Pork Chili

So I selected this recipe because we had pork, but then it turned out we didn't have most of the other ingredients, so I improvised. It turned out rather tasty! I'm a fan of chili; though Maryland isn't much of a chili state, I grew up with my father taking us to The Hard Times Café, where they served five kinds of chili anyway you wanted, from chili dogs to a "five-way" with chili, cheese, spaghetti, beans, and onions. I was a fan of the red Cincinnati chili, while Dad liked the drier Texan style. Either way, I learned to like my chili "chili mac" style (as I have explained previously) over pasta and with lots of cheese. This is more the "red" style that I like, with a wet, tomato base. This comes together pretty quickly, for a chili, and is quite delicious.

Pork Chili
inspired by The Simply Healthy Lowfat Cookbook
Serves 2 8/10

1/2 lb pork tenderloin, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 TBS chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 TBS olive oil
1 large bell pepper, diced (or frozen bell peppers, which is what I had handy, about 3/4 cup)
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp salt
dash of red pepper
1 TBS flour
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tomato, skinned and pureed in a food processor (you could also use canned crushed tomato, 1/2 cup)
1 tomato, diced (canned would be fine too, 1/2- 1 cup)

3 cups wide egg noodles
1 cup grated cheese of your preference (cheddar is my favorite, but we used left over gruyere and fontina from the Italian fondue)

1) Put 1/2 TBS chili powder, 1/2 tsp cumin, and cubed pork into a ziplock bag and seal. Massage until coated.
2) In a Dutch oven, warm oil over high heat until hot, but not smoking. Add pork and sauté until browned, about 1 minute. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon and cover loosely with foil to keep warm.
3) Add bell peppers, onion, garlic, basl, salt, red pepper, and the rest of the chili powder and cumin. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add flour and stir, cooking about 1 minute.
4) Add chicken broth and tomato puree. Increase heat to hight and bring to boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes to blend flavors.
5) Return pork to the pot and simmer 2o minutes more, or until meat is tender and pulls apart easily.
6) While pork is cooking, prepare egg noodles according to pack directions.
6) Remove chili from heat and stir in diced tomatoes. Serve over noodles with grated cheese on top.

Thoughts on Risotto

From the first time I attempted to make risotto, I fell in love with it's simplicity. Though the recipes appear somewhat challenging at first, there's a certain rhythm to mixing up a delicious, creamy batch of a risotto, which once you master it, you can do anything you want. It's a hearty dish that can be a main course on a cool fall night or a flavorful side dish to compliment any meat or vegetable entry. It can be sweet or savory, rich or spicy, delicate or robust. But most importantly, for me, it's one of the easiest dishes to improvise with. With a little patience, and some basic ingredients, you can go anywhere.

So what exactly is risotto? Essentially, it's a creamy rice dish of Italian origin. What makes it unique is the kind of rice that is traditionally used. Risotto rice comes in several varieties, Arborio being most commonly available (and the only kind I've used), with others such as Baldo, Cariso, Carnaroli, and Vialone Nano. Each variety has it's own cooking characteristics (so read the packaging!) but the general gist is that it's a round/semi-round short grain rice with a high starch content. That's what gives it that dreamy creamy texture when cooked.

Now there's much debate about how to cook risotto, but the first steps are almost always the same. You should have a saucepan of simmering liquid on hand (water will do in a pinch, but stocks are more traditional and flavorful) and another pot ready for your risotto. Into this pot goes a drizzle of olive oil, to which, once heated to a nice shimmer, you should add diced onions, and cook until softened. You then add the risotto, stir until coated with oil and lightly toasted (this delays the absorption process and allows the starch to release more slowly, as well as giving the rice a slightly nutty taste). Then wine is usually added, the rice stirred until the liquid has absorbed and the alcohol cooked off.

Then comes the adding of the liquid. Some argue that you can simply dump all your liquid in at once, cover the pot, and wait for the rice to cook. In my experience, the rice would not cook or absorb evenly. Instead, we add the hot broth in increments, usually of about 1/2 -1 cup at a time, stir until the risotto has absorbed the liquid and begins to stick just a bit, then add more. As you go, you will find the rice is absorbing the liquid much slower, the grains are softening, the mixture is coming together. I find that for a cup of arborio rice it usually takes 2 1/2 -3 cups of liquid to reach the right consistency. The rice should be a little chewy, and the liquid should be thick, almost creamy. Don't worry if it's not as creamy as you thought it would be. Remove it from the heat and add butter and parmesan, maybe a little cream. Then your next bite will be warm, almost gooey, but with enough firmness to the rice to give it some consistency. This is a stick-to-your-ribs kind of dish. A bonafide comfort food.

This is risotto at it's simplest, but once you master the timing (about thirty minutes) and the proportions, the world is your oyster. A simple way to start is to add peas and ham right around the 20-25 minute mark, when the rice is still a little too al dente, but probably only needs one more dousing of liquid to bring it to the right consitency. Another good combination that we like is sausage (pre-cooked of course) and bell peppers. I've made risottos with sundried tomatoes, pesto, asparagus, three different kinds of cheese, roasted red peppers, vegetable stock, canadian bacon, even apples, all of which (though not all together!) have been successful and mighty tasty.

One risotto that I am particularly proud of, I actually dreamed up entirely on my own, without the guidance of cookbooks or recipes. One night, before falling asleep, I thought about two of our favorite dishes, grilled pork chops with apples and onions and cheese fondue. Somehow, in my sleepy state, this got me thinking about mixing the cheddar and hard cider used in fondue with the apples and onions of our pork recipe. What better union than in a risotto? The caramelized apples and onions would add sweetness and the cheddar would add a strong, sharp flavor. We tried it the next night, and it was good, though the cheddar we had bought was not strong enough (I was afraid of overpowering the risotto, but apparently it was underpowered).

Coincidentally, it was this recipe that jumped to mind when, on our honeymoon, the cruise sponored a recipe contest. It was the only recipe I knew by heart as I had come up with it myself and only just recently. I submittted it and lo and behold, along with a recipe for Estonian Kringel, it won the contest. I received a free cookbook and apron, and a chance to whip up my risotto in the galley, then share it with other cruisers. When I made it in the kitchen, using slightly different ingredients (chicken boullion, processed cheddar, a different kind of rice) it came out good but not great. When they prepared a batch for other passengers to try, it was not the risotto I had intended. Where was the sweetness? There was hardly any apple flavor at all and far too much parmesan. Still, people seemed to enjoy it, though I tried to press on them that the recipe we were handing out would render a different (and in my opinion tastier) result.

When we returned from the cruise, my new in-laws were just dying to try my “prize winning” risotto. So I made a batch to serve along side roasted pork tenderloin rubbed in mustard and rosemary. This time, it came out perfectly. Below is said recipe. It should be slightly sweet, with the creamy robust flavor of the cheddar to counter it.

Caramelized Apple and Onion Cheddar Risotto
Serves 2
10/10!

1 cup Arborio rice
2-3 cups chicken stock or broth
1 TBS olive oil
1 medium apple, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
1/2 cup of onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup hard cider, apple juice, or white wine
3/4 cup sharp cheddar, grated
1/4 cup parmesan, grated
1 TBS butter
a pinch of nutmeg
2 TBS cream (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

• Heat stock in a small sauce pan until hot, but not boiling. Keep warm.
• Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan until shimmering. Add onions and apples and sauté over med-high heat until the onions begin to carmelize and the apples are falling apart. Lower the heat to med-low. Add the arborio rice and stir until it is coated with oil.
• Add the hard cider to deglaze the pan. Stir until the liquid has been mostly absorbed and the rice begins to stick to the pot.
• Add warm stock to the rice 1/2 – 1 cup at a time and continue to stir the risotto until the liquid is mostly absorbed and the rice begins to stick before adding the next cup. The rice will being to absorb the liquid much slower. After about 20 minutes, the rice will have puffed up and taken on a creamy texture and will almost hardly be absorbing any liquid at all. The rice should be tender but slightly chewy. Remove from heat.
• Add the butter, nutmeg, cheddar, and parmesan, blending until creamy. Add cream and stir until incorporated. Season to taste and serve.

Pork Tenderloin in Mustard/Rosemary Rub
Serves 4
9/10

1 lb pork tenderloin
1/2 cup coarse ground mustard
6 springs of rosemary
2 TBS olive oil

• Pre-heat oven to 400ºF. Rub the mustard into the pork tenderloin.
• Heat olive oil in a dutch oven. Once hot, add pork and brown on all sides.
• Add rosemary to the dutch oven and cover. Roast in the oven for approximately 20 min. or until the internal temperature reaches 155ºF.
• Remove from the oven and allot the pork to rest for 5 minutes. Slice and serve.

Pork Chops with Apples and Onions

My mom used to make a dish kind of like this, over a bed of rice, but the chops always came out kind of dry and didn't seem to absorb any of the other great flavors. This recipe, however, is SO easy and the flavors all mix together to create a delicious medley of sweet and savory. It really is just as simple as it looks. Goes great with a light couscous or over rice!

Pork Chops with Apples and Onions
from The Protein Exchange (I got the recipe from my MIL)
9/10
Serves 2

2 thick pork loin chops (6 oz each)
2 tsp. spicy brown mustard
2 tsp. butter or margarine
1 small apple, cored, pared, and thinly sliced
1/2 cup thinly sliced onions
1/2 teaspoon ground savory

1) Preheat broiler. Spread each side of the pork chops with mustard. Set chops on rack in broiling pan and broil, turning once, until browned and done to taste (about 6-8 minutes per side).
2) While chops are broiling, in a small nonstick skillet, heat butter or margarine over medium heat until bubbly and hot. Add apple and onion slices and sauté until onion is slightly brown. Reduce heat to low and sprinkle with savory. Cover pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until apples are soft.
3) To serve, transfer pork chops to plate. Top with apple/onion mixture.

Pork and Vegetable Stir-fry

My first attempts at food photo art!

This is a pretty easy and yummy recipe. My only real comments are to double the amount of "marinade" and use that as a sauce at the end if you're a big sauce person (which I will change in the recipe). I was fine, but the boy wanted a bit more. Also, the original recipe called for pork tenderloin rather than a pork chop, and then white mushrooms, carrots, snow peas, and scallions. I obviously took a few creative liberties with the vegetables, so you should too!

Pork and Vegetable Stir-fry
from Wok & Stir-Fry (with modifications)
Serves 2 (with rice)
8/10

1-2 boneless pork-chops, ~1" thick
1 TBS soy sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp chinese rice wine or dry sherry
2 tsp cornstarch paste (equal parts water and cornstarch, blended to a paste)
2 oz. snow peas
1/2 red bell pepper
1/4 cup broccoli florets
1/4 cup onions, chopped fine
2 oz. baby carrots, halved
1/4 cup vegetable oil
salt


1) Cut the pork into thin slices, each about the size of a postage stamp. Blend soy sauce, brown sugar, wine/sherry, and cornstarch paste. Pour half of this misture over the pork to marinate for at least 15 minutes.
2) Trim the snow peas, chop up the onion and red pepper, halve the carrots, etc. with any other vegetables you choose to add. With the exception of the onion, try to keep the vegetable pieces about the same size as the meat pieces.
3) Heat the oil in a preheated wok/skillet. Add pork and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes until color changes. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside.
4) Add heartier vegetables first, such as broccoli, and sauté until it turns a bright green. Add remaining veggies and stir-fry for about 2 minutes. Add salt (to taste) and pork (if the pan looks a little dry, add some chicken broth). Continue cooking and stirring for about one minute, then add remaining marinade sauce and blend well.
5) Serve over white rice.