Rosemary and Balsamic-Glazed Pork Chops

This was a super easy and quick recipe to whip-up. In fact, Scott made this as I coached him (with feet-up) from the kitchen table (so fun!). These chops would be great for when you have company and are caught off guard have not a lot of time to prepare.

You’ll Need
-6 tablespoons good balsamic vinegar
-2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
-1/4 sea salt
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-2 boneless centre-cut pork chops
-1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1) Chop garlic and rosemary finely, mix with salt and pepper to create a rub.

2) Place vinegar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced by half (about 5 minutes). Don't burn! (Learned this the hard way!)

3) Heat a grill pan to medium high. Rub pork with rosemary mixture on both sides. Place pork in the pan and cook for about 5 minutes on each side until desired done-ness. Baste in balsamic glaze throughout cooking process, while reserving some for final drizzle.

4) Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Tip: bring raw pork to room temperature before cooking (but not too long if exposed to air!). It helps with tenderness. Optional: marinating pork in milk for a few hours before also helps to tenderize.

Enjoy while lounging in front of reruns of Modern Family or alternatively, while entertaining your own elegant, real life one.

M

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West African Peanut Stew

Old Man Winter, you bastard.

Cold ears. Dry skin. Static-y hair. Runny noses. Short days. Long sleeves. Slush.

I’m having a mild bout of winter blahs. I’ve been busy watching the Olympics and not motivated to do much extra, such as cooking interesting things and writing about it. I’m afraid the ole’ blog has suffered!

I’m sorry.  I’ll be better.

I hope this post makes up for it, because it is the perfect antidote for a cold winter night.

Don’t get me wrong, I love chili, I really really do. Everyone should have a killer recipe (like this one!) in their repertoire (arsenal? I can’t decide). But let’s face it, sometimes its boring. Like stir fry. I could make it blindfolded.

May I suggest something to shake things up? How about this spicy and hearty peanut stew? Try it out! It was seriously satisfying.

West African a Peanut Stew
(Serves 4-5. Time: 1 hour. Adapted from Saveur) 

• 6-8 chicken drumsticks
• 1/4 cup finely grated fresh ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 large red onion, finely chopped
• 2 fresh red chilis
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 whole cloves
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup natural peanut butter
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 cup roasted peanuts (unsalted)
• 4 cups chicken broth (or water)
• Salt, to taste
• Cilantro, to garnish
• Fresh lemon

Directions
1) Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large pot and brown chicken drumsticks over medium high heat until browned on all sides (approx 10 minutes). Set aside.
2) Meanwhile, prep onions, garlic, ginger and 1 chilli and add to hot pot once chicken is removed. Sautée with a more oil until soft and fragrant (about 5 minutes).
3) Add spices (turmeric, cinnamon, pepper, coriander, cumin, cloves) and fry for about one minute.
4) Add tomato paste and cook until slightly caramelized, about 3 minutes. Add peanut butter. Stir until melted and incorporated.
5) Return chicken to pot along with stock (or water) and tomatoes. Bring to a boil.
6) Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer about 25 minutes.
7) Add sweet potato and cook until tender, about another 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
8) Season with salt and add roasted peanuts and second chopped fresh chilli. Finish with squeeze of fresh lemon juice and garnish with fresh cilantro.

Yum. This stew is really filling, and made great leftovers. The chicken was fall-off-the-bone tender, but I’m sure it would still be great vegan-ized with tofu. I liked the crunch of the peanuts.

I served it over couscous (aka the lazy-man’s rice) with salad. The next day we had it with sautéed balsamic mushrooms, salad and flatbreads.

Note: my peppers were not extremely spicy, so I did not de-seed them. Proceed with caution if you think yours may be hotter. Also, if you think the stew is too thick, add one more cup of liquid.

What are your favourite winter recipes? How do you stay sane at this time of year? Let me know below!

Thanks for reading.

M

These Bourbon-Miso Pork Chops Made Me Want to Blog Again

Are you there blog? It’s me, Maddie.

It’s been so long, I forgot my WordPress password.

It’s been so long, I forget how to work my iPad.

It’s been so long that I was worried that I had forgotten how to cook.

I was only reassured after magically dreaming up this recipe. I made it twice just to make sure it wasn’t a fluke.

It wasn’t.

Sss’uper Easy Bourbon-Miso Pork Chops

-2 Bone in chops
-4 tablespoons honey
-2 tablespoons miso paste
-2 cloves finely chopped garlic
-2 shots Bourbon
-black pepper
– maybe some water

1) pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2) in small sauce pan sauté garlic until fragrant, add Bourbon and let simmer for two minutes, stirring frequently, then add miso and honey, stir often and let reduce. Keep simmering over low heat.
3) brown chops on both sides using a skillet over high heat (2 minutes on each side should do)
4) transfer to baking sheet and cover with 1/3 of the sauce. Bake in oven for 15 minutes, turning once halfway through, baste with other 1/3 of the sauce. Do not overlook!
5) when chops are done, finish with remaining sauce and top with crispy red onions or garish of choice.

These were juicy and the sauce is a nice combo of sweet/salty, my all time favourite combo. Also fast!

On account of laziness and circumstance, I apologize for being such a wild non-blogging-flake, but rest assured my undisciplined and non-cooking summer was nothing short of dreamy. I am, however, excited to be back in the kitchen and sharing again this fall. I hope you’ll join me!

M

Caribbean Spiced Pork Side Ribs- these are all about the rub

Spice mixture

These bad boys were divine- very flavourful and easy to make. The most time consuming (but fun!) part is assembling the rub- many ingredients but well worth it!

Ingredients for rub: 

• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground clove
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• zest of 1 lime (plus juice)
• 1 cup OJ

Rub generously with spices and cook covered in the  juice for 1.5 hours at 350 and then uncovered for another 1/2 hour. The rub creates a lovely nuanced crust, at once sweet, gingery, savory, peppery and citrus-y. Ta da! So easy.

I served the ribs  with salad, quinoa and baked sweet potato rounds. I drizzled the potatoes with fresh lime juice and topped with black pepper (sweet potato with lime is a fantastic combo. Try it!