Pork Chops stuffed 3 ways

Pork Chops and Sauerkraut was never my favorite meal growing up. To this day it hasn't been a favorite in my house, either.  My go to when cooking  Pork Chops  has usually been to cook them with  peppers and onions.

While shopping these chops called to me. They were thick cut and I knew that they would be perfect for stuffing.

The stuffing I used was a mushroom, sausage and spinach stuffing. Truth be told everything used for the stuffing was something that was a "must go" in the refrigerator. "must go" is a euphemism for left overs!

I had some left over mushrooms that I mixed with left over sausage and put it in the food processor and pulsed it a few times. To that mixture I added some grated cheese, a wedge or two of laughing cow cheese, ( I absolutely love this cheese) fresh chopped parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

I made a pocket on the side of the pork chop and first stuffed it with the cooked leftover spinach and then stuffed it some more with the mushroom and sausage mixture.

I then heated up my frying pan getting it nice and hot, added 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and 1 tablespoon of butter and browned the seasoned pork chop (salt and pepper) on each side.

Once they were browned, they were cooked in a 350 preheated oven, on a baking sheet for about 25 minutes more.
While the stuffed pork chops were finishing in the oven I deglazed the frying pan using the juice from the sauerkraut and a little touch of white wine. Then I added the sauerkraut and cooked it a little more.

When the pork chops were cooked through I plated the pork chops right on top of the sauerkraut.
It was absolutely delicious. I could have eaten bowls of the sauerkraut, it was that good.  The pork chop wasn't bad, either! In fact, for something made on the fly, it is one of my favorite pork chop dishes that I have ever made!

Enjoy!
xoxoxo
Buon Appetito
Lorraine

A Brand New Year

I can't believe that it has been so long since my last post.
Looking back on this past year has been full of many wonderful moments to reflect on.
There have also been some very emotional raw moments that have taken the wind out of my sails on some days.
I've let my sails flap a little too long without direction.
It's time for me to make a move so to speak and take charge, so, I'm back!
I may not post every day, but I would like to make a commitment to post a recipe at least once a week. Hopefully, for those of you who haven't given up on me you will look forward to seeing my posts come every Monday.

As always I love to hear from you. If you would like me to post a recipe that you have seen me post a picture of on pinterest or facebook, please let me know. I'd be more than happy to share the recipe with you!

Rosemary Lemon Chicken with Artichoke Hearts

8 Chicken Thighs on the bone with skin on

salt and pepper

rosemary 

2 lemons, juiced

2 tsp capers 

4 cloves garlic, smashed

5 cups baby spinach leaves

1 can of artichoke hearts, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup liquid (water or chicken stock)

1/2 cup white wine * optional

In a pan that is large enough to cook all the chicken heat up enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  I cook the chicken on a medium heat level.

Season each piece of chicken with salt, pepper and rosemary leaves.

Place the chicken skin side down in the pan and let the chicken skin get nice and crispy. Let it cook. Do not try to turn it right away.  After about 10 minutes, when it is ready, the chicken will kind of release itself. The skin should be nice and crispy and you should have a beautiful golden brown color on each piece of chicken. Turn each piece of chicken over and continue to cook. Add the smashed garlic to the pan.  Add the juice from the 2 lemons, scraping the bottom of the pan to help it deglaze. Add a little bit of water at this time if needed. Add the capers, wine and artichoke hearts and continue to cook until chicken is cooked through. Depending on the size of the chicken thighs, usually about another 15 minutes.  If you need more liquid add some chicken stock or some water. 

You don't want the chicken to be covered with the liquid, you just want there to be some liquid in the pan.

When the chicken is done, (clear juices runs by the bone) spoon the chicken and it's juices over the spinach. The spinach will wilt, and you will have a delicious tasting dish. It's so easy to make and everyone will enjoy it. 

If you would like to use chicken breasts rather than thighs please adjust the cooking time accordingly.

Buon Appetito

xoxoxo

Lorraine

Wok Wednesdays!

While surfing around the other day I found a blog that I would like to share with you all.  Matt from GreenEatsBlog was encouraging other bloggers to participate in Wok Wednesdays.  If you would like to participate, please go to Wok Wednesdays blog and sign up!

On selected Wednesdays  a recipe will be featured out of Grace Young's cookebook, Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge.

Yesterday was our first Wok Wednesday, with a very simple Stir- Fried Garlic Spinach! This was very fast and yummy. It took me longer to clean the spinach than it took to cook it.

I purchased 3 bundles of fresh spinach thinking that would probably give me the 16 cups of spinach that the recipe was calling for.  I've forgotten what a pain in the a$$ it is to clean fresh spinach. I've gotten very used to the triple washed, cleaned and trimmed spinach that you can purchase these days! haha!

I cut off the bottom of each bundle of spinach.
I filled the sink with the spinach and then ran cold water over the spinach and let the spinach sit. I removed the spinach from the water, cleaned out the sink, there was plenty of sand and dirt on the bottom and repeated the cleaning process. I think I did this 3 times to make sure there was no dirt left anywhere! There is nothing worse than chewing on sand! So when you think it's clean, clean it again!

The Woking part was easy! I heated the oil and waited until it was hot enough, added the garlic and worked quickly so the garlic didn't burn. The spinach was added and tossed and then sprinkled with a little salt and tossed again.

Out of the wok, and into a serving plate, right to the table.
Enjoyed by all!
I'm looking forward to woking again. We'll be making a chicken dish. Check back soon!

Buon Appetito
祝您好胃口
xoxoxo
Lorraine

Super Fabulous Espresso Crusted Stuffed Flank Steak!

Yes, you read it right. Espresso coffee was used to make this delicious stuffed Flank Steak! You are going to want to make this!

I'm not the most masterful at plating my food. That is where a true chef shines! The artistry of plating and making everything on the plate look like something that you can't live without is sometimes lacking when I serve food to my family. Some nights it's all I can do to get it on the plate while everyone is sitting around waiting to eat! Never mind when I grab my camera to take a picture and delay serving the food!
While watching television one day I saw an Italian Chef making a stuffed flank steak.  Never having made one before I was very intrigued. She lost me when she started putting raisins and nuts in the stuffing. However, the idea of making a stuffed flank steak stuck with me, and I decided to play!

 I started with a nice piece of flank steak. Then I made a pocket with a sharp knife and continued to cut through the entire piece of meat. Until the meat was open like a book.

Once I butchered the meat I pounded it to get it just a little bit thinner so it would be easier to roll up.

I seasoned the meat with salt and pepper and put it to the side.
Now for the stuffing!
I chopped up some fresh spinach and a handful of fresh parsley. To that I added some goat cheese, freshly grated parmesan cheese, and a little clove of garlic.

I set the spinach mixture aside and took 2 large portabella mushrooms and chopped them.

Now it was time to stuff the meat.
I spread the spinach mixture on the meat and then added the chopped mushrooms.

I then rolled the meat up, trying to pull it together so that it was tight. You want to roll this like you would a jelly roll.
Then I tied it up as best I could.

Now for the shocker...I rolled the roast in some freshly ground espresso coffee!

In a dutch oven I melted one tablespoon of butter with a tablespoon of olive oil. I seared the meat on all sides.

Once the meat was seared I took the roast out of the dutch oven and added a pint of fresh tomato sauce, 1/2 cup of red wine,  2 - 3 porcini mushrooms,  and some wild mushrooms and let the wine cook off a little. I added the roast back to the liquid.

Cover the roast and finish the steak in a 375 degree oven for 30 - 40 minutes.The temperature of my roast when done was a rare to medium rare.  If you like your meat done to a different temperature keep it cooking in the oven.
I let the meat rest for 15 minutes and then sliced it and served it with the mushroom sauce and a side of ricotta cavatelli that was tossed with the sauce from the meat.

It was a hit! Everyone loved the flavor! The espresso coffee added a hint of smokiness, you've got to try it to believe it!

Buon Appetito!
xoxoxo
Lorraine

Stuffed Pork Chops

I am stuffing everything at the moment and having such a great time doing it. I don't know what it is about eating something that has been stuffed, it's so fulfilling!  Pardon the pun! Anytime I see something stuffed offered on a menu I know I'm usually in for a hearty meal.
There are so many different stuffings you can make depending on what you like to eat.  If you've been following me for a while you know that my family loves sausage. Let's get stuffing!
I started off with a rack of pork. Looks great, doesn't it? I cut the rack into individual chops.

In a pan I cooked the sausage, taken out of the casing with some garlic. After the sausage was cooked thoroughly it was pulsed in the food processor about 5 times.
I let the sausage cool and then added a pound of fresh chopped baby spinach leaves, and a handful of shredded mozzarella cheese. If you would like more cheese, go ahead and add it. I have big hands! LOL!

I added the stuffing to each of the chops and then seasoned the pork chops with salt and pepper.

I made an egg wash by beating a whole egg in a dish. I dipped the pork chops into the egg and then lightly dragged them through the flour, giving them a light dusting on each side. These went into a large frying pan that had a few tablespoons of olive oil and butter in it.  On high heat I seared each side of the pork chop to give it a lovely color.

After searing on both sides they went onto a parchment lined cookie sheet to finish in the oven.

They were baked in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15- 20 minutes on each side, for a total of 30 - 40 minutes. Don't over cook.
They were finished with a demi glaze porcini and mushroom sauce, and served! You can find my recipe for the sauce here.  Enjoy!  We did!

Buon Appetito
xoxoxo
Lorraine

Fritcialing's

Food Crawling with Fritcialing's!
Sound it out!  Fritch -ah- ling! lol and no, it's not a bad word!

When I was growing up my mother would make some dishes that were so simple, sometimes using what was left over from a previous meal. In our house nothing went to waste. It was just her way. She grew up in Italy and was deprived of food. Later on in life she felt the need to make sure we would never be without food, and I have to say that we always had  abbondanza! (plenty)

My mother's parents left Italy, one at a time, to come to America. My grandfather came first, and when he earned enough money he sent for my Grandmother,  Sabina. (we called her Nona Vera.) 

My mother was left in Torino,  Northern Italy with an Aunt and Uncle  along with her two siblings. My mother, Ottavia, was the oldest in her family, and became the matriarch of her little family at the young age of 12.  By the time she was 14 she had become a Partisan, doing what ever she had to do. Sometimes that meant stealing food and other times it meant bombing German trains. She did not have an easy life.

from left to right Frank, Josie and Ottavia 

From what we were told, my mother and her siblings were not always treated fairly by her relatives that they were left with. They were treated as if they were a burden. And I suppose that they were. Food was sparse during the war and the relatives were stuck with three more mouths to feed, probably wondering how they were going to feed themselves. 

My grandparents sent the money to help defray the cost of food for their family, but sometimes the money wasn't spent on food for them.   This is how my mother learned to make something out of nothing.

Today our food crawl is about Fritcialings! 

I know, it's not a word, and if you ask anyone who grew up in my neighborhood, they'll know what a fritcialing is and they'll want one!
The root word is probably frittata.

These were always made with some left over spinach and rice.

I never saw my mother measure anything for these. For that matter, I never saw her measure anything unless she was baking!  I hope my measurements will help you a little. 

Fritcialing's

about 2 cups rice

about 3 cups of cooked spinach

6 eggs

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Vegetable oil for pan frying

In a bowl mix up the spinach and rice . 

Add eggs

mix it all up and add the cheese

Now you can stop at this step  and have a nice vegetarian fritcialing, or you can add some meats to the mixture. My mother added what ever she had on hand, it might have been a piece of chicken, or a piece of steak, nothing went to waste.

I had steak made with mushrooms and onions left over from the other night.  They went into the food processor and I hit pulse a few times.

I used an ice cream scoop to form the patties.

Pan fry the fritcialings for 5 - 6 minutes on each side, on medium heat until they are a nice brown color.

My brother, Mark and a childhood friend, Ed loved eating these with ketchup! I say, no way to that!
I usually have to hide these if I want to serve them with dinner.  I, can be very satisfied with one or two of these and a nice salad.

Buon Appetito
xoxoxo
Lorraine

Stuffed Pork Roast

This recipe for a stuffed pork roast will rock your world. It's actually pretty simple, but it is so scrumptious!
This roast was cut in half down the center. If it hadn't been sliced that way I would have made a pocket to stuff the roast. I almost prefer it with a pocket because it holds in more of the stuffing.
For this recipe you will need

one boneless pork roast
fresh rosemary
prosciutto
olive oil
salt and pepper
fresh spinach
bacon
sliced provolone cheese

Start preparing the roast by season all pieces of the meat with salt and pepper. I like to rub the inside of the meat with some olive oil.
On the bottom piece of the roast layer the sliced prosciutto. We like the smokey flavor, so I used about a 1/4 pound.
Next layer some fresh spinach leaves, pile on as much as you can because during the cooking process the spinach will shrink to nothing, and then top that with some sliced provolone. Use as much as you need!  Season with some fresh rosemary.

Now it's time to tie the roast together. We used thread, lots and lots of thread...I forgot to ask the butcher for some string, and besides, my mother always used thread and it always worked for her, so if  there's no string use sewing thread!  Just don't pull a Bridget Jones and use some funky color that will bleed all over everything! lol

Once you have your roast secured, it's time for the bacon. Just lay your strips of bacon across the top of the roast, so that they cover the top and fall on each side.  Bake the roast at 450 degrees for 15 minutes and then lower the heat to 350 degrees, and cook your roast for approximately 20 minutes per pound. 

For the gravy we simply made an au jus with the drippings from the pan. Yummy!

I regret not taking a picture of the roast before we cut it up and put it on the table. It was so scrumptious! If you look at the next picture you can spot the sliced roast on a serving platter on the table. It was enjoyed by all!

Thanks for stopping in. Have a great day and most of all, have fun in the kitchen!

xoxoxo

Lorraine