Pork Chops and Mushrooms in Marsala Wine Sauce

If you’re like me, dinner is often a consequence of what’s in the refrigerator, and on this particular night, I found a bunch of baby portobello mushrooms that needed to be used before they spoiled. I could have served them as a separate vegetable, but they seemed like a natural pairing with the pork chops I had just bought. A little marsala wine, plus a small bit of cream that was left over, would elevate those pork chops from ordinary to sublime.

It’s easy to overcook pork chops because they’re so lean. If you can find some with a little marbling, great, but that isn’t so easy. Marinating or brining helps, but knowing when to pull them off the grill or the stove is the most important step in avoiding a tough piece of meat.

I don’t use a meat thermometer for pork chops or steaks, but instead have learned to test meat with the finger test. It’s got to have a little softness in it when you touch it, like the fleshy part of your hand. If you let it cook until it feels hard, then it’s overcooked. It takes getting used to, but once you’ve mastered it, you’ll never overcook meat again. Click here to get a more detailed guide on using the finger test for doneness of meats.

Pork Chops and Mushrooms in Marsala Wine Sauce

printable recipe here

Ingredients

• 2 thick pork chops (about 3/4″ thick)
• To marinate the pork chops:
• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 T. soy sauce
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 2 T. butter
• 8 ounces baby portobello (or button) mushrooms, sliced
• 2 T. olive oil
• flour
• salt
• pepper
• 1/4 marsala wine
• 1/4 cup chicken stock (or water)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• parsley, minced

Instructions

1. About an hour before cooking, marinate the pork chops in the olive oil, soy sauce and minced garlic.
2. Melt the butter in a pan and sauté the mushrooms on high heat. You want to get a nice sear on the mushrooms and let the water in them evaporate.
3. When the mushrooms have turned a nice golden brown color, remove them from the pan and set aside with any remaining liquid from the mushrooms.
4. Drain the pork chops from the marinate and dredge them in flour, salt and pepper. Shake off any excess flour.
5. Place the oil in the same pan as you cooked the mushrooms and turn the heat to medium high. Add the pork chops and quickly sear on each side. This should take only a couple of minutes on each side.
6. Lower the heat, add the marsala wine and the chicken stock, stirring to incorporate them.
7. Flip the pork chops once to give both sides exposure to the liquid, then add the cream and swirl in, flipping again. Add the mushrooms back to the pan and cook until everything is heated through and just until the pork chops are done. Do not overcook. The meat should still have some “give” in it when you press it with a fork or with your fingers. If it’s overcooked, it will feel hard.
8. Sprinkle with minced parsley.

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Gjelina's roasted yams

 

I know it’s nearly heresy to mess with family favorites at Thanksgiving. But if you crave something a little different from the traditional mashed potatoes or candied sweet potatoes, this recipe from “Gjelina:Cooking From Venice, California,” might hit just the right note. Even if you don’t make it for Thanksgiving, try it for an ordinary Thursday night (or any other night of the week).

It’s a snap to make, starting out with roasting some chunky slices of yams, tossed in olive oil, honey and espelette, or red pepper flakes.

When they emerge from the oven, drizzle with the yogurt and lime dressing, and top with fresh green scallions. And if you’re looking for a way to brine and roast that Thanksgiving turkey, click here for instructions.

Happy Thanksgiving 

Gjelina’s roasted yams

printable recipe here

Ingredients

• 3 large yams
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 1 Tablespoon espelette pepper, or crushed red pepper flakes
• 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup Greek style yogurt
• 4 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 scallions, both white and green parts, trimmed and thinly sliced, for garnish

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 425. Cut the yams lengthwise into 4 wedges per yam. Put them in a large bowl, and toss them with the honey, ½ tablespoon of the Espelette pepper or crushed red-pepper flakes and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Let it sit for 10 minutes or so, tossing once or twice to coat, as the oven heats.
2. Transfer the yams to a foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet, season with salt and pepper and then bake until they are deeply caramelized around the edges and soft when pierced with a fork at their thickest part, approximately 30 to 35 minutes.
3. As the yams roast, combine the yogurt, lime juice and remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a small bowl, and whisk to combine, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
4. When the yams are done, transfer them to a serving platter, drizzle the yogurt over them and garnish with the remaining Espelette pepper or red-pepper flakes, the scallions and some flaky sea salt if you have any.

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Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Maple Brown Butter Glaze

Looking for an alternative to the pumpkin pie that’s ubiquitous on everyone’s Thanksgiving table? Or maybe you just want a delicious dessert to serve at your next Sunday supper. This moist cake has all the right autumn flavors going for it – from pumpkin to cinnamon, allspice, cardamom and a touch of black pepper too. Plus it’s topped with a luscious glaze made with browned butter that adds a nutty taste, in addition to the maple syrup and confectioner’s sugar.The recipe comes from the New York Times, and it included toasted pepita seeds on top. I took it a step further and candied them. Just make sure you use either a Silpat mat or a piece of buttered aluminum foil. Otherwise you’ll have a hard time prying the candy from the pan.

 Be careful not to touch it until it cools. Once the candy cools and hardens, you can break it up with your hands, then sprinkle it across the top of the cake. The candy is also delicious as a topping on ice cream too.

Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Maple Brown Butter Glaze

printable recipe here

Ingredients

• RECIPE FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 2 cups light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, soft but cool
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 can (15 ounces) pureed pumpkin
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• FOR THE GLAZE:
• 2 T. unsalted butter
• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• pinch of salt
• 1 to 2 Tablespoons lightly toasted pepita seeds (optional)
• or candied pepita seeds

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and lightly butter and flour a 12 cup or larger bundt pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, allspice and black pepper until well combined.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine brown sugar, butter and olive oil. Beat on medium high until light and fluffy, about three minutes.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing for about 20 seconds between each egg.
5. Add the pumpkin puree and the sour cream, and mix until well combined, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl.
6. Remove the bowl from the mixer, and use a rubber spatula to fold in the dry ingredients until well combined.
7. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure an evenly mixed batter.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top and firmly tap on the countertop a few times to release any large air bubbles.
9. Bake the cake until golden and puffed, and a tester in the center comes out clean, about 55 to 65 minutes.
10. Set the cake, still in the pan, on a rack to cool, about 20 minutes, then use the tip of a knife to loosen the edges and invert the cake onto the rack to cool completely before glasing.
11. TO MAKE THE GLAZE:
12. Once the cake is cool, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook the butter, occasionally scraping the bottom and sides of the pan with a rubber spatula, until it turns a deep golden brown and smells nutty. Don’t walk away from the pan during this process. The butter can go from brown and nutty to acrid and burnt in mere moments.
13. Transfer butter and brown bits to a bowl to a heat safe bowl and let it cool slightly. Whisk in the confectioner’s sugar, maple syrup and salt until smooth. The glaze should be thick but pourable. If it’s too thin, add more confectioner’s sugar. If it’s too thick, add water. (I added some milk to thin it down a bit.)
14. Transfer the cake to a serving platter and pour the glaze over the top. Sprinkle with pepitas if desired.
15. TO MAKE CANDIED PEPITAS:
16. Place about 1/4 cup sugar into a saucepan and heat at medium until the sugar melts and starts to turn a light golden color. Pour in some pepitas (1/4 cup or so) and stir for a few seconds to coat. Then pour the mixture onto a Silpat mat or a piece of aluminum foil that has been greased with butter. Careful not to burn your fingers. The melted sugar will be extremely hot. Let it cool, then break into bits.

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Quinoa Balls in Squash Soup

Fall is finally here and so is soup weather. And when I think of fall soups, I invariably think of squash soup, since squash is so prolific at farmer’s markets and grocery stores right now – and it’s one of my favorite vegetables.  I’ve posted my recipe for squash soup before – here – and this recipe has a complexity gained from the addition of a pear and an apple in the soup.

But the squash soup in this post goes a step further. It contains quinoa balls mixed with vegetables and cheese, a combination I was served on our recent memoir writing retreat in Italy – “Italy, In Other Words.”  The chefs at “Cavatappi,” my favorite restaurant in Varenna, opened their doors one evening just for our group of twelve people, and served a delectable meal starting with squash soup and quinoa balls.

Back home, I did my best at recreating their recipe. The taste and texture are almost the same, although the chefs told me they started with three types of quinoa, and I used only two – a dark and a white variety. The quinoa fluffs up to several times its dried state. Meanwhile, dice the vegetables into small pieces. Then sauté in a bit of olive oil until softened. Cut the cheese into small pieces the same size as the vegetables, then mix the vegetables and cheese together, along with some egg and cornstarch and seasonings. Roll into balls and refrigerate.

These also freeze very well. Steam the balls for about five minutes, then gently lift them from the steamer and place a few into each bowl of soup. They melt in your mouth and are an explosion of flavor too.

Quinoa Balls

Author: Ciao Chow Linda

printable recipe here

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup white quinoa
• 1/2 cup red quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 3/4 cup zucchini, finely diced
• 3/4 cup butternut squash, finely diced
• 1 T. butter
• a few sprigs of parsley, minced
• 1 cup parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, finely diced (or fontina or taleggio)
• 2 T. cornstarch
• salt, pepper

Instructions

1. Use your favorite recipe for making squash soup or follow the one I have in the archives here.
2. Cook the quinoa in boiling water, covered for about 7 minutes. Turn off heat and leave the pot covered for 10 minutes.
3. When the quinoa has cooled, put it into a bowl.
4. Sauté the zucchini and butternut squash in the butter for a few minutes until it starts to slightly soften.
5. Add the vegetables and all the rest of the ingredients to the quinoa and mix well with a spoon.
6. Using your hands, form the quinoa mixture into balls (the size of a meatball) and steam for three minutes on the range. If you don’t have a steaming pot, sauté for a couple of minutes with a dab of butter, turning all the while so it cooks on all sides.
7. The cheese should start to melt.
8. Remove from the heat and place a few quinoa balls into the soup. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

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