In the Kitchen With Mattie

Archive for March, 2010

I had a small pork roast in the freezer that I wanted to use up, it became

tonights dinner. I usually make a plain roast but Mick wanted something

 different so I came up with this for him. He was a happy man, he has a sweet

 tooth so the apples made him very happy and he has already put in his

request to have it again next time I make pork. I don’t think I need to tell

 anyone how to cook some simple pork chops on one of those little Foreman

 type grills or how to make some fresh mashed potatoes or a plain vegetable.

So I will just tell you how I made the apples to go with the dish. This was a

pretty quick dinner, on the table in under 40 minutes so I would consider it

doable on a work night, or you could make up the apple mixture on a

weekend and just store it in the fridge until you need it and it will be even

faster. The topping would also be great on some ice cream I think.

                          Apple Topping for Grilled Pork Chops

2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into wedges

4 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup  pure maple syrup

pinch of cinnamon

1/2 cup water

Into a medium size saute pan melt the butter, when melted add the apple

slices and toss to coat with the butter, let cook a few minutes and then add

 the water. Let simmer for about 10 minutes and when the water has

evaporated and the apples are soft add the brown sugar and toss to coat the

apples well. When the sugar has melted add the maple syrup and the pinch of

cinnamon and let simmer to blend the flavors. Add the grilled chops to the

pan to coat with the sauce and to heat the chops. The next time I think I may

 even add a few raisins to the mixture for even more taste and texture. It was

 a great accompaniment to the pork.

     Tonights dinner was a pork tenderloin, they are very easy and quick to make so are perfect for those that want a decent dinner quickly after coming home from work. You can find a couple of recipes on this blog for them or all over the net.

     Potato rosti is something old world that we like. They are nothing more than a simple large potato cake that is cut into pie shaped wedges and served with the dinner. You can make them plain or add in your favorite seasonings and other things. The most important thing to learn about them is to not be too impatient, let the bottom get well browned and very crisp before you mess with it to turn it over, not doing this simple thing will most likely result with you have a big pan of hash browns and not a rosti. I normally make these in an old heavy tin lined copper pan but most people don’t have one handy so tonight I substituted a non stick pan that most people do have in their homes. You will need a 9-10 inch heavy non stick skillet about 2-3 inches deep to make this. For grating the potatoes and onions I heartily recomend that you invest in a Microplane box grater (see review on this blog), while not cheap it is a great investment in your cooking pleasure and works much better than any other grater I have ever used, and I have used a lot of them in lots of years of cooking.

                                                 Potato Rosti

4 very large russet potatoes, peeled and washed

1 medium onion, peeled

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

4 tablespoons bacon fat or oil (bacon fat preffered) divided

Into a large bowl grate the potatoes on the large holes of the box grater, when finished grating the potatoes turn them into a strainer and press out all the liquid, when drained put them back into the bowl. Grate the onions on the small side of the box grater, grate them right into the bowl with the potatoes. Add the salt and pepper to the mixture and mix it all up well, I use my hands for this, make sure the onion is distributed throughout the potatoes.

Heat a 9-10 inch skillet over medium heat, when hot add 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat or oil and let that get hot. When the fat is hot add the potato mixture to the pan and press it down very well, you want it as even and flattened out as possible. Lower the heat and cover the pan and don’t disturb it for the next 10 minutes, make sure you have the flame lowered so it doesn’t burn. After 10 minutes remove the lid and lift the edge gently to check on the browning, if it is brown enough take a large flat plate and place it face down over the skillet, in one motion turn the whole thing over at once, be very careful and make sure you are using heavy duty pot holders. Once you have flipped it set the plate with the potatoes aside and put the skillet back on the flame, add the rest of the fat and let it melt. When the fat is melted and heated take the plate and place it next to the skillet, gently with the help of a large spatula slide the potato mixture back into the pan on the uncooked side. Press it down well and this time do not cover it, turn down the heat and let it cook undisturbed for another 10 minutes. Carefully with a thin small spatula try to lift up the side of it to check the browness of it, if it is done to your liking then using the spatula slide it onto a serving plate, if it is not done enough to your liking them let it continue to brown but keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn. Cut it into pie shaped wedges to serve. Some like it with sour cream or applesauce or just plain. I have made it and added crisply cooked chopped bacon to it as it was assembled, also leeks and once in a while sharp cheddar cheese. When adding cheese to it I usually put half the potatoes into the pan and then add the cheese and then the rest of the potatoes, that helps lessen the chance of the cheese burning and creating a burnt mess.

The weather today was just perfect and so I decided it was time to smoke the first meats of the season. I went yesterday and bought two racks of ribs, a piece of brisket and some Boars Head Hot Dogs. The brisket was ground into meat for the burgers, the ribs were given a simple rub of just smoked sea salt and fresh ground pepper. The ribs were put on the smoker at about 10 am this morning and left to smoke for the next 6 hours, they were perfect and came out juicy, tender and the meat had no need to be masked with BBQ sauce. I have to say that I never ate ribs before I got this smoker 2 years ago,I tried, they were always tough and tasted of nothing but the BBQ sauce that everyone usually drowns them in, I do eat and like pork but every time I would try ribs I was sadly disappointed, hubby on the other hand loves ribs anyway he can get them. Since I got this smoker however I have become a ribs fiend! I can’t get enough of them! I also regularly smoke whole brined chickens, whole briskets and sausages, I’ve also done vegetables and just about anything I have tried has come out wonderful. I also love the fact that I really don’t have to stand over a hot grill with a bottle of water to stop flare ups all day in the summer heat down here, loading the lower side of the smoker with lump charcoal and then some pecan wood provides some mighty nice low heat to just about do all the cooking without me hovering over it all day. We also had some potato salad and sliced tomatoes as sides with the meats and Matt came over and enjoyed some after work, he also took some home to his place to enjoy later, and hubby will take some for lunch at work tomorrow. With winter coming to a close it’s time for everyone to get outside and get those smokers fired up and enjoy some great food with little fuss. Even hubby didn’t drown his food with any BBQ sauce today, he said meat prepared this well sure didn’t need it!