Pork Chops

Pork Chops with Apples and Mashruni Sauce

Get some fresh chops from the grocery store or a butcher.
Place two in a large zip lock bag - do not zip.

Beat the chops with a meat tenderizer of meat mallet so they become nice and soft and increase in surface area.
In a bowl - mix an egg, some milk, salt, pepper
On a large plate - spread some bread crumbs and some flower, add a bit of salt, some finely chopped fresh dill and parsley, add some garlic powder or onion powder if you wish

Dip the chop in the egg-milk mix (drench it)

Flip it around in the crumbs-flower mix
Place it on a pre-heated skillet with olive oil (I used sunflower oil - i like the taste better)

Golden brown it on one side for a few minutes on medium to low heat.
Now do the same to the other side.
Pork cooks fast so you only need about 7-10 minutes on each side.

Throw in a few slices of green Granny Smith apples
Cover and let sit on low heat for a few minutes.
The meat should be white and tender inside, and golden (not necessarily crispy) on the outside.

The Sauce:
Slice an onion and sautee on medium heat with butter and salt in a small pan.
Add one or two green onions (scallions), add some mushrooms (shiitake add the best flavor - dried shiitake are good for this).
Throw in some chopped dill and parsley, some spices and herbs
Salt, pepper.
When the butter is fully absorbed add about four tablespoons of soy sauce.

Let all that sautee and sizzle.
In a bowl mix some stock or broth (beef, chicken or veggie - your choice)
Add a tablespoon of mayonnaise, mix untill the liquid is white like milk.
Slowly add the mixture to the pan
It will take in the soy sauce and sauteed juices and turn brown.

Slowly keep adding the mixture.

Keep the sauce on low heat for a few more minutes.

Taste for salt and spice.

All together this is an amazing meal...its delicious, its juicy and soft and not very hard to make. Everybody loved it, the sauce turned out "magical" according to one guest.

Ribs!

BBQ Ribs made in your Oven

Easy and fast. So good.

Four Chinese style cut Pork Chops ( I got mine at the grocery store - they looked great, fresh, juicy, and it said "Chinese style cut" on the label)
I pre-heated a pan with some oil on it, some salt, and pepper.
Placed the fresh ribs in the pan and lightly toasted them on each side for about a minute.
Now the whole thing goes in the oven.
(use a pan that you can also put in the oven, or just remove the ribs from the pan and place in an oven safe dish)
Drench them in your favorite BBQ sauce (i used three different kinds: Masterpiece, Jack Daniels, and Open Pit)
Keep them in the oven on about 350* to 375*, flipping them over and adding sauce for about 15 minutes.

Done!

Don't keep them in the oven too long so that they stay juicy.
Serve them as they are or add a salad, corn, whatever you're taste desires.

I put a bit of fruit on the side: its good to have something fruity and refreshing to go with the ribs.

Here you see some PASSION FRUIT and a BLACK APRICOT.

These ribs were amazing and everyone ate them up like crazy. And...you don't need a grill!

Enjoy!

French Onion

French Onion Soup

One of my favorite, easy, fast and tasty things to make and eat.

Slice a large Vidalia Onion into 1/4 inch rings.
Sautee in a pan with butter until brown and golden and delicious onion juice and butter have formed a nice coating on the bottom of the pan.

In a pot boil four cups of water.
Add five cups of stock or broth (chicken, beef or vegetable - your choice).
For that real full body taste add four or five beef scallops to the soup.
Add a small whole onion.
Add a small handful of white rice.
Add a Bay Leaf.
Throw in about three black pepper heads.
Salt.
Add a bit of chopped dill and parsley.

Let all of that boil.
Taste for salt.

When the onions are done in the pan:
Add those to the pot. Stir, boil.
And...you're done!

Toast a couple slices of french baguette.
Use the same pan from the onions.
Place the toast in your serving bowl.

Ladle the soup in. Make sure to get a good amount of onions in there and perhaps a piece of meat.

Grate some cheese over the top, or place a nice thin slice right over the bowl. Serve as the cheese slowly melts into the soup. Mmmmm!

(Add flavors and spices as you go: if it tastes to you like the soup could use more flavor, add some more stock or salt, and so on...be creative...don't be afraid.)

Sprats in Green

Sprats or Shprotty in Russian are small oily fish, a sardines of sort, that come in small, round, flat, cans. You can buy those at any grocery or at any Russian grocery store. Look for the Russian black and gold label - those are the best! The Cyrillic resembles these letters: Wnpomu.


Here I simply placed a few on a slice of sweet green pepper wrapped in a thin slice of ham. No big deal. Everyone invents their own snacks all the time.

People cook with these all the time: putting them in almost any kind of dish imaginable. The taste is somewhat smoky. Its delicious!

Buckweat Mushroom

Buckweat with a soupy mushroom sauce and beef scallops.