“Whoop whoop! When you run come around, cuz I know you’re the talk of the town yea”

Friday, February 8, 2008

Easy now no need fi go down
Just walk it gently and no break nah bone,
Cool end-it-ly, you have a style of your own,
Me never know you saw ya master the saxophone
easy now no need fi go down,
easy now no need fi go down,
walk it gently and no break nah bone

How I love this song!! If you haven’t heard it….click on the play button on my seeqpod player on the top left of my blog. Most dance hall tunes invoke the dancer in me. I’m so excited that the weekend is finally here….there is new recipes to try out this weekend. I am planning ahead creating a brilliant recipe for Creative Pooja’s upcoming V day entry :o) Depending on his work schedule, Bhatji may come down to DC and I really pray he does.
Bhatji and I are both non-vegetarians….but for some reason lately both of us prefer consuming vegetarian meals. Indian vegetarian food is awesome. The use of all those yummy spices, masalas, onions & garlic adds flavor to vegetables and in turn makes it a feast. But there are times when Bhatji and I crave my mom’s chicken biryani or fish fry. Well I can’t just go visit my mom when I’m in NJ or attempt making any of her famous dishes. I know that I cant out cook my mom …so I don’t try hehe. Instead I try out new recipes from food network chefs or from the bazillion foodie blogs and cook books at my disposal. On a lazy Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago…while laying on the couch watching a marathon of food network shows…we happened to catch an episode of Guy Fieri’s Guy’s big bite show. He was preparing a Cuban feast with Pork Chops with mojo, Sofrito mashed potatoes and a Double apple mojito. Bhatji started salivating and looked at my pleadingly with those light brown puppy eyes to recreate the dish for him. I agreed and so grocery shopping during the week, I bought 2 pork chops and white wine as per Guy’s recipe. I decided that instead of making mashed potatoes (although they looked divine!) I was going to make a simple Spinach salad. The results were phenomenal! I followed Guy’s recipe but added and substituted some of my own ingredients. So here is the recipe for Cuban pork chops with Spinach Salad:
Recipe source: Guy's big bite, a Cuban meal
Ingredients:
2 bone in pork chops
1 small red onion finely minced
2 cloves of garlic finely diced
1/4 cup of white wine
1 cup orange juice
½ cup lemon juice divided into 2
A little less ¼ cup of vinegar (eyeball it)
1 tsp of cumin powder
1 tbl spn of garlic powder
1 tbl spn of onion powder
2 tsp of dried oregano
1 ½ tbl spn of olive oil
1 tsp spn of pepper
½ tsp of red chili powder
Salt as needed

To make:
In a large Ziploc bag combine the orange juice, ¼ cup of lime juice, vinegar and pork and marinate in the fridge for about an hour. After an hour take the chops out of the Ziploc bag and set aside. In a small bow add the cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano and chili powder and mix until all the spices are blended well. Rub the dry spice mixture evenly on the chops. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan on high heat and sear the chops well on both sides for a few minutes. Bring the heat down to a medium and add the onions for a few minutes. Then add the garlic and cook until brown. Add only half of the marinate mixture of OJ, lime juice and vinegar. Then add the white wine and simmer until the liquid is reduced and thickened. Make sure the chops are cooked through. Take out the chops and continue to cook the liquid until it further reduces. Pour the cooked liquid on the chops and serve.

Spinach Salad Ingredients:
A bag of baby spinach
One small onion diced
1 tbl spn of olive oil
2 tbl spns of vinegar
Raspberry walnut vinegar dressing as needed

To make:
Wash the Spinach thoroughly. In a pan heat the oil and cook the onions until browned. Add the spinach and cook until they wilt on low heat (for about 3-4 mins) Add the vinegar and mix in well. Take of heat and place on a plate or bowl. Add the Raspberry Walnut dressing as much as you like.

The combination was too good. The salad itself was bursting with flavor and the pork chops turned out very well :o) All in all, there was a satisfied hubby and a cheery cook. What’s even better was that my mom called me last weekend to get this recipe from me. Dare I say it…Have I joined the big leagues. Hehe hardly! But it was indeed a proud moment when the best chef ever called lil ole me asking for a recipe ;o) until the next entry…Have a wonderful weekend folks!