Creamy Cranberry Porkchops with Mushrooms

One of the real keys to this dish is getting the right type of cranberry juice. Don't get a cranberry cocktail--those are just too sweet and too thin. Look for an unfiltered kind or a 100% juice variety. I used a cranberry-pomegranate juice, and it was great.


Creamy Cranberry Porkchops with Mushrooms

ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
  
• 4 boneless pork tenderloin chops
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 pint sliced mushrooms (I used baby bella)
• 1 finely diced shallot
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  
• 1/4 cup cranberry juice
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 springs fresh thyme

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a flat-bottomed frying pan. Salt and pepper both sides of the porkchops, and then add to the hot oil. Cook for a few minutes on both sides until you can't see any more pink from the exterior (the length of time will vary depending on how thick your chops are). They don't have to be cooked all the way through here, as you'll heat them again at the end.

Remove the chops to a plate. Add the butter to the pan, and reduce the heat just a little. Saute the mushrooms until browned, but not soggy. Remove them to a plate, retaining as much liquid in the pan as possible.

Add the shallot and garlic to the pan, and cook until golden. Add the cranberry juice and cream, and dissolve any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the porkchops back to the pan, covering them with the sauce. Turn them after about 3 minutes, add the mushrooms, and continue to heat them, about 5 minutes longer.

Parmesan pork chops with lemon gravy

I have been trying to come up with something clever or witty or something to insert here, and it just isn't happening, people. I'm sorry. This is just good. It only takes a few minutes because the pork chops are thin (I figure 2 per person). It pairs well with a lot of different things. It's nice enough for company. Just go make it sometime. The basic breading technique can be used for chicken or fish, also just as well.

Parmesan Pork Chops with Lemon Gravy


Ingredients

• 8 thin-cut pork loin chops
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, plus more
  
• salt and pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
  
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tablespoons flour

With paper towels, pat dry the pork chops. Place the flour in a deep-sided plate with some salt and pepper. In another plate, place the beaten egg. Put the breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, and parsley in a third plate. Take each pork chop and coat in the flour, removing any excess. Then dredge through the beaten egg. Finally, coat well in the breadcrumbs.

In a large, flat-bottomed sautee or frying pan, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add half the pork chops and cook until golden brown on one side, about 4-5 minutes. Flip and cook a few minutes longer on the opposite side. Move to a plate and keep warm while you cook the other half. Add more butter and oil in between if necessary.

Once the second bath is cooked, move the porkchops off the pan, and add the broth to deglaze the pan. Dissolve browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Reduce to a simmer, and add the lemon juice and zest. Simmer until reduced slightly. In a small, sealable container, combine 2 tablespoons flour and 1/4 cup water. Shake vigorously to incorporate, then add to the stock. Stir well and simmer until thickened. Repeat with some more flour, if necessary.

Serve the pork chops with the gravy, and top with additional Parmesan cheese.

Ham and Potato Soup

This soup was another in a long line of "it's freezing outside and I will never be warm again" Christmas break necessities. Like split pea soup calls for a leftover ham bone (this one came from the extended family Christmas party). I've noticed a pattern that when people find out you can cook, they give you all sorts of leftovers figuring you can do miracles with it. I will admit, I've waxed a little creative in my day with a few random leftovers, and this soup was one of them. It's probably not the most creative thing in the world, but it was warm, and it cleared room in the fridge. We didn't have any frozen peas, but throwing in a few right at the end probably would have been amazing. Carrots would probably be good, too.



Ham and Potato Soup

Ingredients

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 4 cups water
• 1 garlic clove, minced
  
• 1 ham bone with some meat still attached
• 2 large potatoes, peeled or not, cut up
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste
• about 1 heaping tablespoon diced fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoons thyme
• a few tablespoons flour, to thicken if necessary

Heat the water and broth in a large pot, and add the garlic and ham bone. Simmer for 40 minutes to an hour, until the meat starts to get very tender. Add the vegetables, and continue to simmer until soft. Remove the ham bone, and cut off and chop the usable meat. With an immersion blender, pulse the soup a few times to break up some of the potato pieces (you don't want to puree at all, just thicken it a little bit). Add the herbs, salt, pepper, and ham. Heat through, and season to taste. If it needs a little thickening, whisk a few tablespoons of flour in a few tablespoons cold water, then add to the soup and stir until thickened.

Eggs Benedict

I remember one time we went to a fancy restaurant for breakfast as a family when I was quite young, and there was eggs benedict on the menu. I was confused. It wasn't Christmas morning, we weren't still in our pajamas at 11:30, and we weren't already half-full from eating cherry chocolates. This wasn't the appropriate time! Didn't they know that eggs benedict were reserved for only one hallowed day a year? Nothing is sacred anymore.

To say that eggs benedict on Christmas morning is traditional in my family is an understatement: it's institutional. It's in our veins. We've experiemented on it a few times, often with questionable results. This is pretty straightforward, but it's good, and it conjures happy emotions and memories of childlike wonder (well, maybe it won't for you, but it sure does for me).



Eggs Benedict

Ingredients

• High-quality English muffins, split apart
  
• Large eggs (as many eggs as muffin halves)
• Chicken broth, enough to fill a wide, shallow pan for poaching
  
• Thickly sliced Canadian bacon (1-2 slices for each muffin half)
• Hollaindaise sauce (click here for a recipe)
• salt and pepper, to taste
  

The trick with eggs benedict is that everything needs to be ready at the same time. It's good to have a different person manning each component so they can all be perfectly timed (or at least that's how we do it in my family).

for the eggs
Bring the chicken broth to a broil in the poaching pan. Reduce heat to let it simmer. Crack the eggs, and gently slip them just under the broth's surface. Poach until the yolk is the desired doneness (usually just a few minutes--watch them closely).


for the English muffins
Place the muffin halves on a cookie sheet and broil them in the oven or broiler until the tops are just golden and slighly crispy, just a few minutes, also. You only want the very top layer to be crispy: the rest should still be soft.



for the Canadian bacon
Heat a skillet or large, flat plan to medium high heat and sear the edges of the ham. It's usually already cooked, so you don't have to worry about cooking it thoroughly--just heat it and give it some texture.

for the Hollaindiase sauce
Whether you're making it from scratch or a mix, do prepare it to be the last thing completed--right at the moment when you assemble and serve.

Assemble them by placing the bacon atop the muffin, then the poached egg, then the hollaindaise sauce. Enjoy, then wait until Christmas next year to enjoy again.

Classic Split Pea Soup

One time my family went sailing in the British Virgin Islands, and it was an all-around amazing experience. We snorkeled and swam in some of the clearest water I've ever seen, played on breathtaking beaches, scubaed to shipwrecks, and billowed in the wind of the sailboat. One night, we picked a tiny little restaurant in a secluded little cove with tables right on the beach. The waves came right up over your toes during dessert. The cook's son swam out to a trap in the middle of the bay to get the lobster my dad ordered for dinner. I am also quite convinced that the only people working there were the waitress, the waitress' mother in the kitchen, and the waitress' brother who swam to get the lobsters. Dinner took about 3 hours, and no one minded one bit.

So, to get to the point, the first coarse was a bowl of split pea soup. As it was being served, I say to myself, "We travel down to an exotic paradise and all I got was a bowl of pureed, green baby food?" However, one spoonful of that soup, and I was made a believer. I adore split pea soup. In retrospect, it was probably about 40% cream, but hey, there's precious little a pint of heavy cream can't fix.

This recipe was necessitated by being forced to take the leftovers from the church Christmas dinner. There are only a few things I know of that one can do with a ham bone, and this is the main one. I'm sorry that there's no crazy experimentation, secret ingredients, twists or turns for this one. Actually, I'm mostly sorry that there's no real recipe. A friend sent over just a list of ingredients without any measurements or ratios, and in my book, that's awesome. I wasn't bound by anything. So, this one is completely up to you. Good luck, and have fun.

Warning: I had a great big ole' ham bone, so I made a whole lot of soup. You can probably half everything and be just fine.


Split Pea Soup

Ingredients (all measurements are approximate)

• 1 large white onion
• 1 large russet potato, skin still on
• 1-2 stalks celery
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 4-5 sprigs fresh parsley
• 1 large ham bone, with some meat still on
• 2 pounds split peas (rinsed thoroughly, and bad ones or stray pebbles picked out)
• 1 heaping tablespoon chopped garlic
• ample salt and pepper, to taste
• chicken broth (I used about 2 quarts, plus some extra water)
• about 1/2 cup heavy cream
  

I started in a crockpot, but then ended up moving to a stock pot on the stove later because the crockpot just wasn't big enough. You'll have to be the judge for yourself.

In a food processor, I chopped the onion, potato, celery, and herbs then added them to the crockpot. Place in the ham bone, split peas, and garlic in there also, and cover with liquid. Let heat for several hours (or fewer if on the stove: just be sure everything is soft and falling apart). Pull out the ham bone (making sure to get all the parts if some cartilage or other ham parts have fallen off), cut off the meat, and chop finely.

In the pot, still vigorously or pulse a few times with an immersion blender to homogenize the soup a bit. Add the ham back in, thin it with a little water if necessary, add the cream, and stir well.

Cranberry Apple Pork Roast

This recipe is a great one to just put in the slow-cooker and forget about it until you're ready to eat. I love cranberries and pork together, and this combo works well for a fulfilling meal on the without a lot of hassle.


Cranberry Apple Pork Roast

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons each butter and olive oil
• 1 approximately 3-pound pork roast
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
  
• 3 shallots, chopped
• 2 cups apple cider
• 1 can whole-berry cranberry sauce
• 2-3 cups chicken broth
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons corn starch

In a large, flat-bottomed skillet, heat the butter and olive oil until very hot. Sear the pork roast on all sides. Leaving the pan on the stove and hot, put the pork roast in a slow-cooker on low heat.

Meanwhile, add the thyme leaves and shallots to the pan and saute until browned. Pour in one cup of the apple cider, and stir, dislodging as many of the browned pork bits as possible. Pour the cider over the pork in the slow cooker, adding another cup of cider and the can of cranberries. Add enough chicken broth to cover all but about 1 inch of the roast.

Let the roast cook for several hours on low. If a shorter period is need, switch to high heat. When ready to serve, take out the roast and slice into about 1-inch thick slices. Pour a few cups of the juice from the slow-cooker into a pan and bring to a simmer. Whisk the cornstarch into a few tablespoons of cold water, then whisk into the gravy. Keep whisking a few minutes until thickened. If the meat has gone cold, put it in the pan and allow it to reheat in the gravy, then serve with the gravy.

Baked Egg Rolls

So, I kind of have this moral aversion to deep-frying things. Although there is a very soft place in my heart for onion rings, sweet potato fries, coconut shrimp, thick french fries with the peels still on them, and Chick-Fil-A, I will probably never in the the entirety of my life ever deep fry anything at home. The first time I walked through a Krispy Kreme donut store where they have the big windows where you can see the gallons of boiling oil in which the fry those things . . . ughh, it kind of grossed me out a lot. I also envision the process being really messy. Maybe I'm wrong, but it's a big hurdle for me. Maybe I'm terrified of getting killed by spilling boiling oil all over me (which apparantley is a real concern in deep frying a whole turkey for Thanksgiving). Well, whatever the reason, I am pretty much always looking for alternatives to dropping perfectly healthy vegetables and goodness in boiling fat. I just don't see how this can turn out well.

However, there is a concession which must happen. These eggrolls aren't going to fool anyone. No one is going to think they're the real thing. However, I wonder how much "real" there really is in the "real thing" sometimes, so who cares. The trick is to have something warm, tasty, and good that you can pick up with your hand and will stay intact the whole time. These things deliver on all of those fronts. Good luck.


Baked Egg Rolls
enough for a crowd

Ingredients

• 2 large, chopped garlic cloves, minced
  
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped (white and green parts separated)
  
• 1 pound lean ground pork
• 1 head savoy cabbage, chopped into thin strips
  
• 4 large carrots, shredded
• 1 can bamboo shoots, diced
• 1.5 inches fresh giner root, grated
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 3-4 tablespoons soy sauce
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 packages (40) egg roll wrappers
  

Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a a wok or skillet. Toss in the garlic and the white part of the onions. Sautee a few minutes. Add the pork and cook until brown.

In a bowl, combine the pork mixture, cabbage, green parts of the onions, bamboo shoots, carrot shavings, and ginger. Mix well. Pour the oil and soy sauce over, coating well.

Take an eggroll wrapper, wet one surface lightly with a little water, and place a heap of the mixture in the middle. There's a little bit of an art to getting the right amount in there, so experiment. Fold over one corner, then the two sides, then tightly roll to the last corner. Press on the seams to make sure they're in place. Repeat with the remaining wrappers.

Spread the eggrolls out on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes. Serve with sweet-chili sauce, sweet and sour sauce, or something similar.

Pineapple Pork Mexican-Wannabe Salad

In Utah where I spent the last several years, there are a few "Fresh Mexican" restaurants, all of which are identical except for a few trivial differences. Notwithstanding, there is an enormous feud as to the quality of one versus the others. Now I have strong opinions about which is best, but this isn't the medium for that debate. They're all pretty good, but being on the east coast now, I can't feed my pork salad addiction in the same way I did in Utah. This is kind of a collection of the best of several different restaurants, but I quite like the outcome.

The term 'salad' is used loosely here; it's really more of an open burrito with lots of lettuce and toppings, but I don't complain about the semantics: I just eat.

I'll warn you on this one, it has a lot of different components, all of which need to be ready as the same time. Make what you can in advance (I find a slow cooker and a rice maker indispensable). This looks like a whole lot: it can be simplified by substituting ready-made ingredients for the salsa, guacamole, salad dressing, etc.


"Fresh Mexican" Pork Salad

Ingredients

• 8 - 10 tortillas
  
• 1 - 2 cans black beans
• 1 - 2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped into thin strips
  

• Pineapple pork roast
• 1 medium pork roast (about 2 pounds)
• 1 can pineapple tidbits
• a few splashes or Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 - 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• Salt and pepper
  

• Cilantro lime rice
• 3 -4 cups white rice
• water, salt, and butter to follow rice-maker's instructions
• a few sprigs fresh cilantro
• 1 -2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon honey
  

Toppings

• Pico de gallo (click here for recipe) or salsa
• Shredded cheese
  
• Guacamole (click here for recipe)

• Caramelized onions
• 1 medium yellow onion, cut into half-rings
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 -3 tablespoons brown sugar

• Tomatillo ranch dressing
• 1 packet buttermilk ranch dressing mix
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cut mayonaise
• 1 large tomatillo
• A splash of lime juice
• A few springs cilantro

• Lime wedges and cilantro sprigs, to garnish

I'm going to take you through these instructions in order of how I would do them.

The day before (or any spare time during the day):

• Pico de gallo: make it and put it in an airtight container in the fridge
• Tomatillo ranch dressing: combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until very smooth. Put in a container and refrigerate

The morning of the meal

• The pork: put all the roast ingredients in a crock pot or slow cooker set on low (for about 6 - 8 hours). Just let it sit throughout the day: you want it to be very tender and juicy. You should be able to just pull it apart with tongs.

1-2 hours before the meal

• Cilantro lime rice: put all the rice ingredients in a rice cooker and let 'er rip (I love rice cookers)
• Guacamole: assemble the guac, cover with a little more lime juice, and refrigerate it in an airtight container (you really don't want it to go brown)

10 minutes before the meal

• Black beans: empty the beans, juice and all, into a small saucepan and let simmer on low until heated well through
• Onions: melt the butter in a frying pan on medium heat. Add the onions and brown sugar. Stir-fry until the onions are translucent and a golden brown.

This is how I assemble my salad: put a tortilla in a large cereal bowl, add the rice, beans, pork, and onions (all the warm ingredients). Then add the lettuce, cheese, salsa, guacamole, ranch dressing, and squeeze the lime juice over top.