Menu of the Week #6

The menu of the week turned out to be delicious. This week we had Salmon with a Salad of Green Beans and Bok Choy, Chicken Tacos with Refried Beans and a Garden Salad, Pork Chops with Roasted Beets and Oranges, Pumpkin Pasta with Chicken Sausage, and Sheet Pan Pasta Bake with Chicken and Kale.

Menu of the Week #4

This week was a mix of new recipes and some old standards for us. I discovered a new way to make Brussels and cauliflower that I think you will enjoy too. We have to keep our veggie game up to trick family into eating enough, am I right?

Menu of the Week #3

My family enjoyed our menu of the week which features a meatless dish, as well as chicken, pork, beef, fish, I think we've covered all the proteins.

Menu of the Week

Go figure the week that Jim thinks I hit it out of the ballpark I miss the pic of my chalkboard menu wall. At least I snapped a few pics of the dishes before we devoured them.

Menu of the Week

Our menu of the week features a repeat from last week...because it was just THAT good. Of course I tweaked the ingredients and I think it's even better. Keep reading to see what we had.

Menu of the Week

The menu of the week was mostly "hit" and one big miss. Keep reading to see which night bombed!

Menu of the Week

Sticky Pork Belly with Pickled Apple

Here is a cooking extravaganza where I thought 90% of the time it was a failure.

Do you want to know why I don't have one picture of this dish? Because we had friends over and there was lots of wine flowing... it just slipped my mind. And then there was the fact that I thought this was a disaster the entire time.

Menu of the Week

 

Another week of delicious meals brought to you by Home with Mandy! We began our week with one of Jim's most favorite sandwiches, the Marlboro Man Sandwich. I created a copy cat recipe from a local restaurant - probably cost me a quarter of the price to recreate. Lots of great ideas this week, enjoy!



Flattened Pork Chops with Greens and Mustard Pan Sauce

I can't wait to get this up on the blog! I had pork chops in the freezer and wanted to try a new way to prepare them and so I picked this recipe from epicurious.

The recipe's success may have been such a shock to me because the entire time I was cooking I was thinking about what a terrible recipe this was and how much I was screwing it up. I even apologized to Jim before I even served it. Woooah, apology redacted!

Even though I didn't have shallot and used onion, and even though I thought the pan sauce would taste burnt, and even though I thought the mustard/pickling flavor would be off-putting....it was AWESOME and I will definitely repeat this meal.

Menu of the Week + Pork Chops with Kale, Polenta and Anchovy Gravy

This turned out to be a great meal plan, pulling from both my HWM archives and some recipes I’ve previously made with Plated.

The Pork Chops with Kale, creamy Polenta and Anchovy Gravy is a repeat dinner in our house. Jim loves pork chops but I’m kind of indifferent towards this cut of meat. I love polenta however, and by incorporating kale into the meal – this dish is a winner for all. Keep reading for the step by step instructions on how I did it.

Thai Style Pork

I've remade the Thai Style Pork Salad with Papaya and Mint from Plated January 2014 several times this year because we just love it. It's "blog worthy" according to Jim and first appeared on my instagram feed in July when it made an appearance on my weekly menu board.

When I made it recently for my MIL I was reminded how quickly it can come together with little effort. It also proved to be a great "prep-ahead" meal that transports well, say if you want to deliver dinner to a friend.

Pork Chops with Cider Gravy and Roasted Fennel-Apple Salad

 

On my last post, I left a teaser for Plated and now I'm ready to show you what I was talking about. I was just ecstatic to receive our first Plated shipment last Wednesday. This food delivery service is different than others I have heard about. It's not prepackaged foods, this is affordable gourmet ingredients shipped fresh to my doorstep along with detailed recipe cards.

 

 

The smart design of this insulated box kept all the ingredients cold and fresh.

This is what my Plated shipment looked like when I unpacked everything. Meats are all sealed in airtight packaging, ingredients are grouped by recipe and everything was clearly labeled.

Pork Loin with Pineapple Relish

Ever feel like you are running in a chicken rut? Yes, chicken is a versatile protein and I’ve made it no less than 100 different ways…but there are times when I just can’t do it one more night in a row. I asked Jim to pick something for dinner other than chicken and he asked for pork. I really haven’t cooked with pork a whole lot. My favorite cut is boston butt or pork shoulder because I just love to slowly roast it and serve pulled pork to a crowd. I used my epicurious iPhone app to search for a pork entrée and just loved the tropical relish proposed in this recipe for pork loin chops.

It’s hot in Texas, so just thinking about the Caribbean climate and the palm-tree breezes had me singing Jimmy Buffett all the way to the grocery store. The ingredient list is short, but each component adds a very special “zing” to this recipe. I encourage everyone to experiment in the kitchen, but know that this recipe was written just perfectly in my opinion.

Yield: Makes 2 servings

Active Time: 25 min
Total Time: 25 min

Yes, I'm telling you that in under 30 minutes (from start to finish) you can have dinner on the table!


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh pineapple.
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh serrano chile, including seeds.
1 teaspoon chopped thyme. I used dried thyme because I had it on hand, I would guess the fresh thyme would be better.
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar. Yes, it’s just a splash but the tang of the vinegar helps with the sweetness of the pineapple and the heat from the chile.
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 (1-inch-thick) boneless pork loin chops
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons dark rum. Yes please. I love every opportunity to cook with alcohol. Sometimes I add it to the food.

Creamy Leek Soup with Ham

Leeks, those lovely leeks. The dark green trimmed leaves may be used to flavor stock or blanched and used as a wrapper for any variety of fillings or bouquet garni.

In general, leeks can be substituted for onions in most dishes that call on onions for flavoring. The exception would be if the recipe calls for a very mild sweet onion or perhaps green onions.  Keep in mind, substituting onions for leeks will result in a much stronger flavor.
Raw leeks can be sliced thin and added to salads, but I like to either roast or saute leeks with chicken stock, wine and garlic. What a heavenly smell! Leeks partner well with veal, cheese, chicken, and ham.

This recipe for Potato Leek Soup is my go to recipe when we have extra ham because it's so easy to make and it's such good comfort food. You can choose to add the extra cream or not. You can puree the soup for a smooth consistency, or just a few pulses for something more chunky and rustic like I do. Experiment as well with herbs or added cheeses.

Leeks must be cleaned very well under running water because they tend to retain a lot of dirt and grit. After I trim the dark green tops off the leeks and cut the root off the bottom, I slice the leek in half lengthwise and then slice thinly crosswise and rinse well under the faucet and then dry in the salad spinner.

In a heavy bottomed pot like a dutch oven, chop some bacon and cook over medium heat until the fat is rendered. Remove the bacon before it burns, and reserve to garnish the soup with later. If you don't have bacon, you could use a tablespoon of bacon grease. What? You don't have a jar of bacon grease in your fridge? I actually used a combination of bacon grease and butter to get 4 tablespoons of fat. Once the butter melts and starts to bubble add the leeks, stirring often to sweat the vegetable for about five minutes.

You don't want the leeks to brown, they will taste burnt. Add 2 cloves of minced garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Then add 1/2 cup of white wine and bring to a boil. Okay so I added a wee bit more than a 1/2 cup.

Once the wine cooks down by about half, add your seasonings. I added 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, just a pinch of nutmeg, 2 bay leaves, 1/8 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon ground thyme (or a spring of fresh thyme), 1/2 teaspoon dried chives (or fresh chives).

Peel and chop a pound of potatoes. Dice into one inch pieces.

Add 4 cups of chicken stock and potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are falling apart. Test by piercing with a knife or fork after half an hour.

Remove the bay leaves and puree the soup either in batches in a food processor, or use an immersion blender and puree right in the pot. I blend it half and half so that it's a smooth soup but you will find chunks of potato here and there.

Stir in one cup of cream or creme fraiche and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Stir in one cup of diced ham and/or the bacon you crisped in step one.

Serve immediately, with a drizzle of good olive oil and some chives sprinkled over the top of each bowl of soup.

I used this special truffle oil with a vibrant green color and wonderful fragrance.

Jim usually rolls his eyes when I serve soup for dinner and although he didn't think he would liked it, I won him over with his first bowl. I think your family will also warm up quickly to my potato leek soup with chopped ham.

For another take on soup with leeks, read my Roasted Potato Leek Soup recipe.

Hatch Chile and Pork Stew

As summer cools down, the Village of Hatch, New Mexico heats up. Labor Day weekend heralds the annual Hatch Chile Festival, a two-day celebration of the world-famous crop that attracts over 30,000 visitors from all over the United States. My town of Austin, Texas has a love affair with these chiles during the month of August, the only time they are available fresh. You can smell the intoxicating smokey-sweet scent of roasted green chiles out front of most grocery stores. Their blackened barrels filled with fresh green chiles turning over open flames just like they do in New Mexico. Local restaurants feature special hatch dishes, and I of course wanted to showcase this special chile in a dish of my own.

The week Eat, Pray, Love came out in the theaters I went with several girl friends to catch Julie Roberts on screen. Of course to watch a movie with “EAT” in the title, we had to go to Alamo Drafthouse, a local theater (although the chain has expanded outside of Austin) that serves dinner and drinks during the movie. I ordered the Puerco Guisada, which literally translates as “Stewed Pork.” It is a spicy stew of green chiles and pork topped with crispy tortilla strips, Monterey Jack and cotija cheeses and fresh avocado slices. Served in a single serving kettle and a side of warm tortillas. I loved how the pork was ultra tender from being cooked for so long, I loved the spicy gravy it came in, and I especially loved spooning this into a warm tortilla and eating it like a taco. THIS was the dish I set out to recreate with our beloved Hatch Chiles.

For my recipe I used a 2.5 lb pork butt, onion, garlic, chicken bouillon, roasted Hatch chiles, jalapeno, tomatillos, tomatoes, Mexican beer, masa mix, cornstarch, cilantro, cumin and Mexican oregano.

You could use regular flour in this recipe combined with the cornstarch for a thickener, but I prefer to use the traditional Masa. Masa is the corn-based dough that is used to make tamales, tortillas, empanadas, and many other Mexican and South/Central American recipes. Masa harina – or dough flour - is not the same as cornmeal, which is rougher in texture (and not to be used as a substitute.) The term “masa” means dough in Spanish, although it also refers to corn flour in many regions.

I purchased a new spice for this recipe, Mexican Oregano. This is a great addition to all my hot and spicy recipes because it can hold up to the intense flavors, unlike the sweeter Mediterranean version. Mexican oregano is widely used in Latin American cuisines, as well as the regional cooking of the American Southwest. It is a close relative of lemon verbena and is prized for its intense herbal aroma and pungent oregano flavor.

These are the Roasted Hatch Chiles that everyone in Austin is going bonkers over right now. There are festivals, roastings, lectures and recipe contests popping up all over town. Lots of people stock up and freeze these chiles to use year around. The devotion to roasted chile runs deep in these parts and yes, it’s with an e never with an i.

Here are some interesting facts about Hatch Chiles adapted from the New Mexico Chile Institutes’ “Chile Pepper Facts”

• One fresh medium-sized green chile pod has as much Vitamin C as six oranges.
• One teaspoon of dried red chile powder has the daily requirements of Vitamin A.
• Hot chile peppers burn calories by triggering a thermodynamic burn in the body, which speeds up the metabolism. (I love this tidbit!)
• Teas & lozenges are made with chile peppers for the treatment of a sore throat.
• Capsaicinoids, the chemical that make chile peppers hot, are used in muscle patches for sore and aching muscles.
• Chile peppers are relatives of tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants, all belonging to the nightshade family.
• The color extracted from very red chile pepper pods, oleoresin, is used in everything from lipstick to processed meats.
• There are 26 known species of chile pepper, five of which are domesticated.

The first thing I did was trim a lot of the fat off my pork butt. And although I wanted to buy pork but without a bone, all my grocery store had was bone-in, so I cut out the bone and trimmed the fat.

Then I cubed the pork into 1 to 2 inch cubes (which I later decided to cut down into smaller bite size cubes.)

You know all that fat I cut off? I put it my dutch oven over medium-high heat. We have to start this recipe with an oil or fat of some sort, might as well use what I had on hand.

I removed the fatty pieces from the pot and then added the cubed pork to brown on all sides. Once brown I removed the pork to a plate to rest while I cook up the veggies.

Melting the unwanted fat from my pork butt gave me a perfect amount to begin this stew with. But if this doesn't appeal to you, start with a scoop of bacon grease (if you keep a jar in the fridge like I do) or a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil - enough to coat the bottom of your cookware.

Let me show you how to prep the hatch chiles. If you buy them fresh, then you need to fire up the grill and burn the crap out of them, or turn on your gas stove top and turn the chiles over an open flame until they are completely charred and blistered. Put them in a bowl, seal with plastic wrap and let them steam for 10 minutes.

Okay, that is where I am now.

The next step is to remove the skin. I do this several ways. You can take a paper towel and wipe the skin off.

Sometimes I can peel the skin right off, and sometimes I run it under cool water to help me remove the outer charred skin.

Once skin is removed we slice the chile open and remove the seeds.

Once all 18 chiles were cleaned and seeded, I chopped them roughly into 1 inch pieces. I bought a combination of mild and hot chiles and used half and half in this recipe.

In my dutch oven I put the chopped onion and about six tomatillos that I quartered.

This stew probably didn't need it, but I chopped up a fresh jalapeno to add heat. The Hatch Chiles turned out to be H-O-T.

The jalapenos get added and four minced garlic cloves get added - then I pour in 12 ounces of beer onto the veggies. Any beer will work here, it's going to impart a little flavor but it will not overpower this meal. I used Pacifico because it is a Mexican pilsner-style beer. Use your spoon to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of your dutch oven, this is where mucho flavor can be found! You can alway skip the addition of beer and use chicken stock, beef stock or water.

I didn't want to add too much of a tomato flavor so I only quartered two tomatoes and added them to the pot.

Once the veggies were soft I added two cups of chicken broth (using Better than Bouillon in the chicken flavor) and then took my immersion blender to the pot. I didn't want to completely puree the mixture, but I knew I wanted the pork and chiles to be the stars of the dish.

In go the browned meat and all the hatch chiles!

Season with cumin, Mexican oregano and salt, cover and turn heat down to a simmer and let it cook on the stove top for 2-3 hours, until pork is very tender.

Add more liquid if it's too thick, or add a combination of masa and cornstarch to thicken the stew.

In the last hour of cooking I added cilantro. I just learned this tip from Chef Alma Alcocer-Thomas who has been the executive chef of some 5-star restaurants in Austin and recently opened TNT Tacos and Tequila. Use a fork to separate the leaves from the bunch of cilantro. Some stems are usually fine to throw into a dish, but for a stew I didn't want the texture of any stems in the stew so the leaves were all I really wanted to use.

Duh! This is a brilliant suggestion, it works perfectly and I can't believe I didn't think of it.

After 3 hours the pork is VERY tender and the stew is SPICY. My favorite way to eat this is rolled up in a tortilla.

The next day, I found the leftovers to be even better. I ladled some of the stew in a bowl and topped with a spoonful of cool sour cream and warmed a tortilla in my cast iron skillet - perfection!

{Hatch Chile and Pork Stew}