Dinner on Sale Episode II- Pork Chops with Balsamic Reduction and Hand-Cut Coleslaw

Dinner should be both delicious an affordable.  As part of my series on creating meals with nothing but items on sale at your local grocer, I bring you this meal.  Now, I was at my local Genardi's, the store that I do most of my general meat shopping at, and I saw something I had never seen before.  The store called them "country style lion ribs" on the label, but they turned out to be simply the rib cut with half of a lion chop attached, as you can see in this picture (the loin in the large half circle muscle).  While there was a bit more fat on these "chops," they were only $0.98 /lb.  For six pieces of meat, they were about $2.60.  I decided to take these ""country ribs" and treat them just like pork chops.  I grabbed some white onions, also on sale for $0.99/lb, green cabbage on sale for $.99/lb, baby carrots on sale for $2.00/20 oz bag, and light cream at $.99/half pint.  I first prepared with coleslaw by cutting all of the ingredients, but only after salting the pork.  I quartered the cabbage and cut out the center support.  I halved each quarter down the middle and turned it up on it's side to shred.  After all of the cabbage was shredded, I skinned and put a fine julienne on the carrots (you can also run them through your mandolin on the fine julienne mode).  I also quartered an onion and shaved it thin. 

After the coleslaw was prepared, I began the pork.  I took the salted "chops" again and added pepper.  I took my saute pan and added a wild mushroom and sage infused extra virgin olive oil (I will tell you where this is from soon) and sauteed the meat over medium heat.  Before the meat was added, I threw into the hot oil some thyme, rosemary and minced garlic to flavor the oil.  Once the first side was seared nicely, I added more minced garlic and once diced onions.  I sauteed this delicious mixture for about 8 minutes on each side.  I took some pieces out of the mix earlier, as they were not as thick as others.  While the meat was cooking, I added some light cream into the prepared coleslaw veg with some salt, pepper, and store bought coleslaw dressing (I am working on my own recipe for coleslaw dressing, but for not I trust a brand called Marzetti).  After the coleslaw was finished, I turned back to the pork.  I made sure that the meat was all at proper temperature, and then removed the "chops" as they came to temp.  

Once the pan was empty, I poured off some of the cooking oil and placed back on the heat for about two more m minutes with nothing in it to allow the pan to heat up.  I then threw the last of the shaved onion into the pan and let sear.  I then added a special balsamic vinegar (bought the same place as the wild mushroom and sage olive oil) that was infused with cinnamon and pear into the pan to deglaze it.  The balsamic bubbles up and reduces VERY quickly into a nice drizzle.  The meat, slaw and glaze reached the plate in a sort of unusual plating for me.  It was a nice dish, though, that was accompanied by a salad with romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, shaved onion, walnuts and goat cheese.  All in all, a nice meal for about $9.50 for two people.  

Christmas Day Meal!

I married into a great family which, on most occasions, shows their love for each other through food.  When they really love you, you get something like we had on Christmas night, where eating is an all day event.  This meal was one that I made no personal contribution besides an empty stomach.  

My in-laws food desires are fed by a Scandinavian background: my father-in-law's family is from Sweden and mother-in-law from Norway.  Some of what we ate is inspired by that background, but some just comes from a love of food.  We began the day with a few deliciously Scandinavian selections.  There were two food options and one drink that were put out early.

  First was Swedish coffee bread, which is a dense semi-sweet bread infused with cardamom and sprinkled with shaved almonds and sugar.  The other is gravlax, sugar and salt cured raw salmon served with dill and accompanied with hovmastarsas, a dill mustard.  We also had an interesting drink called Glug.  While the name suggests a vile concoction originating from the middle ages, it is actually quite good.  It is a lovely combination of one beer, a gallon of port wine, whiskey or vodka, almonds, raisins and cloves.  During the process, it is flambéed to burn off some of the alcohol, but it remains fairly potent.  It is on the same traditional line as wassail, but not mainly fruit juice.   It is served warm and is ideal for opening gifts.  

This was simply something to keep people happy until the main event rolled around.  As is often the case, the meal with my in-laws centers around a huge amount of meat.  This time, it was around a nine pound, four rib, bone-in ribeye.  It was accompanied by several sides, which included dill carrots, mashed potatoes, roasted Brussel sprouts with shallots, Asparagus, creamed leaks, and three sauces- creamy horseradish, hollandaise, cream cabernet with mushrooms and shallots, and a true pan gravy.  

The meat was cooked to a perfect medium on the outsides and a slightly less cooked medium-rare in the middle of the roast.  The creamed leaks, however, stole the show.   My father-in-law used simple ingredients to create a delicious side dish.  He cooked the leaks in butter, white wine, and cream, then topped with homemade whole wheat bread crumbs.  The leaks were tender, but not soggy, which can happen even though leaks   

are tougher to overcook that onions or shallots. The meal concluded with a ridiculous spread of cookies, almond bars (which will be in a future post) and after-dinner drinks (which will be another post soon).  

All in all, it was a great holiday, topped off with a great holiday meal.  I hope that you all who read will post some comments about the meals your families cook during the holidays.  For now, have a good few days and have a great New Year.  

-Kris

What a Christmas!

I had a great Christmas, and I hope you did too.  I have a few new and exciting things to blog about.  First, I received a new camera from my lovely wife.  My new Sony a230 will surely be providing you with crisp, clear pictures ASAP.  I also have some new suggestions for seasonal drinks that will warm you on those cold winter days.  Finally, I have to report on the masses of delicious and traditional foods that I get to eat with my family during the holidays.  

Final are over and I am going to COOK!

So I am free!  I finished my finals today and will be cooking a hell of a lot of food in the next few weeks.  I welcome ideas, questions and suggestions.  I will be continuing my series on dishes comprised of all ingredients that are on special in my local markets.  So, enjoy.

Everything on sale- Steak Sandwiches with Roasted Potatoes, Asparagus and raw Brussell sprout salad

I am starting a new series of posts on reasonable in home meals that are easy to prepare.  This is the first of these posts.  I was reading my local grocery store flyers yesterday morning looking for deals.  There are, of course, different stores that are known to carry better items in certain departments.  For instance, the Genuardi's has one of the better meat sections for pork and beef.  Acme is better for produce, seafood and random ingredients.  

This particular meal came from two stores: Genuardi's and The Fresh Market.  At Genuardi's, I bought the  yellow onion ($.99/lb), and baby portobello mushrooms ($2/6oz. package) and meat- one bone-in Rancher's Reserve Black Angus New York Strip at $4.49/lb for $5.34.  At The Fresh Market, I bought the roll ($.75/roll), asparagus ($3/bundle), sweet potato ($.99/lb for $1.29), Brussell sprouts ($3/bundle at about 1lb.), and four strips of bacon ($4.99/lb for $1.45).  

Here is the process for this delicious sandwich.  First, clean and cut the sweet potatoes into wedges.  In a large bowl, drizzle olive oil and shake to coat all sides- don't add salt and pepper until you take them out of the oven.  Place in the oven and roast for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees.  When they come out, season them with salt and pepper.  After 7-10 minutes, repeat with the asparagus.  

For the steak, as soon as you get the meat home, or up to four hours before the meal, open the package and place on a plate.  Season the meat liberally with salt on both sides and allow to sit out on the counter.  For more seasoning tips, see my past post.  You will need a griddle or other sautéing vessel.  Heat the griddle to about 350 degrees, or at the point that the olive oil begins to smoke a bit (this is ok, just back down the heat a smidgen).  Now, you only want to turn your meat once, so sear the meat on the first side for about 4-5 minutes depending on the thickness of the meat.  You should get a nice crust on the steak by then.  (The salt pulls fat and juice to the surface of the meat and then caramelizes at high temperatures.)  After 5 minutes on both sides, place in the oven (which should contain the sweet potatoes and asparagus) for 10 or so more minutes.  You are looking for an internal temp of about 130 degrees on your meat.  

While cooking the above delicious things, clean your Brussell sprouts and shave them thinly on a mandolin, or shave thinly with a sharp knife.   Dress your raw shaved sprouts with a light drizzle of truffle oil and shaved pecorino romano cheese.  YUM.  

The last thing is the sauteed mushroom. and onions.  It is just a little olive oil in a pan, cut the mushrooms in threes and sauté the mushrooms alone for 2-3 minutes on medium heat.  Then add the onions and cook till just slightly soft.  Remove into a bowl and throw the bacon in the same pan.  Cook till crispy (if you need instructions on cooking bacon, please sell your pots and pans and leave the kitchen).

Arraigning the sandwich!  After everything is out of the oven, turn it off and place the roll, open end down, in there for about 2 minutes to crisp it up.  Spread a little mayo (regular old mayo, or see below for a trick) on the bun.  Dress the sandwich with the bacon first, then the sautéed mushrooms and onions.  Throw a few sprigs of asparagus into the mix.  Then slice the meat (after 5-10 minutes of resting of course) on an angle against the grain of the meat for maximum tenderness.  Stack the meat on, then a little pepper-jack cheese and arugula.  Add tomato if you like, but they are really bad this time of year.  

Sounds delicious, so go cook it!

-Kris

There are two little things that can really elevate the dish.  Spicy ketchup for the sweet potatoes and a balsamic infused mayo for the sammy.  

Thanksgiving Roast Duck with apricot/cranberry/plum glaze

This Thanksgiving I wanted to do something a little different.  I was in my local market and saw a small bird in the area with the turkeys.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that the bird was a delicious 7 pound duck.  Having never roasted a whole duck before, I was excited for the opportunity.  So, here is how I did it.

First, I let the bird sit out overnight to come to room temperature.  When I took it out of the bag, I patted it dry and covered it.  The next morning, I made a glaze to baste the duck with every 20 minutes.  Here is a quick recipe for the glaze:

1/2 cup of orange blossom honey (or any type)

2 tbsp of apricot jam

2 tbsp of plum preserve

2 slices of fresh ginger

2 cups of water

1 cup of clean, fresh cranberries

Combine the honey, water and cranberries in a small saucier and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer, continuing until the cranberries are very soft.  Add the ginger slices, plum preserve and jam during the simmer.  Whisk them evenly through glaze while the cranberries are still fairly solid.  Reduce the glaze for about 15-20 minutes.  

While the glaze is reducing, prep the duck.  Again, pat the bird dry to ensure a crisp skin.  Because duck has so much fat over the breast, you must prick the skin so that the fat can run out.  (Be sure not to penetrate the meat or it will dry out.)  season the skin with a little salt, but no pepper.  quarter an onion and peal two cloves of garlic and stuff them into the bird.  Also, I added a few slices of ginger into the cavity as well.  You can omit this if you like, but it adds a nice flavor to the meat.  Glaze your bird with the delicious glaze and place in the oven.  

Place the bird on a rack in your roasting pan.  Make sure the duck is elevated so you can retain the fat drippings!  Roast the duck for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.  Baste the duck again, and back down the heat to 350 degrees.  At 350 degrees, baste every 20 minutes.  Over the next two hours, you should turn the bird twice, once from breast up, to breast down, and then again to breast up for the finish.  If you have a meat thermometer, which you SHOULD, the minimum internal temperature should be 165 degrees.  If not, you should be pretty safe with 30 minutes at 400 degrees and two-two and a half hours at 350 degrees.  When done, take the bird out and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting.  

IMPORTANT- in the bottom of the roasting pan, there will be delicious duck fat, even up to a cup and a half.  This is GREAT stuff.  Use it for roasting potatoes, brussel sprouts, ect.   

Thanksgiving Tradition

Every year, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, I shred leftover turkey and make the best pot of chili.  The combination of shredded dark and white meat is just the best in a spicy, bold tomato base.  This year, however, I will be adding a twist.  For the first time in my career cooking for Thanksgiving, I will be roasting a whole duck to serve on Wednesday night.  As if all of the calories from Thursday's meal weren't enough, I will add a little duck fat!

I have never roasted an whole duck, but I am looking forward to the near 2 cups of rendered fat that I will use in other dishes. In the chili, I will sauté the onion and garlic in a bit of the duck fat.  YUM!!!  

Also, lets hear some your favorite Thanksgiving food traditions.  Post some comments about what you love, or even hate, to eat over the holiday.  Mine is my aunt's ricotta-based stuffing made with little bits of sweet italian sausage- so freakin' good.  I also enjoy watching Christmas Vacation with my family the night of Thanksgiving while drinking obscene amounts of wine! 

Happy Thanksgiving to all!