Pork chops, in a mustard cream sauce, sauteed new potatoes and carrots, peas parisienne

 

Well , the photo is a disappointment, but the dinner wasn't!  It was film night at KitchenFairies HQ, and I try to theme the dinner with the film.  The film was "Hugo" ... the connection was that the film was set in Gare du Nord, Paris - so it was French Bistro food.

Also, I have no idea if peas parisienne have any authenticity to them - it's just what I have always called leeks, peas and lettuce cooked this way.

Pork loin chops

Olive oil

Meat seasoning (black pepper, garlic, celery salt, paprika)

New potatoes

Carrots

Butter

Leek

white wine

Little gem lettuce

Garlic

Chicken stock

Dijon mustard

Cream

1.  Rub the pork loin chops with the seasoning and olive oil, set aside for an hour.

2.  Peel new potatoes and carrots, cut potatoes in to quarters, length wise, and the carrots into diagonal chunks.

3.  Wash and shred leeks.

4.  In a heavy frying pan with a lid melt butter (lots ... twice as much as you think you need) and add the potatoes, carrots and cup of water.  Put the lid on and simmer for about 10 minutes.

5.  Take the lid off the potatoes and simmer off most of the water.

6.  Sweat the leek off in olive oil, add crushed garlic.

7.  20 minutes to go ... heat butter and olive oil in a frying pan, when hot add the chops and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side.

8.  Stir the potatoes and carrots, put the lid back on and let them crisp up.  Shake about every 3 minutes to stop them catching.

9.  Remove chops from the pan, add white wine to the pan, with a little chicken stock and a teaspoon of dijon mustard, stir and simmer.  Add cream.  Put chops back into the sauce and keep on a low heat.

10.  Add frozen peas and wedges of little gem lettuce to the leeks, add a splash of white wine.  Simmer for 3 minutes.  Add a drop of cream.

11.  Serve, scoff ... it was delicious!  really rich - but fabulous.

Pork and beans with pasta

 An exercise in using up the veg and pasta oddments.

• Onion
• Olive oil
• Garlic
• Fajita spice mix
• Mushrooms
• Green beans
• Yellow pepper
• Pork chops
• Tomatoes
• Wholegrain mustard
• BBQ sauce
• Sweetcorn
• Flour
• Cannellini beans
• Pasta
• Grated cheese

1.  Sautee chopped onion in olive oil.

2.  When onion is softening, add garlic, spices and other chopped vegetables.  After a few minutes move them to the edge of the pan.

3.  Chop pork into bite sized pieces and add to the pan, stirring so that they get the heat from the bottom of the pan.

4.  Keep cooking for 10 minutes or so, then add chopped tomatoes, mustard, BBQ sauce and sweetcorn.  Stir in.

5.  Add a spoonful of flour to thicken the sauce, stir in until you can't see it any more, then add water or stock.

6.  Simmer for about 30 minutes, adding more water if necessary.

7.  Cook pasta.

8.  Add tinned beans, stir in and heat through.

9.  When it's ready mix pasta into sauce, serve, with grated cheese an dscoff.

Pork chop, mushrooms with cheese, potato wedges and tomatoes

As the omnivore of the household I sometimes get a real treat at teatime - catering for the veg dodger and the vegetarian means I can have a bit of everything!  Today was pork chops in apple juice and mustard gravy for the veg dodger, and cheesy mushrooms for the veggie - accompanied by potatoes wedges, courgettes fried with onions and roasted tomatoes... the veg dodger managed some mushrooms - and there were lots of onions and apple juice in his gravy too ... ha - take that veg dodger!

Potatoes
Olive oil
Onions
Garlic
Pork chops
Mushrooms
Cherry tomatoes
Courgettes
Apple juice
Chicken stock
Wholegrain mustard

1.  Cup potatoes into wedges, toss in olive oil and a little salt.  Bake for 45 mins- 1 hour.
2.  Toss tomatoes in olive oil and salt, and bung in the bottom of the oven with the potatoes.
3.  Do the same with the mushrooms - ie.  in a dish in the oven.
4.  Chop onions and crush garlic, sautee in olive oil.
5.  Remove a spoonful of onions to another pan, add the courgettes 5 or 6 minues before serving - then fry them.
6.  Add the pork chops to the rest of the onions and brown slightly on both sides.
7.  Pour apple juice and stock into the pork chops, add a big spoonful of wholegrain mustard and simmer (about 15 minutes).
8.  Turn the mushrooms over, and add a piece of cheese - return to the oven to melt.
9.  Last 5 minutes - fry courgettes, check gravy for seasoning.
10.  Serve, scoff.