Cooking Is No Small Thing - Roasted Pork Chops

Thankfully I found time this weekend to do a cooking marathon!  No more freezer meals this week!  I was able to try one new recipe.  I had planned on trying two but I simply ran out of time.  My goal is to make it tomorrow after work... We'll see about that.

So the new recipe that I tried was Mushroom Risotto.  Here are my reflections on the risotto recipe:

1. It requires constant stirring.  Not cool.

2. Porcini mushrooms don't smell good.

3. Despite all of the love tried to put into this dish, it turned out only ok.

4. The best part was the mascarpone cheese (bought from the local foods store).  Holy cow I can't believe what I've been missing all of these years!  I'm going to need to find more recipes with it.

5. My hat goes off to all of those cooks on Hell's Kitchen who succeed at making the risotto.

6. Here's the most important realization:  Risotto is best saved for the pros.  From now on I will not make risotto, but instead order it at restaurants.

7. My risotto recipe is now in the recycling.

Did I mention that I had a cooking marathon?  I also cooked a fabulously tasty and easy recipe that I found a last year.  I highly recommend it.  I just love cooking with wine, especially white wine sauces.  Yes, I enjoyed the inevitable glass of wine while whipping this dish up.  It seems like a great dish to make for a dinner party.  

Roasted Pork Chops

serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 bone-in pork chops (1 inch thick)

kosher salt and black pepper

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

4 cloves garlic, sliced

1/2 cup dry white wine

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large ovenproof skillet (love my cast iron!) over medium-high heat.  Season the pork with salt and pepper and cook until browned, 3 to 4 minutes per side; remove from skillet.


2. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet, along with the tomatoes (cut in halves), garlic, and salt and pepper.  Cook, tossing, for 2 minutes.  Add the wine and simmer until the tomatoes begin to soften, 2 to 3 minutes more.  Nestle the pork in the tomatoes, transfer to oven, and roast until the pork is cooked through, 6 to 7 minutes.  (Remember that the pan is hot.  I recommend using a pot holder when touching it.  This is the voice of experience speaking.)

The recipe suggests pairing the the pork with polenta.  I did quinoa and broccoli instead.  Enjoy!