Pepper Garlic Broccoli, Pork Chops, and Parmesan Smashed Potatoes

I've been making this for several years now.  It is a good way to put lots of flavor in your cooked broccoli without having to resort to some sort of cheese sauce.  It has the added benefit of the broccoli still having some body to it rather than being all limp from boiling or steaming.  Plus, it is quick to make with cutting the broccoli being the most time consuming part.




This broccoli dish goes well with just about everything I'd say.  We've not come across anything that it didn't pair well with.  We've had it with pork, venison, chicken, and salmon and it has been good with all of them.

Pepper Garlic Broccoli for two

Last night I took advantage of cutting up a boneless pork loin and decided to cook pork chops with it.  Parmesan smashed potatoes rounded out the meal.




Pepper Garlic Broccoli




3 cups broccoli florets
3 - 6 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs olive oil
Red pepper flakes, to taste
1/2 oz lemon juice
1.5 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese




Put the olive oil in a skillet and turn on medium heat.  Once the oil is hot, add the garlic.  Cook the garlic until it is starting to get tender, don't let it get brown.  Add the broccoli florets to the skillet and stir to mix.  Make sure the oil and garlic coat each floret.  Add the salt and red pepper flakes and stir to mix.  Add the lemon juice and shake the skillet to evenly distribute.  Let the broccoli finish cooking to your desired level of doneness.  For us it is about 5 minutes start to finish.  You can either add the grated Parmesan cheese in the skillet and toss it or plate the broccoli and sprinkle the cheese on top.  Last night I put the cheese on top after plating.


Parmesan Smashed Potatoes


2 lbs new red potatoes
olive oil
salt
pepper
Italian seasoning
grated Parmesan cheese


Boil the potatoes until they are almost done and drain.  After they have cooled a bit, dump them on a baking sheet.  Start smashing them one at a time and lining them up across the baking sheet.  Once they are all smashed, drizzle with olive oil.  Add salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning to your taste.  Sprinkle a liberal coating of grated Parmesan cheese over the potatoes.  Bake in a 400F oven for 20 - 25 minutes.




The pork chops that accompanied the broccoli were fried in butter in the cast iron skillet.  They were allowed to come to room temperature before cooking.  While they were waiting, they got seasoned with salt, pepper, and a good splash of TN whiskey.  The cast iron skillet had about 2 Tbs of butter melted in it and the pork chops put in.  They were turned when the color was changed about halfway up the side.  This makes a nice browned surface for the pork chop.  They were cooked on the other side till they were the same.  I'll not give times since those depend on the thickness of the pork chop.

Pork, Broccoli, and Potatoes.  It's what's for supper.

Most times when I do steaks or pork chops this way I'll make a quick pan sauce to pour over but I didn't last night.  This is just a quick easy sauce that ups the flavor of the meat.  Leave the melted butter and juices from the meat in the skillet with the heat on.  Pour in an ounce or two of whiskey or brandy.  Let the alcohol cook off or your can get adventurous and burn it off.  Just be careful if you burn it off.  Once it is burned off, add a tablespoon of whole peppercorns and let them heat up while the remaining liquid reduces.  Once it is reduced by about half it'll be a tasty slightly thickened sauce ready to spoon over your meat.




Give this broccoli a try the next time you fix pork chops.  I think you'll like it.  If you do fix it, let me know what you think.


Uncle T

A Southern Supper

Every so often I get the urge to forego fancy or new dishes for supper.  When that happens I go back to my small town Southern roots.  You just can't go wrong with the basics of Southern cooking.  To that end, we had a meal that any Southerner would appreciate.  Last night's supper was grilled pork chops, mashed potatoes, fried okra, and mixed greens.  Oh my goodness it was good.  The only thing I didn't do that my grandmother would have done was make biscuits or cornbread to go with it.


I'll break down the how and why of this meal as I go along.  Now, on with the show.

A plate of good Southern cooking

Grilled pork chops should need no explanation.  After all, is there anything better than glorious pork?  I will say, I could have fried the pork chops but I didn't have enough space on the stove top.  If I hadn't had fried okra then I'd have fried the pork chops and been able to make gravy to go on the mashed potatoes.  Any way, pork is the meat of the South.  I am not big on over seasoning meat since I think the flavor of the meat should shine, so the pork chops got a simple treatment.  I sprinkled kosher salt and ground black pepper on the pork chops then splashed a little bourbon on them.  They sat on a pan until time to take out to the grill.  They were grilled until they reached 145F.  Beautiful juicy white meat with great flavor.


Mashed potatoes are one of those things that tend to get short changed.  It's hard to find a meal in the South without potatoes in some form.  Like pork, the potato is a versatile ingredient and can be used many ways.


Mashed Potatoes


4 russet potatoes
1 stick butter, sliced
buttermilk
salt
pepper
garlic powder


Cut the potatoes into cubes of similar size and place in a pot.  Fill the pot with water and rinse the potatoes then dump the water.  Repeat the process.  Fill  the pot with water until it just covers the potatoes then put over med-high heat.  Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are just tender.  A fork should stick in without breaking the cube.  Drain the water.  Put the pot of potatoes back on the eye to evaporate any remaining water.  Add the butter slices in pot and stir.  Once the butter has melted start mashing.  Add buttermilk as you go till you get the consistency you want.  Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.  Serves 4.


Fried okra is all some people know of okra, or it's the only form of okra they'll eat.  Mention boiled okra to most people and they start talking about slime even if they've never had boiled okra.  In spite of my okra plants getting laid over thanks to the edge of hurricane Matthew that hit us, they are still producing well.  Okra pods that get too big to be tender boiled get sliced and fried.  Since I had built up a good collection of frying okra that's what I used.


Fried Okra


1/2 lb okra
flour
1 egg
1 cup milk
cornmeal mixture (cornmeal, corn starch, salt, garlic powder)
oil


Cut okra into 1/2 inch thick slices and put in flour.  Shake excess flour off the sliced okra and put into egg wash made with the egg and milk.  Drain the excess and put in a bowl with the cornmeal mixture and toss to coat.  Once well coated remove okra from the bowl and put on a plate until all the okra is done.  Heat a skillet with about 1/4 inch of oil in it.  Once it is hot put in the breaded okra.  Cook until brown on the bottom and turn the okra to cook the other side.  Alternatively, you can deep fry the okra and not have to worry about turning it.  Serve hot.

Fried Okra almost ready

Greens are another thing that get Southerners going.  Greens mean different things to different people.  Greens can be collard greens, mustard greens, or turnip greens most often.  There are also wild greens like poke salad, dandelions, and lamb's quarter.  For me growing up, greens meant either mustard or turnip greens.  I now prefer a mix of the two since they both have different flavor profiles and textures.  I've also been known to throw some wild greens into the mix from time to time.


Greens get boiled and slow simmered in the South, especially collard greens.  After all, you've got to give the smoked pork time to give its flavor to the greens.  I did a variation on this.  Our greens had been blanched prior to freezing so they were nearly done.  For the pork flavor, I heated the thawed greens in a skillet with some bacon grease in it. 

Bottle of homemade pepper sauce

I'll throw in one last tidbit about eating greens.  You have to have pepper sauce available.  No, I don't mean hot sauce.  Pepper sauce is vinegar with hot peppers in it.  You put it on your greens and you get a bit of the acid from the vinegar and a hint of heat and flavor from the peppers.  As you use up the pepper sauce, you simply add more vinegar.  The pepper sauce we use was made with Serrano peppers from our garden and apple cider vinegar.  Pepper sauce is widely available in stores, at least it is in the South but it is easy to make your own.  All  you need is a jar, some vinegar, and the hot peppers of your choice.  Pull the cap and stem off the peppers and put them in your jar then fill with vinegar.  Let it sit in the cabinet for a few weeks before using it.


There you have it, a good Southern supper.  Give it a try sometime.


Uncle T

A Different Sunday Dinner

Growing up, Sunday dinner tended to be predictable.  Momma would wrap a beef chuck roast in aluminum foil with some potatoes and carrots and put them in the oven just before we headed out the door to go to church.  After we got home, we ate roast, potatoes, and carrots to the enjoyment of all.  Every once in a while the menu would change but to the best of my recollection, this was the standard.


These days, the good wife and I usually just eat leftovers from Saturday's supper as our lunch on Sunday.  Some times I'll go ahead and cook something but that is usually because we have something we don't want to chance going bad by waiting another day or two.  This most recent Sunday, I cooked for that very reason.


Exotic fruits are some of the few food items we actually go to the store to get.  After all, most of them won't grow in Virginia.  A few days ago we bought some plantains because they had some good looking ones and the price was right.  I don't do the green plantain double frying thing.  I prefer to use one that is almost completely ripe.  Add a little salt after they are done to play against their sweetness and it is an excellent side dish.

Minimum ripeness of plantain I use

Fried Plantain


1 - 2 plantains, almost fully ripe
oil
salt


Cut the plantains in half then cut the two halves down the middle.  Remove the skin.  Lay each half on a cutting board and carefully cut into two slices of equal thicknesses.  Heat oil in a skillet and place the plantain slices in a single layer.  Fry until golden brown then turn them over.  Once the second side is done, remove them from the skillet and drain on a rack or paper towels.  Repeat the process if need be.  Sprinkle a little salt on the plantain slices and serve.


Along with the plantains, I grilled some pork chops and made some black beans in the pressure cooker. 


The pork chops were seasoned with salt, pepper, and ground roasted cumin then a little splash of Tequila for additional flavoring was added.  The pork chops were then grilled to 145F which is medium rare and leaves them tender, juicy, and with just a faint hint of pink inside.  I thought about making a pineapple salsa to top them with but decided that would be gilding the lily.  The flavor was so good I'll definitely be using this seasoning combination again.


The black beans turned out very well.  As usual, I used my Simply Ming electric pressure cooker.


Pressure Cooker Black Beans


1 cup dry black beans
3 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup salsa
3 oz fat back or bacon ends and pieces
2 - 3 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp ground roasted cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
2 - 3 bay leaves


Add all ingredients to the pressure cooker and stir to mix well.  Put on lid and turn valve so it will build pressure.  Select pressure cook and set timer for 50 minutes.  At the end of the time, allow pressure to naturally release.  If the liquid isn't thick enough for your liking, mix a little corn starch and water and add to the beans and stir.  Raise the heat for10 minutes then turn back to warm.  Stir and the broth should be thicker.

Fried Plantain, Black Beans, and grilled Pork Chop

As you can see, not a typical Sunday dinner for a good Southern boy at all.  One of the benefits of an Army career is traveling and being introduced to other food cultures.  Try those foods when you get the chance.  If you like them, make them yourself.  If you can't find the right ingredient use one that is close that you do have.  Some of those subtle changes yield excellent results.


Give these a try either together or as parts of different meals.  I think you'll enjoy them.  Let me know how they turn out.


Uncle T

Red Beans with Kohlrabi Greens and Roasted Kohlrabi

Kohlrabi is not normally on a Southern boy's menu.  We tried some in our early Fall garden and liked it so I put out 8 plants for the late Fall garden.  Two of them were ready to harvest the other day and since there is nothing quite as good as eating something straight from the garden we had them for supper.


Kohlrabi is related to cabbage and as such the leaves can be eaten as well as the bulb.  I wanted to use the greens as well as the bulb for supper.  I also wanted to try something different with the kohlrabi than I did earlier in the year.  Previously I'd made fritters and a slaw with the kohlrabi so I figured roasted was the next thing to try. 


The greens I wanted to cook and I was wanting to cook some more dried beans in the pressure cooker so the red beans and kohlrabi greens came to mind.  I will have to say that this dish turned out to be very good.


Red Beans with Kohlrabi Greens


1 cup dried small red beans
Greens from two kohlrabi, stems removed
4 oz bacon, slab is best
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup chicken broth
3 cups water
1 tsp roasted ground cumin
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper


Dice bacon in 1/4 inch cuts.  If using sliced bacon cut in 1/2 inch pieces.  Put in pressure cooker and start to brown.  Add diced onion and cook until it starts to turn translucent.  Turn off heat.  Add everything else except the kohlrabi greens.  Set pressure cooker to 20 minutes.  Once the timer goes off release the steam.  Taste the broth and adjust seasoning if needed.  Stir in the kohlrabi greens and set the pressure cooker to 10 minutes.  Release the pressure once the timer goes off.  Serve in a bowl to get the good broth.


I used some ends and pieces of bacon from the last batch of bacon I smoked and sliced.  I only used 1 cup of chicken broth because that is what I had in the refrigerator.  I think using the broth gave a greater depth of flavor over using just water for the beans.


Roasted Kohlrabi


1  kohlrabi per person
olive oil
salt
pepper


Peel the kohlrabi and cut into 1/2 inch cubes.  Put the cubes in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Toss to coat.  Dump kohlrabi onto baking sheet and put in a 400F oven for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and toss then return to oven for 10 more minutes.

A most excellent supper

We had butter fried pork chops with a pan sauce since I'd processed a pork loin the day before.  The pork chops are super easy.  Let the pork chops come to room temperature.  Season with salt and pepper while they warm.   Melt 2 - 3 Tbs butter in a skillet.  Once the butter starts to bubble add the pork chops.  Fry for about 4 minutes until browned on the bottom.  Turn the chops and fry for another 3 - 4 minutes.  Move pork chops to the plates.  To the pan drippings add 1 - 2 oz whiskey or brandy and allow alcohol to cook off.  Simmer until the sauce is reduced by half and spoon over the pork chops.


As you can see, we're really liking the pressure cooker.  I think it is a great investment for our kitchen.  I'll be posting more recipes from the pressure cooker for sure. 


Give these recipes a try sometime and I believe you'll enjoy them.  After you make them let me know what you think. 


Uncle T