Monday, November 30, 2015

New Oven, First Meal

Last Sunday my oven died on me while I was making dinner. After finishing the chicken on the BBQ, and the mac and cheese on the stovetop, I ordered a new range and made arrangements to remove our old cooking workhorse. Our new range is white, has four burners, and isn't anything fancy, but that no reason to not christen it with a new recipe. I decided on Tyler Florence's smothered pork chops, mostly because it popped up on my Facebook feed when I trying to think about what I wanted to make, and because I had all the ingredients for it on hand. While we ate and enjoyed our meal, I made a toast to the oven that I cooked many a meal on and in over the past ten years. I look forward to making many more with its replacement.

Ingredients
4 pork chops, 2-cm thick, bone-in
128 g all-purpose flour
30 g tablespoons onion powder
30 g garlic powder
5 g cayenne pepper
5 g salt
2 g freshly ground black pepper
250 mL chicken broth
125 mL buttermilk
60 mL olive oil
  1. Put the flour in a resealable bad and add all the spices. Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels to remove any moisture and then drop them in the bag of seasoned flour. Seal and shake the bag for a few minutes to cover the chops, then shake off any excess flour from the meat, and set them aside.
  2. Heat a large sauté pan or cast iron skillet over medium heat and coat with the oil. When the oil is nice and hot, lay the pork chops in the pan in a single layer and fry for 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Once cooked, remove the pork chops from the pan.
  3. Add some of the seasoned flour to the pan drippings. Mix the flour into the fat to dissolve and then pour in the chicken broth in. Let the liquid cook down for 5 minutes to reduce and thicken slightly. Stir in the buttermilk to make a creamy gravy and return the pork chops to the pan, covering them with the sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes until the pork is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper before serving.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Stock Your Pantry The Right Way

Animals aren't the only ones who need to stock up on food supplies as the days and nights get chillier. With the help of this chart from fix.com, you can properly fill or start filling your pantry to save yourself from venturing out in the cold.
Pantry Power: Dry Goods
Pantry Power: Dry Herbs, Spices, and Seasonings
Pantry Power: Oils, Nuts, and Seeds
Pantry Power: Liquid Condiments
Pantry Power: Canned and Jarred Goods
Pantry Power: Root Cellar Vegetables

Random Thoughts About The I Heart Beer + Taco Festival Tour

The second edition of the two-day  I❤︎ Beer & Taco Festival rolled into Ottawa last weekend. I went to the second of three sessions, the...