Showing posts with label as. Show all posts
Showing posts with label as. Show all posts
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Almond Arugula Pesto – About as Subtle as a Shovel to the Face
This short, but very green video recipe for an almond arugula pesto, shows you one of my favorite uses for the ubiquitous bitter green. I like an arugula salad as much as the next guy, but its also nice to use the peppery green as something more than a lettuce.Arugula is also quite a beautiful herb. Fragrant, spicy, crisp; it makes one hell of a good pesto. I paired it with raw almonds for a combo that was just amazing on the grilled hanger steak you can see here. Subtle its not, but thats okay sometimes.
I know the conventional wisdom with most sauces is that they should compliment the main ingredient, not overpower it. Here, that simply does not apply. Not only does this sauce overpower whatever you serve it with, it obliterates it completely. But, it works!
Ive posted the ingredients below, but I beg you not to measure as you make this sauce. This is one recipe that should come out slightly different every time you make it. If that seems like a strange statement, you may be missing one of the most important aspects of cooking – the rewards of randomness.As you make this pesto, your subconscious will take over, and any variations in the final product will magically benefit whatever your eating this with. Of course, like most of my best theories, I cant prove this.
As I mention in the video, when shopping for the arugula, try and get some fully-grown leaves. That mild, ultra-baby stuff make a nice safe salad, but for a sauce like this you want the dangerous, fully developed flavor of the more mature leave. I hope you give this easy recipe a try. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
Large handful of arugula leaves, blanched
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup raw almonds
4 cloves garlic
salt to taste
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Because Covered Pork Chops are not the Same as Smothered Pork Chops
Even though Ive always found the name, "smothered pork chops," a little unsettling, its one of my favorite southern recipes. A beautiful combination of dark, rich onion gravy covering pan-fried pork chops.While the name may have some other more nefarious connotations, it really is quite appropriate. I mean, what else woud we use? "Covered pork chops," doesnt work. Swamped? Enveloped? Gravyfied? No, smothered pork chops is exactly what these are.
The secret to this very simple recipe is to take your time and really brown the onions well. Short of being totally black, you really can’t cook them too dark. This will give your gravy its deep, rich taste, and just as importantly, its mouth-watering color.
These are definitely going in the cookbook, so as always, if you give them a try, please let me know what you thought. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
4 large pork chops, about 1 inch thick
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 large yellow onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 rounded tablespoon flour
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup water
4 cups cooked rice, optional
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
