Pork chops and stuff for tonight

[modom]

D came home from the Cow Hill "supermarket" with a pack of pork chops,
an orange, some frozen okra, some zucchini, and jalapenos.

It was a challenge of sorts.

I zested the orange and put the zest into our mini chopper. I added a
bunch of pecans. And a little lemon confit. And some cilantro left
from last night. And some Dijon mustard. And a little jalapeno. And
some pepper. Chopped, buzzed, rechopped it all to a chunky paste
which I spread over the pork chops. One side only. I'd previously
set the chops into an oiled baking dish. They're in the oven now.

I put the okra -- all of it -- into an oiled iron skillet, added salt,
and brought it to a simmer on the stove top before setting it into the
oven to cook at a medium temperature.

I sliced the zukes into strip-like thin wedges, tossed them with olive
oil, a little lemon confit, and pepper. They're in the oven.

I sweated some garlic in oil and in a separate pan reduced some smoked
turkey stock till it was pretty thick. I juiced the orange into the
pan with the stock and reduced some more. In went the garlic. Voila!
Reduction sauce for the pork!

If I did it right, everything will be done in a few moments.

Better go check.


modom

 

[Bob Terwilliger]

modom wrote:

> I zested the orange and put the zest into our mini chopper. I added a
> bunch of pecans. And a little lemon confit. And some cilantro left
> from last night. And some Dijon mustard. And a little jalapeno. And
> some pepper. Chopped, buzzed, rechopped it all to a chunky paste
> which I spread over the pork chops. One side only. I'd previously
> set the chops into an oiled baking dish. They're in the oven now.

Sounds like a good flavor combination! I'd be worried about the cilantro
and the orange zest getting overcooked before the pork chops were done, so I
probably would have either put the paste on the chops halfway through
cooking or cut a slit in the chops and put the paste inside.

How did they turn out?

Bob

 

[modom]

On 8 Jan 2006 19:28:09 -0600, "Bob Terwilliger"
<virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz> wrote:

>modom wrote:
>
>> I zested the orange and put the zest into our mini chopper. I added a
>> bunch of pecans. And a little lemon confit. And some cilantro left
>> from last night. And some Dijon mustard. And a little jalapeno. And
>> some pepper. Chopped, buzzed, rechopped it all to a chunky paste
>> which I spread over the pork chops. One side only. I'd previously
>> set the chops into an oiled baking dish. They're in the oven now.
>
>Sounds like a good flavor combination! I'd be worried about the cilantro
>and the orange zest getting overcooked before the pork chops were done, so I
>probably would have either put the paste on the chops halfway through
>cooking or cut a slit in the chops and put the paste inside.
>
>How did they turn out?
>
Really good. The cilantro and orange zest were hardly noticeable,
likely due to overcooking, as you say. But there was nothing bitter
about the taste. Nothing burned. I was a little worried about the
pecans for the same reason you mention. But the chops were pretty
thin -- ca. 1/2 inch -- so they were done fast enough that the topping
worked well. I had them in a 350F oven which I ran alternately as a
conventional and a convection oven as the whim struck me. It was all
one of those improvisations that'll never happen the same way again.
Come to think of it, putting the crusted chops in an iron skillet and
sizzling them a bit first on the stove top before putting them into a
hot(ter) oven to finish would have been a surer way to cook the pork
than futzing about with the controls like I did. Next time.

The reduction sauce was really fine, BTW. Reduced stock is a great
way to sauce roasted meat, and it's South Beach friendly. Stock made
from a smoked turkey carcass adds a lot of flavor to the party and no
carbs at all. And since it's homemade, there's not a lot of added
salt like you get from store brands either.

modom