Peach Curry Glazed Pork Chops

Happy Thanksgiving!

I did not make these for today, I made them last weekend.  I'm only just now getting around to putting it online.

In truth, once I made this dish, I was much more interested in the peach curry sauce than the pork chops.  I plan to make this sauce/dressing a lot.  It's amazing. 

1/2 cup sliced syrup-packed peaches, drained, syrup reserved 3 tablespoons peach jam 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 2 teaspoons curry powder

1 teaspoon honey 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 4 boneless pork chops 2 green onions, chopped 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

	In a bowl, mix the reserved peach syrup, peach jam, Dijon mustard, curry powder, and honey.
	Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the pork chops 8 minutes, or to desired doneness.
	Mix the green onions into the skillet, and cook 1 minute, until tender. Spoon the syrup mixture and peaches over the pork chops. Continue cooking until heated through. Sprinkle with cilantro to serve.

What I did:

I left out the green onions, and while I had bought cilantro I completely forgot about it when it came time to eat.  I used olive oil to get the pork chops started.  I let them cook for 30 minutes on medium-low heat, covered.

The sauce was absolutely the star of the show and I used it all week for salads. 

Kinda Sorta Tom Ka Gai

My friend Mellen emailed me this recipe and I made it last night.  Sooo easy - hardly any chopping at all.  Her recipe is first and I included my changes below it.  It turned out really well and seems more like soup than a thick sauce. 

1 poached chicken breast, shredded
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1 small onion, sliced thin
1.5 cups chicken broth
1 can (or a bit less) coconut milk (NOT the sweetened kind - made that mistake once!)
1 stalk lemon grass, tender, chopped fine
1 can Thai red curry (could use any kind)
1Tablespoon fish sauce
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
Juice of 1 lime
Cilantro for garnish. Chopped peanuts if you like, too.

Sautée the onion and pepper, then dump everything in and stir it well and simmer for 1/2 hour or so. Serve over rice or rice noodles.

What I changed:

I put three chicken breasts in a huge skillet with a fair bit of olive oil and steamed it in there for 30 minutes.  I took them out and put them in a covered container. 

I used an entire red bell pepper.
I used maybe 2 cups of chicken broth.
I used half a small jar of Thai red curry paste.
I forgot to buy cilantro.
I remembered to buy peanuts but forgot to use them as a garnish.
I cut one breast into tiny pieces and threw it back in the soup mixture for the 30 minute simmer.  It was lost in all that liquid, I could easily have used two or three breasts.

Excellent soup over rice.  The only thing missing to make it actual Tom Ka Gai appears to be ginger. 

Cuban Black Bean Stew (Martha Stewart)

Martha Stewart helped me cook tonight - and bonus, this qualifies as vegan.

This is fantastic!  Do not forget the cider vinegar, it's vital.  You can smell it a mile away.  I didn't use oregano.  I squeezed lime into my bowl of "stew", and crumbled lime tortilla chips on top.  I intended to use avocados but the one I bought was too hard.  There were no squishy ones, alas.  Maybe by this wkd it will be ready to slice on top. 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed), chopped
• 2 cans (19 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• Garnishes (optional): lime wedges, fresh cilantro, and sliced radishes

Directions

1. Prepare rice according to package instructions. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium. Add onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Add beans, broth, vinegar, and oregano. Cook, mashing some beans with the back of a spoon, until slightly thickened, 6 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Fluff rice with a fork. Serve beans over rice, with garnishes, if desired.

http://www.marthastewart.com/337366/cuban-black-bean-stew-with-rice

Easy PEAsy Risotto (Barefoot Contessa)

I saw this on the Barefoot Contessa last week and had to make it.  I haven't had risotto in ages.  This recipe is as easy as it looks and it's just fantastic.  You don't stand and stir it, you bake it in the oven.  The final touch is a bag of frozen peas - yes, frozen.  Not thawed.

Ingredients

* 1.5 cups Arborio rice
* 5 cups simmering chicken stock, divided into four cups and one cup.
* 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
* 1/2 cup dry white wine
* 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
* 2 teaspoons kosher salt (I only put in one teaspoon and felt it was pretty salty, so try using only one)
* 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1 cup frozen peas

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the rice and 4 cups of the chicken stock in a Dutch oven.  I used my Le Creuset.

Cover and bake for 45 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente.

Remove from the oven, add the remaining cup of chicken stock, the Parmesan, wine, butter, salt and pepper, and stir vigorously for two to three minutes, until the rice is thick and creamy.

Add the peas and stir until heated through.

Chicken Tikka Masala

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Barefoot Contessa - my first recipe

This was sooooo easy, and so good.  I'm now hooked on her show. 

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 French Baguette, cut into cubes (I just used my fingers and pulled them apart)
• coarse salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• 4 roma tomatoes, diced (I used tomatoes on the vine)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (I always use the pre-minced ones, in olive oil)
• large handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped (I bought an entire plant.  Which died in my fridge afterwards).
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup fresh mozzarella cheese, grated (I forgot this)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F and grease an oven dish. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet, on medium high heat, and place in the cubed baguette pieces. Coat each cubed baguette with the oil and let it brown on all sides, season with salt and pepper.
2. Stir in the diced roma tomatoes and the minced garlic. Let the tomatoes cook down for a good 3 minutes or so. Quickly add in the handful of roughly chopped fresh basil and stir in the freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Take the tomato and bread mixture off the heat and pour it into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the fresh mozzarella cheese and bake it in the oven for a good 20 minutes or until golden brown.

I put the parm on just before it went into the oven, and no mozz.

It was great out of the oven, reheating it not so much.

This is more or less like lazy bruschetta.

Split Pea Soup, from scratch

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Blueberry yam casserole

You read it here first.  Talk about an anti-oxidant, Vit A punch!

It is still in the oven so I cannot say if it is a success.

I found the recipe on the can of yams I bought around Thanksgiving.  Very easy:

Two cans of blueberry pie filling
Can of yams
Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes
Top with brown sugar and walnuts.

However, I used "fresh frozen" blueberries, thawed, with 3/4 c of sugar, 3 T of cornstarch, 3 T of water, half T of lemon juice, 1/2 t each of cinnamon and nutmeg for the blueberries.

Also, my two bags of brown sugar (unopened!) were rocks so I threw them out and luckily had tiny marshmallows in the pantry.  Along with lots of walnuts.

So, we shall see....

Sauteed spinach or kale

Well hello there everyone

I'm still alive, and still eating, but really, really lazy.

I don't think 2012 will be the year for success (especially if the Mayans are correct) but I feel I should at least post some occasional new things here.

I've recently started eating bagged greens, sauteed, once a week.

Lots of olive oil, minced garlic, and an entire bag of either spinach or kale.  It cooks wayyyyyy down and it's quite tasty and filling.  However you will wake up at 6 AM totally ravenous!