A surplus of recipes right now is making me a bit pickier about posting recipes. I've never been a bit pork chop fan, but this recipe was quite satisfying and had the bonus property of using up extra apples (well one extra apple)! I did find that I needed longer than specified to cook the chops and I wish I had waited to put the apples on as they were a little more blackened that I would've liked, but this recipe is quick and easy yet filling. I highly recommend the cookbook that this comes from as everything I've had from it has been at least decent and most dishes have been outstanding. They're also generally quick and easy (even if the ingredients sometimes get a bit fancy).
Pork Chops and Apples, Madeira-Bay Butter Sauce (from Radically Simple)
Ingredients
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup Madeira
1 large garlic clove, finely minced
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 large thick rib pork chops (I had bone on chops and they seemed to be forgiving to overcooking)
1 large apple
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp finely minced fresh tarragon
1. Combine broth, Madeira, garlic, and bay leaves in a skillet (NOT a pot, you want a thin layer so it boils off quickly). Bring to a boil over high heat and continue to boil until reduced to 3 tbsp, ~15 minutes. Remove bay leaves and stir in butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste and keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the broiler. Season pork with salt and pepper and place on a rimmed baking sheet.
3. Slice through apple to make 6 1/4" slices. Remove core and seeds and arrange around chops. Drizzle with oil.
4. Broil chops as close to heat as possible for 5 minutes, until soft and golden (mine took longer and needed to be flipped).
5. Stack apples on chops, drizzle with sauce, and season with tarragon.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Lamb Chops with Smoked Paprika Oil, Cumin, and Arugula
When I was greeted from vacation with a giant cheese platter that included Manchego, the first thing I thought of was that I had a recipe that used Manchego. As luck would have it, it also uses paprika and I just happen to have some nice paprika souvenirs from Budapest. The additional inclusions of lamb, cumin, and arugula were just bonuses really. This lamb dish was every bit as delicious as I had hoped. It's quick and easy enough for a weeknight meal (although not exactly a budget meal!), yet elegant enough for company. I scaled the recipe in half and also went a bit light on the meat, so I scaled back the cumin to 1 tsp because I feared it would overpower the dish, but I think I would've been fine with more. Just cover the meat well with it. I didn't measure the arugula and just used big handfuls for the plates, likely going a bit heavy on the arugula. The original recipe is included below.
Lamb Chops with Smoked Paprika Oil, Cumin, and Arugula (from Radically Simple)
Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil, divided
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
1 small clove garlic, minced
4 thick shoulder lamb chops, about 280g each
4 tsp ground cumin
60g arugula
2 tbsp lemon juice
shards of Manchego cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1. Preheat broiler.
2. Stir together 1/4 cup olive oil, paprika, and garlic. Add salt to balance flavours.
3. Season chops with cumin, salt and pepper. Place on broiler pan.
4. Broil 3 minutes on each side, until rare.
5. Put arugula in bowl. Drizzle with remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Divide arugula between 4 plates. Top with a lamb chop. Drizzle with paprika oil and garnish with cheese.
Lamb Chops with Smoked Paprika Oil, Cumin, and Arugula (from Radically Simple)
Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil, divided
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
1 small clove garlic, minced
4 thick shoulder lamb chops, about 280g each
4 tsp ground cumin
60g arugula
2 tbsp lemon juice
shards of Manchego cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1. Preheat broiler.
2. Stir together 1/4 cup olive oil, paprika, and garlic. Add salt to balance flavours.
3. Season chops with cumin, salt and pepper. Place on broiler pan.
4. Broil 3 minutes on each side, until rare.
5. Put arugula in bowl. Drizzle with remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Divide arugula between 4 plates. Top with a lamb chop. Drizzle with paprika oil and garnish with cheese.
Parsnip-Apple Soup with "Bacon Candy"
Warning, the original recipe below makes a lot of soup. I scaled this in half and had plenty of leftovers after the two of us finished eating. If you are using the full version, you might want to use a large pot as my medium pot seemed quite full after I cut this in half.
I won't say this was the most amazing soup I ever had, but it has a nice parsnip flavour cut by a bit of sweetness. I skipped on the candied bacon, but think it would add something very nice, so I'm keeping it in here. I also substituted McIntosh apples for Fuji because that's what I have an overabundance of.
One year ago: Cheesecake Marbled Brownies
Parsnip-Apple Soup with "Bacon Candy" (from Radically Simple)
Ingredients
4 packed cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts
2 pounds parsnips, peeled
3 large Fuji apples, 1 1/4 pounds, peeled
4 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
6 1/2 cups water
1 tsp salt
8 strips thick-sliced bacon, divided
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Wash leeks and dry. Cut parsnips and apples into 1" pieces.
3. Melt 3 tbsp butter in a medium pot.
4. Add leeks; cook 5 minutes over medium heat.
5. Add parsnips and apples; cook 5 minutes.
6. Dice 2 bacon strips and add to pot with water and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until vegetables are very soft, 25 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, place 6 slices of bacon on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Rub sugar evenly over the top of each slice.
8. Bake 10 minutes; drain the fat. Bake 10 minutes longer until crisp. Cut into 1/4" pieces.
9. Puree soup using immersion blender. Melt in remaining 1 tbsp butter. Garnish with bacon candy.
I won't say this was the most amazing soup I ever had, but it has a nice parsnip flavour cut by a bit of sweetness. I skipped on the candied bacon, but think it would add something very nice, so I'm keeping it in here. I also substituted McIntosh apples for Fuji because that's what I have an overabundance of.
One year ago: Cheesecake Marbled Brownies
Parsnip-Apple Soup with "Bacon Candy" (from Radically Simple)
Ingredients
4 packed cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts
2 pounds parsnips, peeled
3 large Fuji apples, 1 1/4 pounds, peeled
4 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
6 1/2 cups water
1 tsp salt
8 strips thick-sliced bacon, divided
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Wash leeks and dry. Cut parsnips and apples into 1" pieces.
3. Melt 3 tbsp butter in a medium pot.
4. Add leeks; cook 5 minutes over medium heat.
5. Add parsnips and apples; cook 5 minutes.
6. Dice 2 bacon strips and add to pot with water and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until vegetables are very soft, 25 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, place 6 slices of bacon on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Rub sugar evenly over the top of each slice.
8. Bake 10 minutes; drain the fat. Bake 10 minutes longer until crisp. Cut into 1/4" pieces.
9. Puree soup using immersion blender. Melt in remaining 1 tbsp butter. Garnish with bacon candy.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Apple Pie Streusel Muffins
We went apple picking yesterday and came home with a giant bag of apples. You can expect many apple recipes to come as we try to work our way through these apples. The only problem is, I like apples, but I'm not a huge fan. Any bets on how long it takes before I cave and turn them all into applesauce for baking later?
The apple muffins turned out surprisingly well. They're light and moist with a rich cinnamon and nutmeg flavour. I followed the recipe exactly (except for adding 1 tsp vanilla which was mentioned in the directions but not the ingredient list and substituting pecans for walnuts) despite a few misgivings while mixing and was rewarded with 12 very large and tall muffins.
One year ago: Veal and Tomato Ragout with Potatoes, Cinnamon, and Cream
Apple Pie Streusel Muffins (from Sprinkled with Flour)
Ingredients
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup milk
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons low fat plain yogurt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 cups shredded or diced apple (peeled and cored)
Streusel:
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2-3 tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (I used pecans)
1. Preheat oven to 425F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
2. For the Streusel: In a small bowl combine the 1/4 brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Using a fork cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the chopped nuts, set aside.
3. In a medium bowl combine the flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the milk, sugars, yogurt, oil, eggs, vanilla,baking powder, salt and baking soda. (If you don't have a mixer, you don't really need it for this recipe!)
5. Fold in flour, stirring just until incorporated. Gently fold in the apples.
6. Divide the batter between 12 muffin tins, making sure each one is filled to the top.
7. Sprinkle the streusel topping over each muffin.
8. Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 375F and continue baking for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
The apple muffins turned out surprisingly well. They're light and moist with a rich cinnamon and nutmeg flavour. I followed the recipe exactly (except for adding 1 tsp vanilla which was mentioned in the directions but not the ingredient list and substituting pecans for walnuts) despite a few misgivings while mixing and was rewarded with 12 very large and tall muffins.
One year ago: Veal and Tomato Ragout with Potatoes, Cinnamon, and Cream
Apple Pie Streusel Muffins (from Sprinkled with Flour)
Ingredients
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup milk
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons low fat plain yogurt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 cups shredded or diced apple (peeled and cored)
Streusel:
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2-3 tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (I used pecans)
1. Preheat oven to 425F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
2. For the Streusel: In a small bowl combine the 1/4 brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Using a fork cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the chopped nuts, set aside.
3. In a medium bowl combine the flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the milk, sugars, yogurt, oil, eggs, vanilla,baking powder, salt and baking soda. (If you don't have a mixer, you don't really need it for this recipe!)
5. Fold in flour, stirring just until incorporated. Gently fold in the apples.
6. Divide the batter between 12 muffin tins, making sure each one is filled to the top.
7. Sprinkle the streusel topping over each muffin.
8. Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 375F and continue baking for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
Chicken Paprikas
I came home from Budapest with a wide selection of Hungarian paprika that I was eager to put to good use. I also arrived back with an aversion to grocery shopping and a case of jet lag that made me hesitant to cook. Fortunately for me, I found this recipe and it did not require a trip to the store. It came together quickly and easily and had a nice flavour. I served over rice. I cut the broth in half and subbed 1 tsp hot paprika for 1 tsp sweet paprika and was happy with the result.
One year ago: Gratineed Cauliflower with Butter and Parmesan Cheese
Chicken Paprikas (adapted from epicurious, originally Bon Appetit)
Ingredients
2 skinless boneless chicken breast halves, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide strips
3 teaspoons Hungarian sweet paprika, divided
1 teaspoon Hungarian hot paprika
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 large plum tomato, seeded, chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup regular or reduced-fat sour cream
1. Season chicken with 1 teaspoon sweet paprika, salt and pepper.
2. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add chicken and sauté until just cooked through, about 3 minutes.
4. Using slotted spoon, transfer chicken to plate.
5. Add remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter to same skillet. Add onion and sauté until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes.
6. Add remaining 3 teaspoons paprika; stir 10 seconds.
7. Add tomato and stir until beginning to soften, about 1 minute.
8. Add broth.
9. Increase heat to high and boil until sauce thickens enough to coat spoon thinly, about 5 minutes.
10. Mix in chicken and any collected juices. Reduce heat to low.
11. Add sour cream and stir just until heated through (do not boil). Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.
One year ago: Gratineed Cauliflower with Butter and Parmesan Cheese
Chicken Paprikas (adapted from epicurious, originally Bon Appetit)
Ingredients
2 skinless boneless chicken breast halves, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide strips
3 teaspoons Hungarian sweet paprika, divided
1 teaspoon Hungarian hot paprika
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 large plum tomato, seeded, chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup regular or reduced-fat sour cream
1. Season chicken with 1 teaspoon sweet paprika, salt and pepper.
2. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add chicken and sauté until just cooked through, about 3 minutes.
4. Using slotted spoon, transfer chicken to plate.
5. Add remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter to same skillet. Add onion and sauté until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes.
6. Add remaining 3 teaspoons paprika; stir 10 seconds.
7. Add tomato and stir until beginning to soften, about 1 minute.
8. Add broth.
9. Increase heat to high and boil until sauce thickens enough to coat spoon thinly, about 5 minutes.
10. Mix in chicken and any collected juices. Reduce heat to low.
11. Add sour cream and stir just until heated through (do not boil). Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.
Xie Laoban's Dan Dan Noodles
I settled on this dish immediately prior to vacation because it looked quick and easy and used ingredients I had on hand. Unfortunately, I thought I had sesame paste, but in reality had soybean paste, so I ended up substituting peanut butter much to my chagrin. I also omitted the preserved vegetables.
One year ago: Bolognese Meat Sauce (which happens to be simmering on my stove right now)
Xie Laoban's Dan Dan Noodles (from Land of Plenty)
Ingredients
340g dried Chinese noodles
Meat Toppings
1 tbsp peanut oil
3 Sichuanese dried chiles, snipped in half, seeds discarded
1/2 tsp whole Sichuan pepper
2 tbsp Sichuanese ya cai or Tianjin preserved vegetables (I omitted)
115g ground beef (I doubled)
2 tsp light soy sauce
salt to taste
Sauce (I believe I doubled this with the beef)
1/2 - 1 tsp ground roasted Sichuan pepper
1/4 tsp salt
4 tsp sesame paste (see notes above)
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp chili oil with chile flakes
1. Heat 1 tbsp peanut oil in a wok over medium heat. Add chiles and Sichuan pepper and stir fry until oil is spicy and fragrant.
2. Add meat, splash in soy sauce, and stir fry until meat is brown and a little crispy. Season with salt to taste. Remove mixture and set aside.
3. Put sauce ingredients in a serving bowl and mix together.
4. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and add to sauce in serving bowl.
5. Sprinkle with meat mixture and serve immediately, stirring before serving.
One year ago: Bolognese Meat Sauce (which happens to be simmering on my stove right now)
Xie Laoban's Dan Dan Noodles (from Land of Plenty)
Ingredients
340g dried Chinese noodles
Meat Toppings
1 tbsp peanut oil
3 Sichuanese dried chiles, snipped in half, seeds discarded
1/2 tsp whole Sichuan pepper
2 tbsp Sichuanese ya cai or Tianjin preserved vegetables (I omitted)
115g ground beef (I doubled)
2 tsp light soy sauce
salt to taste
Sauce (I believe I doubled this with the beef)
1/2 - 1 tsp ground roasted Sichuan pepper
1/4 tsp salt
4 tsp sesame paste (see notes above)
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp chili oil with chile flakes
1. Heat 1 tbsp peanut oil in a wok over medium heat. Add chiles and Sichuan pepper and stir fry until oil is spicy and fragrant.
2. Add meat, splash in soy sauce, and stir fry until meat is brown and a little crispy. Season with salt to taste. Remove mixture and set aside.
3. Put sauce ingredients in a serving bowl and mix together.
4. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and add to sauce in serving bowl.
5. Sprinkle with meat mixture and serve immediately, stirring before serving.
Sweet-and-Sour Red Peppers
I made this right before I left for vacation to use up some of the bell peppers I had leftover. I could not stop snacking on these. It was quite tasty with a touch of sweetness.
One year ago: Tomato Galette
Sweet-and-Sour Red Peppers (from Land of Plenty)
Ingredients
2 red bell peppers
3 tsp white sugar
3 tsp clear rice vinegar
salt to taste
2 tsp sesame oil
1. Cut peppers in half and remove stems and seeds. Steam of boil for a few minutes or until cooked.
2. Rinse in cold water and then peel away the skin (I think I skipped the peeling).
3. Cut the peppers into strips and put in a mixing bowl.
4. Dissolve sugar in vinegar. Add 1 - 2 pinches of salt to taste.
5. Pour sauce over peppers and toss together. Add sesame oil and toss again.
One year ago: Tomato Galette
Sweet-and-Sour Red Peppers (from Land of Plenty)
Ingredients
2 red bell peppers
3 tsp white sugar
3 tsp clear rice vinegar
salt to taste
2 tsp sesame oil
1. Cut peppers in half and remove stems and seeds. Steam of boil for a few minutes or until cooked.
2. Rinse in cold water and then peel away the skin (I think I skipped the peeling).
3. Cut the peppers into strips and put in a mixing bowl.
4. Dissolve sugar in vinegar. Add 1 - 2 pinches of salt to taste.
5. Pour sauce over peppers and toss together. Add sesame oil and toss again.
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