Not as veg-heavy as it should be, considering what I have in the chiller. But last night I gave mac n' chee another major upgrade, served with homemade sloppy joes and sautéed poblanos. It was exactly what I craved after a day of chores but I didn't want to dumb down the leftovers with a hot dog or a sammich (I ate the leftover sloppy joe mix with canned beans and some crackers for a quick chili happy time lunch).
I used the last of the strozzapreti and smothered it in smoky, peppery cheese sauce: I stirred a scant 1/2 teaspoon of pimentón into the béchamel and then gooed it all up by folding in handfuls of creamy (local!) pepper jack and a sharp NY cheddar. A generous shaving of pecorino Romano and fried onions on top and in the oven it went until browned and bubbly. Grab fork and commence toe curl.
So you see? Since I had this wonderful stuff with a sloppy fucking joe, I really needed to enjoy the rest of it with something a little classier. Like a tender pork loin chop with braised Pink Lady apples and caramelized onions, with crispy fried sage leaves and a whisper of pink peppercorns (any more than a whisper and you're chewing on a Christmas candle).
And my handsome little male squash blossoms. I still haven't worked up the nerve to fry them! But I did wilt some with sliced squash, minced jalapeño and garlic, a drib of truffle oil and a wince of white balsamic.
You see those fused filaments (quite manly, if you ask me), which support the golden talcum, gamete-bearing anther? Flower anatomy is unadulterated, full-spread, hot sex. And you wonder why I'm a botanist.
Anyways, tomorrow is Project Runway night, and I'm thinking store-bought pizza dough. Ooh! Maybe I'll put corn on a pizza, Japanese-style.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Pork loin chop with braised Pink Lady apples and strozzapreti gratin
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31 comments:
For god's sake, woman, fry those squash blossoms before they wilt! And stuff them with some creamy, dreamy soft cheese while you're at it. Don't you know that I'm living vicariously through you?
Your mac & cheese looks pretty dreamy too. And, I just bought a bunch of those same little pork chops today.
Well you see, Susan, I can just walk out to my back yard and pick another huge bowl of them every day. Hence, the nonchalance.
Holy Paloley! That's a lot of Fing flavors going on.
Heather, I can't wait till oyu cook for me. Mmmmmm.
Leif
Goodness, no need to balance out the class or whatever. I'd be too distracted curling my toes over the sloppy joe and the strozzapreti to care ;) Ah, I see the pork chops and apples have surfaced! (Never used pink peppercorns before. I didn't know they had a... Christmas candley feel to them :)
Haven't you heard? It's not the thickness of the filament, but how well the flower uses it ;)
sexy flowers, great pork chops and a mac and cheese to die for! You may be a botanist but your talents certainly lie in cooking!
Hola Starshine! I've been missing you guapa! I know I've seen a recipe somewhere with zucchini blossoms, but I cannot find it :(. It's one of the things I still have to try. During this holidays I've been eating some gelly made out of violets... touching heaven!!!
What a name!... Strozzapreti - never heard it before - the picture is soooooo inviting :D
ummm... smokey peppery cheesy strozz is definitely hitting my hot buttons...
... then you throw the flower-porn on top? You do know I read this at work right??
Please put corn on pizza tomorrow and blog about it, those two are delish and I would love a great way to combine them. Especially since my hubby is sick of me topping my pizzas with fried egg.
Sage! Genius. I'm doing sausages with apple & onion gravy tonight and I was trying to think it through. Sage is the other thing it needs! Thanks!
Just fry the damn blossoms already! I did it and they were incredible!!! I won't be getting any blossoms for months yet!!! The mac and cheese looks great though.
Those squash blossoms made me blush! I didn't realize veggies could be so hot.
That mac and cheese looks to die for. I wish I could get Sir Pickypants to eat stuff like that. I'd be making mac and cheese every night if he would eat it (otherwise I'd eat a whole pan of it myself in one sitting and it wouldn't be pretty).
You have taken the term "Food Porn" to a whole new level......keep up the good work!
That looks off the charts - as I am sitting here drooling!! What a great meal - I could just dive into that mac and cheese with your special twist!!
Leif - Haha you've been working at Paley's too long. :P The flavors didn't seem like a lot, because they meshed so well. Let's do dinner real soon.
Mark - The pink peppercorns have a slightly turpene aftertaste that can be too much. But a little is nice. :)
Petah - (blushing) I'm an alright botanist. :)
Núria - I think some nice chevre with herbs stuffed inside, then batter and fry the outside, and it's perfect. Or use it like a piquillo pepper. :)
Kittie - I should've given it a NSFW tag. :P
Brittany - Oh you like that, with the corn? Wait 'til you have it with sweet Kupie mayo on top.
Foodycat - Sage goes perfect with pork, apples and onions. And butternut squash.
Judy - Okay, okay, gah. I'll fry them.
Rachel - I don't think I could marry a man who doesn't like mac n chee.
Norm - Heh, I'll try. :P
Cathy - Here, let me wipe that up for you. ;)
That little blossom isn't just any old boy flower. Just look at it's colors... It's a gold medallioned, glittery suited, disco dancing gigolo bloom!
Oooooh, now THAT is one hell of a dinner. My gawd, woman. I would give my right arm for some of those blossoms. Well, ok, maybe not my *arm* (cuz how'd I cook them then?), but you know what I mean. Corn on pizza rocks---as do artichokes, asparagus, spinach, zucch's and shrimp. And pesto. And bananas. (yes, I said bananas--what? Most people like pineapple, why not? lol)
I completely lost my train of thought after seeing the flower porn.
That looks so good Heather! That mac n'cheese looks so good - and homemade sloppy joes???? I need some of those, stat!
Can you hear me now??
I hope so :) 'cause I made some of this strozzapreti-like gratin today. You're rubbing off on me. For real. I quickled and roasted my peppers to put on top. Who knows when I'll post about it. I've got eons of food that I need to post about.
I see pork amaking a dramatic return.Why are you scared of frying?
Hello Heather:
I am a fellow blogger who learned it the hard way that getting traffic for a blog is a very painful process.
After being frustrated for several months, I started a project so that different bloggers can help each other in growing their reader base.
http://blogoxy.com
Blogoxy guarantees to bring more readers to your blog. Take a look and please give me your feedback.
Thanks
~deek
i just caught up on a few old PR eps i missed over the last few weeks. girlicious! suede RULZ! g-g-gaaaaay. but i am, as always, hooked on that show.
as for that meal. i'm sitting here hungry with dinner aqbout 2 hours away and i have no snacks. why i'm torturing myself looking at food blogs, i don't know. that looks delectable.
Yeah baby! Now that's a party on a plate!
Okay... glad I just had a good dinner or I'd be drooling on the keyboard.
Try stuffing those blossoms with a little bacon and some of that (or the roasted tomato) béchamel and chee. Then batter and fry them. Commence full-on happy ending.
It will help you through this difficult time as you strive in vain to bring traffic to your blog.
Nicely done! I've always wondered what to do with squash blossoms (other than stuff them with cheese). Corn on pizza is fantastic, but if you really wanted to go japanese style you'd have to put mayo on it too which is kinda gross. BTW, some how your first comment got caught up in my spam filter, thanks for pointing that out:-)
Need grease for your pole?
God! I've always known that food is sexy, but I just might have to figure out when to let my boyfriend read this post!
Botanist, shmotanist - this is a meal anyone would want to dive into and not come out for a week.
OK, This is one seriously tasty looking orgasmic dish, that has me in a cold sweat. And you clearly got the same response from 27 people in a day! I want to know how you generated this fan base.
I literally wandered on from Gary Allen's monthly updates, and it is really good.
Ken
Tom - That flower is pretty fancy.
Nikki - I love all of those things on pizza. The bananas, I'm having a tough time with. :P
Syd - Having a change of heart, are we? Thinking about switching sides? The flower team could use a girl like you. ;)
Jenn - The sloppy joes are really a special treat. And so good leftover. :)
Nikki - I can't believe you are on my wavelength! Or maybe I'm on yours...
Courtney - I'm not really afraid, I just hate the cleanup and the grease spatter on my whole kitchen. :\
Deek - Seriously, though, you learned the hard way how painful it is to get traffic to your blog? What's the hard way? Did you start turning tricks at the age of 13 to get a little traffic to your blog? Did you ever let your old man work you over real good because at least this way you wouldn't have to blow him? Smuggle some coke across the border in a condom up your ass, all for the sweet, sweet blog traffic? You ain't street.
Amy - I want that cackling cunt Kenley (aka Don Henley) out more than the others.
Donald - Pork on a plate is a party? My kind of guy. :)
Jen - I have a lot of droolers lately. Are you people teething?
Jube - Bacon is the answer to all your problems, isn't it. Bacon bacon bacon!
Marc - Yes, if I had some Kupie mayonnaise I could have all the authentic Japanese food I wanted! I love that soft, squeezy bottle.
Toni - The time to let your boyfriend read that post is when you want some new shoes, hunny. (I'm joking, I totally buy my own shoes. I feel dirtier pretending to be a gold digger than talking about buttsecks for drugs.)
Ken - I can't tell if you're joking or not. 27 comments isn't that much compared to numbers some of these lot get! Thank you for stopping by, though. :)
Ahhh! I made mac and cheese tonight also! Quick mac and cheese. I actually cooked these little whole wheat sea shells in the microwave. I didn't know it could be done. Then I mixed it with a cheesy-bechamel, put it into ramekins, dotted it with cheese and crushed up crackers, and broiled. Why did I write all that? This isn't my blog.
I think what I'm getting at is, mac and cheese is awesome.
Pink Ladies are my apple of choice, so sweet!!! A pox on anyone who doesnt feel Apples have taste!
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