Pork chops and stone fruit sauce, ain't that shwell

"Pork chops and apple sauce, ain't that shwell..."
-- Peter Brady

With apologies to my kosher, vegetarian and Muslim friends, I love pork. It's not just the other white meat. I have Jewish friends who call bacon the gateway drug to falling off the kosher wagon. Peter's first meal as a carnivore, after close to twenty years as a vegetarian, featured double cut pork chops (at Chez Pannise) and he never looked back. One of the more surprising features of pork is how well it pairs with fruit. Alice, the Brady's housekeeper, knew it. If Alice had to cook in the bathroom, I bet she'd get a nice set of double cut pork chops from Sam the butcher and buy a jar of apple sauce from the supermarket. When I cook pork and fruit in the bathroom, I go for the double cut pork chops, but instead of processed apple puree, how about some fresh white peaches and apricots. Alice might have used the hot plate and pan-fried the chops in melted butter. I go for a lower fat version and broil the chops in my toaster oven. The key to using the toaster oven is not to rush the oven. Let it get hot. You're not making toast. You're broiling pork chops.

Pork chops and stone fruit sauce

Ingredients:
Two double cut pork chops
Olive oil
One or two apricots, quartered
One peach, chopped into 1/2 pieces
Salt & pepper to taste

1. Turn the toaster oven to high broil
2. Lightly coat the chops in olive oil
3. Salt and pepper to taste
4. Once the oven is well heated, throw in the chops and cook for 3-4 minutes (every toaster oven is a bit different, so keep an eye on the chops) until that side is slightly browned
5. Cook the other side of the chops for another 4-5 minutes until well-browned
6. Flip the chops again and cover the chops with the fruit, cook for 2-3 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling and browned


I like serving these chops with steamed broccoli. Broccoli is easy to cook in the microwave. Rinse the broccoli but don't shake off the water. Nuke it for 3-4 minutes. Throw some butter on top of it.

La magia del horno microondas

Within two blocks of my home I have access to the full range of Latin American gastronomy. I can choose between Nicaraguan or Salvadoran pupusas or explore the subtle difference between Honduran and Guatemalan empanadas. I can fine-tune my taste for lomo saltado at either Mi Lindo Peru or Inkas. I can sit down for seafood enchiladas at Las Brisas de Acapulco or just grab a burrito to go at Taqueria CanCun. In this paradise of cheap eatz, why would I ever bother to cook Mexican food in my bathroom? The answer is simple. Latino neighborhoods not only have an amazing range of restaurants, they also have great markets. I can't walk by the towering piles of mangos, platanos, yuca and chayote displayed on the sidewalk without being lured inside. There, surrounded by everything I would need to make tamales, chile rellenos, or pozole I can get overwhelmed. A flash of disappointment comes over me. My eyes are bigger than my bathroom. I don't have the counter space or the equipment to indulge my culinary dreams of a Latin American feast. I need to re-calibrate. Instead of the frozen banana leaves for Oaxacan tamales, I decide on some hand-made tortillas, still warm. Rather buying goat meat for a trial run at birria, I get a slice of queso fresca. I give up a bit of home made pride in setting aside a bag of dried black beans for a couple of cans of cooked beans. The meal I make won't involve simmering pots of aromatic spices or hand rolled anything. Tonight's enchilada dinner will be made entirely in the microwave oven and will take less than 5 minutes to prepare. Does this make it less authentic? Actually, I bet most of the enchiladas served in mexican restaurants are popped into the microwave -- that's why the server always warns you that the plate is hot.

Enchiladas Microondas

Ingredients:
8-12 fresh handmade corn tortillas
1/2 lb - 1 lb queso fresca or panela, crumbled (you could substitute monterrey jack or any other cheese you like, I like the queso fresca because it does not really melt, it stays integral as it cooks)
1 can black beans
1 avocado, peeled and chopped into cubes
1 small zucchini sliced into cubes (optional)
1 tomato, sliced thin
1 pint fresh salsa
Olive oil

To taste:
Chile powder (Pasilla or New Mexico)
Cumin
Cilantro or epazote

The Filling:

1. Drain the black beans
2. Chop the avocado and zucchini
3. Crumble the cheese (and reserve about a half cup)
4. Toss together in a small bowl
5. Add cumin, chile pepper and herbs to taste

Assembly:

1. Spread a bit of olive oil on bottom and sides of a small micro-waveable casserole (8 x 8)
2. Tear or slice eight of the tortillas in half
3. Place a layer of tortillas in the casserole, using the straight edge along the side of the pan. Overlap them as necessary. Cover the entire bottom of the pan. Depending on the size and shape of your dish, you may need to add some tortilla pieces in the middle.
4. Spread slightly more than half the salsa over the tortillas
5. Add the filling
6. Arrange the sliced tomatoes over the filling
7. Cover the filling with tortillas, following the same method as the bottom. Throw a whole tortilla in the center.
8. Cover the tortillas with the remaining salsa
9. Sprinkle the remainig cheese on top

Microwave for 4-8 minutes, depending on how your microwave cooks. The objective is to have the cheese bubbling hot throughout.

Serve like a lasagna.

One Pot Wonders that Look Like Hell but Taste Like Heaven

The fog has rolled in and the wind is whipping over Twin Peaks with vengeance. The Ridgebacks don't want to go outside it's so windy. It feels like the Mistral blasting down from the Alps, but it's just a typical spring evening in San Francisco. Light fare won't do tonight but my hot plate doesn't have the BTUs to make a bouef bourgignon and I left my tagine at Ridgeback Mountain. What's a studio-dwellling foodie to do? It's time for some One Pot Wonders. These are quick and easy meals that require a cutting board, a sauce pan and a heat source. They're all high in flavor, but admittedly low in presentation value.


Lentils & Sausages
I love those little green French lentils. They maintain their integrity in cooking and don't get mushy. They're easy to cook and lately have been easier to find.

Ingredients:

• Four links fresh sausage (I like to mix it up depending on what's available at the butcher: a merguez lamb, a spicy italian, an herbed turkey...)
• One medium onion, finely chopped
• Three cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• Touch of olive oil
• One package of french lentils (lentilles verts de puy)

Preparation:

1. Heat a touch of olive oil at the bottom of the sauce pan on Medium-High heat
2. Add the onion and cook until transluscent
3. Add the sausages and cook until done
4. Remove the sausages and set aside. Leave the onions and the cooking juices.
5. Add the garlic and sautee for a minute, just to soften, be careful not to burn it.
6. Add the lentils and cover with about 3X their volume in cold water and bring to a boil
7. Lower the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook the lentils about 20-25 minutes until water is absorbed
8. Slice the cooked sausages in 1/2 inch circles
9. When the lentils are done, add the sausages and allow to re-heat for a few minutes
10. Serve in a bowl

Moussaka in a Pot

This isn't really moussaka it's just something I made up when I came home from the market and realized that on impulse I had purchased fingerling potatoes, ground lamb, baby spinach and feta cheese without a real plan. The result was delicious.

Ingredients:

• 4-5 small potatoes
• One lb ground lamb
• One medium onion, chopped
• Two cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh mint (if you have it), chopped -- you can substitute italian parsely or do a little of both
• 1 package baby spinach
• 1/2 lb feta cheese, crumbled
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper, chili powder to taste

Preparation:

1. Bring a pot of water to boil
2. Add potatoes and cook til just fork-able done, about 10 minutes (be careful to avoid over-done mush)
3. Drain potatoes
4. Heat a touch of olive oil at the bottom of the pan, add onions and cook til transluscent
5. Add lamb, garlic, chili, and chopped mint. Sautee until lamb is done.
6. Add potatoes and feta and heat until cheese begins to soften (it won't really melt)
7. Add spinach, heating until spinach is wilted but not dissolving
8. Serve in bowls