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Monday, March 14, 2011

Pork Chops & Onions, Peppers, Mushrooms

bittman cookbook0311How to Cook Everything (HTCE) by Mark Bittman, is the latest cookbook added to the Frog & PenguINN’s collection. Bittman formerly wrote The Minimalist, a weekly food column which ran in the New York Times from Sept 1997 to Jan 2011.  This volume is one of over 10 books he’s authored on food and cooking.

This book was FREE – if you read a previous post on book bargains, you  know how I love to find great book deals. This book came from a recent annual book swap, which a friend hosts annually in late February. The only requirements are to bring a covered dish and 5 books AND to leave with 5 books and your dish. It’s a fun afternoon!

Pork Chops with Onions, Peppers and Mushrooms

This recipe was slightly modified from one in HTCE, which didn’t include mushrooms. It was served with roasted veggies and we had leftovers for a 2nd meal.

  • 4 center-cut loin pork chops, trimmed of excess fat
  • Salt & fresh ground pepper
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ C white wine
  • 1 tsp minced garlic OR 2 tbsp scallion
  • 2 C thinly sliced onion circles
  • 2 C stemmed, sliced, pepper (any color but green)
  • 1C sliced mushrooms
  • ½ C chicken, beef, vegetable stock OR water
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice or wine vinegar
  1. Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper. Add 2 tablespoons ofpork chops031311 (1) olive oil and place skillet over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes; Add chops and turn heat to high. Brown on both sides; moving to brown all over.
  2. Reduce heat to medium. Add wine and garlic and cook, turning chops once or twice until wine has evaporated. Add ½ cup of stock or water and turn heat to low and cover. Undercook slightly; turning chops once or twice until they are tender, but not dry. Remove from pan, preheat oven to warm and put chops in warm oven.
  3. Add a bit more olive oil to pan, stir in onions,pork chops031311 (3) peppers, and mushrooms. Cook until vegetables start to brown.
  4. Cover pan and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat. Remove cover and cook, stirring until the vegetables are softened (about 5 more minutes). Moisten with ½ cup stock and cook until most of it is absorbed. Stir in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar, taste and adjust seasonings.
  5. Remove chops from oven, add to pan and cover with pork chops031311 (4)vegetables; re-cover and cook on low for 5 minutes.

Serves 4 or 2 with leftovers for 2nd meal.

We served it with some roasted vegetables of potatoes, carrots, and beets – leftovers from a weekend dinner that Grenville cooked.

pork chops031311 (6)

10 comments:

Lois Evensen said...

Oh, pork chops sound great. That recipe looks is one I'll add to our collection. Thanks!

Connie said...

You did get quite a bargain. Sounds like a great book. I like the idea of your book swap. Must be a fun get-together. :)

grammie g said...

Hi Beatrice I can gain a pound just reading your posts lol

Out on the prairie said...

Its fun to rove through a new idea

MadSnapper said...

yum AND its beautiful to look at to. now you will for sure know how to cook EVERYTHING although I thought you already did know how to cook everything

Anvilcloud said...

Since we haven't heard, I presume you haven't been able to track down that camera that you want yet?

Elaine said...

Looks yummy and one I'll have to try.

martymom said...

What a great looking dinner. I know your cookig is always fab. LYF, Marty

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Glad you all liked the recipe. It was not only easy, but done in a single pan too. The red pepper really added to the eye appeal and next time I'm going to include some yellow as well. Grenville said this one is "a keeper."

DAISY, the book swap is fun and confined to women, all of whom enjoy reading and there's usually some great picks. Book selection is done by a lottery. Everyone draws a number from 1-XX depending on how many are attending. The lower the number you draw, the better your choice. My number was 18 and luckily this cookbook was still available, but the next woman after me told me she was eying it too.

SANDRA, sigh if I did know everything about cooking it would be really easy, maybe this will help?

AC, no haven't got the camera yet - no leads from the earlier post. After watching ebay auctions for a few weeks I've decided to hold off and possibly buy a refurbished one a Nikon approved re-seller - cost is significantly less than new (thanks for asking).

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Thanks Marty :-)