Dinner last night (Thursday 30 April)

Okay. First of all, I finally got my house back! (No, I wasn't foreclosed on.) My son, his girlfriend and her two kids finally moved out yesterday! Hurray! So, I got my house back. (My kitchen too!) Of course the wife and I are going to now have to spend our weekend cleaning from top to bottom. They were not the best house guest, to put it nicely. But they are gone, and now things can get back to normal, at least until the next time they decide they want to move back in!! (I'm going to have a 'No Vacancy" sign erected on my front lawn.)

But enough of that, on to dinner!

The recipe follows:

Rosemary Pan Seared Pork Chops


2 thick boneless pork loin chops (½” in to ¾” thick)
2 sprigs fresh Rosemary
2 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp margarine or butter

Rinse pork chops and pat dry with paper towels. Season both sides with fresh ground pepper.
In a deep non-stick skillet, add the olive oil and margarine/butter and bring to a simmer, (slightly smoking). Add the pork chops and rosemary. Chops should sizzle when added to pan. Brown, turning several times. Cook until done, about 3 to 4 minutes each side. (Internal temperature between 140º F to 160º F.)

Pan Fried Beef and Garlic Potatoes

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp margarine or butter
2 small cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 cup beef stock
2 small Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced thin

In a 3 quart sauté pan, add the olive oil and butter, over medium heat. Once butter is melted and oil beings to smoke, add garlic. Sauté for 1 minute. Add potatoes and stir around in mixture. When potatoes being to brown, about 5 minutes, slowly add stock. Bring to high heat. Stir occasionally. When stock is reduced, remove from heat. Potatoes will have a uniform brown coating.


Lemon Beurre Blanc

1 cup dry white wine
1 small shallot, chopped fine
salt and white pepper to taste
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp heavy cream
1 stick soft whole butter, cubed (4 oz.)
½ tsp white wine or balsamic vinegar


Place wine, shallot, lemon juice and vinegar in a small saucepan, reduce by 2/3. Add cream*, bring to a boil and reduce by ½. Add soft butter, 2 to 3 pieces at a time, to pan, whisking over low heat. Heat pan and remove as butter starts to melt. Move pan around to melt butter. Return to low heat and add more butter. Keep whisking in butter until all pieces are used. Add salt and pepper to taste.

*The purist does not add the cream, however, it helps stabilize the sauce and incorporate the butter.


Pretty quick and easy, once the prep was done it took me less than 30 minutes to have dinner on.

There was one little drawback to the evening however. The chef had more wine than the food did, and ended up with a "slight" hangover this morning! Whoa! It was like the recipe should have gone more like this:

Rosemary Pan Seared Pork Chops


2 thick boneless pork loin chops (½” in to ¾” thick)
2 sprigs fresh Rosemary
2 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp margarine or butter

Rinse pork chops and pat dry with paper towels. Season both sides with fresh ground pepper.
In a deep non-stick skillet, add the olive oil and margarine/butter and bring to a simmer, (slightly smoking). Take a sip of wine. Add the pork chops and rosemary. Take another sip of wine. Chops should sizzle when added to pan. Brown, turning several times. Drink more wine. Cook until done, about 3 to 4 minutes each side. (Internal temperature between 140º F to 160º F.)

Pan Fried Beef and Garlic Potatoes

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp margarine or butter
2 small cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 cup beef stock
2 small Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced thin

In a 3 quart sauté pan, add the olive oil and butter, over medium heat. Take a sip of wine. Once butter is melted and oil beings to smoke, add garlic. Take another sip of wine. Sauté for 1 minute. Add potatoes and stir around in mixture. Take another sip of wine. When potatoes being to brown, about 5 minutes, slowly add stock. Refill wine glass and take a sip. Bring to high heat. Stir occasionally. Sip more wine. When stock is reduced, remove from heat. Take another sip of wine. Potatoes will have a uniform brown coating.


Lemon Beurre Blanc

1 cup dry white wine
1 or 2 bottles of Pinot Grigio
1 small shallot, chopped fine
salt and white pepper to taste
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp heavy cream1 stick soft whole butter, cubed (4 oz.)
½ tsp white wine or balsamic vinegar


Place wine, shallot, lemon juice and vinegar in a small saucepan, reduce by 2/3. Take a sip of wine. Add cream*, bring to a boil and reduce by ½. Drink more wine. Add soft butter, 2 to 3 pieces at a time, to pan, whisking over low heat. Turn up the glass and chug it. Heat pan and remove as butter starts to melt. Refill glass and take a drink. Move pan around to melt butter. Take a drink, and another drink. Return to low heat and add more butter. Keep whisking in butter until all pieces are used. Refill glass and take a drink. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sit down and let someone else serve, you've done enough. Have a drink!

*The purist does not add the cream, however, it helps stabilize the sauce and incorporate the butter.