Pork Chops in a Lemon Caper Sauce

This has a great combination, lemon and capers. What could be wrong with that combination? This is another great one from Cooking Light. I am trying to be better about what I eat these days and pay more attention to calories and fat content. Soon enough, I am sure that I will be off that wagon and will go back to cooking with real bacon and more oil. However, for now I am going with the lower fat content.

Pork Chops in a Lemon Caper Sauce

(from Cooking Light October 2008)

2 teaspoons olive oil

4 lean pork chops

1/3 cup flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons dried breadcrumbs

3 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 egg white

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon white wine (I used a Chardonnay)

2 tablespoons capers

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Combine flour and salt in one shallow bowl. Combine breadcrumbs, cheese, and pepper in a separate shallow bowl. Finally, lightly beat 1 egg white in a third shallow bowl.
3. Remove the pork from the skillet and keep warm. Add in the broth, wine, and capers. Simmer until there is about 1/4 cup of liquid left. Serve over the pork chops.

I really liked this one. I used a thicker cut of pork chops than I usually use, and was not happy with how long they took to cook. I was counting on quick meal as I ran once I got home from work and did not start to cook until 7:30. That is late eating in the Carey household. I am thinking that I may try the sauce as a marinade and let the meat soak up the juices for a day. Also, this sauce may taste great with chicken. It's something to try.

Beef Boliche

This is another one that I think tastes better the next day. This was the first time that I tried this dish, or heard of it for that matter. I love combining meats and this was a great dish for it. In this case, I left out a few of the ingredients. I am only listing the ones that I used. The recipe recommended olives, I would have included olive, but I did not have any. I'd recommend having a nice big piece of bread to sop up some of the juices.

Quick Beef Boliche
(from Cooking Light October 2008)
1 pound top sirloin (cut into 1 inch pieces)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 pieces of chicken sausage (I used Cajun flavored chicken sausage)
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups of diced potatoes (I used canned potatoes)
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1. Heat a large Dutch oven over high heat. Coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. Add beef to pan; saute 3 minutes or until browned. Remove casings from sausage and add to the pan; saute 1 minute or until browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in bell pepper, onion, and garlic; saute 2 minutes or until tender. Add potatoes. Pour tomatoes evenly over beef mixture. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes or until beef is tender.

I chose to serve this with heated black beans seasoned with cumin. I would definitely try this one again. I think I would drain a little bit of the juice from the tomatoes so it would be less soupy.

Grilled Pizza

This was take-two of making pizza this weekend. Friday night was close to a minor disaster with the smoke alarms going off. I am happy to report that tonight's dinner did not involve a close call with the Boston Fire Department. I have wanted to try grilling pizza for a while and as I did not want to heat up the oven again, it was the perfect time to try this method. Also, I hate to use the dough that I made on Friday night.

I looked online for some tips on the best manner to grill the dough. I found that one should grill both sides of the dough. We put cooking spray on the grill plates for ease of turning over the dough. Another tip, was to thinly slice the cheese and not put on too much. In addition, one should not put a lot of toppings on the pizza or put on a thick layer of sauce. We also chose to use tomatoes as the topping. If I were to use meat, I think I would cook it before putting it on the pizza.

Pizza Dough
from Cooking Light September 2008
1/2 teaspoon dry yeast (about two packets)
6-7 tablespoons of warm water (divided)
1 cup of flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon of cornmeal

1. Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water in a small bowl; let stand 5 minutes.
2. Place flour and salt in a food processor. Pulse two times, or until blended. With food processor on, slowly add the yeast mixture through food chute. Add enough of the remaining water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough forms a ball; process 30 seconds Turn dough out onto a floured surface; knead lightly 4 to 5 times. Place dough in a bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat the top of the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size.
   
3. Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes.
   
4. Roll dough into a 10 inch circle on a lightly floured surface. I also used cornmeal on the surface.
   

Back to grilling the dough, I grilled it for 5 minutes and then turned it over. After a minute or two, I spread the sauce. For tonight's pizza, I chose to use pesto as the sauce. Due to my basil plant being dunzo for the season, I used commercial pesto. I lightly spread it on the dough. Next I placed the thin slices of fresh mozzarella on the crust. I let this melt before placing the tomatoes that I mixed with a bit of garlic powder. I wasn't keeping track of the amount of time the tomatoes were on the pizza. I kept checking the bottom of the crust to make sure it didn't get burned.

Next time I try this, I will use different toppings. I used too many tomatoes for tonight's dinner and Mike said that they were not chopped finely enough. I think it's a matter of personal preference. I like chunky tomatoes.

Dinner this week

Last week, I did not have a lot of dishes planned for the week. It was just as well, as I got sick with a cold and was tired after coming home from work. Fewer dinners meant fewer leftovers and I was forced to buy lunch a few times. This week, I have enough dinners planned to yield leftovers for the following days' lunch.

I am going to take a stab at making pizza again this week. It was a bit of a disaster on Friday night. The pizza stone got too hot in the oven and something from it was dripping onto the hot oven floor and caused the smoke alarms to go off. The plus, the smoke alarms work. The minus, the piercing noise of the alarms frightened the cats and would not stop. This time, I am going to grill the pizza to avoid the oven getting too hot.

• grilled pizza margherita
• beef boliche
• pork chops
• chicken & pineapple
• curry pasta primavera
  

Pasta with Vodka Sauce

I LOVE this dish. It reminds me of my Mediaedge days when we would go to Remi's takeout cafe and get penne with vodka sauce for lunch. Yum! I miss those days and my friends that I worked with there. This recipe does not compare with Remi, but I tried. I had a little bit of ziti left in a box and a bit of whole wheat penne and I wanted to get rid of both. Also, the original recipe calls for 1/2 cup of finely chopped onions, but I had none so I used two small shallots instead. Also, you can use whatever kind of vodka you want for the sauce. I chose Kettle One since there would be a lot leftover and would rather have a vodka I would drink versus the cheap stuff that could take nail polish off.

1/2 uncooked penne (the ziti worked too)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 shallots (or 1/2 cup of onion, finely chopped)
1 teaspoon of salt (divided)
1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
1 minced garlic clove
1/2 vodka
1/4 chicken broth
1 (14.5 ounce) can of diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 whipping cream
3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions.
   
2. Heat the oil up in a large saucepan. Add the shallots and cook until they are tender. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, pepper, and garlic; saute 1 minute. Add the vodka; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half. Stir in the rest of the salt, broth, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 8 minutes.
3. Place the tomato mixture in a blender and process until smooth.
4. Return the mixture to the sauce pan; stir in the cream. Cook 2 minutes over medium heat. Remove from heat, stir in the pasta and basil.

Special thanks for this go to our neighbors Dennis and Amy for giving us some basil. My basil plant has no leaves left. Next year, I resolve to grow a huge basil plant.

Dinner this week

This is a light week for dinner. Light that is, in terms of the number of meals to be prepared. It was a busy weekend, we went out to dinner on Saturday and on Sunday we had a family dinner at one of Mike's aunts' houses. It was a delicious turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Yum! Anyway, I digress....this week we are going to have the following:

• Pasta with Vodka Sauce
• Ham and Egg Fried Rice
• Pizza Margherita (I am going to try to make the dough this time, yikes!)
  

Restaurant Review - Mistral

On Saturday night, Mike and I celebrated our fifth anniversary with a dinner at Mistral. Neither of us had been there and were both dying to try it. We have heard great things about it and Mistral lived up to our expectations. Mike likes to eat earlier than I do and wanted a 7:00 reservation. I thought that we would be the only ones in there so early on a Saturday night. However, the place was packed! We didn't have the best table, we were in the back near the kitchen, but the company more than made up for the bad table.

I had been checking out the menu the week prior to dinner, but still was not sure what I was going to order. I had the mussels to start and Mike has the tuna tartare. Both were wonderful. For the main course, I had the sirloin while Mike had the trout special. We settled on the Catena malbec for our wine, it was great since it was one that we did not have a chance to sample while in Argentina. The desserts were wonderful as well, I had the warm chocolate torte and Mike had the plum galette.

I loved Mistral and would go again. The portions were a great size, the atmosphere was great as it was not stuffy, and despite the crowd, we did not feel rushed.

After dinner, we had the car drop us off at Persephone for a drink. We have to support the Southie businesses, even though it isn't close to our part of Southie. The night was capped off with drinks with the neighbors at home on their patio. Thanks guys!

Ham and Egg Fried Rice

This could be a side dish or a main entree. I decided to make this a main dish by adding extra ham. Next time I make this, I am going to add water chestnuts so that there is a little extra crunch.

4 cups of cold cooked long-rain rice
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion (I only had red onion at home, but it worked)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup sliced green beans
1 1/2 cups of diced ham (or less if you want to make this as a side dish)
1/4 soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup sliced green onions

1. Heat a skillet or wok over high heat and add the canola oil. Add the onions and garlic; stir-fry 1 minute or until onion begins to brown. Add beans and ham; stir-fry 2 minutes or until the ham begins to brown.
2. Reduce the heat to medium-high and add the rice. Stir-fry for 2 minutes. Stir in the soy sauce and sesame oil.. Push the rice mixture to the sides of the pan or wok. Pour the eggs in the center and cook until they set, stirring to scramble. Gently stir the eggs into the rice mixture. Sprinkle with green onions and serve.
   

Pasta with Gorgonzola Sauce

My apologies for posting this one a few days late. I've been lazy. I think that this one tastes great as leftovers. I put in more cheese than the recipe (from Cooking Light) calls for. I also didn't read the recipe through when I was making up my grocery list and overlooked half-and-half in the ingredients listing. Since I did not get the half-and-half, I used 1% milk, resulting in a soupy sauce. The half-and-half would have been a waste since we don't use it in our coffee.

8 ounces uncooked ziti
1/2 teaspoon of olive oil
2 cups of cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 minced garlic cloves
12 teaspoons half-and-half (or 1% milk for a soupy sauce)
6 tablespoons crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
2 cups of fresh spinach

1. Cook the past according to the package directions.
   
2. Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add cherry tomatoes, salt, crushed red pepper, and garlic to the pan; cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Stir in the half-and-half and cheese for 2 minutes or until thick (again if you use milk the sauce won't get thick), stir constantly. Stir in spinach and pasta cook 1 minute or until the spinach cooks down.
   

Corn on the Cob & BBQ Ribs

This was a very messy and great tasting meal that requires a lot of dental floss after dinner. The corn has a coating that uses a few of my favorites, cilantro, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese. I wasn't loving the BBQ sauce for the ribs, so I will just list the recipe for the rub. I thought that it on the ribs without the sauce was good.

Mike got gas for the grill yesterday and was pumped up to use it again, too bad it was a bit too chilly out to eat on the deck, it was also a little wet from the rain that we got. Mike needs to get credit for being the grill master tonight.

Corn on the Cob
4 ears of corn (I just made three, but the rest of the ingredients are good for 4 ears)
6 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of lime juice (I used bottled instead of fresh)
1/3 cup of Parmesan
1 minced garlic clove
1 teaspoon of cumin
1/4 cup of cilantro

1. Cook corn in a large pot of boiled water for about 5 minutes. Drain the corn.
2. While the corn is cooking mix 5 tablespoons of olive oil and the next 4 ingredients in a bowl with a whisk.
3. Heat the remaining oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the corn and cook about 2 minutes. Turn the corn frequently.
   
4. Brush the cheese mixture on the corn in the skillet. Cook until the coating begins to color, about 3 minutes.
   
5. Place the corn on a platter and brush the cilantro and any remaining cheese mixture onto the corn.*

*I really wasn't paying close attention to the recipe and just mixed all the ingredients together instead of brushing the cilantro on at the end. It turned out fine, but I thought I should include the standard recipe (from Bon Appetit).

BBQ Rub
1 rack of ribs
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons salt
t teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of allspice

Rub the mixture over ribs, cover with foil and chill for at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

Fire up the grill and keep the ribs on until the are tender.

Because I was not loving the BBQ sauce, I am more than willing to take suggestions. Send them in so I can try them.

BLT Bow Tie Pasta

Despite the great weather today, tonight's dinner had to be made inside since we ran out of gas for the grill. We had no time to get gas yesterday because we went to a wedding which was so fun. Because the wedding was so fun, I was completely exhausted and did not want to run all over the place running errands (i.e. getting gas for the grill). We did take advantage of the nice evening and eat outside on the deck.

This recipe calls for a lot of bacon to be used. I have made it with regular bacon and turkey bacon. Both options work well. I chose to use regular bacon today and added a bit more than 12 slices. It is not a diet friendly recipe.

This recipe is courtesy of Bon Appetit.

1 pound farfalle pasta
12 slices of bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
28 ounce can of diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup of thinly sliced fresh basil, divided
dash of crushed red pepper
3 cups of arugula
1 cup of thinly sliced green onions
1/3 cup of Chardonnay (the original recipe calls for 1/4 cup)
1 cup of grated fresh Parmesan cheese

While the pasta is cooking in a pot of boiled water, cook the bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Remove the bacon and place on paper towels. Save 3 tablespoons of bacon drippings in the pan and add the tomatoes and crushed red pepper. Cook the tomatoes and peppers for two minutes, then add the onions, arugula, and 1/2 of the basil. Cook until the arugula starts to wilt, then add the wine; bring to a simmer. Add the pasta and toss to coat. Add in the cheese and toss until it melts.

Dinner for the upcoming week

I may have a bit too much planned for dinner this week. It depends on my plans and Mike's plans. He is having his friends for work over on Thursday and I am going out a with a friend this week after work. If it happens to be the same night, then the dinner plans are perfect, if not, I will have to scratch something.

• Ribs with BBQ sauce (something I have never tackled before)
• BLT Bow Ties (one of Mike's favorites)
• Spinach/Apple Salad with grilled chicken
• Sesame chicken
• Ziti with gorgonzola sauce

Any suggestions on what to scratch?

Maple Balsamic Pork Tenderloin

This one tastes so great, your guests would be surprised at how easy this is. The trick is marinating the pork overnight and using a bit extra of the marinade compared to the original recipe (another great one from Cooking Light). I was originally going to serve this with steamed broccoli with a vinaigrette, however it was so nice this evening when I got home from work. I wanted to maximize my time outside so I made a salad instead. The payoff was great, more outside time with Mike while he was grilling and more conversation with our great friend James. We lucked out with the grill tonight, it ran out of gas just as the pork was done on the grill.

1/2 cup tomato juice
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary (I have used fresh and the dried version. Fresh tastes best)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
2 minced garlic cloves
2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 (3/4 pound) pork tenderloins (Cooking Light suggests trimming the pork, however I think it cooks better with a little bit of fat on it)

1. Combine all the ingredients except the pork and stir with a whisk.
2. Rinse the pork (trim it if you would like).
3. Save 1/4 cup of the balsamic mixture in an airtight container and place in the refrigerator.
4. Place the pork and the remaining mixture in a plastic bag and place in the refrigerator overnight.
   
5. Remove the pork from the marinade and place on the grill. Grill each side for 8 minutes on each side or until a thermometer registers 155F.
6. At the same time, place the remaining balsamic mixture in a small saucepan and simmer until syrupy.
   
7. When the pork is done, pour the mixture over the pork and enjoy.
   

I highly recommend making this dish. It is so easy because all the prep work is done the night before.

Baked Turkey Chimichangas

This is another one of my old favorites, it is quick, easy to make, and tasty. The recipe calls for refried beans and salsa. I can be pretty lazy and use the canned beans and jarred salsa for this dish. I do make my own salsa, however after working all day, I didn't feel like making my own salsa and making dinner. You can also put in a lot of different ingredients to switch up the dish. Quick confession, I never do, why mess with what works for me?

1 pound of ground turkey
2 cans of refried beans (I used fat free)
1 teaspoon of chili powder
3 tablespoons of green onions
1 cup salsa (fresh or your own recipe)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
8 burrito tortillas
cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 350F. Cook the turkey in a skillet, either coated with olive oil or cooking spray. Cook the turkey until thoroughly browned. Add in the refried beans. Stir the turkey and beans together. Next add in the chili powder, green onions, salsa, and cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted. Assembling the chimichangas in next. Take the skillet off the stove and put the mixture into each tortilla and place in a baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake the chimichangas in the oven for 20 minutes. Top them off with sour cream and salsa. Again, I love spicy food while Mike does not. The original recipe does call for peppers to be cooked with the turkey/bean mixture, but out of love for my husband, I omit this ingredient. Instead, I overcompensate for the peppers on my dish and top my chimichangas off with several slices of jalapeno.