This was a tough challenge for me because two of my initial ideas had to be scrapped and one greatly modified due to our stable of ingredients. I guess that is why it is called a challenge. Sorry for the abundance of little add on recipes, but they were necessary to make the dishes.
Grilled Pork Chops with CBR Reduction and relish
I thought about stuffing the chops because I do like stuffed pork chops, but in all honesty I think that stuffing for this recipe would have subdued the flavor and the texture. This sauce is really good IMO, so it really pops with that grill flavor. This recipe is for 4 chops.
4 2 inch thick bone in pork chops (marinated overnight in a Ziploc bag with ½ a cup of white vinegar, ½ cup of orange juice, juice of one lemon, 1/8 cup of olive oil, 5 smashed garlic cloves, 2 tbs sugar, salt and pepper)
Spice Rub:
1.5 tbs ground mustard
2 tbs brown sugar
½ tsp old hickory salt
½ tsp curry powder
½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ancho chile powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tbs Crazy janes mixed up seasoning
1 tbs fresh black pepper
Combine together until well mixed.
2 cups of coarsely chopped red beets
2 cups of coarsely chopped carrots
Dried rosemary, salt and pepper
Arrange the beets and carrots on baking pans and sprinkle with salt, pepper and dried rosemary. Roast on 300 degrees until they begin to get fork tender. Remove and let cool.
½ stick of butter
1 large onion medium chopped
4 cloves garlic smashed
1/8 cup olive oil
2 cups of good red wine
¼ cup of vinegar
Put the butter, onion, and garlic in a pan and cook for 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Add the olive oil and cook for another minute. Pour the pan into a heavy bottomed sauce pot and add the wine and vinegar. Meanwhile in a blender add the roasted carrots and beets as well as the juice of 2 oranges. Blend thoroughly. Strain the mixture and blend again. Strain a second time and add this mixture to the wine and onion mixture. Allow this mixture to reach a boil, and then let simmer for 10 Minutes. Take this mixture and blend then strain and return it to the sauce pot. Bring to a simmer and allow to reduce for the next 30-40 minutes, until the consistency is noticeably thicker. Remove from heat.
Relish
1 cup medium diced red beets
1 cup medium diced carrots
1 cup medium diced pears
½ cup medium diced onions
¼ stick butter
salt and pepper
Place all of the ingredients in a sauté pan and cook together until they are all tender.
Remove the pork chops from the marinade and allow the excess liquid to drip off. Pat them dry with paper towels and then cover generously in the spice rub. You want to make a crust to envelop the meat. Grill over medium high heat for 5 minutes a side and then move them off of the flames and let cook indirectly for another 5-7 minutes. Reheat your sauce. Serve with the relish on top of the chop and then drizzle the sauce over everything.
Fennel and Potato Gratin
I would use cheese in this dish, were it available, but due to the limited pantry you are going to need to make bread crumbs. I will include a recipe, but if you want to use your own then by all means do so. These will be served individually in ramekins. This should make 4.
Breadcrumbs:
1 loaf of white bread (crusts removed and sliced)
½ stick of melted butter
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp onion salt
1 tsp black pepper
Lay the slices on a baking sheet and brush butter on them. Sprinkle salts and pepper on each slice. Bake in an oven on 200 degree heat for as long as it takes for the bread to begin to form a crunchy top. When it does flip brush with butter and salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the bread and cut into medium coarse chunks with a knife not a food processor.
1 fennel bulb thinly sliced
1.5 pound fingerling potatoes (peeled and thinly sliced0
½ onion
1 cup milk
½ cup mayo
8 cloves of garlic thinly sliced
1 tsp turmeric
¼ cup flour
Salt and black pepper
½ stick butter (melted)
In a bowl combine the butter, mayo, milk, turmeric, salt, pepper, and flour. Whisk together. In each ramekin, layer the potatoes, fennel, onion and garlic. Press down so that they will combine with each other. Divide the liquid mixture evenly in each ramekin. Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove and add the bread crumbs, then bake for another 15 minutes. Serve hot in the ramekin.
Grilled Pears with Homemade Caramel Crumble
This is a really simple but delicious dessert. You will need to make the caramel, so I am including a recipe for that as well. This is the way in which I have made caramel, except that I use cream not milk. You can just melt butter and sugar together, but I like mine to be a little more fluid to use with other things.
Caramel:
1 cup sugar
¼ cup butter
2 tbs water
2 tbs milk
Cook the sugar and water in a sauce pan until the sugar begins to turn dark. Add the butter and cream and continue to cook and whisk until it has reached a smooth consistency. Allow to cool, store it and re-heat as needed to serve.
Crumble:
1 cup flour
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tbs cinnamon
1 vanilla bean split in half and seeds removed-you only need the seeds
½ stick butter melted
Combine all ingredients until well mixed and lay flat on a baking sheet. Bake at 325 until the mixture begins to harden, and then with a spatula just move it a around so that all parts of the crumble will harden. When you have done this remove and allow to cool.
2 pears halved and pitted
¼ cup of orange juice
¼ cup sugar
Take each pear half and dip it on the cut side in orange juice, then dip it in the sugar. Place on a grill over medium heat and cook for 5 minutes. The sugar will crystallize. To serve, spoon some of the crumble into the pear half, and then drizzle with caramel.
