Food!!

Pork Chops with Blueberry Sauce

January 23, 2013 homemade delish13 Comments

I had n extra pack of blueberries hanging around in the refrigerator, and I really wanted to make something other than dessert with them. I knew the following night I had pork chops waiting to be used. I figured these 2 could workout and be merry together. The dish was light, and I laid the chops down on a bed of romaine lettuce. You can always make this dish with chicken ;or if you don’t eat meat just use the blueberry sauce as your dressing. One of the ingredients that I thought about afterwards that would have complimented nice would have been some gorgonzola cheese crumble. Maybe next time. I hope you enjoy this little experiment.

Ingredients:

6 Pork Chops

Salt & Pepper

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon of unsalted butter

Head of Romaine Lettuce

1 package of blueberries (you need about 1 1/2 to 2 cups)

2 Tablespoons of vinegar

1/4 cup of white wine

1/4 teaspoon of coriander

2 Garlic cloves minced

1/2 of a small onion (or 1 shallot)

12 minute leaves (10 leaves for sauce, the rest for garnish)

Preparation:

Season Pork chops with salt, pepper and a drizzle of Olive Oil, set aside. In a saucepan on med high heat add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter, melt. Add onions cook for about 3 minutes or so. Add garlic cook for about 30 seconds (you don’t want garlic to burn). After that add blueberries cook for about 5 minutes or so. Using a potato masher start to mashing the blueberries, when done add vinegar, wine, coriander,chopped mint leaves, salt, pepper and simmer on med low heat for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally. You can prepare this an hour before serving.

Now in a skillet, in this case I have a grill skillet from Anolon which gave me those nice grill marks. But any skillet will do. On med high heat add olive oil about 2 tablespoons. Place pork chops on skillet, and cook for about 6 to 8 minutes (depending on the thickness of the pork chop).

Chop up your Romaine Lettuce, season with salt and pepper to taste, and drizzle some Olive Oil if desired. Place on a plate and top with pork chops, sauce and mint garnish.

This dish is really refreshing and light.

Ham and Cheese Lasagna

December 30, 2012December 30, 2012 homemade delish2 Comments

One of my favorite things my dad would make when I was little was his ham and cheese lasagna. I know it sounds wierd or different but it’s so delicious. All you need is imported or domestic ham, mozzarella or provolone cheese, a can of tomato sauce or jar of marinara. The white sauce has been a family secret but I wanted to share it with all of you so you can experience this amazing taste.

White Sauce:

2 Cups of Milk

7 Tablespoons of Mayo (I know different)

dash of nutmeg

Pour the milk in a pot and mayo. Whisk (this is the most important part) keep whisking. Take a half a cup of milk and 2 tablespoons of corn starch, mix this really well in the cup and then pour it into the pot and keep whisking. Dash some nutmeg and keep whisking. Will take probably about 10 to 15 minutes or until you see it start to become thicker and creamier. This will be your white sauce.

All you have to do now is layer everything up. Take a lasagna pan, drizzle some olive oil and red sauce. Place 3 to 4 slices of lasagna depending on how big your pan is and then red sauce, cheese, lasagna, white sauce, ham (in that layered order) and repeat. You can do how ever many layers you want. After that’s done, drizzle some olive oil, oregano and place it in the oven at 325 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes until its bubbling. I hope you enjoy this lasagna and please let me know if you try it out. I love feedback.

Food!!

Braised Rabbit

December 20, 2012December 20, 2012 homemade delish14 Comments

I have run into a lot of people that have sad they have never tried rabbit or that they don’t like it. I think rabbit is a very tender meat if done correctly. It can be a little chewy depending on the age of the rabbit. Last night I decided to use my Le Creuset Brasier to make it and I have to say, it captured the essence in the flavor of the sauce. To make the sauce I braised the meat first then added leeks, shallots, and garlic; and cooked that for a bit. Then added fresh herbs of rosemary and thyme. I had to add my favorite kind of mushrooms, shiitake. They just hold so much flavor. I also added some orange zest. For the broth I used a white wine and chicken broth.

A little tip for you: If you want a creamy sauce add about 2 tablespoons of flour with the broth. This will give it that creaminess that you want.

Food!!

Filet Mignon and Shrimp

March 26, 2012April 27, 2012 homemade delish7 Comments

Last night for dinner I made some Filet Mignon topped with lemon butter dill sauce; with Shrimp and a side of Sauted Broccolini, Baby Portobello Mushrooms, Leeks, Garlic and Olive oil. A filling meal but yet light on the belly. The aroma of everything cooking was delish. If you haven’t had broccolini before, give it a try. It tastes like broccoli of course but there is something about that has a yummier texture.

Broccolini is a green vegetable similar to broccoli but with smaller florets and longer, thin stalks. Although often misidentified as young broccoli, it is a cross between broccoli and kai-lan, Chinese broccoli. A natural hybrid of the cabbage family Brassica oleracea italica x alboglabra, it was developed by the Sakata Seed Company of Yokohama, Japan, with the name Chinese kale or gai lan. Broccolini’s flavor is sweet, with notes of both broccoli and asparagus