Dr Pepper Pork Loin Chops

This was the result of a little brainstorming and thinking...what could I do to jazz up a basic pork loin chop and play on the sweet white flesh of pork.  I've seen Coke used in marinades and chili and stuff, why not Dr Pepper.   Its sweet with vanilla overtones, could be a match with pork.  What did I have to lose right?  Nothing it worked out pretty swell.

Use regular Dr Pepper, not diet. You want the sugar to combine with the salt to create a brine.  Using diet you'll only get a funny aftertaste from the artificial sweetener in Dr Pepper, or in my case, a migraine.

Dr.  Pepper Pork Loin Chops

• 4 thick cut Pork Loin Chops (about 2 lbs)
• 3/4 c Dr Pepper
• 1/4 c olive oil
• 1 t salt
• 1 t thyme
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/4 t fresh ground black pepper.

In mini food processor add garlic, salt, and pepper.  Strip leaves off the Rosemary stem by pulling backwards down the stem across the grain.  Add leaves to mini food processor.  Pulse a few times until garlic is finely chopped.  Add Dr Pepper and oil oil.  Pulse until mixed.  In small non reactive dish or large plastic bag add the pork loin chops and marinade.  Turn over a few times to coat well.

Set aside for 1 hour (no longer as the acid in soda will break down the pork).  Turn chops over every 15-20 minutes to keep well coated in marinade.

Preheat oven to 325F at end of hour.  Heat an oven proof pan such as the Calphalon everyday pan over medium high heat.  Coat bottom of pan with olive oil.  Sear pork chops on one side about 5 minutes.  Turn over and turn off the heat.  Spoon 1 T marinate over each chop.  Cover and bake in oven until they test medium 145F.  About 20-25 minutes.  

Remove from oven.  Place chops on platter and loosely cover with foil to rest.  Use pan drippings to make a gravy from scratch or with the no-brainer stupid easy success every time Ah Bisto gravy mix. If your local groc doesn't carry you can buy it on line at Amazon.

Balsamic Roasted Chicken Breast

File this under stupid easy and incredibly tasty.  Fresh herbs I usually have on hand...dried work just as well.  Just rub them in your hand to crush and activate the oils before adding to the marinade.

Balsamic Roasted Chicken Breast

• 2 lbs Chicken breast halves
• 2 T balsamic vinegar
• 2 T olive oil
• 1/2 t kosher salt
• 1/2 t black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 T fresh thyme leaves
• 1 T fresh minced rosemary

Clean chicken breasts and remove tenders.  Combine balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and herbs in a large non reactive bowl.  Add chicken breasts and tenders.  Toss to coat.  Marinade 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 350F.  Line baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place chicken breasts and tenders in sheet. Pour any remaining marinade over the meat.  Bake about 30 minutes until thickest breast reaches 165F.

Chicken Cacciatore

I live this stuff, my kids actually eat it without grumbling, but whats not to like....chicken.  Red Sauce.  Cheese.  Its all there with some extras that Mom and I like....mushrooms to be specific.

Cacciatore literally means "hunter" and its usually a bird or rabbit the hunter caught and is braised in tomato sauce with the herbs of the woods.  Its really stupid easy cookery too. If you can brown and simmer you can do this.

I use chicken breasts as I can get them dirt cheap at Costco, you can easily sub out thighs and legs and it would be as tasty. Since this is a braise even white meat like the breasts stay moist.

For the mushrooms I go for the cremini or "baby 'bella's"as they are sometimes sold as here in the L.A area. They have a deeper flavor than a button mushroom, but if you can't find them feel free to sub in the easily found button mushroom.

Chicken Cacciatore

• 6 chicken breasts
• 1 small onion diced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 T minced fresh rosemary
• 2 T chopped fresh sage
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 lb cremini mushrooms - sliced
• 2 T dry sherry
• 1 c shredded mozarella cheese
• salt
• pepper
• Olive Oil

In a heavy skillet light coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil (about 2 T).  Salt and pepper the dry chicken.  Sear the chicken in the hot oil until browned, about 5 minutes.  Flip and sear the other side.  Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.

Add onion to pan and cook to translucent. Add rosemary and sage.  Add mushrooms and cook until they start to brown stirring occasionally.  Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer.  Add sherry to deglaze pan, scraping up any browned bits.

Add tomotoes and tomatoe sauce. Stir to combine.  Test for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed.  Nestle the chicken pieces in the sauce.  Add any chicken juices that collected in the platter into the sauce.  Cover, bring to boil and reduce to simmer.  Simmer for 25 minutes.

At end of simmer time remove lid and divide the mozarella evenly and sprinkle on top of the chicken pieces.  Simmer additional 5 minutes to melt the cheese.

Serve the sauce over cooked pasta with additional cheese on top and the cheesey chicken breast on the side.

Marinated Skirt Steak

Skirt steak.  All the rage on Food TV these days and hard to find, and when you do its from either a sketchy ethnic market or one that is uber expensive (got that whole paycheck).  Yippee...I found a good source that is CHEAP...Fresh and Easy Neighborhood Markets (I'm mayor on Foursquare at the Arcadia CA store) finally carries it. CHEAP I can't stress that enough, paid $1.29 lb for the stuff today.  I can buy a few pounds for next to nothing and let the fam feast away on its goodness without breaking the bank.  Not that I have anything against a great aged ribeye, but there is a huge difference between $1.29 and 14.99/lb!

A couple of things to think about. Skirt steak is a tough cut of meat.  It responds well to acidic marinades that break down the tissue.  Cutting ACROSS the grain also makes it much easier to chew and swallow.  The former is pretty easy to do, the latter is even easier is the grain is readily apparent.

The marinade I use here is loosely based on a marinade that is used on a Santa Maria Tri-tip (a cut that's pretty exclusive to CA and some areas of the South Western US).  I used Thai Chili peppers, but a red Jalapeno that is more commonly found can be used to bring in the bit of heat.  The rest of the ingredients are so simple and common it falls into the category of stupid easy.  Do marinate the skirt steak for at least 2 hours so the tissues break down and soften for the best chew and taste possible.

Make your life easy, get yourself a mini-food processor to make whizzing up the marinade a breeze.  Without the task of finely mincing and grating all of this is a chore.  I got a nifty one from Braun that comes with my handblender at Target a while back that does the trick nicely.  And it was cheap and very durable.

Marinated Skirt Steak

4-5 lbs skirt steak
1/2 c balsamic vinegar
1/2 c olive oil
2 red Thai chili or 1 red jalapeno
2 t rosemary
1 small onion, peeled
4 cloves garlic
2 t salt
1 t ground black pepper

Combine vinegar, oil, peppers, rosemary, chilis, salt, pepper, garlic and onion in blender or mini-food processor.  Whiz until blended and solids are finely minced.  Put skirt steak and marinade in a non reactive container and cover.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

1/2 hour prior to cooking bring skirt steak out and let sit at room temperature to warm up for better cooking.  Pre-heat grill to HIGH.  Cook skirt steak to med-rare at most, past medium and it is too chewy, tough and dry to eat.  About 3-4 minutes per side.

Let stand 10 minutes in foil packet.  Cut across grain.