Recipe #15: Crunchy Pork Chops

This is yet another wonderful recipe from Cooking for Two (so far, I’ve been very impressed with these recipes. Which reminds me, I should probably put the other two versions on my wish list…). After cooking this dish, I realize I might have an instant favourite way to eat pork chops.

I’ve had shake ‘n bake chops before (and they were very tasty, Mom), but these are, by far, far superior. It’s the combination of fresh bread crumbs, cheese, and herbs that really make these chops tasty and crunchy. And don’t be tempted to just substitute the fresh bread crumbs with store bought ones; I know I was, but after tasting the freshness of these homemade ones, I might not go back. Ever!

The recipe below is perfect for two people, but can easily be increased to make 4 or more. To accompany the pork, I made roasted potatoes and sautéed green beans, both quick and easy side dishes. Oh, and don't forget to serve with a wedge or two of lemon. That adds a nice citrus touch to the pork chops (and green beans, if you feel like it).

INGREDIENTS

2 slices white sandwich bread

1 small shallot, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp Parmesan

1 tbs fresh parsley, chopped

Pinch of dried thyme

7 tbsp flour

2 large egg whites

4 tsp Dijon

2 pork chops

DIRECTIONS

PULSE bread in food processor to make fine crumbs. Toss with shallot, garlic, oil, salt, and pepper and spread on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degree, stirring occasionally until brown and dry, about 15 min. Remove and increase oven to 425 degrees.

LET bread crumbs cool before tossing with Parmesan, parsley, and thyme.

ADD ¼ flour in a shallow dish. Whisk together egg whites and Dijon and 3 tbsp flour in a second shallow dish. Pour prepared bread crumbs in a third shallow dish.

SPRAY a wire rack with cooking spray and set in a baking pan.

PAT pork chops dry and season with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour, coat in egg dip, then cover with a thick layer of crumbs, pressing the crumbs to stick better. Set on wire rack.

BAKE until centre is 140-145 degrees, about 15-20 minutes. Remove and let rest about 5 minutes.

VARIATION

For a different take on this recipe, before coating, place a slice of asiago cheese on the pork chop, then wrap with prosciutto. We are definitely trying this one next time.

Crafty Find: Easter Eggs

Happy Easter! I thought it only fitting that I share a collection of uniquely decorated Easter Eggs today. These are not your average eggs just dipped in dye, no sir! These ones definitely took some time, a steady hand, and come creativity to complete. The designs range from embroidery, stencilling, drawings, and carvings, and are pretty darn amazing.

Speaking of eggs, the Easter Bunny must have hid our batch VERY well, because I haven’t found a single one….

Recipe #14: Apricot & Peach Glazed Ham

This recipe comes with very little inspiration other than the fact that both Matt and I had a desire to have ham for dinner one weekend (luckily, its Easter, so we’ll be having it again this weekend!). So, unlike most dishes that start out with a recipe, this time we only had an ingredient. We worked backwards from there, which was actually a bit more of a challenge than I was anticipating.

While gathering groceries at St. Lawrence market one Saturday afternoon, we first picked up a small ham, already fully cooked, and then a few veggies to add on the side (broccoli and potatoes). When we got back to the condo, I searched a couple online sites for a ham recipe, but nothing really caught my eye. Next, I turned to the cookbooks on my shelves, hoping that one would have something simple but tasty. Since the ham is already fully cooked, I was looking for a rub or a glaze that would help flavour it. I eventually found a recipe in the Looneyspoons cook book, and luckily I already had most of the ingredients, or variations of them.

Putting everything together was very easy, and cooking time was only about 30 minutes for the ham, about 45 for the potatoes. These mini potatoes are a quick and easy side to serve with just about any meat dish, and we have them quite often. After cutting into small chunks, I just drizzle with olive oil and then add some French fry seasoning (from Schwartz’s) before cooking in the oven. They are very tasty!

INGREDIENTS

1 fully cooked ham (about 2 lbs)

1 cup apricot and/or peach jam

1 ½ tsp white vinegar

1 tbsp orange zest

½ tsp ground allspice

DIRECTIONS

COMBINE all ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, about 2 -3 minutes.

SPOON over ham.

BAKED uncovered for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees.

The original recipe calls for you to slice the ham first, then layer in a dish and coat each piece with the glaze before baking, but I only wanted the glaze to be on the outside, so I opted out of this step. But this might be something to try for next time!

Serves 6-8 people

Zip Up Cardigan - Take Two

You might remember this sweater I knit for Matt about two years ago now. I spent months working on it, ran out of yarn twice, found more online, and finally finished my first zippered cardigan. Matt really liked it and wore it a number of times before it was time to wash it. I made sure to carefully read the washing instructions on the yarn label before putting it on a gentle cycle in cold water in the washing machine. Fast forward to opening the washing machine lid….

I’m sure you can already guess, since I’m writing this blog about a new sweater, that the old one didn’t make it. Yup, all that hard work and months of knitting were washed away in the spin cycle. What happened was when I ran out of yarn, the replacement yarn wasn’t the same kind, and it ended up felting slightly in the wash, in effect shrinking the back and ruining the shape of the sweater. You might say I was kind of bummed.

But that brings us to today, two years later. After frogging the old sweater and picking out new yarn, I have finished, yet again, that exact same sweater (with a different yarn) for a second time. It didn’t take me two years to knit it, but almost a year with other projects mixed in between. The yarn I chose was much more lovely and soft than the first one, so I’m very happy with this finished result. Plus, the techniques I learned on the first sweater meant I was more skilled at putting together the sweater the second time. Needless to say, this one is dry clean ONLY!

And all was not lost with the first sweater. I was able to salvage pretty much all of the yarn and put it towards a new project. In this case, a cabled tote bag for myself that I’ve already started working on. I’ve heard about a lot of crafters that will often head to Good Will to unravel old sweaters and use the yarn for a new project; it’s a great and very creative way to up-cycle.

Finishing up a large project brings both happiness and relief. It means I’m free to start thinking up new projects to work on (you can find a list on the right hand side of the blog with Works in Progress), and I get to see Matt wearing his new sweater (doesn’t he wear it well?), at least once before the warm weather arrives.

Crafty Find: Book Desk

I’ve recently become obsessed with seeing how people repurpose old or unwanted items into creative and functional new items. Most are often for the home or office, and I’m always blown away by the fact that someone came up with the idea of how to turn someone else’s junk into something amazing. I mean, looking at an old lamp or desk on the curb and seeing something wonderful waiting to come out, well, that’s just a great way of thinking outside the box. There are tons of examples out there on the web, so I'm never at a lack for inspiration. And it really is amazing what a coat of paint can do.

I also have a strong fondness of books and reading, so when I saw this post on http://www.decorhacks.com/, I had to share it. There’s a library in the Netherlands that has created its front desk out of stacked books! The look is amazing, and I’m already thinking of where I can get discounted books (library sales and goodwill, perhaps) and how I could incorporate them in to our décor. I also really like the look of the rest of the library; it’s so updated and modern – I love it!

Recipe #13: Slow-Cooker Short Ribs

This was a dish we had while we were at Erin and Brad’s a while back, and by we, I mean Matt (I was unfortunately under the weather and didn’t get to enjoy them). I had picked up the same slow-cooker recipe magazine that Erin had, so I was excited to give these a try after Matt’s raving review.

We headed to the butcher’s to pick up the baby back ribs, but all they had left were short ribs. I wasn’t sure if it would turn out the same, but I was willing to give it a go. So we bought enough for just the two of us and headed back home.

You probably already know how much I love the slower cooker; it does all the work while you do whatever else. It fills your house with wonderful scents of food, and the food is just lovely and juicy. I haven’t yet been disappointed by a meal done in the slow-cooker, and I’m always on the lookout for new ones. So this one for ribs was right up my alley.

And good news – you can substitute the short ribs for the baby back. They turned out just as delicious, and Matt was right – these ribs are wonderful! I can’t wait to have them again. Seriously, when can I cook them again?

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE RUB:
2 tbsp brown sugar
4 tsp salt
4 tsp chili powder
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp garlic powder

FOR THE RIBS
1 medium red onion, sliced
½ cup cola
2 slabs pork baby back ribs (about 4 lbs total), rinsed, patted dry, and trimmed
1 cup bbq sauce

DIRECTIONS

COMBINE all dry ingredients in a small bowl and thoroughly coat ribs with the rub, using all the mixture.

ADD onion and cola to slow cooker. Place ribs on top, cutting to fit if necessary. Cover; cook until ribs are tender, on high-heat for 3 ½ -4 ½ hours or on low-heat for 6-7 hours.

PREHEAT broiler to high with oven rack 6-8 inches from heating element. Transfer ribs to a foil-lined baking sheet; brush ribs with sauce. Broil until sauce is caramelized, about 5 minutes.

Crafty Find: Unusual Canvasses

These crafty finds comes via http://www.dudecraft.com/, a blog that has a collection of visual and creative images by various artists. These three in particular caught my eye as they take unusual and everyday materials to create beautiful images.

The first is a couple pieces of artwork by Andrew Myers (you can read more here) who creates his artwork out of ordinary hardware screws. He drills them into plywood covered with phonebook pages at various heights to create a 3D visual effect and then paints them. What an ingenious idea!

Next up, along the same theme as the screw art, designer Marcus Levin creates his portraits out of wood nails, hammering each in place to create these incredibleportraits (you can read and view more here).

And finally, this next piece is a variation of Van Gogh’s Starry Night, in which the original work is re-created using more than 8000 bottle caps. Impressive! For a few more close-ups, click here.

Recipe #12: Apple Pie Oatmeal with Almond Foam

 

Courtesy of http://www.foodnetwork.ca/

It’s not very often that I’m able to tune into to Chef at Home these days, but for the rare times I do, I always find a great recipe to cook up. I’ve already blogged about some of his recipes (which ones are escaping me right now…), but he uses easy techniques and common flavours that usually make his dish a hit with me. Plus, you can easily find all his recipes online over at http://www.foodtnetwork.ca/. So when I saw his episode about whipping up brunch, this particular oatmeal recipe caught my eye. And since I had almost all of these ingredients in the house, this was on my list for breakfast this weekend.

I was also very intrigued with the almond foam, since a good friend of mine just gave Matt and me an espresso maker that she never used. Score! And although I didn’t have almond butter on hand, I substituted peanut butter, and that did the trick (but melt it for a few minutes in the microwave to combine better with the milk). And if you don’t have an espresso maker, perhaps you have a mini electric foam whisk that would do the trick.

And who doesn’t love cinnamon and apples with oatmeal? The smell of this cooking up was delightful on a Sunday morning. And this portion below was perfect for the two of us. I think it just might become a regular for us on the weekends...

INGREDIENTS

For the Oatmeal

1 cup whole rolled oats

2 cups milk

1 apple, cored and chopped

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons sliced almonds (optional)

For the Almond Foam

1 cup skim or whole milk

1 tablespoon almond butter (or peanut butter)

1 tablespoon brown sugar

DIRECTIONS

POUR the oats, milk, apple, brown sugar and cinnamon into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Continue gently cooking until it's thick and creamy, about 15 minutes. Stir every few minutes to keep the mixture from sticking to the bottom.

WHISK together the skim milk, almond butter and brown sugar. Steam the milk using the steamer attachment of an espresso machine.

SPOON the oatmeal into 2 serving bowls and top with some almond foam. Sprinkle with almond slices and serve.



Crafty Find: Inked!

Tattoos are a very personal preference. Some love them and love to have lots of them. Others love them just enough to get one or two. Some do not see the appeal at all and can’t imagine why anyone would permanently mark his/her body. I would say I fall into the middle category; I have a couple personal ones, but I’m done and happy with the ones I have.

When I came across these crafty tattoos, it made me think that these people are extremely dedicated to the craft. Having a large knitted mitten that spans most of you back is way more impressive (and permanent) than simply wearing your own knitted mittens, don’t you think? While I’m not too sure I’d go this far to let people know of my affinity for knitting (this blog takes care of that), I thought I’d share some of the ones I came across. I like that some also carry a clever message.

Recipe #11: Linguine with Tomatoes and Basil

This week’s recipe was at the request of Matt and was a recipe passed along to me by his Aunt Megan. Lately we’ve been enjoying a weekly tradition of having pasta with a bottle of wine Friday nights, so this one fit in just nicely. Plus, one of the main ingredients was one pound of brie, so how could this NOT be an enjoyable meal? And if you like garlic, this recipe should be right up your alley.

I had thought first I might be ambitious to make my own pasta, which I’ve done before, but once Friday night hit, I really didn’t feel all that motivated to whip out the KitchenAid. Besides, the box of pasta sitting in the cupboard was oh so convenient. All the other ingredients we pretty much had in our fridge, except the cheese, so I popped out during lunch that Friday to a local cheese shop to pick up the brie. I stored it in the office fridge too keep cool, but, wouldn’t you know it, I left the office the day without it! (I even thought to write myself a note, but thought, no, I can remember.) It wasn’t until about 3 stops past my office on the subway that I remembered it was still sitting in the fridge. I actually got off the subway, thinking I might go back and pick up, but then decided to just pick up another wedge at a grocery store instead. I did eventually remember to bring it home, which we enjoyed the following Saturday with crackers for a midday snack.

This story reminds me of another funny story; I picked up a bottle of red wine for one of Friday dinners, and while walking home, I switched hands and dropped and smashed the entire bottle on the floor of the underground! I was actually quite sad and stood there for a minute not quite knowing what to do. I eventually left and told maintenance that there was a spill. Now it’s Matt’s job to carry the wine….

INGREDIENTS

4 large ripe tomatoes, diced

1 lb. brie cheese torn into irregular pieces

1 cup fresh basil leaves shredded

3 garlic cloves minced

1 cup + 1 tbsp olive oil

2 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

DIRECTIONS

COOK linguine and drain.

TOSS with all ingredients and serve with freshly grated parmesan.

Serves 4 - 6 people.