Friday, June 3, 2011

Acrylic Paints and Pork Chops



I got a text from Koby today while he was completing his LAST DAY in the oil field, requesting that we have a 'real' dinner tonight. So I started thumbing through some Food Network magazines and found this recipe that seemed easy enough for me to throw together for my very excited husband tonight.

Reviews? It's good - we both decided it would be even better with bacon. And the smashed potatoes 'as-is' are a little bit bland compared to how we usually make them. Overall, it's a super easy meal to make that's relatively healthy and is a nice twist to your average pork chop.

Ingredients

* 1 pound small fingerling potatoes
* 2 cloves garlic
* Kosher salt
* 4 1/2-inch-thick boneless pork loin chops (5 ounces each)
* 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
* Freshly ground pepper
* 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 large red onion, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
* 2 Granny Smith apples, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
* 3/4 cup apple cider
* 1/4 cup buttermilk

Directions

Put the potatoes and garlic in a saucepan, cover with cold water and season with salt. Cover and bring to a boil, then uncover and continue cooking until tender, about 15 minutes. Cover and set aside.

Meanwhile, rub both sides of the pork chops with the sage, and salt and pepper to taste. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat, then add 1 teaspoon olive oil and sear the chops until golden on both sides, about 5 minutes total. Transfer to a plate. Wipe out the skillet and add the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil. Add the onion and apples and cook over medium-high heat until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the cider.

Return the chops to the skillet. Cover and cook, turning once, until just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain the potatoes, reserving 1/4 cup liquid. Return the potatoes to the pan; add the buttermilk and mash, adding cooking liquid as needed. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with the pork chops, onion and apples. Drizzle with the pan juices.

Per serving: Calories 413; Fat 16 g (Saturated 5 g); Cholesterol 76 mg; Sodium 98 mg; Carbohydrate 40 g; Fiber 5 g; Protein 26 g

Photograph by Antonis Achilleos


In between runs to the grocery store and cooking, I became very bored and decided to paint. As with the other fox painting, I'm totally copying illustrations I'm finding on Etsy. I don't have any small canvases left and so I decided to paint these on the backs of grocery bags - I LOVE brown paper for some reason.





This post is sort of lame - you can imagine that the lack of sarcastic teenagers around me for 8 hours each day provides me with less entertainment than normal.

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