The Saga of the Bell Pepper

Well, all right. Not really a saga. But a nice little story, anyway.

Dinner last night went surprisingly well. I had a basic recipe for a pasta salad but decided to change it up just a bit. Not a whole lot; just a smidgen. The bell peppers were in the recipe but I decided to add some tomatoes and some Parmesan cheese. Throw in some Italian dressing and those beautiful peppers (green, red, orange and yellow!) and it actually turned out really well. I was impressed and my cooking guru/guinea pig, Robin, said it was good, too.

And, of course, the ever-popular pork chop made it's appearance as well. I was going to brine them but pulled them out to thaw way too late. They should sit in the brine for at least an hour or so but I didn't leave myself enough time. Possibly later this week. If I can remember to pull them the day BEFORE. We'll see.

Anyway. I decided to just fry them. Put some "seasoned salt" on them and threw them in the pan. Worried about over cooking them but also under cooking them. And what do you know? They also turned out great! For once, a complete meal....I was so happy.

I took some pictures and picked the one I liked the best to show everyone. You can see how colorful the pasta salad turned out to be; very festive!

Thanks for listening!

The Wonders of Pasta

Ah yes. The decision had been made and acted upon. The ingredients acquired; the recipe read and the cooking began.

Although, to be honest, there wasn't any cooking involved in this pasta dish. Well, okay. I cooked the pasta. But that actually is something I never really had any problems doing. So it wasn't a big effort. Didn't even have to read the instructions on the box. Ha! Bet you didn't know I could do THAT, did you?

Going on...I had found a recipe this morning in my search for just the right pasta salad. It seemed fairly easy and uncomplicated; something I could possibly do successfully. I don't believe it had a name but it was black and green olives (did you know that you can buy them already chopped? I didn't either until after I had chopped them all up). Some chopped onions, some bacon bits, shredded cheese and ranch dressing. I actually got brave and doubled the recipe although I did cut back on some of the ranch dressing. Maybe it's me, but the picture that came with the recipe looked slightly too wet.

I thought it turned out rather well although a trifle dry (Next time I won't cut back so much) It will probably taste better tomorrow when it gets really cold. I only gave it a couple of hours in the fridge.

Oh and I cheated on the pork chops. (Yes, told you we had pigs so lots and LOTS of pork). I bought the packaged Shake n Bake and just popped them in the oven. Needless to say, they turned out really well. But then, even I couldn't mess up Shake N Bake.

I'm posting a picture; please forgive the messy plate. Not used to trying to make it look pretty and I always forget how much the flash on a camera picks up.

Thanks for listening! Possibly Italian food in the near future.....

Winning the Battle

Well. The potatoes turned out fairly well. Better than I thought (I can't believe I forgot to take a picture). I had a huge amount of ketchup on my plate in case I needed to douse them and cover the badness. Ended up throwing most of that condiment away. So I guess I won this potato battle. Until next time, that is. Although I thought this was supposed to get easier....

But the main dish....while not BAD, it wasn't terribly good either. I followed the recipe closely except for a minor substitution or two. I believe my problem was worrying that they wouldn't be done enough AND waiting for the potatoes to cook. They were slightly overdone. Not dry, thank goodness, but not as juicy as I had hoped. One day, I will have the perfect meal; where everything is done at the same time and it all tastes wonderful. Sounds a little far-fetched to me but apparently it's possible; people do it all the time!

Thanks for listening and hopefully next time I'll have a picture to show!

The Potato Saga Continues....

Here we go. Trying the potatoes again. Same method; different version. This time, I'm going over the recipe with a fine-tooth comb. I'm not going to let it beat me again! So take THAT potatoes! I'm coming for you!

Also going to do a dry rub with the pork chops (I use a lot of pork since we raised pigs for just that very purpose). It's a fairly simple recipe; one that I hope I don't mess up. But I have faith in myself. Just need to be confident about it and don't let it overwhelm me.

Will let everyone know how it worked out this evening. And I was watching "Secrets to a Restaurant Chef" and will definitely be trying out "brining" with my chops soon. Just need a few days in advance to let them sit. Sounds really, really good and even better; sounds really, really simple!

Thanks for sharing this we me and I'll write how it turned out.

The Results Are In....

....And it didn't turn out too badly. Not for a first effort, anyway. The sauce turned out rather well but the pork chops were slightly overcooked. But all in all, my guinea pig (er, roommate/friend) said it tasted pretty good.

First of all, I'd like to thank her for being there with support and helpful advice (She's good at this whole kitchen thing) and second of all, READ the whole recipe. I read the recipe probably about 15 times. Read through the ingredients, read through the instructions...the whole enchilada. It wasn't until I was cooking the pork chops and wondering what was taking so long that I realized that the recipe called for BONELESS pork chops. Mine were thick and definitely still had the bone.

Don't know how I missed that but I did. That'll teach me to "skim" over what I'm reading.

And for those of you that would like to try this recipe, the sauce came out a little thin; add a little corn starch to thicken it if you'd like (The house cooking guru says don't forget to mix the corn starch with cold water first BEFORE adding it to the sauce and add while sauce is boiling)

Thanks to everyone for their support. It helps a lot to have people that believe in you even if you're not so sure yourself. I'm adding a pic or two to show you how it turned out. Let me know what you think!

Here we go!

The time has come.

Yes, my dear friends, I have chosen my first recipe and will be attempting to follow it tonight. It doesn't look too terribly difficult but those of you that know me know it's going to be tough.

But I can do it. Most certainly.

Tonight's attempt is Southern-Style Pork Chops. It actually sounds quite good (white wine and heavy cream sound decadent, don't they?) and I'm going to serve it over buttered egg noodles and pair it with peas. (Frozen for now; the peas in the garden aren't ready yet) I shall go over the recipe several hundred times to make sure I have everything I need at the store and then probably a few dozen more times to make sure I have it right.

I will post the recipe here so anyone that wants can try it themselves. But I will most definitely be sharing how it went and how it tasted. Will even try to get a few pictures up as well.

So, wish me luck and I'll see everyone soon!



Southern-Style Pork Chops

Original Recipe Yield 6 pork chops

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
• 6 boneless pork chops
• 3/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Liberally sprinkle the onion soup mix over both sides of the pork chops. Fry the pork chops in the hot oil until the pork is no longer pink in the center, 4 to 6 minutes per side. Remove the chops from the skillet, and set aside.
2. Pour the white wine into the pan; bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Reduce heat to low. Stir the heavy cream, and season with garlic powder and salt and pepper. Gently lay the pork chops in the pan, turning to coat in the sauce. Simmer until thoroughly reheated, 5 to 10 m