Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Fried Pork Chop Vegetable Soup










Ingredients
For vegetable soup:
3 tablespoons butter
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon tomato paste
32 ounces vegetable broth
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 large white potato, cubed
1/2 (10-ounce) box frozen corn
1/2 (10-ounce) box frozen peas
5 ounces fresh green beans, cut into bite size pieces
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley leaves

For the pork chops:
Peanut oil, to fry
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon seasoning salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 (1-inch thick) bone-in center cut pork chops

Directions
In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter and saute carrots, celery and onion until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the flour to the vegetables and blend well. Cook the flour until it achieves a slight blonde color. Next, stir in the tomato paste and allow to slightly cook, about 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in vegetable broth while stirring and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat and add the can of diced tomatoes and the potatoes. Simmer until potatoes are cooked through, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the peanut oil in an electric fryer or large pan fitted with deep-fry thermometer to 325 degrees F. In a large casserole dish, mix together flour, and season with salt and pepper. Dredge chops in flour mixture, patting excess off. Place chops, 2 at time, in fryer and cook until cooked through, about 6 minutes. Cool slightly and remove to a paper towel lined sheet tray.
Add the cooked chops to soup and simmer another 30 minutes, or until the meat falls off the bone. During the last 10 minutes of cooking, add the corn, peas, and green beans. Ladle soup into individual bowls, top with a pork chop and sprinkle with parsley.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Dmitri's world famous ribs! (At least in my own head)


Ingredients for bbq sauce:
1/4 cup Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
½ cup ketchup
½ cup pineapple juice
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1/8 teaspoon Chipotle Chili Pepper Powder
(Chipotle add’s a smoked flavor and is spicy hot.)
4 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoon Plum sauce. Subsitutes; 2 tablespoon duck sauce or 1-1/2 tablespoon Juice of 1 wedge of fresh Lime
1 cup brown sugar (brown sugar contains molasses.)
Pinch of garlic powder
Water to thin as needed


Method:
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer and stir until well blended, about 10 minutes. Let finished sauce cool until just warm before pouring into a well washed GLASS JAR; closed tightly with a lid. Refrigerate overnight to age. Next day stir and brush some sauce over ribs/meats/poulty after they are nearly cooked (sauce will blacken and burn if you add it too soon.) Use the rest of the sauce to serve each person a dip-on-the-side.


Cooking Ribs:

Tightly wrap each slab of ribs in tin foil, add 2 tablespoon vinegar with 1/3 cup water before wrapping and creasing the tinfoil so steam does not escape. Grill at 350-F-375-F for 40-60 minutes and longer until cooked tender. Poke through tin foil with a fork to see if meat is very tender between the bones.
After ribs are cooked, open the tin foil very wide so all of the rib slab is exposed to your oven broiler OR remove them from tin foil to finish them on your barbecue grill. Brush top of exposed ribs well with sauce including tips of bones, keep a vigilant watch to avoid sauce from burning overly black, ribs should get a dark rich red glazed color and some blackening around the edges is normal, carefully turn the slab of ribs over, baste and glaze that side the same as the first then remove them from oven to cool a little before serving.