My Urban Pantry

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this is a great recipe gleaned from a book I made my friend Dave buy and then had to purchase because of guilt or something. Actually, I just thought it was a good idea.. I try, most weeknights to have dinner fixed in 30 or so minutes. So, Good Food Fast which is by the editors of Everyday Food for Martha Stewart is where this gem is adapted out of. The original recipe calls for apricot jam but we use jam or, as of late, a pineapple lemongrass chutney we purchased in Denver on our last trip. We have made quite a few changes to this and it turns out every time.

Preheat oven to 425.

Olive Oil
Thin Cut Pork Chips (I prefer boneless)
Apricot Jam or a jam or savory spread like Chutney, of your choice
Panko bread crumbs

Lightly oil a baking sheet. Place the chops on the sheet and give a quick flip. For each medium sized chop you have place a couple of teaspoons of your spread (jam or chutney) in a separate bowl from the container to prevent cross contamination. Spoon a couple teaspoons on each chop top and spread into an even layer. Pour 3/4 to 1 cup of panko in a small bowl. Pour a couple spoons of Olive Oil over the panko and toss to evenly distribute. Sprinkle the panko evenly over the chops.

Bake for about 15-17 minutes for thin chops and serve. I’ll be honest here and let you know we had this last night with Rice A Roni and Chung’s spicy chicken eggrolls… Kind of a tan dinner, but all in all, a midweek feast. 🙂

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this recipe is a slight variation of a recipe that I think first started with Delia Smith, who is a British ‘tv presenter’ which is a fabulous way to say tv personality. I first had it at a restaurant in Denver with two friends and went home to research the cheese that it went with and found the recipe in its entirety. The cheese is halloumi, which is greek and fabulously salty and you actually pan fry it. Nom-tastic. The dressing is great and goes wonderfully on weeds (spring mix) or with halloumi on french bread rounds and would be good, I think, on pan fried halibut with the addition of a little chile.

juice and zest of one lime
1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon capers (drained)
1-2 finely minced garlic cloves
1-2 teaspoons grainy dijon mustard
2-3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

basically take all of the above and whisk in a bowl. Spoon over whatever you eat so that you will get the lovely briny capers and garlic bits.

Enjoy!

another thing that we have started making this year is croutons. It is almost a non-recipe but they are so easy and so much better than any croutons poured from a box or pouch.
With all of the burgers we make, we more or less have a new package of buns each week so I often use buns for the bread part.

Leftover bread
Olive Oil
Salt, Pepper
(alternately/additionally as you like Cayenne, Parmesan, Garlic, Oregano…)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

While it heats, cut two to four cups of bread chunks. I like them to be about 1 1/2″ X 1 1/2″ chunks. I tend to put the chunks in a 9″ X 13″ pan and then liberally sprinkle (douse) them with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and any spices that interest you or that work with what you are making salad wise.

Bake for about 12 -15 minutes tossing once or twice to distribute oil and toasting.

They keep ok in an airtight container or ziploc bag for a few days but are best when eaten fresh.

we had a few people over just before christmas and made a few recipes, some old, one new. The new one was a stand out for us and will be made again! But a fairly new but multiply tried and true for us is cola braised pot roast – that’s right…it’s southern and made with Coke! It braises all afternoon and is fall apart amazing! We adapted this recipe from Emeril Lagasse and make it at least once a month. We love his cooking and have been to several of his restaurants around town. My Aunt Col and Uncle Mike bought us a huge dutch oven for our wedding and we use it for this among other things.
This recipe is great for either entertaining or leftovers!

4-4 1/2# boneless chuck roast
2 X 2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
2 Tablespoons pasted garlic
2 Tablespoons canola oil
2-4 cups beef broth
1 can of coke (12 oz)
2-3 Tablespoons tomato paste
2-3 Tablespoons of flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Paste the garlic on your cutting board by taking off the ends and then smashing it with the side of your knife. Pull off the skin and run your knife through a few times. Sprinkle with a little salt and use the blade to sort of pull and smash the garlic into a paste. Cut some deep slits in the beef and poke in the garlic paste. Pat on the salt and pepper all over the roast.
Heat your dutch oven on the stove top with the canola oil to a medium, medium high heat. Deeply sear each side of the meat. This will give a beautiful color and help with the flavor. Once you have done all the sides. turn your heat down a little and add the beef stock and Coke. You only want the braising liquid to come between 1/2 and 2/3 of the way up the sides of your roast. Stir in the tomato paste and use a wooden spoon or silicon spatula to get any brown bits from around the beef.
Cover and place your roast in the oven. It needs to cook for 3 1/2-4 hours. Flip the meat every hour to ensure it all simmers gently in the braising liquid. If the liquid gets low (I think this would happen sometimes, but hasn’t happened to me) add more stock or a little water.
In the last hour we usually peel and boil yukon gold potatoes for a whipped potato puree. Brian drizzles this with truffle oil but I prefer the braising liquid gravy.
When the meat is falling apart, lift it out of the pot and place in a covered bowl or on a serving plate and cover with foil.
If you can skim off any fat, this would be a good idea. Reserve 3 Tablespoons in a small mixing bowl. Keep the braising liquid on the stove at a low simmer. Mix the reserved fat with the flour to create a paste. Whisk the paste into your simmering juices to create a gravy. Continue to whisk until your sauce thickens.

Enjoy!