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Fast & Easy Dinner: Pork Chops With Apples

partysugar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:00:47 -0800

The classic pork chops and applesauce go sophisticated with this recipe. Instead of bone-in pork chops and pureed apples, it employs boneless pork loin and whole Granny Smith apples.

The apples are sautéed until soft and the pork is topped with a simple pan sauce. Although the ingredient list calls for grainy mustard, if you dislike the polarizing condiment, simply omit it. Serve with a glass of white wine and you've got an elegant meal to start the weekend. Get the recipe and read more.

Pork Chops With Apples
From Real Simple

Ingredients

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 6-ounce boneless pork loin chops, or one 1 1/2- to 2-pound pork loin
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 small Granny Smith apples, halved
1/4 cup fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons champagne or white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons coarse grain mustard

Directions

Mix together the flour, cumin, salt, and pepper on a large plate. Lightly coat each piece of pork with the flour mixture; set aside.
Heat the vegetable oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the apple halves with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook the apples cut-side down about 5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the skillet, cover, and set aside.
Place the pork in the skillet, sprinkle with the parsley, and cook until the meat is golden brown and crispy, 4 to 5 minutes per side.
While the pork is cooking, whisk together the broth and vinegar. Remove the pork from the skillet and set aside. Pour the broth mixture into the skillet, stirring and scraping up any browned bits. Bring to a boil and cook until slightly thickened.
Divide the pork among 4 plates and pour some pan sauce over each. Before serving, place an apple half and a dab of mustard on each plate.

Serves 4.

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Fast & Easy Dinner: Pork Cutlets With Brussels Sprouts

partysugar — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:00:12 -0700

If you think you don't like Brussels sprouts, think again! The small leafy green vegetable is horribly misunderstood, but I assure you, when you give it a second chance you'll be amazed and delighted by the flavor.

Why not do so tonight with this recipe? The sprouts are served alongside lightly floured pork scaloppine. They're sautéed in butter before being tossed with a creamy, slightly sweet sauce. To check out the recipe, read more.

Pork Cutlets With Brussels Sprouts
From Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients

4 1/2-inch-thick boneless pork chops
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. paprika or smoked paprika
1 lb. Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
2 Tbsp. butter
1 8-oz. carton light sour cream
2 Tbsp. milk or half-and-half
1 tsp. packed brown sugar

Directions

Using meat mallet or heavy rolling pin pound pork, layered between plastic wrap, to 1/4-inch thickness. In shallow dish combine flour, half the paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Coat pork in flour mixture; set aside.
In large skillet cook sprouts in hot butter over medium-high 5 to 8 minutes, until crisp-tender and edges are brown. Remove from skillet. Cover and keep warm.
In same skillet add additional butter, if needed. Cook pork 4 to 5 minutes, turning once, until golden outside and slightly pink in center. Remove from skillet. Cover; keep warm.
For sauce, combine sour cream, milk, and brown sugar. Whisk into skillet. Heat through (do not boil). Serve sauce, sprinkled with remaining paprika, over pork and sprouts.

Serves 4.

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Top Chef Quiz: Pigs and Pinot

partysugar — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:15:13 -0700

Last night's Top Chef highlighted the love story between a chef and a pig. The contestants had to create dishes using a specific piece of pork, and then pair their creations with wine. I enjoyed seeing Dana Cowin, the editor of Food & Wine, compare Laurine's dish to cat food. Want to find out how well you were watching? Take my quiz now!

Photo courtesy of Bravo

Take the quiz

Reader Recipe: Hamburger Stroganoff

partysugar — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:50:43 -0700

Do you cook wonderfully delicious dishes and then take photographs of them to show your friends and family? Well, why not go one step further and share them with us in the YumSugar Community? That's what reader MénagèreModerne recently did with this scrumptious sounding stroganoff recipe. Classic stroganoff is made with ground beef, but Ménagère used ground pork because that's what she had on hand and she wanted to "cut down on the salt a bit." The final dish, that combines the meat with sour cream, sherry, and mushrooms, is economical and surprisingly fast. More of Ménagère's stunning food photography can be viewed on her blog, mmmm...food!, but to check out the pork stroganoff recipe, read more.

Hamburger Stroganoff
www.simplyrecipes.com

I made this over the weekend and my husband and I both really liked it. I used ground pork instead of beef since that's what I had on hand and cut down on the salt a bit and it tasted great. It was yummy, economical (since it uses ground meat instead of a more expensive cut), and really fast to make. I will be making this dish again for sure.

Ingredients

* Butter
* 1 lb ground chuck
* Salt and pepper
* 1 yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
* 8 ounces sliced cremini mushrooms (can substitute button mushrooms), sliced
* 1/3 cup of dry sherry, dry white wine, or water
* 1/2 cup chopped parsley, loosely packed
* 1 1/4 cups sour cream (room temperature)
* 1 teaspoon lemon juice (I used a bit more than that)
* 1/4 teaspoon paprika or more to taste (I used smoked paprika instead and more than what the recipe called for)
* 8 ounces egg noodles

Directions
1) Put a large pot of salted water (1 teaspoon salt for every quart of water) on to heat, for the pasta.
2) Heat a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Melt 1 teaspoon butter in the pan and swirl it around. Sprinkle the bottom of the pan generously with salt. Working in batches as not to crowd the meat, break up the ground beef and add it to the pan. Sprinkle the meat with salt. Do not stir the meat, as stirring will prevent browning. Once the meat is well browned on one side (a couple minutes, depending on how hot the pan), use tongs or a fork or a metal spatula to flip to the other side. Once that side is browned as well, use a slotted spoon to remove from the pan and set aside. Continue to brown the meat in batches, adding a teaspoon of butter to the pan with each batch if needed, and salting the pan and the meat, until it is all browned. Remove meat from pan. Drain excess fat from pan.
3) Lower the heat to medium. Add the onions to the pan. If you are working with very lean meat, you may not have any residual fat in the pan. If this is the case, you'll want to add in a tablespoon of olive oil or butter to the pan. Cook the onions, scraping up the meat drippings, until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove onions from the pan (add to the meat).
4) Depending on the cooking times of your particular brand of pasta, this is likely a good time to add the pasta to the (should be now) boiling, salted water.
5) While the pasta is cooking, add a tablespoon of butter to the pan, increase the heat to medium high. Add the sliced mushrooms. Sauté until nicely browned (about 4 minutes). Add the sherry (or dry white wine or water) to the pan to deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits. Let the sherry reduce by at least a half, then lower the heat to low.
6) Remove the pan from the heat. Mix in the sour cream and paprika until smooth. Return the pan to very low heat, and not let the sour cream boil (or it may curdle). You may add a few tablespoons of water to the mixture to thin it out a bit at any time. Stir in the lemon juice, and about 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of salt (taste). Stir in the meat and onions. Stir in the chopped parsley. Add more salt, pepper, and/or paprika to taste.
7) Keep the stroganoff on warm heat until the noodles are done cooking. When the noodles are ready (al dente) drain.

Serve the stroganoff on top of egg noodles. Serves 4.

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Definition: Speck

YumSugar — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:15:00 -0700

An Italian cured, smoked meat native to the Alto Adige, a region that straddles Northern Italy and Southern Austria. To make speck, a boned pork leg is cured in salt, and spices like laurel and juniper, then intermittently slow-smoked, using pine or juniper wood for several months.

Deep red in color with heavily marbled traces of fat, speck is served thinly sliced as an appetizer, or used in to flavor cooked dishes.

Note that speck from Alto Adige or Tyrol, which enjoys a protected designation of origin, should not be confused with the German usage of the word, which refers to lard.

Source: Flickr User dags1974

Fast & Easy Dinner: Jamaican Pork With Melon

partysugar — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 08:00:45 -0700

While I've had the classic pairing of pork and apples, and the more unconventional combination of pork and peaches, I've yet to try pork with melons. However, this enticing recipe brings the two ingredients together expertly with Jamaican jerk seasoning and honey.

One can only imagine that the spices provide a nice heat and the honey adds a subtle sweetness. Serving this meal on skewers appeals to children and makes it fun to eat, so get the recipe when you read more.

Jamaican Pork With Melon
From Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients

1-1/2 pound boneless pork tenderloin, cut into 1-1/2-inch cubes
2 small red onions, quartered lengthwise
2 tablespoons roasted peanut oil or peanut oil
4 teaspoons Jamaican jerk seasoning
1/4 of a small honeydew melon, cut into 2-inch cubes
1/2 of a small cantaloupe, cut into 2-inch cubes
1 tablespoon honey

Directions

Toss pork cubes and onion with oil and jerk seasoning in a medium mixing bowl until evenly coated. Thread eight 12-inch skewers alternately with pork, onion, honeydew, and cantaloupe pieces.
Place pork skewers on the lightly oiled of the grill directly over medium heat.
Grill for 18 to 24 minutes or until pork is cooked through and no pink remains. Remove from grill; brush with honey.

Serves 4.

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Sunday BBQ: Grilled Pork Paillards

YumSugar — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 06:00:52 -0700

Since I know that Labor Day's gatherings will be all about long-weekend classics like hamburgers, hot dogs, and ribs, I'm going against the mainstream grilling grain today with a straightforward pork recipe that definitely won't be on the menu manaña.

In less time than it takes to watch the evening news, I'll be eating alfresco with this one-platter meal, which calls for just six commonplace ingredients. It'll be exactly the dining departure that I need so I can fully appreciate tomorrow's barbecue spread! See the ultrasimple recipe when you read more

Yummy Links: From Wolfgang Puck to Noodle Bars

partysugar — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 06:50:32 -0700

Wolfgang Puck is being sued for $5 million over a failed dot-com deal. - Eat Me Daily
Must make: soy-marinated grilled pork tenderloin. - Serious Eats
Preeti talks about being kicked off Top Chef. - The Feedbag
Top Chef season three winner Hung Huynh has a new gig cooking at Ajna Bar in NYC. - Eater
Tonight, why not make breakfast for dinner? - The Atlantic
Speaking of breakfast, here're 10 ways to reinvent it. - Chow
A list of the nation's new top-notch noodle bars. - Bon Appétit

Fast & Easy Dinner: Pork With Arugula and Tomatoes

partysugar — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 05:50:14 -0700

When looking for quick, uncomplicated weeknight dinners, there's one cut of meat I always seem to forget: pork medallions. Quite simply, pork medallions are one-inch-thick slices of pork tenderloin. They cook rapidly, can take on distinct flavor profiles, and taste juicy and delicious.

This dish combines the medallions with peppery arugula and ripe tomatoes. The pork is further seasoned with pungent garlic, salty prosciutto, and tangy balsamic vinegar. To get the recipe for this meal that comes together in minutes, read more.

Pork With Arugula and Tomatoes
From Food & Wine

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
5 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, cut into 1-inch-thick medallions
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 pound arugula, stems discarded and leaves chopped
1 pound plum tomatoes, chopped

Directions

In a very large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the prosciutto and garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the garlic is golden, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Season the pork medallions with salt and pepper, add them to the skillet and cook over moderately high heat until well browned on the outside and medium within, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer the medallions to a plate and keep warm.
Add the balsamic vinegar to the skillet and cook until nearly evaporated, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
Add the arugula and toss until wilted, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the prosciutto and garlic. Cook over high heat for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally; season with salt and pepper. Transfer the arugula to a platter, top with the pork and serve.

Serves 4.

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Chow Down on Pork 'n' Mango Skewers

YumSugar — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:15:20 -0700

Skewers are quintessential Summer food. They cook quickly on the barbecue, keep the house cool, and bring everyone outside to enjoy the wonderfully warm weather! This recipe for ancho-chile-marinated pork skewered with mangoes is a perfect combination of spicy and sweet. The cilantro sprinkled on top adds freshness and flavor to the already complex dish. To keep the entire dinner finger- and outdoor-friendly, I simply served it with barbecued corn. If you can't find mangoes, other fruits such as pineapples, peaches, or nectarines would be great substitutes. To get started on these succulent and tropical-inspired skewers keep reading.