Friday, October 8, 2010

Baked pork chops with caramelised apple

I did this one the other day. I looked in the freezer, saw some rather large pork chops, and had an Idea (intentional capitalisation). It worked well, because I used the same sauce I baked the pork chops in for the spare ribs the kids had, and it was snazzy enough for the guest we had for dinner, too (I found out she'd be eating with us at 430 in the afternoon)

  • 1 large pork chop per adult
  • 2 pork spare ribs per child
  • 2 potatoes per person
  • 6 rashers bacon
  • Ginger (grated)
  • cinnamon (ground)
  • bourbon (eyeball this bit)
  • Brown sugar (around 1 cup, not firmly packed)
  • 4 large green apples, peeled and diced roughly
  • 2oz (60g) butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon grated ginger

  1. Mix bourbon, a good measure of cinnamon and a good measure of grated ginger with the brown sugar. Add some water if you think it needs it.
  2. Pour over the pork chops (and spare ribs) and turn them a few times while you're chopping up the potatoes.
  3. Cook the potatoes for smashing in plenty of boiling, salted water.
  4. AT THE SAME TIME put the pork into a moderate (180C) oven to cook while you're doing everything else.
  5. Melt butter in heavy based frying pan, add in the apples, and start the caramelise them. Add in the brown sugar, cinnamon and ginger. Coat the apples well in the resulting caramel sauce, and reduce heat as much as you can.
  6. TURN THE MEAT NOW
  7. Cook bacon your preferred way (oven, under the grill in the oven, microwave - just make sure it's crunchy)
  8. Smash the potatoes with a good helping of butter, and season sparingly. Add in the crumbled bacon, and a good handful of cheese.

Serve it all up on a plate, with plenty of Wet Ones nearby

Chicken and mushroom pasta bake

I made this one last night, and found it stupidly easy.
You could easily add in some good chunks of bacon, and it would make a lovely chicken boscaiola sauce.

  • 1 packet pasta (we used penne, but any pasta will work well)
  • 1 leek - finely chopped
  • 200g mushrooms - finely sliced
  • A good splash of white wine
  • Olive oil
  • Philadelphia cream for cooking (I apologise for the flash, but I didn't design that site :P )
  • Cheese for sprinkling and baking

  1. Cook pasta according to directions on packet.
  2. Heat olive oil in a heavy based pan.
  3. Cook chicken, mushrooms and leeks together in the olive oil. Season to taste.
  4. When chicken is sealed, add the white wine, and reduce.
  5. Toss the chicken mixture and the Philly through the cooked, drained pasta.
  6. Pour the lot into a baking dish (I used a lasagne dish), sprinkle over some cheese, and bake in a moderate (180C) oven until golden brown.
You can reheat the leftovers in a microwave by sprinkly a small amount extra cheese on top, and heating through.
You can also make ahead, but cook on a lower temp in the oven.

a lovely little chart you may like

I often look in my pantry and think "what can I make with this?"
And then I found this chart (from HomeEc101).
It made me think about some of the things I cook, and it looks like substitution cooking is possible, too.
I apologise for the size, but it is small print.

Prepare for the flood!

I realise I've been very slack lately, so I'll be posting a few things in the next few days - probably today, in fact.
Just a warning for those who get the RSS feed ;)