Pork medallions

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Time for a rant about brining. If you have not tried it with pork (any pork, all pork) you are missing out on a valuable technique for flavorful and tender meat. If you insist on cooking your pork until there is no trace of pink in it, go somewhere else now - this post is not for you.

Brine for one pork tenderloin: 2 cups water, 2 tbsp kosher salt, 1 tbsp sugar; refrigerate for 4-6 hours; rinse well, dry and slice into the little gems you see above.

Saute in butter and olive oil (add some pepper and maybe paprika) for 3-4 minutes per side. The center should still be pink. It won't hurt you. If you need proof, send $20 to my PayPal account (id provided upon request).

Gold Medal Pork Medallions

We have a winner!

Put these on a ribbon and hang them around my neck as the first prize awarded at the Pork Lovers Convention of Peoria/Pretoria/Pittsburgh/Pittstown and Pittsfield.

Had enough? Yea, so have I. Brine your pork tenderloin for 4 hours, rinse it, dry it and rub it with glee (and spices): equal parts cumin, espresso powder, garlic powder; and 1/2 part paprika (smoke 'em if you got 'em); 1/2 part wasabi powder. Let the pork sit at room temp for an hour if you have the time. Saute over medium high in butter and olive oil - side one til you see the sides of the medallions showing some signs of cooking coming up from the bottom; side two until 145 degrees is achieved (maybe 3 minutes) ... any higher than that and you should simply not use this recipe.

In case you are wondering, yes, this was one of the finest things I have cooked in many a moon.

Dry rub for anything

The picture has absolutely nothing to do with this posting. I just happen to like it.

I got a decent price on a rack of St. Louis-style ribs the other day and I have them in the fridge right now coated in a dry rub. I got this list of ingredients from someone at FoodNetwork and I don't remember who. In comparing it to a few other options I have determined that it is suitable for any meat or poultry. The quantity was enough for the rack of ribs and a T-bone steak coming up on Monday.

Here it is just in case you'd like to have it filed away somewhere for a rainy (or not) day. BTW, I am cooking the ribs in the oven and low-ish temp for probably 4 hours. But you don't need to learn how to cook ribs from me. I make it up as I go along.

Dry rub for meat and poultry
2 Tbs espresso powder (or ground coffee)
2 Tbs kosher
2 Tbs paprika (smoked is great if you have it)
1 Tbs chile powder
1 Tbs brown sugar
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp ground coriander

Rub all over your meat and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Yield is enough for a full rack of St. Louis-style ribs plus 4 chicken thighs.

Something I threw together (part 2)

These pics don't look exactly like what came out of my big pot when I served up dinner tonight. But it's close enough.

I don't know what possessed me to post a recipe even as it was cooking in the oven. I had a certain sureness that it was going to turn out well. I was right. The fact is I made it 2 days ago, but lamb meatloaf diverted our attentions at dinner time for 2 nights.

One inspiration for my slow-cooked thing is the cost of groceries here in DC. Not to mention gasoline, booze and cigarettes. As a matter of fact, cigs are so expensive I qut smoking a week ago. I'm over the worst of that. But enough about me; here's more about me.

Pork chops, onions, mushrooms, potatoes, carrots - all good things. Put them in a big pot, season them well and bake at 275-300 degrees for 3 or so hours. As happens with slow-cooked things, additional seasoning is necessary at the end. Everything you put in at the beginning seems to get absorbed into the totality. So, more salt, more pepper, more garlic powder - whatever it is you like.

Well, cancel that last. No additional seasoning was necessary. The whole thing was gentle, flavorful, satisfying, comforting. The bottom line: browning is not necessary; stick stuff in the pot, turn on the oven and cook it for a while. How long? How long do you have? No, seriously, 3 hours is enough for practically anything. We divested ourselves of the slow cooker when we left Denver. We never used it. You know what? No one needs a slow cooker. You got an oven? That's all you need. Bye for now.

Pork loin back ribs

Ribs with fresh Colorado corn and chard

I think I should clarify one thing about the smoked salmon I posted the other day. It’s nothing like lox or gravlax. If you imagine salmon which has been baked but has an intense smoky flavor, that’s what it’s like. The wok-smoker method results in what would be called “hot smoked” fish.

Now, on to something new. The Manager’s Special case at Safeway had a full rack of pork ribs (just a shade under 3 lbs.) for only $5. What a steal. Finding myself a little short of time I decided to try a different way of cooking them. There wasn’t time to wait for a dry rub to do its thing. I just salted and peppered them well and baked them for 2 hours. They were finished right after dinner and at this point I doused them with some spices, let them cool, and refrigerated them for 2 days until we were ready to eat them.

I was surprised at how interesting they were. Many recipes calling for a dry rub encourage you to reserve some spices and add them near the end of the cooking time. The way I did it kind of echoed that. In my book it was a success.

These ribs are more or less Memphis-style dry ribs. You certainly are welcome to brush them with some bbq sauce.

Pork back ribs
c. 3 lb. rack of pork ribs
salt and pepper
ground cumin
garlic powder
onion powder
pimenton (smoked Spanish paprika) or sweet paprika

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Remove the fell (membrane) from the concave side of the ribs. Rub generously with salt and pepper on both sides.

Line a baking sheet with enough foil to fold over the top of the ribs to seal them in. A whole rack is quite long, so I cut them into 2 sections. Place the ribs on the foil, meaty side down, add about ¼” of water and enclose them in the foil.

Bake for 2 – 2 ½ hours until the meat is completely tender. Open the foil packet and sprinkle the ribs all over (to taste) with the cumin, garlic and onion powders, and pimenton. At this point you can do the finishing cooking, although I preferred to let the ribs cool and absord the additional spices. You can refrigerate them for as much as a couple of days if you wish, re-covered with the foil.

When ready to finish them, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Fold back the foil to expose the ribs and turn them meaty side up. Bake until heated through and somewhat browned, c. 30 minutes. Let them rest for 5 minutes, cut into individual pieces between the bones and serve.

Asian pork burgers

We were getting a little low on proteins in the freezer. Only some shrimp (just ate that Sat.) and 2 packages of pork chops. I chose the chops. After thawing and trimming there was 12 oz. of meat. Perfect for burgers.

My last pork burgers was Indochine-style and I wanted something Asian but not exactly that. I hit on a very simple solution which was to mix scallions and preserved black beans into the burgers. They came out very well.

A quick word about preserved black beans: you’re only going to find them at an Asian market. The wondrous thing about them is that, being cured and salted, they last virtually forever in the fridge. We’ve had ours for years!

We had a lovely side dish, braised chard served room temperature with a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice.

Asian pork burgers
12 oz. ground pork
1 large scallion, minced, white and greens parts
1 tbsp preserved black beans

Put the pork into a bowl with the scallion. Mash the black beans in a mortar and pestle or by whatever means you can. Add to the pork and mix it all up well.

Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a skillet (5 on the 1-10 dial). Cook the burgers for 5 minutes on the first side. Reduce burner to 3 and cook second side 5 more minutes, or until done through and through.

Pork and vegetable stir-fry

I’m adapting and recycling a post from October ’08 which was called “The power of ramen”. I know there are those who might consider these cheap noodles a copout. But when you consider how little they cost, how good they actually taste, how quick they can be prepared, and how versatile they are, logic tells me it’s a path I want to continue to go down.

There are two reasons I want to air out my ramen thoughts: I’ve made a number of stir-fries with them recently, and back in ’08 no one was ever reading my blog. I’ve included a recipe for a stir-fry I just made for lunch. Bear in mind that the ingredients can be almost anything.

To prepare the noodles even before you know what you’re going to do with them: boil them for 3 minutes, drain, rinse with cold water, drizzle with olive oil or sesame oil, toss to coat and so that they don’t stick together. Now you’re in business for a pasta-style dish, a soup, a stir fry, a late night snack (warm or cold). I generally don’t use the flavor packets that come with the noodles, although I did sprinkle just a bit of it on the lubricated noodles to add some flavor to my skirt steak stir fry.

For a normal adult appetite 1 pack of ramen per person is perfect. (I’m channeling Jacques Pepin here: “one pocket pair pairson”.)

I’m sure you know that you can buy these in bulk, 5 or more packages together, for a total cost of about 30 cents each. I always have them on hand. Now don’t get me wrong, we cook a lot of real pasta in this household. It’s just such a convenience to use ramen from time to time.

That’s pretty much all I wanted to say. Search for my “The power of ramen” for more ideas.

I’ll close with a limerick:

There once was a man who loved ramen,
Though others would think they are common.
He boiled those worms
And then came to terms
With multiple apps, now say “amen”.

Pork and vegetable stir-fry
2 packages ramen noodles
10 oz. pork chops, boned and sliced
2 tbsp Chinese rice wine
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp Chinese black vinegar
¼ large onion, sliced
1 jalapeno, seeded and sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced

1/2 cup snow peas

1/2 cup sugar snap peas
1 cup braising greens, mustard, kale, endive or romaine
fish sauce

Boil the noodles for 3 minutes, drain, rinse with cold water, drain, drizzle with sesame oil, sprinkle with a bit of the flavoring packet. Set aside.

Before boning and slicing the pork, marinate it for 2 hours in the rice wine, soy and vinegar. Rinse, dry, bone and slice.

Heat a wok over high heat (7 on my 1-10 dial). Add 1 tbsp veg. oil. When the oil is hot, stir-fry the pork for no more than 2 minutes. Set aside in a bowl.

Put the onions and jalapeno into the wok. Stir-fry 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger. Fry 1 minute. Add peas and greens. Fry 1 minute. Transfer all this to a bowl.

Add a little more oil. Put the pork and ramen into the wok. Toss constantly until hot. Add back the veg. Season with a little more rice wine and soy and add some fish sauce.

Keep tossing until everything is heated through. Serve.

Pork burgers

We were excited to have a batch of fiddlehead ferns still to enjoy. I did a freezer inventory (I’d gotten way behind) and when I found a package of pork I went for pork burgers. The pork was some kind of chop cut but was quite fatty. I trimmed it thoroughly and ground it in the food processor. Then I put in everything I could think of for flavor.

Along with the ferns we had some real nice quinoa. I don’t know why I don’t cook quinoa more ofter – it’s supposedly very healthful and it cooks very much like rice. Here’s a caveat though. The last two times I’ve cooked it, the proportion of 2 parts liquid to 1 part quinoa (from the package instructions) seems wrong. It’s supposed to cook in 15 minutes, but after that time the liquid wasn’t absorbed. I took the lid off and increased the heat. After a couple of minutes it was better. I still had to use a slotted spoon to serve it. The next time I’m going to change the proportion to about 1 cup quinoa to 1 2/3 cup broth or water.

Pork burgers (for 2)
14 oz. ground pork
2 scallions, white and green parts chopped
1 tsp smoked Spanish paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp each powdered garlic and onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp olive oil
Cheese (optional)

Mix everything in a bowl. Take about a teaspoon’s worth and nuke it for 20 seconds and taste for seasoning. Form the pork mixture into 2 burgers.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet. When hot, add the burgers. Cook about 5 minutes per side. After flipping the burgers put slices of cheese on top if you wish. We used fontina.

Posole

Every time I make posole I do it differently. My first posole post was way back to 9/30/08. I start with a list of what I have to contribute to it. This time it was some great big pork loin chops (on the bone) that were quite fatty. Trimming the fat and cutting the meat into ½” pieces was a start.

I had 1 pasilla pepper (a dried one) and a bag of the kind of dried red peppers you see ristras made from. Instead of rehydrating the peppers, I broke them up with my hands and extracted the seeds. Then I pulverized them in our spice grinder. All I needed to buy was an Anaheim pepper and some broth.

One problem cropped up: it was spicy, perhaps too spicy for Peter – perhaps too spicy for me, although my tolerance level is pretty high. The solution: after some thought I went out and bought a second can of hominy and added some more broth. Problem solved.

Posole
2 tbsp olive oil
1 ½ lbs cubed pork (from chops or shoulder)
½ medium onion, diced
1 Anaheim pepper, seeded and diced
salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 dried pasilla pepper, seeded and pulverized in a spice grinder
2 dried red Mexican peppers, seeded and pulverized
1 & 1/2 15 oz. can hominy, white or yellow, drained and rinsed
20 oz. or more chicken stock
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried Mexican oregano

Heat the olive oil in a good-sized pot. Add the pork and stir to prevent sticking. Cook the pork, stirring often, until most of the pink has disappeared.

Add the onion and Anaheim pepper. Add salt and pepper and saute 4 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic and dried peppers and stir. Saute 2 minutes.

Add hominy, thyme and oregano. Add enough chicken stock to get the consistency you want. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a slow simmer, cover the pot and simmer slowly for 1 hour.

Check the pork for tenderness and let it go longer if you think it’s necessary. Taste for seasonings and adjust as necessary.

If you can make this a day ahead, that’s a good thing.

Pork and black bean tacos

I had about 5 oz. of boneless pork country rib meat left over from another application. I’d been thinking about making gorditas (Mexican sandwiches. When I finished cooking the cubes of pork I turned it into, I had one basic problem. I feared that if I kept reducing the liquid in the pan it might intensify its spiciness to far. Then the 5 watt bulb went off in my head. Sandy had given me some of her prepared-from-scratch black beans. I did the step below of adding them to the pork. After they were mashed and simmered for a bit, the liquid thickened perfectly and the beans add a depth of flavor I didn’t even know was missing.

Please bear in mind that I brine all pork before cooking. I’ve posted about that and won’t do so again here. After brining and then rinsing I do not add more salt.

Now, about the gorditas. I have masa (corn flour) in the pantry. I tried making gorditas quite a while ago. Tried again this time – with not great results. So forget about that and just make tacos with this filling.

For the pork::
1 dried pasilla pepper
1 dried Mexican red chili pepper
5 oz. lean boneless pork, cut into 1” cubes
1 tbsp olive or vegetable oil
½ cup chicken stock
1 cup cooked black beans (2/3 of a 14-15 oz. can, rinsed)
Store-bought corn or flour tortillas
Chopped lettuce (any kind)
Grated cheese

Chopped tomato (optional)
Avocado (optional)

Remove the seeds and stems from the peppers and soak them in just enough hot tap water to cover for 30 minutes. Use an immersion blender or food processor to puree them.

Heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the pork. Brown slightly (about 5 minutes), stirring every minute or so then reduce heat to medium. Add pureed peppers with their liquid and the chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium-low heat until the pork is tender (about 10 minutes).

Push the pork to the side of the pan. Add the beans and mash with a potato masher. Stir and bring back to a low simmer. The beans will thicken the dish in about 10 minutes. If there is too little liquid when you get to this step, add a bit more chicken stock.

To assemble:
Heat a griddle. Spray tortillas very lightly with cooking spray. When the griddle is hot, toss on the tortillas for just 1 minute per side.

Transfer to cutting board. Stuff with lettuce, cheese, pork, and avocado and tomato (if using). That’s all there is to it.

Pork burgers with creamed corn

This combination of dishes was fun to make and came by way of a couple of inspired ideas (mine).

First, the pork: I had some bone-in pork loin chops which weighed a total of exactly 1 pound. After the bones and fat were removed the remains weighed 12 oz., an ideal amount for 2 burgers.

I got the idea to render the fat and bones in a sauté pan and use the fat to fry the sage leaves briefly and then sauté the onion for the creamed corn in the fat. If you happen to use boneless chops you could still trim the fat and use it as described.

As for the radishes, the use of them occurred to me while searching through our greens drawer in the fridge. I love sautéed radishes, having originally been turned on to them by Lydia Bastianich. And since pork burgers get cooked all the way through, the radishes suffused them with their own delicate flavor – all the pepperiness cooks out of the radishes.

You could use more onion for the creamed corn if you wish (maybe ½ an onion), but ¼ onion was what we had and seemed sufficient to me. Also, we had half-and-half but no heavy cream. Cream would indeed be preferable. One more thing: use a seeded jalapeno if you don’t have Hatch chiles.

Pork burgers
12 oz. ground pork
4 medium radishes
4 sage leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil

Trim 1 lb. bone-in pork loin chops of all bones and fat. Chop the meat in a food processor. Remove to a bowl and chop the radishes very fine. Add to the pork.

Use trimmings as below for creamed corn. After the fat has rendered, fry the sage leaves in it for 1 minute. Break up into the ground meat. Mix the sage and radishes into the pork with your hands. Form into 2 burgers. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Heat the oil in a skillet and fry the burgers 4-5 minutes per side until cooked all the way through.

Creamed corn
Fat trimmings from pork chops or 1 slice bacon
¼ medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 lb. frozen corn kernels
1 chopped Hatch chile, skin and seeds removed
1/3 cup chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup half-and-half or heavy cream

Render the pork fat (or bacon) and set the bits aside. Saute the onion and garlic over medium heat for 4-5 minutes until softened but not browned.

Deglaze the pan with chicken stock and add the corn and chile. Season with salt and white or black pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook covered for a few (3-4) minutes.
Add the half-and-half or cream and bring back to a simmer. Check for seasoning and adjust as necessary.

BBQ pork ribs

It’s not exactly kosher to post a recipe for which I made no precise measurements; nor did I stick to a consistent oven temperature, or even remember exactly how long the fruits of my labor were in the oven. Now that I think of it, it's not exactly kosher to say kosher when speaking of a pork product. Oh well, too late for that now.

But there’s a life-lesson here: it’s not necessary to follow a recipe all the time. I guess it’s ironic of me to say that and then go ahead and post, what else, a recipe!

Everything below is approximate. However, no precision is required. Brine a bit longer or shorter, set the oven temp a little higher of lower, reduce cooking time (after all, what matters in the end is that the meat is falling off the bones), etc.

A word about the type of ribs: they were merely labeled “pork ribs,” definitely not spare ribs, perhaps closer to St. Louis-style ribs. This recipe would work for any of these and as well for “country” pork ribs.

BBQ pork ribs
2 ¾ pounds pork ribs
Chicken stock as needed

Brine: (well-dissolved)
4 cups water
4 tbsp kosher salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

Dry rub:
2 tbsp cumin
2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
black pepper to taste

Wet rub:
1 cup catsup
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 heaping tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp liquid smoke
1 tbsp soy sauce (dark if you have it)

Brine the ribs for 2-6 hours in the refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 300°.

Rinse and dry thoroughly.

Apply dry rub all over ribs.

Place on baking rack in a baking pan with at least 1” sides. Add some chicken stock to the pan (1/2 cup or so).

Cover tightly with foil and bake for 2 ½ - 3 hours, checking each hour and adding stock if it has evaporated.

Reduce oven to 250°.

Remove foil from the ribs and slather them with the wet rub all over. Return ribs, uncovered, to the oven to ½ to 1 hour. Recover with foil and let the ribs rest for 10 minutes. Cut between the bones and serve.

Giant meatballs with spaghetti and a pattypan galette

Even the best recipes can always be improved. On Jan. 19 of this year I posted a recipe for giant meatballs. They were made from Jimmy Dean sausage, which I happened to have had in the freezer, having bought it at a considerable saving.

When I came home from Safeway last week with some pork loin chops I knew from the get-go I was going to have another round of giant meatballs. In the days before I acquired a digital camera, I had to beg, borrow and steal pix to use with my postings. The original one for these meatballs is kind of amusing: it's a collage - a little goofy, but effective enough.

Above you see a photo of the latest meatballs. Why do I make them so big? It just amuses me and, from a presentation standpoint, it's impressive, no?

Spaghetti with giant meatballs and pattypan galette (4 servings)

1 lb. pork loin chops

3 oz. crusty bread, cut to 1/3" dice

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 eggs, yolks and whites separaed

3 scallions, white and green parts chopped fine

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped

1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

1/4 bread crumbs

1 tbsp flour

salt and pepper to taste

8-10 oz. whole wheat spaghetti or other pasta

2 cups chopped cabbage

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp fennel seed, smashed with a mortar and pestle

2 pattypan squashes (palm sized), sliced into rings 1/8" thick (use a mandoline)

parmesan cheese

chopped fresh parsley (optional)

If the loin chops are on the bone, cut out same. Leave as much or as little fat as you wish. Cut into 1" pieces and chop in food processor as you would for any ground meat.

Make a brandade by combining the bread and cream in a bowl and mashing up a bit to that the cream is absorbed.

Place the ground pork in a large bowl and add: brandade, scallions, garlic, egg yolks, thyme, oregano, breadcrumbs, flour, salt and pepper. Mix together thoroughly (using your hands is best but best). Form a 1" ball with a bit of the mixture and microwave it for 30-40 seconds. Taste for seasonings and adjust as desired.

Form the pork mixture into 4 meatballs. Refrigerate them for at least an hour to firm them (they may be quite "wet," at least mine were).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the meatballs on a "Pammed" cooking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Allow to rest 5 minutes before serving.

Cook spaghetti according to package directions until just al dente (it's going to cook a bit more with the cabbage). While the pasta cooks, heat 1 tbsp each of oil and butter in a saute pan. Add the cabbage, fennel seed, and salt and pepper to taste. Saute until softened and lightly browned, 5-6 minutes.

Using a spider, transfer the pasta to the cabbage pan and toss to combine. Serve in heated bowls with grated parmesan and chopped parsley as garnish.

Pattypan galette

This was a fun way to prepare the squash.

Brush both sides of the squash slices with lightly beaten egg white. Arrange slices in a circle on a greased plate the diameter of the base of a large saute pan (make sure you use one with sloping sides), overlapping as necessary. Set aside to allow the egg white to dry somewhat. This while form a kind of "glue" to hold the galette together when it cooks.

Heat 1 tbsp each butter and olive oil over medium high heat until the butter is melted and just starting to brown. Slide the galette into the pan, cover the squash with a piece of foil and place a weight on it (an empty teakettle can be perfect for this). Cook until the bottom is well-browned (4-6 minutes). Slide the galette out onto a plate; invert a second plate over it; flip it over and slide it back into the pan. Again weight and cook another 4-5 minutes until the second side is browned. Slide out onto a cutting board and divide into 1/4's to serve. Garnish with parmesan and chopped parsley as desired.

Pork milanesa with rice and beans

NPR did a daily feature this week in which celebrity chefs gave recipes for feeding 4 on less than $10. They also offered the opportunity for us out here in listening land to send them similar recipes. So I did.





I think that beef is the most common meat used for milanesa, but I make it with pork and chicken as well. It's extremely simple to do, and very satisfying.



Milanesa with rice and beans

4 Thin cut boneless pork chops
1 egg
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup unflavored bread crumbs
salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups brown rice
3 cups water
1 15 oz. can black beans
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
hot sauce, to taste
½ head iceberg lettuce, shredded

Brine the chops if you have time. Season with salt (only if you didn't brine them), pepper and paprika. Pound them very thin, dredge in flour, dip in egg, coat with breadcrumbs.

In a large skillet, heat 1/8" vegetable oil until nearly smoking. Fry the meat exactly 90 seconds per side, no more, no less! If you have to do this in batches, kept the cooked pieces warm on a plate on paper towels.

Cook the rice according to package directions. I usually like to use broth for this, but water is fine. Drain and rinse the beans and combine them with the cooked rice along with the jalapeno, cilantro, salt and pepper to taste, and hot sauce to taste.

Serve the milanesa on a bed of lettuce with the rice and beans on the side.

Bánh mì

The Vietnamese sandwich known as bánh mì is a highly individual entity. Practically anything can go into it. However, if you plan to make it with velveeta and bologna I suggest you call it something else. With leftover roast pork on hand and some slaw and cilantro it was easy for us to put together our own version.

Our wonderful neighborhood bakery, Denver Bread Company, is on Peter’s daily walk route and be brought home a baguette, the traditional bread for this sandwich. It was a long baguette and sufficed to make sandwiches for lunch two days in a row. Today’s version was the best and is worth sharing.

In order to save time and dish washing, I microwaved the eggs. Put them in two separate containers that you’ve lubricated with cooking spray. Start with 40 seconds, stir the eggs and rotate the dishes. Continue with 20 seconds, repeat the stir and turn, and finish with 15-second burst until the eggs are set.

Bánh mì
1 baguette, cut into 2 eight-inch sections
slaw
2 eggs, scrambled
Chinese 5-spice powder
leftover pork, chicken, shrimp or beef, sliced to an appropriate size
chicken broth
soy sauce
fish sauce
Chinese cooking wine
cilantro

Slice the bread in half lengthwise. If you wish (as we do), tear out some of the soft insides to reduce the amount of starch.

Season the eggs with 5-spice powder and cook in a non-stick pan or in the microwave as above.

Put about ¼ cup of broth in a skillet and add about 1 tbsp each of soy, fish sauce and vinegar. Add the pork slices and heat gently turning once.

Assemble the sandwiches: start with scrambled egg; top that with the meat; then add slaw; lay several stalks of cilantro over the slaw; fasten with a toothpick or two to hold it all together.

Eat.

For a free excerpt of my book, “A Year of Food,” in which I opine, report, cook, muse and philosophize about everything that passed my lips for an entire year, write to me at: scrout1944@msn.com.

Boneless pork ribs

Country-style ribs are hugely meaty as compared with spare ribs. For some reason our Safeway sells the country-style without the bones. I wouldn't have bought them except for the fact that they were in the specials bin and cost only $3.

They are extremely lean and I was concerned about them coming out dry. So I brined them. I also made a sauce with which I basted them every 30 minutes after the first hour of cooking.

The picture to the left ("borrowed") from someone's web site is of ribs with bones. However, despite that, the similiarity to the look of mine is quite remarkable.

Boneless pork ribs

4 boneless country-style pork ribs (about 1 3/4 pounds)

2 cups water

2 tbsp kosher salt

2 tbsp sugar

10 peppercorns

2 tbsp cumin

2 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp cayenne pepper

3/4 cup catsup

1/8 cup pomegranate juice

1/8 cup pomegranate molasses (regular molasses)

black pepper

Stir the salt and sugar into the water until dissolved. Place the liquid, the peppercorns, and the ribs into a gallon-size freezer bag, squeeze out the air, seal, and refrigerate for an hour (2 hours if you can).

Remove the ribs from the fridge and dry them with paper towels. Don't rinse them.

Mix the cumin, paprika and cayenne together and liberally dust the ribs with the mix. Use all of it. Again refrigerate the ribs uncovered on a plate for at least an hour (or more) if you have the time. Remove from the fridge 1 hour before you begin cooking.

Preheat the oven to 275°.

Place the ribs on a rack on a shallow roasting pan. Add 1 cup chicken or beef stock to the pan, cover tightly with foil, and roast for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, mix together the catsup, pomegranate juice and molasses. Reduce the oven to 250° and start generously basting the ribs every 30 minutes. Turning them each time you do so. Keep them covered.

Total roasting time will be 2 1/2-3 hours. Let the ribs rest, still covered, for 10 minutes before serving.

For a free excerpt of my book, “A Year of Food,” in which I opine, report, cook, muse and philosophize about everything that passed my lips for an entire year, write to me at: scrout1944@msn.com.

An off-the-cuff dinner

Sure you can get out your “Joy of Cooking” and find a perfectly good meatloaf plan, probably with optional variations. But when you find a piece of top round in your freezer that you just know is not going to give you an edible London broil (I know from experience), and the weather is quite cool, screw your courage to the sticking point and get creative. I did consult “Joy” for just one thing: internal temperature for the meatloaf - 160°.

The fact is you could simply prepare ground beef as if for a burger, put it in a loaf pan, top it with cheese and have “burger loaf.” Same for chicken, turkey or pork. A standard meatloaf mix will generally have 2 or 3 different kinds of meat. Anything you would do to a hamburger you can do to meatloaf. Be brave. You have to go quite a distance to screw it up.

If you are using ground beef and ground veal 160° is too high a temp. However, lots of people use chicken, turkey or pork along with beef. The poultry must get up to 160°; the pork to 145°. That low for pork? Scientists tell us the infrequent potential from undercooking piggy meat is obviated at a temperature of 137°. Personally I go for 140° for, say, pork tenderloin or a roast of pork.

“Joy” told me to get the meat up to 160° with ground pork in it. I didn’t think I wanted to go that high, but caved in to my uncertainty about the processed pork sausage I used. In the end the meatloaf was well done and a little dense but had excellent flavor. And, dressed with some homemade tomato sauce (you could use a jarred spaghetti sauce for this), it was very, very good. Next time I’ll go for 150°, as I indicate below.

I couldn’t help but notice some other components of the cookbook meatloaf recipe: meat quantities, egg quantity, bread crumbs, etc. But I was dealing with specific amounts of ingredients I had on hand and adjusted everything accordingly.

I went out to buy one thing I didn’t have, pork sausage. The Safeway had some available in bulk and I was able to buy the ½ pound I wanted. The clerk assured me it was spicy sausage. That turned out not to be true. If I do this again with that same product, I’ll definitely add some red pepper flakes.

Recently I posted a recipe for baked artichoke hearts. I got it from Rachel Ray. Each time I’ve made it I like it less. The food network website gave me a few ideas and I invented an artichoke braise that I think is superb. It was a side dish to the meatloaf along with some polenta.

So, starting from square one…

(Don’t let your) Meatloaf
1.4 lbs. top round, ground
½ lb hot Italian sausages, casing removed
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tsp dried thyme
½ medium onion, finely diced
1/8 cup parsley, chopped, plus more for garnish
1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp pimiento, chopped
4 bay leaves
4 tbsp tomato sauce, plus more for garnish

In a large bowl, mix the meat and sausage together with your hands, just until combined. Add remaining ingredients except bay leaves. Toss lightly until combined.

Put the sausage through the grinder if it is particularly sticky. It will blend better with the beef than way.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Place the oven rack in the lower third of the oven.

Spray a loaf pan with Pam. Place bay leaves on the bottom of the pan. Add the meatloaf mixture, pressing it carefully into the pan to eliminate air pockets. Top it with tomato sauce. Place the loaf pan on a baking sheet and put it into the oven.

Bake until the internal temperature is 150°. Remove from the oven, tent with foil, and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes. The sides of the loaf should start to pull away slightly from the sides of the loaf pan.

You could try to remove the meatloaf from the pan, but I chickened out and managed to extract the first (most difficult) slice intact. Slice with a serrated knife into 1-inch slices or larger if you want. Served with your favorite steak or barbeque sauce if you wish.

Braised artichoke hearts

I am far too lazy to disassemble artichoke hearts. You can get them frozen at the market and, while not quite as good as fresh, they are perfectly viable.

1 package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and at room temperature
6 thin slices of lemon
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
salt
pepper (white if you have it)
½ cup chicken stock

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a sauté pan. Add the lemon slices and the garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. A word about the lemon: slice them across including the peel and be sure not to include any seeds. The rind will not be bitter after its cooked.

Add the artichoke hearts and salt and pepper and sauté just until the hearts start to take on a little color. Add the broth, cover, and simmer for a few minutes while you finish up other dinner preparations. You can always reduce the heat to very low at let them sit a bit longer. Or, you can take them off the heat and serve them warm, though I think not a room temperature.

What could be simpler than that?

For a free excerpt of my book, “A Year of Food,” in which I opine, report, cook, muse and philosophize about everything that passed my lips for an entire year, write to me at: scrout1944@msn.com.

St. Louis-style spareribs

-I've had a few comments on my postings, often wishing for pictures. Someday soon I'll get a digital camera. I, too, like looking at pictures when reading recipes.

I often mention the "specials" bin in the meat departments of my Safeway and King Soopers. Every time I go to the store I check these out. I have gotten some wonderful deals. Last Friday I found a full rack of ribs marked down 50%. The price was still $7.12, but I knew we would get two dinners out of it.

I'm no expert, but I would describe these ribs as a meatier, longer rack than spareribs - not, however, as meaty as the big country-style ribs. There were 14 bones, which I suppose is what the number would be as a matter of course.

I developed a way to cook these ribs some time ago. I'm fond of "dry-roasted" ribs of the sort I used to chow down on in Memphis years ago. Preparation could not be simpler. There is a membrane on the back side which some people insist needs to be removed. It's a little difficult to do and after a brief try I just said screw it.

Roasted ribs
1 rack St. Louis-style spareribs
cayenne pepper
paprika
salt
pepper
cumin
chicken broth
BBQ sauce (optional)

Cut the ribs into 2 7-rib sections. Make a rub by combining 1 part cumin, 1 part paprika and 1/2 part cayenne pepper. 2 tbsp total will be plenty for a rack. I always make more so that it's available on a whim for other applications.

Rub the mixture into the ribs on both sides. Place the ribs on a plate and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Do this in the morning or the day before if you can. At the least give the ribs an hour or two to absorb the flavors.

Preheat the oven to 275°. Put the ribs on a flat baking rack and apply salt and pepper to taste. Roast meat side up for 1 and 1/2 hours.

This next part is optional. If you don't use it, just continue roasting the ribs after covering them with foil for another 1/2 - 1 hour. Combine 1 cup chicken broth with 1/2 cup commercial barbeque sauce or ketchup and mustard, whatever you have. Pour some of this (2/3 or so) over the ribs, cover loosely with foil and continue roasting for another 1/2 hour. I think I actually roasted my ribs for as much as 2 1/2 hours. I wasn't paying attention. If you use this sauce it won't matter, the ribs will just get more and more succulent.

Remove the ribs from the oven and allow them to cool until you can handle them comfortably. Cut them into individual pieces between the bones. Heat up the sauce in the microwave and moisten the ribs with it and serve. Have plenty of paper towels at the table and make a mess of yourself.

For a free excerpt of my book, “A Year of Food,” in which I opine, report, cook, muse and philosophize about everything that passed my lips for an entire year, write to me at: scrout1944@msn.com.

Herb-roasted pork loin

I made this from a recipe published in the Denver Post with commentary by the food section editor, Tucker Shaw. It's a flawed recipe. But I made it better. The result was excellent. I think I'll give the recipe as I received it and then comment on what had to be changed.

Herb-roasted pork loin

1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1 tbsp thyme leaves plus 6 sprigs
2 tbsp chopped Italian parsley
3 tbsp olive oil, divided
10 cloves garlic, smashed
1 center-cut pork loin, about 3 lbs
3 sprigs rosemary, broken into 3-inch pieces
3 sprigs sage
6 tbsp unsalted butter, divided, sliced
Chicken stock for deglazing

Whisk together the mustard, thyme leaves, parsley and 1 tbsp olive oil in a shallow baking dish. Stir in the garlic, and slather the pork with this mixture. Cover and refrgerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. Take the pork out of the refreigerator 1 hour before cooking to bring it to room temperature. After 30 minutes, season the pork generously with salt and pepper. Reserve the marinade.

Preheat the oven to 325.

Heat a large saute pan over high heat for 3 minutes. Swirl in the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil, and wait a minute or two, until the pan is very hot, almost smoking. Place the pork loin in the pan and sear it on all sides until well browned and caramelized. Don't turn it or move the pork too quickly or all the mustard will be left in the pan and not on the pork. The searing process will take 15 - 20 minutes.

Transfer the pork to a roasting rack, and slather the reserved marinade over the meat. Arrange the rosemary, sage and thyme springs on the roast and top with 3 tbsp butter. Roast the pork until a thermometer inserted into the center reads 120, about 1 1/4 hours. Let the pork rest at least 10 minutes before slicing.

While the pork is roasting, retrun the pork-searing pan to the stove over medium-high heat. Wait 1-2 minutes, then deglaze it with some chicken stock. Bring to a boil, whisking and scraping the bottom of the pan to release the crispy bits. Swirl in 3 tbsp butter and set aside.

To serve, arrange the haricots verts and spring onions on a large, warm platter. Slice the pork thinly, about 1/4 inch thick and fan the meat over the beans. Add the buttery pork juices and herbs to the sauce, bring to a boil, and then spoon it over the pork.

The first problem is the last paragraph. Where did the haricots verts and spring onions come from? No mention of them until serving time. The second, and biggest, problem is the notion that 120 degrees is a sufficient temperature for pork. It is not, not by 20 degrees. 145 degrees is the temperature deemed sufficiently hot to kill any of those old pork bugaboos, trichina worms, though I read frequently that it is now a rare problem.

I wrote to Tucker but got an out-of-office reply suggesting another staff member to contact. I did so and received the most idiotic reply. The young lady in question said she consulted the original recipe and it too says 120 degrees. I wrote back and told her that in retrospect I didn't need to have written to her. Beef cooked to 120 degress would be utterly rare, even with the carryover cooking during the resting process. I heard no more from her.

I served this roast to guests and could not afford to have squeamish eaters if the center of the pork was too pink. I targeted 145 degrees and it turned out fine, just a trace of pinkitude. Next time I'll go for 140 degrees based on this experience.

Now, some other problems. The marinade was sufficiently thick that it adhered to the roast very well. There was no instruction to do so, but I scraped most of it off before searing the meat. The only pan I had that was big enough to hold my roast (almost 4 lbs instead of 3) was my stovetop grill. Using the griddle (flat) side, I was able to do the sear quite well. However, in spite of having set my heat to medium high instead of high, there was some burning...and there was nothing to deglaze, zip, nada. Next time I will wipe off the marinade completely. That should minimize the burning problem. And it will explain the recipes mention of "reserved marinade," otherwise unexplained.

I didn't mention that I had trussed the roast numerous times to achieve a more or less uniform shape and thickness. I slathered the marinade back over it and stuck the herbs on it. The marinade acted as glue, holding the stems in place. I forgot to put butter on the top. No big deal frankly.

I had a firm timeline related to guest arrival, cocktails and shrimp, and a target eating time. The roast seemed to be ahead of schedule about 45 minutes in so I lowered the temperature of the oven to 300 and, a few minutes later, to 275. I nailed the out-of-the-oven time goal perfectly, tented the roast with foil and left it on the counter.

THERE WERE NO PAN DRIPPINGS in the roasting pan. What the f...? Again, zip, nada. This in spite of a nice layer of fat on the top of the loin. I dropped back several yards and punted by heating up some chicken broth, stealing the herb stalks from the roast, and simmering them for 10-15 minutes after adding a bit of salt and pepper. Whew, saved!

I neglected to add butter to the juice I made, but when I served the pork with it our guests were enchanted. All's well that ends well.

I mentioned that my roast was nearly 4 lbs. All I did was increase by 1/4 all the other ingredients. The next time I make this I intend to strip the herbs from their stems and spread them all over the marinade. Then I will wrap the roast in caul fat. I think I'll blog about caul fat soon... no time right now. And, to reiterate, I believe that Peter and I would be ecstatic at the results of targeting 140 degrees. But 120? No way Jose, no way Tucker Shaw, no way food section minion.

For a free excerpt of my book, “A Year of Food,” in which I opine, report, cook, muse and philosophize about everything that passed my lips for an entire year, write to me at: scrout1944@msn.com.

The kindest cutlet of all

Here’s a basic recipe for a stunning dish. It does involve frying (what good stuff doesn’t?). Alright, that’s a rhetorical question – don’t get your knickers in a knot.

I’ve seen chicken cutlets made in pretty much every way possible on Food Network and some of the other channels where I find cooking shows. What I did was to mix and match the elements of this dish that pleased me most.

It seems rare to see a TV cook brine anything. In our house we have gotten to the point of brining every piece of poultry or pork we prepare. In the end it just makes for moister/more forgiving meat. If you need a primer on the process, look at my post of August 11, 2008.

I made this two nights ago and plan to repeat it tonight, using pork chops I found in the sale bin yesterday morning at King Soopers. I don’t think there is any variation between the chick version and the pork, but if there is it’ll come to mind as I relate the battle plan.

I have one confession to make. Several weeks ago Peter put parmesan on my shopping list. Regrettably, Safeway didn’t have the reggiano kind, so I bought another brand. Turned out the one I bought was on the Cook’s Illustrated list of “not recommended.” The brand is Bel Gioso. It doesn’t taste bad, it just doesn’t taste like the expensive stuff. So I’ve been using it in dishes where it is more or less a background element.

I didn’t tell Peter which kind of cheese I used for the chicken and yet he loved it.

Breaded chicken cutlets w/parmesan cheese

2 chicken breast halves, skinless and boneless
black pepper
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
¾ cup parmesan, grated
1 egg lightly beaten
1 tbsp milk
vegetable oil
1 tbsp dried parsley

After brining the chicken dry it with paper towels but do not rinse it. Place each breast half between sheets of plastic wrap and pound it flat – at least 1/3” if not ¼”. Sprinkle both sides with black pepper, but don’t add any more salt. ‘Cause if you do, you risk over saltiness. It’s according to your taste, in other words.

Set up three bowls and a plate on the countertop. In one bowl lightly beat the egg with the milk. In a second bowl place ½ cup flour. In the third go the breadcrumbs, parsley, and parmesan, all of which should be thoroughly tossed together.

Dredge each piece in flour, shaking off excess, then in egg, and finally in crumb and cheese. Press the stuff firmly into the meat and carefully place the chicken on the plate (without any toweling). Repeat with the second piece of chicken. Place the plate uncovered in the fridge for an hour if you have the time. If not, 15-30 minutes will probably be fine. You want the coating to dry some so that it adheres well to the meat.

When it’s time to cook, heat 1/8” oil in a heavy skillet large enough to hold the pieces of chicken without them overlapping. When the oil is very hot, add the chicken. Cook on the first side until the top edges of the pieces turn opaque and it's golden on the bottom. Turn the chicken over and cook for exactly two minutes. Nick one corner of the thickest portion. If you see any pink, let it go exactly ONE more minute. Set aside on paper towels for 2-3 minutes.

One final thing: if you cut your own chicken off the bone, you probably have the “tenders” attached as was the case for me. Carefully separate them and trim out the bit of tendon you’ll see on the underside. After that, simply prepare them the same way with the exception that they don’t require pounding.

Oh, one more final thing: for the pork chops, if they are on the bone, remove it. Do pound them as with the bird.