i had 45 mins before having to go to work and knowing that it wasn't worth it for me to start studying, i decided that pre-making dinner was a good idea. out comes Essentials and directly to "pork chops" i turn. i don't have any white wine sitting around but i did have some fresh sage, so i decided on Braised Pork Chops with Sage and Tomatoes, Modena Style with Sauteed Broccoli with Olive Oil and Garlic. i thought i'd leave the pork chops to braise on low heat while i was at work and the broccoli should only take a few minutes to sautee once i got back, so, why not?
notes to the wise:
- read through the ENTIRE recipe BEFORE starting it... definitely didn't do that and spent the first 5 mins running around the kitchen like a mad woman trying to coat the pork chop with flour that wasn't read, heat the butter and oil that looked already as if it were going too brown, de-flower and peel the broccoli, set a pot of water to boil and not burn down the building- don't try to do a million things if you don't have the process down pat, but, who was i to know??? they seem to be fine doing it on the tv...
so, after 5 mins of mayhem in the kitchen, i decide to close the water and just deal with it later. the pork chops are read to go into the pan and the fats have been heated to med/high. in goes the chops... brown goes everything in the pan!! and out comes huge smoke!! ahhh!!! what went wrong!?!?! oh, did i mention that i forgot to throw in fresh sage at the same time? oops... fresh sage leaves were plucked and thrown in after the chops had already been in for 2 mins and they immediately shrivled up to burnt-looking things... uh oh... now what? on with the show?
"Cook the chops to a rich brown on both sides,..." ok, so i flip the chops and wait... oops maybe i took the "rich brown" a little too much to heart? i was standing there wondering if i had managed to ruin the dish. i hope not... 15 mins till i had to leave for work :S
i added the rest of the ingredients and can i just say, tomatoes can work magic... they made everything look so perfect. rustic and right. woohoo!! i turned the heat down to low and let them braise for another 5 mins before turning off the heat completely, plating it, taking a picture throwing it back in the pot and heading down to work.
i managed to try a bit right before leaving and it tasted really good actually. but, not very sage-y (i don't think that's a word). maybe i should have tried adding the sage in a second before adding the pork chops to infuse the fats a little before adding the pork. oh well, maybe next time?
p.s. for all the students, this dish is not only affordable (a grand total of maybe ~5$ for 2 porkchop meals) but it's super fast! it took me all of 15mins from beginning to end (and that was even with me prepping the broccoli as i went along). try it out. tell me what you think.
(well, without braising time? but, i didn't really do that and it turned out fine)
i'm going to say that if i tweaked my timing a little, this dish is just so... italy. simple with great ingredients and a warm feeling :) can't beat that on a cold night.
the adventures with broccoli are far less amusing, but not any less tasty. because i was going to let the broccoli sit out for a little while, i did take it out right before it was fork-tender to let the residual heat "cook" it while i was at work. result = perfectly green and crisp broccoli ready for a quick visit to the pan for it's final dressing. YUM! now THAT, is broccoli! :D
Braised Pork Chops with Sage and Tomatoes, Modena Style 
hey, post the recipe. I want to try it :D:D
ReplyDelete...ehy ehy, an anonyms italian is reading u. I m wonder about the result..how was the pork?? The immage looks good! Anyway can i give you suggestion for Pasta e Fagioli? This is the favourite of my "anonymus italian father.." Put "cotiche" (..this one is really difficult to find, is the Smoke fat of the pork") Use it as base oil + cotiche (or pancetta) then put fagioli...without tomatos. FOor pasta e fagioli use mixed type of pasta..tell me the result :-) :-) !!Ehehhe....i remeber when i was young, and my mother was at work, it was the typical lunch when my father was cooking!! Anonymus...
ReplyDeletelolz nice adventure! Try browning at med. Smoke is inevitable when braising. Also, tear up the sage and put it in the flour coating;should provide more flavour. BTW if you like braise pork chops, go for lamb chops.
ReplyDeleteLater Days,
Sol