Curried Rice

I never knew gravy could be improved upon, until I had gravy with curry powder added to it.  Oh my goodness, it was so good.  (For all the LDS peeps reading this, this recipe reminded me of Hawaiian Haystack.)  According to Aaron, this dish is a family recipe that comes from his grandfather who served in the Navy.  He worked as a cook and when he returned home, told his wife to scale down the recipe.  This dish has come to be known as Curried Rice and is a birthday special in his family.

While Aaron made the gravy with curry,

I cut up the pork.

These are the toppings that one puts on top of the rice and gravy/pork mixture.  You've got bacon, roasted Spanish peanuts, toasted coconut, hard boiled eggs, and sweet pickle relish.  Not gonna lie, it may seem a little strange but the combination of flavors actually works!

Warning: this stuff is really addicting.  There are 2 pork gravy packets with the curry to 4 pork chops, cut into pieces.  His family usually makes the gravy with milk, but he made it with water so I could enjoy it without getting stomach cramps.

Not pictured was our side dish of fresh strawberries drizzled with balsamic vinegar.  That was tasty too.

Finished product.  The goal is to get a little bit of everything into each bite.  We will definitely be making this meal again.

Pomegranate Sauce

Greg and I served this with pork chops but I'm sure it will work great with poultry too. (Cooking times for various meats will differ.)

Pomegranate Sauce

1 cup plain pomegranate juice (such as POM Wonderful)

3/4 teaspoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon water

1 to 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1. Sear thick pork chops (that have been brined and seasoned with pepper) in an oven-safe skillet on medium-high heat (4 minutes each side).
2. After searing, place in a 375 degree oven to finish cooking for 15 minutes or internal temp is 140-145.
   
3. Take pork out of the oven and move meat to a separate plate.
   
4. While the pork rests, pour off and discard any fat from the skillet. (Leave the brown bits on the bottom!)
   
5. Add pomegranate juice to the skillet and boil over moderately high heat until reduced to about 2/3 cup while also scraping off the brown bits from the bottom. (Reducing to 2/3 cup takes about 3 minutes.)
   
6. Stir together the cornstarch and water and whisk into juice.
   
7. Add mustard and then boil sauce until thickened slightly, 1 to 2 minutes.
8. Remove from heat and swirl in butter until incorporated.
   
9. Pour sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl to get rid of lumps.
   
10. Season with salt (optional).
11. If you like your sauce thicker, add a little more cornstarch or cook longer.
    

We have come to a point in our cooking where sauces are starting to play an important role in the dish. (We made a pan gravy for our chicken last night that turned out really good too!) The pomegranate sauce was a delicious, not too sweet syrup that nicely complimented the pork. It was served along side a simple salad of lettuce, cucumber and tomato and a slice of cantaloupe. I'm sure this sauce will become a new favorite.

[I forgot to take any pictures.]

Crunchy Baked Pork Chops

Crunchy Baked Pork Chops -- America's Test Kitchen

I'm borrowing the America's Test Kitchen cookbook from a friend. (I promise I'll give it back Rachel!) Greg saw this recipe made on TV and wanted to try it himself. We've made it a few times now and I realize I've never posted about it! It really is the juiciest pork chops I've ever had.

Items in red are directly from the recipe.

Serves 4
Ingredients
For the brine
1/4 cup of Table salt
4 cups of water
4 center-cut boneless pork chops , 6 to 8 ounces each, 3/4 to 1 inch thick, trimmed of excess fat

For the bread crumb coating
4 slices hearty white sandwich bread , torn into 1-inch pieces
1 small minced shallot
3 medium garlic cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Ground black pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

For the dredging
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour plus 6 tablespoons
3 large egg whites
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Dissolve 1/4 cup salt in 1 quart water in medium container or gallon-sized zipper-lock bag. Submerge chops, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 30 minutes. Rinse chops under cold water and dry thoroughly with paper towels. This part is important because it helps the chops remain juicy while cooking and you want it dry so the dredging will stick to the pork chop.

2. Meanwhile, pulse bread in food processor until coarsely ground, about eight 1-second pulses (you should have about 3 1/2 cups crumbs). Transfer crumbs to rimmed baking sheet and add shallot, garlic, oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Toss until crumbs are evenly coated with oil. Bake until deep golden brown and dry, about 15 minutes, stirring twice during baking time. (Do not turn off oven.) Cool to room temperature. Toss crumbs with Parmesan, thyme, and parsley. I pulsed the garlic and shallots in the food processor, removed them, and then pulsed the bread. Much faster than mincing the garlic and shallots by hand! We used dried thyme and we didn't have parsley so we omitted that ingredient. We've used these crumbs for a chicken cordon bleu coating and it turned out great. Simple yet tasty, these bread crumbs can be used in various recipes. The book says the crumbs can be stored up to 3-4 days in an airtight container or frozen up to a week.

3. Place 1/4 cup flour in pie plate. In second pie plate, whisk egg whites and mustard until combined; add remaining 6 tablespoons flour and whisk until almost smooth, with pea-sized lumps remaining. Sometimes it takes a minute or two for this concoction to come together. It eventually does.

4. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Spray wire rack with nonstick cooking spray and place in rimmed baking sheet. Season chops with pepper. Dredge 1 pork chop in flour; shake off excess. Using tongs, coat with egg mixture; let excess drip off. Coat all sides of chop with bread crumb mixture, pressing gently so that thick layer of crumbs adheres to chop. Transfer breaded chop to wire rack. Repeat with remaining 3 chops. Using our hands caused the crumbs to clump a little but it's not the end of the world. We've misplaced a wire rack so we ended up placing the chops directly onto a cooking sheet. Obviously the bottom wasn't as crisp as the top but it wasn't an issue for us. We used all the breadcrumbs for the 4 pork chops.


5. Bake until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of chops registers 145-150 degrees, 17 to 25 minutes. Let rest on rack 5 minutes before serving. There's always residual cooking after taking an item out of the oven. We baked it to 145 and it turned out great.

I cooked up some potatoes and onions and heated some baked beans as the sides. You can make the bread crumbs a day before to save on time if you want to make this on a week night. Like I said earlier, these are the most juicy pork chops I've ever had and the aroma from the bread crumbs baking fills the house which gets your appetite ready for a great meal.