Tag Archives: easy

Mustard Pork Chops

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Why have I been blogging about food so much recently? Well, I’ll tell you. It’s a simple progression of facts that goes something like this:

brother-in-law John staying with us = less (read “no”) leftovers = what are we going to eat?? = must cook more = increased perusal of cookbooks and magazines = exciting meal plans = utter deliciousness = must share via blog

When John leaves us mid-August to pursue his MA, I know it will be a shock to our systems. Suddenly there will be leftovers in the fridge. I’ll start asking myself in a confused fashion, “why is there so much food lying around?” (I can see this coming because this is exactly what happened last summer after he moved out) Leftovers will start decaying before we even have time to eat them. This will lead to guilt, which will lead to less cooking, which will lead to less awesome recipes being made.

Noooo!

What I’m trying to say is that I enjoy cooking for more than two people. And I will miss John’s table-side enthusiasm for the things I make.

But now it’s time to stop talking about John and start talking about pork.

I love the idea of pork, but it’s so easy to cook it wrong and end up with a mouthful of dried-out blah. Another delicious recipe from Nigella Express, I love these chops. If your experience of pork is a dry, flavorless affair, this just might be the recipe that will change everything.

It’s simple to make: a little tenderizing (to get your aggression out), a little frying, and three simple ingredients for a sauce that will send you to the moon.

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Also, a brother-in-law can come quite in handy for wielding the meat-smashing mallet.

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And for clean-up, I recommend that you obtain a couple of willing men so that you can put your feet up afterwards and demand that bonbons be brought to you pronto.

Aaaaaah.

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Ingredients

(Serves 3-4)

4 pork chops
1 ½ TBS olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 cup hard cider
2 TBS wholegrain mustard
2/3 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. To make the garlic oil, put the garlic through a garlic press and immerse in the oil for about 10 minutes. Remove the garlic, and the oil is ready to go.

2. Trim the fat off the pork chops. Score a light diamond pattern on both sides with a knife and the smash them until they’re thinned out. Season with salt and pepper on both sides.

3. Heat the oil in a large skillet. When hot, add the pork chops and cook them for 5 minutes on each side. Remove them to a covered plate to keep them warm.

4. Pour the cider into the pan and let it bubble up, scraping up any brown bits.

5. Add the mustard and cream to the pan. Let the sauce cook for a couple minutes, stirring. You can consider the sauce done at this point; it will be light in color, runny, and perfectly delicious.

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6. Or, you can let the sauce continue to bubble away for 8-10 minutes, stirring only occasionally, and it will thicken into a gravy-like gelatinous consistency with a stronger flavor. Also delicious!

7. Pour the sauce over the pork chops and serve.

For your reference, here’s a picture of the chops with the lighter sauce:

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And here’s a picture with the darker sauce:

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Oodelally it’s good. Thanks, Nigella. Or, as my sisters and I like to say in the most obnoxious, glitzed-out movie-star voice you can muster, “spanks!”

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Corn and Bacon Bowls

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This fantastic weeknight dinner has been our number one go-to for the past year or so. And not just for reasons of desperation and because we want something quick and known to fall back on, but because we actually love it. It tastes friggin’ good, and requires (at this point) zero thought power to throw together.

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It only requires one skillet (and a rice cooker), so minimal dishes.

And it tastes much better than your shirt.

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Really, Alice. Bacon and corn versus some kind of tiered ruffly concotion? The choice is clear.

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What?

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You try to deny me my taste of shirt and I’ll . . . I’ll . . .

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WaaaaAAAAHHHH!

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Okay, okay–no one’s denying you anything, little one.

(Well, except for knives and pointy things, small things that you could choke on, papers that you could slobber on or tear up and eat, proximity to anything hot, proximity to any kind of stairway or precipice, foods you can’t chew due to your lack of teeth, your dad’s Club Soda, your dad’s can of beer, your mom’s glass of wine, your mom’s hot cup of coffee, the car keys since you bit the panic button and set off the car alarm, anything in the bathroom including soap, make up products and faucets; my hair, earrings, necklaces, and other pullable parts of my outfit, your dad’s glasses, the guitar, dishes and breakable items, anything you might destroy with your saliva, and anything that might destroy you with its saliva . . . wait, what? Anyway, other than these things it’s all yours, kid.)

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That’s more like it. You better remember who’s in charge here.

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Anyway, matters of household authority and the very persuasive “WaaaAAAH” power-play aside, welcome to our humble creation, Corn and Bacon Bowls.

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Ingredients

1 lb bacon, diced
2 cans sweet corn, drained
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1 bunch green onions, diced
Cooked rice, to serve

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Fry diced bacon in a 12’ skillet over medium high heat, until browned. Remove most of the grease from the skillet (carefully!). Add the corn to the bacon and continue to cook over medium high heat until corn is browned, stirring only occasionally (so that it has a chance to brown) and adding the salt, pepper and red pepper flakes as it cooks. Taste and readjust seasoning if needed.Turn off the heat and stir in the green onions. Serve over rice!

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Click here for printer-friendly version: Corn and Bacon Bowls