mojo pork

It may be because it's Groundhog's Day and I'm told winter's almost over, or how much Dexter I've been watching lately, but I'm in the mood for some citrusy Cuban food. I've always wanted to try to make mojo, and I'm expiramenting on a small scale since it's a Wednesday and only two of us will be eating. I made the marinade last night, then added garlic this morning. Below is my method so far... will add cooking methods and reviews later...
Ingredients:
2 boneless pork chops
3 large oranges
2 limes
6 cloves garlic, divided (4 crushed, 2 sliced into little spears)
1/4 white onion, sliced

Directions:
Juice two of the oranges and zest half of the third into a sauce pan. Squeeze in the two limes, add the crushed garlic cloves and the onion slices and cook until reduced in half. Squeeze in the third orange and salt to taste. Once cool, poor over the pork in a bag or shallow dish and marinate over night. In the morning, flip the pork chops and with a skewer, poke holes in the meat and insert the garlic spears to fill the holes. Put back in the marinade.


Here's the rest!

Take the chops out of the marinade and pat dry. Salt and pepper and then sear them in a hot skillet w/ some olive oil. Take out the chops and pour the marinade and a little water into the pan and scrape up the brown bits. Put the chops back in and cook about 5-10 minutes each side. Serve them with some sauce on top.

These were really tasty and a great, new way way to have pork chops. They had a citrusy, fresh taste and the sauce was a sort of citrus gravy. I served it with a slice of orange and a slice of lime.

best oyster deal

I've written about Fish before, but I just wanted to do a quick post about their amazing Red, White, and Blue deal. For $8, you get 6 clams or blue point oysters and a glass of red or white house wine or a PBR on tap. It's a great place to meet for a drink or for a tasty dinner - tonight I got the oysters and mussels in a lemongrass broth, yum! Super buttery and delicious and great, crispy fries.

BYOB Thai

(This restaurant has moved across the street and changed its name to Potjanee, and has also acquired a liquor license. Still a great spot, but no longer BYO)



Having a delicious dinner at Morakote Siam on Carmine. It's my favorite neighborhood standby for cheap food and BYOB - great for friends. The veggie springrolls are amazing. Also love the Thai chili beef.




I also love any BYOB for budget reasons. Try it for a casual dinner.




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snow storm at city bakery

Due to the storm which has turned the city into an idyllic snowglobe, no one has unlocked my office. I went across the street to City Bakery - one of my favorite places - and got myself a raspberry bran muffin. It's super moist and the raspberries give it a great tartness. Thanks Jack Frost.





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Movie Night Dinner

Jamie and I both missed the Social Network when it was out in theatres and wanted to finally see what all the buzz was about for the Facebook film. Result? My scheming movie night. Instead of the regular dinner foods, I wanted to make a movie themed dinner to surprise Jamie when he came home. After debating sliders and milkshakes etc, I decided on corn dogs, garlic-butter popcorn, twizzlers, and root beer. He was psyched, and I’d been craving a corn dog since the first and last one I had which was in 5th grade I think… They’re easy to make and are a great junk food treat.

I got the recipe from epicurious, but halved it.

Corn Dogs

Ingredients:

4 hot dogs
1/4 all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons, divided
About 4 cups vegetable oil, divided
3/4 cups cornmeal
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 large egg
1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons well-shaken buttermilk
Popsicle sticks (I couldn’t find plane popsicle sticks, so I actually bought a box of popsicles and pulled a few out)





Directions:

Grill the hotdogs first to give them a little char and smoky flavor, then skewer them with the popsicle sticks. Dredge them in 2 tablespoons of flour and shake off the rest.

Whisk the cornmeal, ¼ cup flour, tablespoon of vegetable oil, baking power, sugar, baking soda, cayenne, and ½ teaspoon salt. Add egg and whisk, then add buttermilk and whisk. Pour it into a tall glass.





Heat the oil until a little drop of batter sizzles in it. Dip the floured hot dogs into the batter cup and spin them around until coated, then place them in the oil. Once they’re all browned, drain them on a plate with paper towels, top with ketchup mustard etc and enjoy!

Popcorn

Ingredients:

· Unpopped popcorn kernels
· Vegetable oil and olive oil
· Butter
· Garlic cloves, crushed
· Salt





Directions:

Pour some oil into a large pot, just enough to cover the whole bottom. Pour in a couple tablespoons of kernels (you don’t need as much as you think!) Put a lot on it, turn the burner on high, and shake them every once and a while until they all pop. Once the popping slows down, take it off the heat, wait a few seconds so you don’t get kernels popping out, then pour it into a bowl.

Meanwhile, melt a couple of tablespoons of butter in a small sauce pan w/ a few crushed garlic cloves. Keep it on low so the butter melts but doesn’t brown and so it absorbs the garlic flavor. Add a little olive oil then strain out the garlic, pour on the popcorn and salt to taste. (Also good w/ a little fresh thyme if you have it)


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Back again!

I know I've been on hiatus, but now that I have this blog iPhone app I will be posting up a storm! New name, but same recipes and cooking/eating/drinking adventures. In the near future expect movie night dinner, an Indian feast, and great BYOBs. Thanks!!


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Charles Smith, please

First of all, excuse the hiatus! But we're back, and yes, with a new slightly more anonymous monicker.
Jamie and I recently signed up for this Zagat wine club and low and behold we were delivered a crate of various bottles of red wine. When I was asked to choose one, I obviously went for the prettiest bottle, and that was Charles Smith. A 2008 Cabernet. It was delicious! Very smooth and drinkable. I wish I'd taken better notes - it's been a week or two - but I would love to go out and buy a whole case and have it as my go-to red.
After thinking we liked this obscure wine, we found Charles Smith was rated Wine Maker of the Year, so he's not really an underdog. Nevertheless, I'm still as enamored as I was when I thought it was obscure.
(I didn't think to photograph the bottle at the time, so this I just snatched off google)