Pork Chops alla Pizzaiola

and another yummy that I tried (although, I recommend NOT adding any extra red pepper, as I did! Woo, spicy!!)

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 (1-inch thick) bone-in pork loin center-cut chops (about 12 ounces each)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes, in juice
• 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
• 1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes, or more to taste
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

Directions

Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle the pork chops with salt and pepper. Add the pork chops to the skillet and cook until they are brown and an instant-read meat thermometer inserted horizontally into the pork registers 160 degrees F, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the pork chops to a plate and tent with foil to keep them warm.

Add the onion to the same skillet and saute over medium heat until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juices, herbes de Provence, and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes. Cover and simmer until the flavors blend and the juices thicken slightly, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and more red pepper flakes. Return the pork chops and any accumulated juices from the plate to the skillet and turn the pork chops to coat with the sauce.

Place 1 pork chop on each plate. Spoon the sauce over the pork chops. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve.

And again, MY picture…

watch out spice!

Lamb Shepherd’s Pie

For the first time in my life, I followed a recipe to the tee. I didn’t want to mess up this yummy perfection – especially considering that it was an Alton recipe. Enjoy!

Shepherd’s Pie

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2008

Ingredients

For the potatoes:

• 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
• 1/4 cup half-and-half
• 2 ounces unsalted butter
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 egg yolk

For the meat filling:

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced small
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 pounds ground lamb
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons tomato paste
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons freshly chopped rosemary leaves
• 1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme leaves
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen English peas

Directions

Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch dice. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Set over high heat, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, uncover, decrease the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until tender and easily crushed with tongs, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Place the half-and-half and butter into a microwave-safe container and heat in the microwave until warmed through, about 35 seconds. Drain the potatoes in a colander and then return to the saucepan. Mash the potatoes and then add the half and half, butter, salt and pepper and continue to mash until smooth. Stir in the yolk until well combined.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the filling. Place the canola oil into a 12-inch saute pan and set over medium high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the onion and carrots and saute just until they begin to take on color, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir to combine. Add the lamb, salt and pepper and cook until browned and cooked through, approximately 3 minutes. Sprinkle the meat with the flour and toss to coat, continuing to cook for another minute. Add the tomato paste, chicken broth, Worcestershire, rosemary, thyme, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer slowly 10 to 12 minutes or until the sauce is thickened slightly.

Add the corn and peas to the lamb mixture and spread evenly into an 11 by 7-inch glass baking dish. Top with the mashed potatoes, starting around the edges to create a seal to prevent the mixture from bubbling up and smooth with a rubber spatula. Place on a parchment lined half sheet pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 25 minutes or just until the potatoes begin to brown. Remove to a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Here is the picture of MY creation (notice the juices from the meat seeping through the potatoes (I guess I did not have the best seal??)

yummy!

the "under" layer, before adding potatoes.

and a little bit of Emeril

Bam! is something I usually leave out of most dishes… or, I tend to make one serving without as much. Emeril has something that he calls his special Essence rub. It contains lots of spices including paprika and black pepper. Last night I made the following dish without the Essence rub and without the veal stock in the sauce. I also had to leave out the bourbon in the sweet potatoes b/c I don’t tend to keep bourbon on hand. The meal was divine.

Root Beer Glazed Pork Chops with Bourbon-Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Caramelized Onions

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse from Food Network Favorites: Recipes from Our All-Star Chefs, Meredith Books, 2005

Prep Time: 25 min

Cook Time: 1 hr 30 min

Ingredients

• 2 cups root beer
• 2 cups reduced veal stock
• 4 (16-ounce) double-cut bone-in pork chops
• 4 teaspoons Essence, recipe follows
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 recipe Bourbon-Mashed Sweet Potatoes, recipe follows
• 1 recipe Caramelized Onions, recipe follows
• Parsley leaves, for garnish

Directions

To make the glaze, combine the root beer and stock in a medium heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until reduced to a thick syrup, about 1 cup, about 50 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from the heat. (NOTE: I only had the root beer and it still worked and tasted great!)

Preheat a grill to medium-high. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Season each chop on both sides with 1 teaspoon of the Essence. Grill for 3 minutes. Turn each chop 1/4 turn to make grill marks and cook an additional 2 minutes. Turn and cook on the second side for 5 minutes. (NOTE: I seared the meat on the stove in a skillet… I don’t “need” grill marks! ha ha)

Transfer to a baking sheet. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of the olive oil over each chop. Roast until cooked through and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reaches 150 degrees F, 12 to 15 minutes. (NOTE: Oops, I forgot the Olive Oil!)

Place the chops on 4 serving plates and drizzle with the glaze. Spoon the Bourbon-Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Caramelized Onions onto the plates, garnish with parsley leaves, and serve.

Emeril’s ESSENCE Creole Seasoning2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Yield: 2/3 cup

Recipe from “New New Orleans Cooking”, by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch, published by William and Morrow, 1993.

Bourbon-Mashed Sweet Potatoes:1 3/4 to 2 pounds sweet potatoes

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup bourbon whiskey

3 tablespoons light brown sugar

2 tablespoons molasses

1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake until tender and starting to ooze sugary syrup, about 1 hour and 15 minutes, depending on their size. Remove from the oven and let sit until cool enough to handle.

Cut a slit down each potato and scoop the flesh into a large bowl. Discard the skins. Add the cream, bourbon, brown sugar, molasses, and salt and beat on high speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Cover to keep warm, or gently reheat before serving.

Yield: 4 cups

Caramelized Onions:8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

2 pounds yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and caramelized, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from the heat and serve hot.

Sweet and Sticky Chicken Drumsticks

Tonight I completely outdid myself… no really, I rock. Okay, okay… rather Giada rocks. Yet another recipe that I actually followed to the tee (shock!) but I did soak (marinate) the chicken overnight instead of the 2 hours.

Balsamic Chicken Drumettes

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
5 sprigs of rosemary
5 garlic cloves, halved
10 to 12 chicken drumsticks
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Combine the balsamic, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, rosemary sprigs, and garlic cloves, in a large, re-sealable plastic bag. Shake and squeeze the contents of the bag to dissolve the honey and the brown sugar. Add the chicken drumsticks to the bag and seal with as little air as possible in the bag. Place in the refrigerator and marinate for 2 hours.Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Place the chicken drumsticks on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake until the skin is caramelized and very dark in spots, about 30 to 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the marinade in a small saucepan. Bring the marinade to a boil (in order to kill bacteria). Reduce the heat to simmer and cook over low heat until thick, about 15 minutes. Reserve.

Use a pastry brush to brush some of the cooked marinade on the cooked chicken. Place the chicken on a serving platter. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and the chopped parsley.

Oh… so maybe I didn’t follow it to the “tee”… I did not add the sesame seeds b/c I didn’t think the kids would go for it. 🙂

I made the following veggie to go on the side:

Butternut Squash: peeled, cut and cubed. Add 3 tbsps of olive oil to skillet. Add butternut squash, 2 minced garlic cloves, kosher salt and ground pepper. Saute until tender (about 10 mins) then add 1 cup of chicken broth, saute for another 5-10 mins.

Another Alla Pasta

Ingredients:

Orecchiette Noodle
Zucchini
Butternut Squash, pureed
Fontina cheese, shredded
Parmesan cheese, shredded
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tbsp butter or margarine, sliced
Kosher salt, pepper, olive oil
milk
1 jar of Marinara sauce

Preheat the oven to 450*. Cut the Butternut Squash in half, wrap each side with plastic wrap and microwave for 8 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes. Slice the zucchini, salt, pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes. Meanwhile cook the pasta until just before AL dente (this is b/c the pasta will cook further in the oven). Drain the pasta. Puree the Butternut Squash with 3 tbs of milk. Add butternut squash to Marinara sauce. Reserve half for a later date pasta. Mix half the sauce mix to the pasta and add cooked Zucchini. Add mozzarella cheese and half of the Fontina cheese. Mix well. Pour into baking pan and top with Parmesan cheese and the rest of the Fontina cheese. Top with slices of butter or margarine. Cook for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and browned.

My kids gobbled this down. It is like glorified Mac-n-Cheese. They complained a bit about the zucchini slices, but I pretty much pureed them by cutting the pasta a bunch. The 6 year old even said she liked this more than Mac-n-Cheese!

I was trying to follow another recipe, but again, I didn’t have several of the ingredients. So, I just followed techniques of how to cook things and advice on how long to cook such a type of pasta. The original recipe had red and yellow pepper slices and it did not involve adding pureed butternut squash. That is something I learned from another cook book!