Kick-@$$ Pork Chops

While Amy may not have cared much for my beef stew, my pork chops, based on this recipe is such a hit that it has been dubbed "Kick-@$$ Pork Chops".

The Players

The Hardware	9" cast iron skillet, well seasoned Meat tenderizer A flat, non-porous surface such as a plastic cutting board Tongs Whisk A piece of foil large enough to cover the skillet
The Ingredients	2 boneless pork loin chops, ~4-6 oz each, ~1/2 in thick kosher salt 1 tbsp flour, plus lots more for dusting and pounding 3 tbsp butter ~ 2 cups chicken broth

The Method

Preheat the oven to 350. Season the meat with a few pinches of salt and let stand about 5 minutes. Dust your work surface liberally with flour, put the pork loin chops on the dusted surface, liberally dust the other side of the pork with flour, then pound the bejeebers out of them with the meat tenderizer, adding more flour as needed and flipping once. Get them as flat as possible (I usually shoot for 1/4 inch or less), and in the process they'll gain a lot of surface area. I have a double-sided mallet, one flat and the other textured. I prefer to smack the chops with the textured side. Once the chops are sufficiently flattened, let rest a few minutes, while you put the skillet over high heat. Melt a tablespoon of butter in the skillet and then brown both sides of one of the chops. Remove to a plate and repeat with the other chop. Remove the second one, reduce the heat to medium, then add the final tablespoon of butter to the pan. Once melted, whisk in a tablespoon of flour, continue whisking for about a minute. Whisk in the chicken stock and let simmer for a couple of minutes. Add both chops back into the pan, making sure they're both submerged in the gravy. Cover the pan with foil, then pop in the oven. Cook for 75-90 minutes. Serve with a side of mashed potatoes (garlic mashed, if you're so inclined).

Makes 2 servings.

15 months

Time is moving fast! Our little girl is 15 months old today. She went to the pediatrician yesterday for her check up/pink eye follow-up visit. (yeah- she had pink eye last week!)

Only one vaccine shot this month and she did very well... only cried for a minute.

The Stats:
weight: 21lbs. 13 oz. -30th percentile
height: 31.25 inches tall- 60th percentile

no head measurement but she is still our little bobble head :)

Cool Site For Today

I stumbled across the site, www.befunky.com, which has sucked up inordinate amounts of my evening tonight. Here's what it does:

Take a picture, such as this freakishly odd picture of some random bald guy I found lurking around my hard drive

Upload it to the BeFunky.com website, and start playing. There are a number of preset styles, most of which have several options, and those options can be customized to a greater or lesser extent. Here are several new images I created in just a few minutes.

How cool is that? Plus, if you do something you really, really like, you can email your family and friends, and if you really, really, really like it, you can order merchandise through their site with your creation.

Duck, Duck, Goose!

A cute little story to share and remember.

Teagan has an alphabet book. It is a favorite because it is a touch and feel book. The letter "D" is represented by two ducklings. When we read the book, I have gotten into the habit of patting both on the head and saying "duck, "duck" and patting her head and saying "goose". I thought it was silly and went onto letter "E". Over the weekend, we were playing the game- Where is your nose? or Where is your belly? Later, when we were reading her book, she automatically put her hands on her head when we got to "D". Hmmm went my memory- so I asked her- Where is your goose? Up went the hands right on her hair. If you ask her where is her head is she has no clue, but if you ask her where her goose is, she consistently goes to her head. It is SO cute. We will need to work on the correct word but for now she is so proud of what she knows that I don't want to break her heart.

Skillet Beef Stew

The last time I blogged about making chili, my good friend, Joann commented that my recipe would have sounded good, if she didn't loathe chili. I responded that I thought it'd be possible to make a few changes to the recipe and get a pretty passable beef stew. Well, I finally got around to taking my own advice and giving it a go.

Bald Man Tom's Skillet Beef Stew, Take One

The Players

The Pan	12" cast iron skillet, well seasoned
The Ingredients	1 lb. "stew beef" kosher salt vegetable oil 1 tbsp butter 3 oz onion, finely diced 2 clove garlic, run through the garlic press 4 oz carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces 8 oz red potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces 1 bay leaf 1 tbsp sage 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1/2 celery stalk, split 2-1/2 c beef broth, plus 6 tbsp 6 tbsp flour

The Method

Season the meat with a few pinches of kosher salt 5-10 minutes before cooking begins. Keat the skillet over high heat. Coat the skillet thinly with oil, then sear the meat quickly on all sides. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside. Lower the heat to medium, melt the butter and sautee the onion for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and continue another minute, or until the onions are soft. Stir in the onions and carrots, cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally 5-7 minutes. Add the meat back to the pan with 2-1/2 cups of the broth, the celery and all the spices, mix and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes. Make a slurry with the flour and remaining broth, then add to the pan and give it a good stir. Cover the pan with foil, then place in a 350 degree oven for 75 minutes. Serve over noodles or rice.

Makes 4 servings.

Notes

I would have added more carrots, if I'd had them. The 4 oz listed was all I had. If you're interested in trying this with other veggies, add your root-type veggies with the carrots and potatoes, and things like beans and peas about 15-30 minutes before cooking is complete.

The Verdict

Not too bad, not too good. Amy didn't care for it much at all, there was something about the flavor that she found off-putting. I think it was probably the sage. I didn't find it overpowering, but I think her tastebuds are a little more sensitive than mine. For myself, I thought there was something missing, but I can't put my finger on it. I'm thinking that sage isn't the right herb for this job, but I'm not sure what I'd use with beef. I'll have to do some reading. Or, if any of you out there in interwebland have any ideas, I'm open to suggestion

Lessons Learned

Lessee:

• Beef broth just doesn't have a lot of taste. I've tried several different brands and styles, nothing really works for me. Maybe that's why I felt something was lacking. I might also consider a combo of broth and tomato juice.
• I think the 6 tbsp flour was too much. I'll cut that in half next time, but I'm worried that it'll be too thin.
• The beef didn't get nearly as tender as I'd expected. I'm going to blame the "beef for stewing" package I got from my local megamart. Next time I'll buy a hunk of chuck and break it down myself.
• I need more practice...

2 month old stats

We were back at the doctor's again today.. This time for the boy's 2nd month check up, oxygen level check and the girl's 10 day ear ache follow up. I am happy to report all is well.

Now for the stats:
Weight: 12 lbs. 5 oz. -50th percentile
Height: 22.5 inches- 25th percentile
Head Circumference: 15.5 inches- 30th percentile