New recipes

Right now I'm playing catch up w/ my blog so I'm doing a buffet style on my blog again!  I got back from Biloxi, MS on Monday 26 Sept 2011 thus dinner was the furthest thing from my mind after having driven for 7 straight hours!

Tuesday night I was back in the kitchen and all three of the items are new recipes that I tried - two were incredible while one was only so-so.

Most of those who know me, know I cook w/ wine, beer, alcohol, and liqueurs.  Tonights meal was a pop of flavour for the palette. There's one reason why I chose this recipe, and it's b/c a charming lady I met at the Chefs of the coast said she didn't like rosemary...well this pork chop recipe is for you doll ;-)  Trust me if you like Kahlua you'll love the pork chops (consider this a baby step recipe). Kahlua herbed pork chops, Ginger lime asparagus, and Pastetnik potatoes ... okay okay, so I changed the names of the first two b/c it just sounded better...it won't change the taste I promise! 

Thoughts on the pork chops:  Ignore the recipe instructions first off.  Trim the fat from the pork chops! No way!  As a famous TV chef says "Pork fat rules!"  So we're going to leave the fat ON the pork chops!  Next you're going to season the pork chops BEFORE cooking them - b/c you want the seasonings to infuse into the pork.  After that, you're going to make the pork chops pretty w/ slices of lemon and orange, then pour the kahlua and water around the pork chops - you don't want to disturb the pork chops too much.  To make things easier, once the pork chops have cooked, remove them to a plate, and THEN blend the remaining water & cornstarch together, and whisk into the pan. Watch this baby carefully, you don't want it to burn...that would be a waste of alcohol, and we don't do that!

Onto the asparagus.  I love asparagus, but you've got to know how to cook it right.  You don't want it soggy or limp, you want it cooked and to have a slight crispness to it.  The sauce is what really makes the asparagus shine through.  In many ways the sauce makes me think it could be morphed into a ginger lime pesto - if you add in some nuts like pistachios.

Problems w/ the potatoes.  First of all they are not seasoned properly.  Salt & Pepper may be used to accentuate some dishes but they shouldn't be relied on for flavour, b/c face it it's just not gonna happen.

All in all the pork chops were amazing, and the asparagus was very good.

Tonights dinner:

Gateway-to-the-West Stuffed Chicken Breast, wild rice, steamed veggies, and Parmesan pesto bread.

As is this recipe is pretty good. I don't know that I like the egg and shallot used in the shrimp filling. I say this for many reasons but namely b/c the egg is going to run out of the shrimp filling before the egg will cook. I chose to cook this in the oven by cranking my oven to 375° and cooking it for about 35 minutes. I chose to chop up the shrimp to make it easier to close the chicken up. I think I'll make this again, but will tweak it to suit my preferences.