BBQ Pork Chops

Almost every Saturday morning, sometime between 10am and 2pm, I find myself perusing around the Douglass Loop Farmer's Market.  And more often than not, I find myself ogling the meats at the Stone Cross Farm's booth.  I've been having a hankering for some bone-in chops lately, but always arrive too late to the booth to get some.  But trust me, settling for the boneless chops isn't that bad.  In fact, it's not bad at all.

You see the chop in the above picture?  That was only HALF of the whole chop I got.  Yeah, the whole chop was practically bigger than my entire plate.  Now, that's what I call a chop.

And the size isn't what gets me reeled in, either... the flavor of the meat is just superb!

And while I was perusing for recipes last weekend, I came across this little gem at Kohler Created.  By far, one of the. best. pork chop. recipes. ever. EVER.

Don't forget to vote in this week's treat poll:





Ingredients:

Adapted from Kohler Created's recipe


2 boneless pork chops (or in my case, one huge one cut in half)
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
juice from 1 lemon
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

In a medium bowl, combine the honey, brown sugar, dijon mustard, lemon juice, soy sauce, and garlic until sugar is dissolved.

Place pork chops in a large Ziploc bag and pour marinade into bag.  Place in fridge for at least 4 hours.

Heat a charcoal grill under medium high heat and grill chops for about 5-7 minutes per side.  Let chops rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

We served this with some leftover homemade macaroni and cheese and some mixed vegetables.  This was the perfect Friday night meal.  So what are you waiting for?  It's Friday night!  And if you're in the Louisville area tomorrow morning, between 10am and 2pm, don't forget to check out the Douglass Loop Farmer's Market for some goodies!  Especially for some Stone Cross Farm's pork chops!

Have a great weekend guys!  We'll be headed up to Indianapolis for a graduation party (and to possibly hit up the outlet malls in Edinburgh on the way up) so don't forget to vote in the poll above to suggest something I should bring with me!

Red Curry Chicken Wings

Happy Monday guys!  We had an eventful weekend, indeed!

I spent Saturday morning handing out water and Powerade at the Derby Festival Mini & Full Marathon!  I saw about 20 or so of my friends running their hearts out (and for those of you I missed, good job on the race!).  Maybe next year I'll get out there and run my butt off... but then again, it may end up being the same weekend of my wedding, and I don't think I need that added stress of a race. 

We also spent Saturday night out at the Waterfront seeing Soul Asylum (yeah, the band from the early 90's).  It wasn't half bad - Andy and his friend Ike had a good time, while me and Ike's fiance Becca just talked about wedding stuff.  We're pretty excited about this upcoming Thursday because there's gonna be a free Cage the Elephant concert out at the Waterfront.  Now that's a band I can get into!  And that I actually know more than 1 song of!

Sunday was pretty lazy for us.  I slept in and decided to ditch spinning class.  I can play hookie once or twice, right?

I'm pretty excited, as well, because our CSA starts back up on Wednesday!  I'll definitely be glad to be getting some fresh and local produce on a weekly basis again!

Speaking of local products, I made a trip to my nearest farmer's market (which happens to only be a block away now - SCORE!) and bought some chicken wings from Barr Farms.  I knew I had to do something funky to them, because honestly... Buffalo-style wings are too "normal".  I need a little flair to my wings!

Ingredients:

1 cup coconut milk
1 & 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon red curry paste
1 tablespoon olive oil
small handful of cilantro, chopped
10 chicken wings

In a medium bowl, combine coconut milk, fish sauce, brown sugar, red curry paste, and olive oil.  Mix until sugar is dissolved and curry paste is mixed throughout.  Stir in half of the cilantro.

Add chicken wings to marinade and coat well.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator.  Marinate for about 4-6 hours, turning wings once or twice.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Remove chicken wings from marinade, shaking off any excess.  Place wings on baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes.  Brush the wings with any pan drippings and flip over.  Bake for another 10-15 minutes, brushing with pan drippings once more. 

Turn oven broiler to high and broil wings for about 1-2 minutes, or until slightly charred.  Remove wings from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes.

Place on serving platter and garnish with remaining cilantro.  Serve with fried rice or with your favorite dipping sauce.  Honestly, they're absolutely delicious all on their own!

These were some of the best wings we've ever had.  Hands down.  I don't know if it was the Barr Farms chicken wings, the marinade, or just a combination of the two.  But seriously, this is a marinade worth trying!

Enjoy the rest of your Monday guys!

Dijon & Smoked Sea Salt-Crusted Pork Tenderloin

Hope everyone that celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday had a great day!  We definitely did!  It was filled with family, laughs, and of course, some amazing food! 

One of Andy's friends works for a food-service distributor and will often stop by Andy's music shop to drop off some goodies.  One of the recent "goodies" that he's dropped off is a sample pack of Char-Crust Dry Rubs.  I've never used them before, and decided to give them a go and was definitely happy with my results!  The rub provided a crispy crust on the outside of my chosen protein, and really did seal in the juices because for once, I didn't overcook a pork tenderloin!  It was the juiciest, tastiest piece of meat I've cooked in a while.  I'd definitely recommend checking out their site!

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend, and if you went out for Black Friday today, hope you got some awesome deals!  Me, I'll just stick with the online shopping for right now, hehe.

Ingredients:
 
1 lb. pork tenderloin
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon oregano
1 clove garlic, minced
1 packet Char Crust - Smoked Sea Salt

In a small bowl, mix together olive oil, dijon, salt, pepper, oregano, and garlic.  Rub mixture over pork tenderloin and let sit in the fridge for about 1 hour.

Pat pork tenderloin dry with a paper towel and spread Char Crust packet onto large plate.

Gently roll tenderloin onto char crust salt to coat evenly.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Heat a large skillet under medium high heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

Add pork tenderloin and cook for about 3-4 minutes per side, or until all sides are a nice golden brown.  Transfer tenderloin to the oven, either in the skillet or place on a baking sheet to finish cooking, about 35-40 minutes, or until cooked through.

Let pork rest for about 5-10 minutes.  Slice into medallions and serve with sweet potato cakes or other desired side!

This was definitely delicious.  The tenderloin was juicy and quite flavorful, with hind notes of the dijon underneath the smoky and salty layer.  I'd definitely recommend this for anyone that's a fan of a juicy pork tenderloin!

Enjoy the weekend guys and see ya back here on Monday!