Ah, memories of meals are wonderful things. Even more wonderful is when you stumble upon a forgotten little video clip of a wonderful meal with two crazy ladies. This is video of our dinner at Casa Lasalle on our first night in Rome in July 2010. Jet lag goofiness had definitely set in!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Happy 4th of July
Today's menu includes potato salad and grilled pork chops. That's what the Founding Fathers ate after they mailed off the Declaration of Independence. True story. Alright, it's not true. But it should be.
Todays menu is Cumin Crusted Pork Chops with Peach Chipotle Salsa and the famous PsychoPants' Potato Salad.
Let's start with the potato salad. I've been a failure at making potato salad my entire life. My mother always made fabulous potato salad. Potatoes, mayo, mustard, onions, eggs, celery and a splash of vinegar. It seemed simple. She just tossed in this and that and in the end, it was great. It's not simple. Not at all. I've never been able to get the combination right. I've also learned that many people consider eggs in potato salad to be just wrong.
Then enter PsychoPants into my life. Yes, I really know someone named PsychoPants. She's wonderful. And she makes rockin' potato salad. She shared this recipe with me one day when I was blathering on about my incompetence at making potato salad. She promised me that this would be a winner with my guests. She was right. She always is.
The ingredients are straight forward. Potatoes (duh!), mayo, Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, Italian parsley, shallot, salt and pepper. I sometimes use a mild onion instead of the shallot if I don't have one on hand. Which I obviously didn't today.
3 pounds yukon gold potatoes cut into 3/4 to 1 inch cubes
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard
1 shallot minced
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
30 grinds black pepper
1/3 cup packed finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water by at least a couple inches. Salt the water generously, bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are just fork tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water.
In a mixing bowl combine the remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth.
Toss the potato chunks in the dressing and then toss in the parsley.
For pork chops
Todays menu is Cumin Crusted Pork Chops with Peach Chipotle Salsa and the famous PsychoPants' Potato Salad.
Let's start with the potato salad. I've been a failure at making potato salad my entire life. My mother always made fabulous potato salad. Potatoes, mayo, mustard, onions, eggs, celery and a splash of vinegar. It seemed simple. She just tossed in this and that and in the end, it was great. It's not simple. Not at all. I've never been able to get the combination right. I've also learned that many people consider eggs in potato salad to be just wrong.
Then enter PsychoPants into my life. Yes, I really know someone named PsychoPants. She's wonderful. And she makes rockin' potato salad. She shared this recipe with me one day when I was blathering on about my incompetence at making potato salad. She promised me that this would be a winner with my guests. She was right. She always is.
The ingredients are straight forward. Potatoes (duh!), mayo, Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, Italian parsley, shallot, salt and pepper. I sometimes use a mild onion instead of the shallot if I don't have one on hand. Which I obviously didn't today.
PyschoPants' Potato Salad
3 pounds yukon gold potatoes cut into 3/4 to 1 inch cubes
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard
1 shallot minced
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
30 grinds black pepper
1/3 cup packed finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water by at least a couple inches. Salt the water generously, bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are just fork tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water.
In a mixing bowl combine the remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth.
Toss the potato chunks in the dressing and then toss in the parsley.
Cumin Crusted Pork Chops with Peach Chipotle Salsa
Let's start with the salsa. The ingredients are: peaches, onion, cilantro, chipotle peppers, lime, salt and pepper.
First, peel the peaches.
And then cube them.
Dice the onion very small. I love dicing onions. I love it so much that I diced the whole darned onion. I'll be cooking something with diced onion tomorrow.
Then finely chop the cilantro.
Finally chop a couple of tablespoons of chipotle peppers in adobo. They were so spicy that they turned the picture orange. Now that's spicy.
Finally toss it all together. And add the juice of a half of lime.
Isn't that beautiful? It is a lovely combination of peachy sweetness with smoky chipotle, fresh cilantro and the crunch of onion. I'm seriously tempted to try it on ice cream. Or toast. Or maybe a pork chop. Oh wait.
Oh yes, the pork chops. How could I forget? The ingredients are simple: pork chops, coriander, salt and pepper.
The only difficult thing about this recipe is grinding the coriander. I used a handy dandy coriander grinder. Otherwise known as a sauce pan. This takes a bit of arm strength, but after a few minutes you'll get the hang of it.
Then you season the chops and press the ground coriander into it. It will look something like this.
Toss them on the grill or do what I do. Have your assistant toss them on the grill. It's way to hot for me to be outside fretting over a hot grill today.
And there you have it. Cumin Crusted Pork Chops with Peach Chipotle Salsa and PsychoPants' Potato salad. It doesn't get much better than that. The Founding Fathers would want you to eat this.
The original recipe is from epicurious.com.
Cumin-Crusted Monster Pork Chops with Peach Chipotle Salsa
For salsa
- 3 ripe but firm peaches, unpeeled, pitted and cut into 1/4-inch dice
- 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced (about 1/2 small onion)
- 2 tablespoons canned chipotle chiles in adobo, minced
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For pork chops
- 1/4 cup whole cumin seeds
- 6 pork rib chops, each about 1 1/2 inches thick (ask your butcher to cut them for you)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly coarse-ground black pepper
Make salsa
In medium bowl, toss together all ingredients. Transfer to serving dish and set aside.
In medium bowl, toss together all ingredients. Transfer to serving dish and set aside.
Prepare grill
If using charcoal grill, open bottom vents. Light charcoal. Leaving about 1/4 of grill free of charcoal, bank lit charcoal across rest of grill so coals are about 3 times higher on opposite side.
If using charcoal grill, open bottom vents. Light charcoal. Leaving about 1/4 of grill free of charcoal, bank lit charcoal across rest of grill so coals are about 3 times higher on opposite side.
If using gas grill, open hood, light all burners, and set on high. Close hood and preheat 10 minutes.
While grill is heating, coat chops
Using electric spice grinder, pulse cumin seeds 2 to 3 times to crack. (Alternatively, place seeds on cutting board and crush lightly with small sauté pan, using gentle rocking motion.) Rub chops with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and coat with cumin seeds, pressing firmly to adhere.
Using electric spice grinder, pulse cumin seeds 2 to 3 times to crack. (Alternatively, place seeds on cutting board and crush lightly with small sauté pan, using gentle rocking motion.) Rub chops with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and coat with cumin seeds, pressing firmly to adhere.
To cook chops using charcoal grill
Charcoal fire is medium-hot when you can hold your hand 5 inches above rack over area where coals are piled highest for 3 to 4 seconds. Sear chops on lightly oiled grill rack directly over hottest part of coals, turning over once, until well browned, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Move chops to coolest part of grill, then cover with inverted roasting pan and grill, turning over once, until thermometer inserted diagonally into center of each chop (avoid bone) registers 145°F, about 12 minutes total. Transfer chops to platter and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 5 minutes (temperature will rise to 150°F). Serve, passing salsa on side.
Charcoal fire is medium-hot when you can hold your hand 5 inches above rack over area where coals are piled highest for 3 to 4 seconds. Sear chops on lightly oiled grill rack directly over hottest part of coals, turning over once, until well browned, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Move chops to coolest part of grill, then cover with inverted roasting pan and grill, turning over once, until thermometer inserted diagonally into center of each chop (avoid bone) registers 145°F, about 12 minutes total. Transfer chops to platter and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 5 minutes (temperature will rise to 150°F). Serve, passing salsa on side.
To cook chops using gas grill
When grill is preheated, sear chops on lightly oiled grill rack, turning over once, until well browned, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Turn off 1 burner (middle burner if there are 3) and put chops above shut-off burner. Reduce heat on remaining burner(s) to moderate and grill pork, covered with lid, until thermometer inserted diagonally into center of each chop (avoid bone) registers 145°F, about 12 minutes total. Transfer chops to platter and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 5 minutes (temperature will rise to 150°F). Serve, passing salsa on side.
When grill is preheated, sear chops on lightly oiled grill rack, turning over once, until well browned, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Turn off 1 burner (middle burner if there are 3) and put chops above shut-off burner. Reduce heat on remaining burner(s) to moderate and grill pork, covered with lid, until thermometer inserted diagonally into center of each chop (avoid bone) registers 145°F, about 12 minutes total. Transfer chops to platter and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 5 minutes (temperature will rise to 150°F). Serve, passing salsa on side.
Friday, July 2, 2010
World Cup Salute to the Teams South of our Border
Yes, this is a cop out. I should really be doing something for Ghana. They deserve a salute. They really do. Their loss to Uruguay was nothing short of heart breaking. I tried really hard to find a Ghana recipe for today. I found several. Almost all had ingredients that aren't carried at Whole Foods. The others just didn't trip my trigger. Someday I'll try one of the recipes for ground nut soup. Just not today.
After some research on Brazil, I saw some recipes that were "vera cruz style". Yes, Vera Cruz is in Mexico. But apparently it's style of making food has be somewhat adopted by some parts of South America. I understand why. I often make Fish Vera Cruz. It's a great weeknight meal. It goes together quickly and cooks in about 20 minutes. Pair it with couscous (you know my love of couscous) and you have a quick to the table, healthy, tasty dinner.
After some research on Brazil, I saw some recipes that were "vera cruz style". Yes, Vera Cruz is in Mexico. But apparently it's style of making food has be somewhat adopted by some parts of South America. I understand why. I often make Fish Vera Cruz. It's a great weeknight meal. It goes together quickly and cooks in about 20 minutes. Pair it with couscous (you know my love of couscous) and you have a quick to the table, healthy, tasty dinner.
The ingredients: tomatoes, onion, capers, raisins, olives, Italian parsley, white fish - snapper, cod, etc.
First drain the tomatoes and reserve the juice.
Chop the onions and garlic. Here's my handy dandy tip for dicing an onion.
First you make horizontal slices stopping short of the root end.
Then make vertical slices.
Then just slice like you would normally.
And viola, you have diced onion. Quick and easy. I learned this little trick one of the rare times I watched Rachel Ray. It makes dicing an onion quick and simple.
Add the onions and garlic to a frying pan with some olive oil. Cook for 3 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, some reserved juice oregano, bay leaves and Italian parsley. Simmer over medium heat until it thickens slightly. About 3 minutes.
While that is cooking chop your olives. Then add olives, capers, raisins and remaining tomato juice.
Simmer for another 3- 4 minutes. It will thicken again. Then spread a couple of spoons of the sauce over the bottom of a baking dish.
Lay your fish in on top. Notice I don't really worry if the fish doesn't exactly lay out flat. It's ok for the thinner parts to overlap a little. The recipe says to salt the fish. I don't. With the capers and olives, there is plenty of salt in this dish.
The pour the rest of of sauce over the whole thing. Put it in the oven at 425 for 18 minutes.
I like to serve it over couscous...of course. The fish is always tender and the sauce is fabulous. Each bite is a symphony of savory, salty and sweet.
Here is the original recipe. I've modified it some. I add more raisins and more oregano. I also don't cut the sauce even when I use less fish.
Red Snapper, Veracruz Style
Bon Appétit | May 2003
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice, well drained, juices reserved
1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. chopped white onion
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
3 small bay leaves
T. chopped fresh parsley
1 t. dried Mexican oregano
1/4 c. chopped pitted green olives
2 T. raisins
2 T. drained capers
6 4- to 5-ounce red snapper fillets or other white fish
Place drained tomatoes in medium bowl. Using potato masher, crush tomatoes to coarse puree. Drain again, reserving juices.
Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and stir 30 seconds. Add garlic and stir 30 seconds. Add tomato puree and cook 1 minute. Add bay leaves, parsley, oregano, and 1/4 cup reserved tomato juices. Simmer until sauce thickens, about 3 minutes. Add olives, raisins, capers, and all remaining reserved tomato juices. Simmer until sauce thickens again, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Preheat oven to 425°F. Spread 3 tablespoons sauce in bottom of 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange fish atop sauce. Sprinkle fish lightly with salt and pepper. Spoon remaining sauce over. Bake uncovered until fish is just opaque in center, about 18 minutes. Using long spatula, transfer fish with sauce to plates.
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