Mom's Famous Pork Chops Visit Chicago

The illustrious cast: soy sauce, rice vinegar, rice wine, sesame oil. I skipped the powdered garlic because I think it overwhelms the delicate flavor of the pork.

Two chops taking a bath. I let them soak for about 30 minutes while I was getting the kale and rice together.

Supporting characters: potato starch...

...and I added a second dredging stop of Japanese panko to get things extra crispy.

Pork all dressed up in a crispy coat.

Gently add to hot oil.

Fry until golden brown.

Best weeknight dinner ever.

Mom's Famous Pork Chops

This is probably one of the most coveted recipes within the family. I'm happy to finally be able to immortalize it here.

Start with thinly sliced (1/2") pork chops

Marinate 20 min in soy sauce, sesame oil, and white wine vinegar.

Lay out potato starch

Heat up a pan with grapeseed oil (high flashpoint).

Flour each side thoroughly.

Lay the chops in, away from you.

Tilt the pan to get the edges.

First flip.

Remove from heat and place on paper towel.

Use the remaining oil to sautee minced green onions.

Serve with green onion garnish. Top with soy sauce (optional).

White Chicken Enchiladas with Sour Cream Chile Sauce

Helloooooo Hungry Folks,

I tried this recipe and it was actually a pretty good tasty turnout.

Ingredients

8-10 soft taco size flour tortillas

2 cups shredded Monterrey jack cheese, divided

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles

Chopped, fresh cilantro for garnish (optional) (which means, I am not taking that option in this case)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix together 1 cup of the cheese and the chicken. Place an equal amount of the chicken mixture into each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in a lightly greased, 9 x 13-inch pan.

In a skillet or saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, whisking until smooth. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Stir in the sour cream and green chiles. Pour sauce over the top of the enchiladas; sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Chicken Soup

After an unfortunate reaction to deep dish pizza last night (compounded by a similarly driven scene in Bridesmaids), I woke up this morning weak and dehydrated. I needed something warm and restorative. I needed chicken soup.

I wanted something that was light but with a lot of flavor. Usually, I use herbs like thyme or rosemary for chicken stock, but I wasn't in the mood for an Italianesque soup -- I wanted something completely comforting which meant it would need an Asian bent. I decided to use ginger which lends a slightly spicy, almost medicinal, kick. I added a carrot for sweetness and some mashed garlic cloves to keep it super savory. I had some weeks-old shallots on the counter that still felt fresh, so I decided to throw those in too.

I brought this to a boil, skimmed off the foam, added salt, and then let it simmer for nearly two hours. The resulting broth was perfect -- ginger is the star here, but with the other ingredients, it isn't over-powering.

This is most slurp-worthy with steamed rice and a gently (read: the oozier the better) poached egg. Sprinkle over some furikake for extra Asian flair.

Mushroom Leek Sauce

Project: I wanted to learn how to prepare and use leeks. I also wanted to try making a sauce by deglazing a pan and reducing the wine.

My ingredients: Leeks, mushrooms, shallots, garlic, white wine, evaporated milk. Notice the parsley in water, thanks to Special K.

Flour and Susie Q on the chicken breasts.

First flip

Pull the chicken out, turn the heat up, add, in order, white wine, shallots and garlic, leeks, then mushrooms.

Reduce by simmering. Add parsley, salt, pepper. Spoon over chicken to serve.

Surprisingly, this was a pretty bland, watery sauce. Comments:

I suspect that I needed more salt, but I added a lot! Next time, I'll use chicken broth and reduce it longer. 

I'll slice the leek lengthwise  before chopping so that there aren't those concentric rings.

Evaporated milk gives a sweet taste and buttery aroma.

Taco Bar

When everything's already prepared, all you have to do is sautee the meat and microwave the tortillas.

Jamie Oliver's Baked Pasta

This barely needs a recipe. Layer sauce, pasta, and cheese. Bake/broil. Eat. But when things are this simple, it's really important that a few items are perfect. Key steps:

1. Undercook the pasta. Really undercook it. I used penne from Trader Joes with a recommended 9 minute cook time. I boiled it for 7 minutes, but I wish I'd gone closer to 5 minutes. I've never baked a pasta that wasn't just a little mushier than I would have liked. That was a supremely confusing sentence. Kind of mushy. Like the pasta.

2. Mix the pasta in sauce before layering.

3. Don't use shredded cheese. (Actually, just never buy shredded cheese again. Shred it yourself.) I used fresh mozzarella and put it through an uneven chop. This technique came up over and over again in various recipes, and after this go, it's easy to see why. Instead of a brown, scabby layer of  mozzarella on top, you'll have pockets of gooey cheese throughout.

4. Don't skimp on basil. Or salt.

Speaking of basil, would you look at this!

This crisp and vibrant sprig has been sitting on my counter for over a week. A week! And without a shrivel or brown spot in sight. I love basil, but every bunch I've bought has been doomed -- destined for the trash after a few days, mottled and gray. This little article was a major game changer.