Mustard Pork Chops

Perfect Pairing:  Sweet Potato Gnocchi and Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries and Pecans

When I ran across Nigella Lawson’s Mustard Pork Chops recipe I knew I needed to make it pronto.  It is a great cold weather dish with few ingredients that comes together in minutes.  

I made just a few changes to the original recipe.  I used three pork chops instead of two, and seasoned them with salt and pepper before searing in the pan.  Before deglazing the pan I added one sliced onion and cooked until soft and caramelized, then added the sauce ingredients (hard cider, mustard, and a touch of cream).  I bumped up the amounts of mustard and cider to make a little more sauce.

Nigella recommended serving the chops with gnocchi.  Of course you could keep the prep super simple and use store-bought gnocchi, or you could make your own!  I had always wanted to make gnocchi so this seemed like the perfect time.  I used this sweet potato gnocchi recipe from Richard Blais (Top Chef and Food Network fame).  I followed the gnocchi prep only and used the pork chop sauce to top it off.  I will definitely make these again and use the full recipe with the brown butter sauce because that sounds fantastic. 

They ended up being pretty easy to make and kind of fun!  I found that a bench scraper was the best tool for the job.

To round out the meal I roasted brussels sprouts (using this method, minus the vinegar) and tossed in handfuls of pecans and dried cranberries for the last few minutes in the oven.  Pretty and yummy.

It was a pretty fantastic meal!

Tweet

Grilled Chili Lime Sweet Potatoes

Perfect Pairing:  Tongs

Don't look now, but I think Spring has finally sprung in Chicago!  It is about time.  It looks like it will be a lovely weekend for a wedding of two of my favorite people.  My cousin, Scott, is marrying the incredible Natalie on Saturday right on Michigan Avenue.  I am so excited for them and for the wedding! 

Since we have some warm weather you may want to fire up the grill!  Try out these grilled sweet potatoes.  They are the perfect warm weather side.
 
I absolutely adore sweet potatoes.  I think they fit perfectly into one of my favorite categories, sweet and salty.  They are great baked with a little butter and salt, but this grilled recipe is a fun change. 

Before grilling the potatoes I peeled and wedged them, and then par-boiled them.  I figured they would burn on the grill before they got cooked through.  You want to get them to just fork tender, but not mushy.  Before going on the grill they are tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and chili powder.  When they are done they are topped with fresh lime juice and zest.  It seems like an odd combination but it works really well with the chili powder.  Such a healthy side dish!

The potatoes will need to be turned occasionally on the grill, and the easiest way to do that is with a good pair of tongs.  I would put tongs on my short list of necessary kitchen equipment.  I really like the OXO version with the locking pop top.  I can’t tell you how many people I have watched struggle with how to “work” the tongs with that kind of top.  I get a kick out of it.

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Simple Lemon Green Beans

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

Tweet

Kale Salad with Spiced Sweet Potatoes, Crispy Kale and Sweet Sesame Dressing

Perfect Pairing:  Winter salad craving

This is my new favorite winter salad.  It was inspired by a salad I had at a great restaurant here in Chicago called Trenchermen.  I was determined to recreate the salad at home so I looked up the description on the website.  The description of their version says it includes vegetable escabeche, bagna cauda, avocado, pumpkin seed, and manchego.  Hmmm vegetable escabeche and bagna cauda?  I decided to ignore that part because I had no clue how to make those things. 

My version actually ended up being quite different.  I pretty much only kept the pumpkin seeds and one other very cool idea I got from them.  They topped the fresh kale salad with pieces of crispy fried kale.  It added great texture and a nutty flavor.  Instead of frying the kale I used my standard kale chip recipe.  My version features baked sweet potato spiced with pumpkin pie spice and a dash of cayenne, pepitos, freshly grated parmesan, and an awesome sweet sesame dressing.

This sweet sesame dressing has become my new “go-to”.  It kind of tastes like the dressing used on the Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad.  I used to LOVE that salad.  Applebee’s was like THE place to go in high school and college. 

I hope you love this salad as much as I do!  It is the perfect fit when you have a salad craving in the winter.  I am not even going to get into the health benefits. Kale!  Sweet potatoes!  Mayonnaise?  Just make it!

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Pretzels

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Flatbreads with Thyme, Honey, and Sea Salt

Click Read More for the recipe...

Tweet

Sweet Potato Casserole

Perfect Pairing:  Shallow dish

The final Thanksgiving side dish I am going to share is Sweet Potato Casserole.  Honestly, this could pass as dessert.  I know a lot of people put marshmallows on their sweet potatoes, but in my family we top them with streusel.

This is my grandma Rosie’s recipe.  She loves anything sweet, so these are right up her alley.  True story, I have seen Grandma put Equal on her spaghetti.  While I am not going to try that anytime soon, the sweetness of this side dish is just perfect. 

I like to make this recipe in a shallow dish so there is more surface area for the streusel.  That way everyone gets a little bit of the crunchy topping. 

I have one more Thanksgiving recipe to share before the holiday.  It is a dessert of course!   I won’t be sticking with tradition on this one.

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Pork Loin (or Turkey) Crostini with Green Apple, Mango Chutney, and Brie

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing:  Patatas Bravas

Click "Read More" for the recipe... 

Tweet

Sweet Potato and Sausage Breakfast Hash

Perfect Pairing:  Eggs

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!  I was lucky enough to spend it with loved ones.  Unfortunately, there was a lot, and I mean a lot, of rain throughout the weekend.  We definitely made the most of it and still had a great time.  It is all about the company!

There are so many good things about this recipe including sweet potatoes, sausage, caramelized onions, it is made ahead of time, and is versatile.  I figured out the versatile thing firsthand. 

The hash component is made the night before and stored in the refrigerator overnight, so it lends itself to quick prep in the morning.  I made this when I was home for Easter and the plan was to cook it for breakfast in a 9x13 baking dish in the oven.  When I woke up that morning I realized the ceiling fan had stopped, the clock was dark, and the house was very quiet.  The power was out and we did not know when it was coming back on.  Fortunately, my parents had already made coffee!

We moved to plan B and cooked the hash in a pan on the grill.  It was a happy accident because I loved the crispiness and grill flavor. 

 

The hash would be great as a breakfast/brunch side dish (actually, it would be good at any time of the day) but it is made into a complete meal by cracking eggs on top. 

I can’t say enough about this meal.  It was so good.  The combination of spicy sausage, sweet caramelized onions and sweet potatoes, and a slightly runny egg was divine.  I can’t wait to make this again! 

We only used a portion of the recipe in the skillet since it makes a large batch.  The leftovers were fabulous.  For the leftovers we cooked the hash and eggs in the oven in individual ramekins. 

Tweet

Sweet Potato with Kale, Mushrooms, and Pancetta

Perfect Pairing – Deli Counter

Well I have stuffed potatoes with arugula and parmesan….

Fajita inspired ingredients…

And all of this stuff…

 

BUT I have yet to do anything with sweet potatoes.  Until now!

This was one of those random dinners you throw together to try to use what you have on hand.  In this case I had kale, mushrooms, and sweet potatoes.  I was thrilled with the result.  It was super hearty and healthy (ignore the small amount of pancetta).  Kale and sweet potatoes are powerhouse ingredients, full of nutrients.  It may not be beautiful, but it was darn tasty.

Freshly grated nutmeg is a great complement to dark greens, so I used that in my version but it is optional if you don’t feel like investing in nutmeg.  Personally, I love having a few whole nutmegs on hand and I grate them on my microplane.   

I topped the potato off with a dollop of ricotta mixed with parmesan and salt and pepper.  It kind of acts like sour cream here.  If you are following the paleo diet, which is incredibly popular right now, you could leave the ricotta off. 

One of my biggest annoyances is waiting at the deli counter at my grocery store. There is always a line and I swear they could move much faster.  I hate pulling my number out of that little machine and realizing I am 12 people from the front of the line.  Ugh.  I decided to stick it out when I was making this, because I knew I could save a fair amount of money.  I bought the pancetta and ricotta from the deli.  I was able to get the exact amount I needed and I think I saved about $7.  Totally worth the wait.  You could also use bacon if you are not feeling the pancetta.

If you have leftovers they are great repurposed for breakfast.  I chopped up the leftovers (potato, kale, mushrooms, and pancetta) and sauteed them in a skillet until lightly browned and topped it off with some ricotta and a fried egg.  Whoa.  It didn't suck.

Tweet