My mom called last week planning to make pork chops and needing an idea. This meal was one of the ones that really wowed me when Chuck first made it in November. I had the recipe, but didn't have any pictures to accompany it and show how great it turned out! I quickly typed it up and sent it to my mom. She and my dad loved the result. She shared the idea with her friends who are going to be trying this trick with a bunch of different proteins.
Italian Pork Chops
Ingredients:
2 Pork chops (this time we used a pork tenderloin cut into 1/2" medallions)
1/2 c. Grated Parmesan cheese
2 Eggs
1 c. Italian bread crumbs
Kosher salt
Freshly grated black pepper
Olive oil - it's important to use quality olive oil in this recipe
Directions:
1: Prep your pork. If you're using the tenderloin to make medallions it's easier to cut
them uniformly if it's a little frozen. Stick it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes
before slicing if it's completely thawed.
2: Put Parmesan in a dish that will work for coating the pork, add a pinch of salt and
pepper, and mix together.
3: In a second, similar dish, beat the eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper. Tip from
Chuck: You can add a splash of cream to this bowl too.
4: In a third bowl, mix the bread crumbs with a pinch of salt and pepper.
5: Lightly salt and pepper each piece of pork. Coat each piece of pork in the Parmesan
mix, followed by the egg, and lastly the bread crumbs. Place in the fridge for 20
minutes, then allow to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.
6: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Heat olive oil in a skillet to medium heat and brown
each side of the pork chop. Browning time will depend on the thickness of the
pork, the full chops were about 5 minutes each side, the medallions didn't take as
long.
7: Put them in the oven for 5-10 more minutes, or until the meat thermometer reads
145-150. Remove from the oven and let rest a few minutes before serving.
Penne Pasta with Vodka Sauce
Ingredients:
1 lb. Penne pasta
4 Strips of bacon, diced, optional, you can use pancetta also
If you don't use bacon or pancetta, you'll need about 2 T olive oil
1/2 Yellow onion, diced
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 T Crushed red pepper flakes
2 (15 oz.) cans Diced tomatoes, drained
2 T Tomato paste
5 Fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 T Sugar (double if you don't use bacon or pancetta)
1/2-3/4 c. Vodka, you can substitute white wine or dry vermouth
2/3 c. Heavy cream
1/4 c. Grated Parmesan
Directions:
1: Crisp bacon in a pot over medium/high heat. Once it's nice and crispy, remove the
bacon from the pot and set aside, leaving the drippings. If you skip the bacon,
simply heat the olive oil to medium heat in the pot.
2: Add the onion to the drippings/olive oil with a pinch of salt, pepper, and the crushed
red pepper flakes. Allow to sweat for a few minutes and get soft.
3: Add the garlic and allow to cook for about a minute before adding the diced
tomatoes. Let simmer for about 5 minutes to get rid of excessive moisture.
4: Add the tomato paste and sugar and let cook for a couple of minutes, then add
vodka. After that simmers for a couple of minutes add another pinch of salt and
pepper.
5: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook your pasta until al dente.
6: Stir in the basil and add the heavy cream to the sauce to tighten it.
7: Add the bacon, a large pinch of parmesan cheese (if you want) and sauce to the pasta
and toss together.
For a salad, Chuck threw together a quick Caesar. We got the dressing recipe from his dad and use it all the time!
Caesar Dressing
Ingredients:
2 T Grey Poupon
2 T Mayo
Splash Worcestershire sauce
2 T Grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 Lemon, juiced
2 squirts Anchovy paste
Drizzle of olive oil
Directions:
Put all ingredients in food processor and blend together. Easy, huh?
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