Confession.......

Okay, I admit it. I'm a bit of a gear head. I like cars and engines and going fast. Hat tip to beerorkid for this one. I have got to make one of these. Not just for myself, but for my five year old male offspring. Awesome!

Rosemary Pork Chops

Meh...............

The ladies in the front office at my business were talking about this dish today. I had everything I needed to make it so here it is.

Make a paste of garlic, salt and rosemary. Mix this paste with some sour cream and set aside. Season some pork chops, bone-in is recommended but I had boneless so went with that. Brown the chops one one side in some oil, flip them over, spread the paste mix on them. Put the skillet into a 400 degree oven for ten minutes. Put the chops on a plate, cover with foil. In the skillet add some stock and reduce the stock and brown bits by about half. Spoon this over the chops and serve.

I thought they were okay, a little too much garlic for my wife. Definitely not as good as this but that's okay, grilling days are fast approaching!

Gonna whip up some Indian food tomorrow night!

Rum, yum!

I was in the pantry looking for ideas for dinner and saw I had quite the rum collection going. My wife and I are going to Omaha soon and I thought "time for a primer". We'll be dining at Mount Fuji's in the big "O" and enjoying a Mai Tai or Zombi (or two!).

So I rounded up all the rum in the pantry, made some pineapple juice, added some cream of coconut in there and bang, instant tooty-fruity drink! I was only missing the pineapple chunks and maraschino cherries. Maybe this will induce Mother Nature to quit messing around and get us some warmer temps around these parts!

Don't photograph on a green placemat....

Shrimp curry for dinner tonite. I neglected to take pictures of the shrimp before I tucked them into the gravy. Next time swears! Got some 21/25 jumbo's from Leon's. Peeled them, removed the veins and gave them a little rinse. Toss the shrimp with the zest of one orange, salt, curry powder and black pepper.

Saute the shrimp in a little oil till they just turn white. Set them aside on a plate and toss a chopped onion and two chopped celery ribs into the same pan. Add more curry powder, a touch of garam masala and some oregano, fresh or dried. Dried will be way more intense.

When the onion mixture is ready (onions translucent), add the orange juice and two puréed tomatoes to the pan. Simmer this till it becomes thicker, slide the shrimp back in and let them come back up in temp. A healthy dose of plain yogurt goes in next along with more zest and the dish is done.

Oh and remember, hunter green placemats don't photograph well!

Have a good week everyone!

My Boy Zack

Zack is twelve years old now. He's really showing his age. But today he's ripping around the backyard while I was grilling. Barking at the rabbits and birds like a dog half his age. I'm glad. He's our first "child" and I don't look forward to the day he's not around anymore. I'll never forget him getting "Most Improved" at his second time at obedience training. Then he bit my next door neighbor. Whoops.

I Love Bread

In every way you can think, I love bread. I should weigh a lot more than I do (thanks employer) from all the bread carbs I ingest. Anyways, lately I'm into Indian breads. Roti, chapati, paratha, kulcha...mmm.

Tonite's dinner was a quick aloo paratha (potato flatbread) and a nice tasty salad.

Bread is simple. 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 to 3/4 cup water, pinch of salt. Make a dough, knead it for a few minutes, let it rest in the bowl for 10 minutes in a warm place.

Filling is boiled, cooled, peeled potato. Chopped cilantro leaves (no stems), minced serrano pepper, cumin seeds, salt, garam masala, amchur (mango) powder. Mash the tater then add the greenery and spices. Form into six golf balls.

Divide the dough into six equal parts, roll one into a five to six inch circle. Wrap a tater ball with the dough and then roll it out to about and eighth inch thick. Cook it on medium high for about three minutes or till nice browned spots appear on the bottom. Flip it over, give it a light spread of ghee (clarified butter) and after a minute or so, flip it again. It will puff up in places from the steam and that's okay. Press it down with the spatula till you get the same nice browing on both sides. Eat them before they get cold.

I made some cilantro/yogurt chutney for dipping. Need to find some fresh mint for next time.

Have a good week everyone!

Sunday Dinner

I had a request for a pulled pork with a Mexican twist that I make now and then.

Get yourself a nice 2 to 3 pound Boston Butt or nicely marbled hunk o' pork. Brown it on all sides in a little oil and remove. Saute some yellow onion and garlic in the same pot and when they're almost done add cumin powder or seeds (I use seeds), chili powder and Mexican oregano and bay leaves. Cook this a bit and then it's time for the heat! I blend up three or four whole chipotles and slide that into the onion mixture and cook it a bit more.

Put the pork back in the pot, cover it with water and cook it on medium for three hours. It will pull apart with your fingers at this point. But here is where I deviate from a true Carnitas recipe. I don't braise or roast the meat at this point to get the carmelization on some of the meat. I've waited three hours, I want to eat it now!

The leftovers are even better.