the other white meat

During last week’s grocery shop, I got frisky and decided to make friends with my slow cooker. (I know. It’s a glamorous life, I live). I was intrigued by the whole “low and slow” method of cooking and was ready to give it a go. Like many of our kitchen appliances, the slow cooker was sitting quietly on top of our kitchen cabinets, just waiting to be used.

So I bought pork chops.

I have no idea how I made the connection from slow cooker to pork chops, but it happened – at the meat counter at Central Market. The sweet butcher handed me my ¼ pound of applewood smoked bacon (apparently the theme of last week’s eats was pork) and said, “Anything else today, ma’am?” and I exclaimed (too enthusiastically), “Why yes! I’ll have 3 of those center cut pork chops.” He wrapped them up in white butcher paper and handed them over the counter with a smile. It wasn’t until I had rounded the corner to the bulk foods section that I realized I had no idea what I was doing with pork chops, as I had never made them in my life (this is a recurring theme in my life. I read so many food blogs and cookbooks that I often subconsciously convince myself that I know how to make something and have made it thousands of times, when I, indeed, have not.) I had never (to my knowledge) eaten pork chops that had been prepared in a slow cooker, or even heard of such a thing.  It was just one big new experience, and figured I was less likely to mess up chops if I let my slow cooker do the work.

I did a little reading online and found a recipe to go off of to get cooking times, etc. The general consensus was 6 hours on low heat, so I went home during my lunch break to make dinner (you know you’re old when…) so they would be ready at dinner time.

Here’s what I came up with. I loosely based my chops off of this recipe

Pork chops for 2: Low and slow

1 – 2 T canola oil

3 good sized center cut bone in pork chops (1 for me and 2 for the hungry husband)

½ c. ketchup

½ c. brown sugar

½ c. scant soy sauce

1 T + 1 t chili powder (I used a little under 1 T and thought it could have used more heat because we love spicy food).

2 cloves of garlic, minced

½ white or yellow onion, thinly sliced

¼ c. water

Salt and pepper to taste

Season both sides of each chop with salt and pepper. In a cast iron pan, heat the canola oil on medium high until shimmering. Sear the pork chops 1 minute per side – you aren’t trying to cook the chop, just to get some nice color and flavor from all that searing goodness. Remove the chops from heat and set aside. In the ceramic bowl of a crock pot, mix the ketchup, brown sugar, soy sauce, and chili powder. Taste your sauce. If it needs more sweetness, add brown sugar. If it needs more salty kick, add a little more soy. When it tastes tangy and delicious, add the minced garlic and sliced onion. Add the chops and ¼ c of water.  Turn the crock pot on low and set it for six hours.

Reluctantly head back to work and day dream about the deliciousness of your impending dinner. Arrive home about 5.5 hours later and inhale the glorious aroma that fills your apartment. Check the sauce to make sure it’s not too thick and not burning (add a little more water if it’s too thick or sticky). You’ll want lots of that delicious sauce to sop up with bread or your starchy side dish of choice. Crank up the heat to high for the last 20 minutes or so of cooking while you prepare your sides. We had our chops with cous cous, steamed broccoli, and toasted rolls with butter. It was all luscious. The sauce had the tang of a barbecue sauce but was more of a jus than a proper sauce – but we still loved it! The high point of the meal was when Russ goes, “I don’t even really LIKE pork chops because they are so boring.. but NOT THESE!” Well thanks for telling me, bud.  I guess I am glad I didn’t know that Russ was bored with pork chops or I would have never tried them out!

The slow cooker did all the heavy lifting, and I couldn't get over how easy this meal was to put together. Try it soon!

a little tranquility before the storm

Who would have thought the week leading up to the Super Bowl could be tempered? But here we are, 3 full days away from Sunday and the area is still covered with ice and snow and not with all the anticipated glitz and glamor. I'm sure ESPN and the NFL are loving this.

A storm calmed the storm.

It's amazing to witness everything and everyone shut down for almost 3 days. Schools. Businesses. Everyone has hidden to weather the storm (except the crazies who have a death wish for themselves and others). It's too bad that's what it takes to get everyone to slow down.

No one can seem to stop these days. We move from one thing to the next and whenever we're hindered from our frenetic pace, we go stir crazy. No one is immune to it. Not me (as an MBA student) and not you.

So before this storm melts and another one thunderously moves in, take time to reflect on the calmness of these moments and realize that this is probably exactly what we need.

now my feet won't touch the ground

Friends.

Here is the stop motion video of our wedding! Do you know what stop motion is? I didn't until I became familiar with our wedding photographer's website. It's a video made of still images.. like clay-mation except not terrifying.

Here is what Erin and her husband Brad created... I cannot sing the praises of ee photography enough! Their attention to detail is incredible. I am watching this over and over again, remembering these moments of such a wonderful day.

Enjoy!


ee photography | emmelie + russ wedding from ee photography on Vimeo.

double snow day!

So it's the second snow day in a row and we are just loving every minute. I know that I may retract that statement when the rumored "rolling blackout" hits our little apartment any second now and I'm freezing my tootsies off, but until then... this is pure bliss.

Some people might be super productive on snow days, but not us... Unless "productive"  = watching every episode of Weeds to date on Netflix instant play, or catching up on our Google Readers. I have big plans to clean the apartment after one more episode...

Sometimes being productive is over-rated, I think.

The best thing we did yesterday was make soup - I think we can all agree that this is a very productive thing to do when you're snowed in! This soup is adapted from the Zuppa Toscana at the Olive Garden - your guilty pleasure and mine. I found the recipe via food gawker on this blog and made a few adjustments to meet our tastes. It's delicious and easy to make. Try it tonight.

Zuppa Toscana

Yields 8 servings

1 lb ground Italian sausage (we used mild but next time we'll use hot!)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (more if you can take it)
4 slices of bacon (optional)
2 large shallots, finely minced (Russ hates onions so this is our compromise since shallots have a much milder flavor, but you could use 1 med. white or yellow onion if you don't have shallots)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups low sodium chicken stock
about 1.5 large Russet potatoes, sliced into disks 1/8 inch thick
1 cup heavy cream
1.5 cups kale, torn into bite sized pieces
Salt, black pepper or crushed red pepper to taste
Shaved Parmesan cheese for serving

In a large dutch oven or pot, brown the sausage over medium high heat. When no pink remains, remove the sausage from the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside. Cook the bacon in the same pot until crisp and set aside. Drain off most of the grease from the pot and lower the heat to medium low. Add the shallots and garlic and saute, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and translucent. (Be very careful not to burn the garlic!). Add 8 cups of low sodium chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and lower the heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Add in the sausage, kale, and cream until heated through. Taste the broth and season accordingly with salt and pepper. Serve with freshly grated parmesan and crumbled bacon.

(This would be delicious with toasted bread and a big salad. This was the original plan but we were so ravenous from our day in front of the television that we decided to forgo side dishes and dig in.)