Buttery Pork Chops - Guest Post by Jeremy!

Jeremy likes to visit me when his dad gets on his nerves and/or when he's in the mood to get spoiled and fed well. But the other night, HE made dinner for ME! It was fabulous - luscious, tender, flavorful, sublime. It was consummate treyf ([trayf]= non-kosher), and it was so, so good!

I said, "You should write a guest post for me." And instead of saying, "Meh," he actually agreed! So, after all the pictures, after all the mentions, after all the talking about Jeremy, let me introduce you to him as he shares his inspiration and delicious recipe. He may be 6'3" and 21 years old, but he's still my baby and I'm so proud of him ... :)


Let me start off by saying that I am no chef, but I sincerely enjoy good food. I am also not a gourmet; I'm a 21 year old male and will eat about anything that is put in front of me.

But I believe food can be exquisite without all kinds of sauces like ketchup or mustard or spices, instead using only simple ingredients that will accentuate the flavor of the main source of food in your meal.

I was sitting in my room one day thinking about how much I love meat, but how whenever it's prepared it seems to be drenched in ketchup or other sauces; and I wanted to find a way to prepare a dish where you actually enjoy the flavor of the meat and not what it's soaked in. I decided that I would make a pork chop fried in butter, with diced onions thrown into the pan; according to my rationale and logic, I figured that it would accentuate the flavor of the meat instead of overpowering it.

So in order to make a pork chop like this, you need:

• 1/2 stick of butter
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 3 3/4"-thick boneless pork chops

Turn on your stove and put the butter in the pan. As the pan heats up, the butter will melt and there should be about 1/4" of butter melted in the pan to fry the pork chops in.

Once the butter has melted, place the pork chops in the pan. It should take about 8-10 minutes for the first side to brown to perfection. Then flip the pork chop onto its other side and add the diced onions into the pan. While the pork chop is finishing cooking, the onions will be frying in the butter for the duration of the cooking.

Once the pork chop is done, the onions should be blackened. Place the pork chops on their plates, put the diced onions on top of the pork chops, and pour the remaining butter onto the pork chops.

Now you have a simple and elegant meal that is sure to please. The butter and onions complement the pork perfectly without overpowering it, instead being able to taste the sweet flavor of the pork with accents to the meat that aren't overbearing like a barbecue sauce or ketchup.

I sincerely hope that you all enjoy this recipe and come to love the flavor of the meat instead of relying on a sauce to make the meat palatable.

Take care.

Cranberry Bran Muffins with Orange Marmalade Butter

Sunday mornings, in my opinion, are an ideal time to bake.

And usually I find I want to bake something breakfast-y, since I actually have the luxury of time to loiter in my jammies without having to rush anywhere. I can sip a second cup of coffee, and then enjoy a warm, freshly baked treat along with it.

These muffins are full of nutritious whole grains, but don't present themselves as being terribly virtuous. Moist and delicious, they are exceptional at any time of day but ideal for a lazy weekend morning.

The sweet-tartness of the marmalade butter offers brightness in both color and flavor ... a perfect complement to a weekend treat.

Cranberry Bran Muffins with Orange Marmalade Butter

Muffins:

1 cup bran flakes
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup oil
1 large egg
1/3 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a muffin tin with 8 paper liners.

In a large bowl, combine the bran flakes and buttermilk; let soak for 5 minutes. Stir in the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and brown sugar. Combine the honey, oil and eggs; stir into the dry ingredients. Stir in the cranberries.

Divide the batter among the paper liners, and bake for 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool on a rack.

Butter:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 tablespoons orange marmalade

Combine the butter and the marmalade. Serve along with the muffins.

Makes 8 muffins and 1/4 cup butter.

Confetti Pasta

I recently had a meeting to attend after work, followed by errands. I got home late, and hadn't eaten much lunch; I was quite hungry.

I never resort to fast food, and I didn't want to just grab a bowl of cereal. So what could I make that was fast, but also had some semblance of nutrition?

That old favorite standby, pasta. I had a package of chicken- and bacon-stuffed borsetti (little filled pouches) in the freezer, which I'd bought on sale and saved for a time when I'd need a quick meal. Well, here was its moment to shine!

For color, flavor and health benefits, I sauteed some red pepper, green beans and red onion in a butter and balsamic vinegar mixture while the pasta cooked, then combined everything to finish the meal.

And that was it! Within 20 minutes, I had an elegant and delicious meal so festive that it seemed as though confetti had been sprinkled upon it ....

Confetti Pasta

1 9-ounce package fresh stuffed pasta (i.e.: tortellini, ravioli)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup chopped green beans (1/2" dice)
1/3 cup chopped red pepper (1/2" dice)
1/3 cup chopped red onion (1/2" dice)
1 large garlic clove, minced
parmesan, for serving

Prepare pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, melt together the oil, vinegar and 1 tablespoon butter. Add the salt, pepper, and vegetables; saute for 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until beans are just tender when punctured with a knife. Stir in remaining tablespoon of butter.

Drain pasta, and toss with vegetables. Serve topped with parmesan.

Serves 2 as an entree, 4-6 as a side dish.

Frugal Floozie Friday -- Zingerman's Roadhouse

There's no reason to deprive yourself of some of the very best foods that the Ann Arbor area has to offer just because your budget imposes strict limits upon your dining habits. Yes, you can enjoy the famous Macaroni and Cheese at Zingerman's Roadhouse even if you've been busy watching your pennies and guarding them carefully to make sure they don't escape!

Restaurants often offer smaller -- and thus less expensive -- menu options at lunchtime; and so, Jeremy and I took advantage of this opportunity this past Wednesday. At dinner, the mac 'n' cheese costs $14; at lunchtime, though, it's only $9.50 ... and that means it costs less than $5/person -- the Frugal Floozie Friday limit -- if you share it.

Now, this isn't any ol' Kraft or Velveeta dish -- it's been featured on the Food Network's "America's Best: Top 10 Comfort Foods." Here's how the menu describes it:

Roadhouse Macaroni & Cheese
Housemade cream sauce and lots of 2-year raw-milk Vermont cheddar caramelized with the Martelli family's artisanal macaroni from Tuscany

Well, isn't that just temptation incarnate???

And so, Jeremy and I relished a small-ish but spectacular portion each of the luscious macaroni cheese at the restaurant recently granted the enormous honor of a 2011 James Beard Award for Alex Young, who was named Best Chef: Great Lakes.

I told the waitress that we'd be splitting the dish when I ordered, so it was very graciously presented to us on two plates. We were offered a gorgeous brown bread with a crispy crust that literally crackled when broken; this was accompanied by sweet, creamy (rather than refrigerated and rock-hard) butter.

And you know what? The food was so rich, not to mention so intensely flavorful, that Jeremy and I were both completely and utterly satisfied without feeling as though we either needed or wanted more. Half of the macaroni and cheese was actually the perfect serving size.

In all honesty, I have to tell you that the Roadhouse's macaroni and cheese tasted remarkably like my own; Jeremy and I nearly had to say "jinx" as we said it almost in unison! So I promised to quote him directly after he said: "If you can't get my mom's macaroni and cheese, then you need to come to Zingerman's to get some that's just as good." I'm so proud!

The walls of the Roadhouse are decorated with shelf after shelf of salt-and-pepper shakers, ranging from the tasteful to the cute and kitschy. It's a bit noisy, but we were there right at lunchtime. And the service was impeccable and exceptionally friendly ... everything about our meal was just lovely.

When we were shown to our table, we were also presented with a cheese menu from which we could have selected an assortment offering Parmesan or Cheddar or goat cheese or Maytag Blue ... a wide range, each choice costing anywhere from $2.50 - $4.50. So if we hadn't already had our hearts set on the macaroni and cheese, we could have had a Frugal Floozie Friday option of two-to-three lovely cheeses to try, still within our per-person price range.

And you know perfectly well that this is already on my "to do" list!


Zingerman's Roadhouse
2501 Jackson Avenue
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48103
734-663-3663



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Frugal Floozie Friday: Food and Fun for Five Dollars or Less ... Really!!!