A Southern Italian Classic: Pork Chops with Vinegar Peppers

Pork Chops with Vinegar Peppers

These easy pork chops are a great old-school Italian dish.  Super spicy and full of flavor, this is my husband's favorite way to enjoy pork chops, just like his father.  They're so simple–just like all good Italian food, it's just combining a few good ingredients.  Uncomplicated food is often the best.

Pork Chops with Vinegar Peppers
Serves 2
<click here for printable recipe>

1 cup hot cherry peppers
2 bone-in pork chops, about an inch thick
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (add a little salt and pepper to the flour)
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup vinegar brine from cherry pepper jar

1) Slice the cherry peppers.  Wash your hands afterward and be careful about touching your eyes!

Slicing the cherry peppers.  Hot stuff!

2) Season the pork chops with salt and pepper and dredge them in the seasoned flour.  Shake off any excess flour.

Chop, floured

3) Heat the olive oil over high heat in a saute pan and add the chops.  Cook 2 minutes per side over high heat until browned on both sides, then cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium.  Cook for about 4-5 more minutes, then remove to a plate and set aside.

 

4) Add the garlic to the same pan with the drippings and saute over medium-low heat for about a minute, stirring, then add the sliced hot cherry peppers and the brine.  Stir any browned bits up from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, then add the pork chops and any accumulated juices to the sauce.  Cover and cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes.  Serve with lots of water–this is one spicy dish!

The finished dish. Buon Appetito!

Simple Apple Crisp

Really, really good apple crisp.

Jim requested apple crisp for his birthday, so this post is for you, Jimmy!  We brought this crisp to his sister's place to enjoy after some good New York pizza.  It was a great idea.  Often, simplicity is best.  Apple crisp is a whole lot easier than layer cake, or even apple pie for that matter, and I'd venture to say it's just as good (quite possibly even better).

This apple crisp is really easy, homey, and delicious.  I've never baked anything with tapioca before, but the cooks over at America's Test Kitchen say it makes the best thickener for blueberry pie, so when I saw a well-reviewed recipe that used it for apple crisp I decided to use that as a starting point.  Here's what I ended up coming up with, adapted from an apple crisp recipe I found on the Weight Watchers website, believe it or not.  So, it's not too unhealthy.  It's got some good-for-you stuff like apples (duh) and whole oats, along with the requisite butter and brown sugar.  Make it and enjoy it, preferable while still warm, with a little good-quality vanilla ice cream.

Simple Apple Crisp Serves 8
<click here for printable recipe>

8 large apples (Use what you like; I used half Granny Smith and half honeycrisp.)
juice of one lemon
½ cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca (It’s near the pudding in the grocery store.)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon salt

Topping
¾ cup flour
½ cup rolled oats
⅛ teaspoon salt
dash each cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted

1) Peel and thinly slice the apples, then toss them with the lemon juice in a large bowl.

I used a mandoline to do this quickly.  Love that contraption.

2) Add ½ cup brown sugar, the tapioca, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.  Let stand for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice.

3) Meanwhile, make the topping.  Combine the flour, oats, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Drizzle in the melted butter, combining everything well.  Set the topping mixture aside.

4) Spoon the apples and any accumulated liquid into an ungreased 11-x7-inch baking dish.  Cover with foil and bake at 400°F for 30 minutes.  

Cute kitchen timer, beloved housewarming gift.

5) Take the apple mixture out of the oven, but don’t turn it off.  Remove the foil and crumble the topping mixture evenly over the hot apples.  Return to the oven, uncovered, for 35-40 minutes more.  Let cool for 2 hours before serving.  Tastes great at any temperature, on its own or with whipped cream, lightly sweetened Greek yogurt, or vanilla ice cream (of course).

Place a baking sheet underneath the crisp to catch anything that bubbles over.
It's getting delicious in there!

The filling bakes into this luscious caramel sauce. Oh, yeah. 

Happy Birthday, Jimmy!  Love you!

Healthier Shepherd's Pie with Turkey & Sweet Potatoes

This time of year we all want hearty, filling foods (who wants a grilled chicken salad when it feels like 13 degrees outside?). And yet, all of us are likely to have overindulged just a bit (or more) during all those holiday celebrations.  It's possible to be satisfied while still eating healthy, and this recipe proves it!  Ground turkey replaces beef and fiber- and vitamin-rich sweet potatoes replace regular spuds in my healthier version of the traditional shepherd's pie recipe.

This recipe makes two big casseroles, but you can easily cut it in half to suit your needs.  It makes a nice lunch to tote along to work, so we like to make it in quantity so as to make it last all week for the two of us.  It's also freezable--you can assemble everything in a glass baking dish before baking, wrap it tightly, then thaw in the refrigerator overnight before baking as directed.  Each casserole serves about 6, depending on how big your appetite is! 

Shepherd's Pie with Ground Turkey and Sweet Potatoes
Makes 2 casseroles, each casserole serves 6–8 people
Click here for printable recipe
Ingredients
6 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed, peeled, and cut into large chunks
6 tablespoons butter (remember this recipe serves 12–18, so it's not that much per serving)
about 1/4 cup buttermilk or milk (just to get the consistency of the potatoes right)
1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 or 4 garlic cloves, minced
3 pounds ground turkey meat (turkey breast may come out too dry--I use regular ground turkey, which includes dark meat and is tastier and more moist. It's also more affordable.)
1 (1-pound) bag frozen mixed vegetables, thawed and drained
2 envelopes dry "classic brown" gravy mix, prepared according to package directions
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Steps
1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Place the sweet potatoes into a large pot and add enough cold water to cover them along with about 2 tablespoons of salt.  Bring to a boil and simmer about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

2) Mash the sweet potatoes with the butter and buttermilk (I just used that because we had some in the fridge.  Any sort of milk or cream will do.)  Season with salt and pepper to taste and set the mashed sweet potatoes aside.

3) Heat the oil in a large saute pan or shallow pot and add the onion and garlic.  Saute for about 5 minutes or until the onion is translucent and softened.  Transfer the onion/garlic mixture to a bowl and set aside.

4) Add the ground turkey to the same skillet and heat over medium-high heat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it browns.  You may have to drain the fat during this process so it browns well (and you wouldn't want to eat all that grease, would you?).

5) After the turkey is fully browned, return the onion and garlic to the pan and add the vegetables, gravy and Worcestershire sauce.  Stir well, then pour the meat mixture into 2 baking dishes.

6) Top the meat with the potatoes, spreading them evenly and gently. Now your casseroles may look like cakes with orange frosting!

To add a little texture, gently press the tines of a fork all over the potatoes to make some nice little grooves.  

Now sprinkle the Parmesan on top and bake for about half an hour, until the filling gets nice and bubbly.  Speaking of bubbly filling, don't forget to place a baking pan underneath your casseroles, as I forgot to and we ended up with a smoky kitchen for a little while from the drippings hitting the bottom of our oven.  (Note to self: must clean oven next weekend...)

7) If the tops of your shepherd's pies could use a little more browning, broil them for a few minutes to create a nice crisp top.  Serve right away (after cooling a few minutes), or cool completely, cover and refrigerate for several days.  Individual portions reheat very well in the microwave!

Click here for printable recipe

Easy Homemade Vinaigrette

Making your own homemade vinaigrette is really quite easy, and it tastes so much better than the bottled stuff.  Not to mention, it is so much better for you!  No preservatives or hard-to-pronounce ingredients here!

I like to make my dressings right in a glass jar, as you can easily shake them up and store them in the same container.  We all like easy cleanup, right?

First, add the acidic ingredients.  For this one I used a mix of lemon juice, balsamic, and red wine vinegar.  I typically don't measure, because vinaigrette is all about ratio.  More on that later.

Then add whatever flavorings strike your fancy, like minced garlic, Dijon mustard, minced shallots, fresh or dried herbs...Here I used some minced shallot, Dijon, and of course salt and pepper.

Now it's time to add your oil.  If you don't have a jar to shake it in, use a bowl and a whisk.  I used olive oil.  A classic vinaigrette ratio is three parts oil to one part vinegar, but I prefer my dressing a little on the vinegary side, so my ratio is usually more like 2:1.

Now the fun part: shake, shake, shake it up (but make sure you close it tightly first!)  Now taste it to make sure your seasonings are correct.  If it's too tangy, add more oil.  If you want it tangier, add more vinegar.  

And there you have it.  Easy homemade dressing to dress your fresh salads.  Store it in the fridge for about a week (if you didn't add any fresh elements like garlic or shallots, it will keep longer.)  Enjoy!