How's it going? Good? Good.
I know I've been MIA for a while, and I'd apologize, but apologizing for not blogging is about as cliched as ... well, apologizing for not blogging.
Anyway ...
Hope ya'll had a very merry Christmas and a very new year. I certainly did. Santa Claus saw fit to drop plenty of goodies down my chimney, most of it food and cooking related. My mother-in-law got me a nice big food processor, my father-in-law got me some stainless steel cookware, my sister got me some hand-whittled salad tongs from her trip to Africa, and my parents got me and the missus some new china (you can see the china and the tongs in the pic below). Plus I got cookbooks, serving sets, and exotic salts from aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Following Christmas was my birthday where my wife got me a flour sifter (with a trigger, no less) and a new kitchen scale (with a digital display, no less).
And now as calender turns to 2010, I suppose I should put this stuff to good use. While this was not our New Year's Eve dinner (that meal was prepared by the people at Steak 'n' Shake), it was delicious nonetheless; pretzel pork, red apple risotto, salad, and challah bread. Yum-yummy. The recipe for the pork and risotto follows, while the challah will go up on a later date. As for the salad ... well, you know how to make a salad, dontcha?
Pretzel Pork
Ingredients:
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tablespoon steak sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup crushed pretzels (I used the big Snyder's pretzel rods thrown through a food processor)
- 4 pork chops
- Vegetable oil (variable)
- First things first, fire up that oven (about 200 degrees) so you can keep the chops warm while you make the risotto.
- In a shallow bowl combine the egg, steak sauce, and garlic powder. Fill a second bowl with the crushed pretzels. Dip the pork chops in the egg mixture, then in the pretzel crumbs. Be sure to press the chops into the pretzels to develop a nice coating on the outside.
- Fill a non-stick skillet approximately 1/4th of the way with oil and turn your heat somewhere between medium and high. You want the oil level to rest about halfway up the chops. Place the pork chops in the pan and fry them for about 3 to 4 minutes per side (until the crust turns brown and the inside is almost done).
- Place the pork chops on a wire rack and place the wire rack on a cookie sheet. Gently salt the pork chops and place them in the 200 degree oven until ready to serve.
Red Apple Risotto
Ingredients:
- 1 thinly pared strip of orange rind
- 3 large Johnagold apples, peeled and diced
- 3 tablespoons butter, separated
- 3 tablespoons grated carrots
- 6 cups vegetable stock (variable)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups risotto rice
- 5 tablespoons dry white wine
- 4 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- First things first, bring a pan of water to a boil, add the orange rind and apples and boil for 4-5 minutes. Drain well, discard the rind, and pat the apples dry a paper towel.
- Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a skillet over high heat, add the apples and carrots and cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes. In a separate pot, bring the stock to a boil. Heat the olive oil in another pan, add the rice and cook, stirring, until the grains are coated in oil. Sprinkle in the wine and cook until it has evaporated.
- Add one ladleful of the hot stock and stir until it has been absorbed.
- Add the apples and carrots as well as the cinnamon.
- Continue ladling in the stock, making sure that each ladle gets absorbed before adding more. This process will take 10 to 15 minutes.
- When the rice is almost tender, stir in the Parmesan, Worcestershire sauce and remaining butter and season with salt and pepper to taste.
