any moisture and then dredge them in the seasoned flour; shaking off the excess.

Heat a large saute pan or cast iron skillet over medium heat and coat with the oil. When the oil is nice and hot, lay the pork chops in the pan in a single layer and fry for 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove the pork chops from the pan and add a little sprinkle of seasoned flour to the pan drippings. Mix the flour into the fat to dissolve and then pour in the chicken broth in. Let the liquid cook down for 5 minutes to reduce and thicken slightly. Stir in the buttermilk to make a creamy gravy and return the pork chops to the pan, covering them with the sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes until the pork is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

This is a great pork chop recipe if you're looking for something new and full of flavor! I have been discovering the great flavor that beer adds to food. It seems to bring a certain sweetness and moistness to whatever you cook it with. So when I saw this recipe for pork chops on BakeSpace, I knew I had to try it out! (Sorry, no picture; my camera battery went dead! I promise a picture next time!)

Beer Baised Pork Chops
From: tango

4 boneless chops 1/4" thick (or bone in)
2 Tbsp. Flour
1/2 Tbsp. Butter
1/2 Tbsp. Olive oil
1/2 C. chopped green onions (or regular) (I used regular)
2 garlic cloves, pressed (or minced)
8 oz. Mushrooms, sliced (fresh or canned) (I omitted these)
1/2 tsp. Thyme
8 oz. Beer, room temp. (I used Bud Light)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Flour chops. Melt butter and oil together in a skillet over med. high heat. Brown chops quickly on both sides. Remove and keep warm. Add onion, garlic, mushrooms, and thyme and saute an additional min. Return chops to skillet, add beer and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 7 to 8 mins. Season with salt and pepper.

**Note: I forgot to take a picture of my meal after it was prepared and before we ate it, so I pulled this picture from the website. Honestly though, mine actually look just like this picture! I'm so impressed! :)**

I found this recipe on Martha Stewart's website, and it just looked so good. I will say that I actually used pork loin chops, instead of just plain pork chops, so mine did not have the bone-in. But they turned out just fine. I have to admit though, that I won't use celery again. I would probably just leave it out, instead of trying to find a substitute. It just didn't mesh quite right with the rest of the stuffing. It was too crunchy.

Pork Chops with Herb Stuffing

Serves 4

1 cup cubed (3/8 inch) rustic bread without crusts
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon mixed chopped parsley and thyme
2 1/4 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons chicken stock
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
4 bone-in pork chops, (9 ounces each), cut horizontally to the bone
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup dry sherry

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast bread cubes on a baking sheet until golden, about 7 minutes. Heat butter and 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Cook onion, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add celery; cook 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl. Reserve skillet. Toss bread, herbs, 1/4 teaspoon coriander, and 3 tablespoons stock with onion mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

Stuff chops. Using a fork, mix and mash garlic, 2 teaspoons coriander, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 tablespoon oil; rub onto pork. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Cook pork until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes; flip, and transfer skillet to oven. Cook until pork registers 155 degrees. about 15 minutes. Transfer to a plate; cover.

Add sherry and 1/2 cup stock to skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until reduced by half. Serve with pork.