Pork Chops and Peppers

One of my most favorite bloggers, Tide and Thyme, has been back to blogging lately. Joy!  I didn't change her recipe at all.  And it was absolute perfection.  C's vinegar aversion had completely vanished when I plated this meal.  He ate the entire thing and thought the peppers were amazing.  Well, maybe he didn't use the word amazing, but he definitely loved them.  There wasn't a bite left on his plate.  Even curiouser, he didn't complain about the garlic smell.  Can you believe he asked me to stop cooking with garlic because he hated the smell so much?  Obviously, that isn't going to happen.  I used red and yellow bell peppers since they are sweeter than green.

Pork Chops with Vinegar Peppers

6 pork chops (bone-in or boneless, 1 inch thick)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bell peppers, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
olive oil
salt
fresh ground pepper

Season pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of a large, heavy bottomed skillet. Heat over high heat until shimmering. Add half of the pork chops. Cook for 3 minutes, or until nice and golden on both sides. Remove to a paper towel lined plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Add remaining chops, and repeat process, remove to the plate when cooked.

To the now empty pan, add the sliced pepper. Reduce heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until peppers are beginning to soften. Add garlic, and sauté for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the balsamic vinegar, and scape the bottom of the pan vigorously with a wooden spoon to loosen up fond. Let vinegar reduce until it coats the peppers and is almost syrupy in consistency.

Plate pork chops, and top with the vinegar peppers.

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Crispy Potato Roast

This post is going to start like so many others...I saw these potatoes on Pinterest. And they looked amazing.  I broke out my mandoline and heavily adapted the recipe.  It was the presentation I was after.  I have a things for fancy looking potatoes (Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C.)  These potatoes didn't disappoint, in either the fanciness or the deliciousness.  The original recipe calls for the potatoes to be peeled, which would make them easier to cut and eat.  That being said, the crispy potato skin was my most favorite part of the dish.  My madoline decided that my potato slices were going to be oblong, so I just had one layer of potatoes running along the dish.

Crispy Potato Roast

2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 medium to large russet potatoes
Coarse salt
1 teaspoon dried rosemary

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, combine butter and oil. Brush bottom of an oval 9-inch baking dish with some butter mixture. With a sharp knife or mandoline, slice potatoes into 1/8" slices crosswise. Arrange potato slices vertically in dish. Sprinkle with salt; brush with remaining butter mixture. Bake for one hour. Add rosemary and bake until potatoes are cooked through with a crisp top, about 30 minutes more.

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Best Bread Machine Bread

When I read this recipe on AllRecipes, I was curious. It went against everything my bread machine's manual said to do. And I wanted to try it anyway, what did I have to lose except three cups of bread flour and a little time. Not even that much time, more like ten minutes of active time and three hours of dealing with the house smelling wonderful. Of course C was at the Aggie game, which is a 2 hour drive each way, so the smell wouldn't torture him.  After I tasted this bread, I am unsure that I will ever go back to my bread machine's instructions.  It was perfectly baked. And Miss F has homemade sandwich bread for her lunch all week.

Best Bread Machine Bread

1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 ¼ teaspoons yeast
¼ cup vegetable oil
3 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons salt

Place the water, sugar and yeast in the pan of the bread machine. Let the yeast dissolve and foam for 10 minutes. Add the oil, flour and salt to the yeast. Select the white bread setting and press start.

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