benjerin.com Blog

I made this for dinner last night.  It was so yummy!  The pictures really don’t do it justice.

Rachael Ray’s Spanish Pork Chops with Linguica Corn Stuffing and Cherry-Red Wine Gravy – serves 4

• 4 thick boneless center-cut pork chops, about 2 pounds
• salt and black pepper
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 1/2 cup black cherry preserves or all-fruit spread
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1/2 pound linguica or chorizo, chopped
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 small red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
• 4 corn muffins, crumbled
• 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1/3 palmful
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 pound green beans
• handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Season pork chops with salt and pepper.
3. Heat a skillet over med-high heat.  Add 2 tbsp olive oil.  Add chops and caramelize the meat for 2 minutes on each side.
4. Transfer chops to a baking sheet and put in the oven to finish cooking through, 12 to 15 minutes.
5. Add the butter to the same skillet and reduce the heat a bit.
6. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute.
7. Whisk the wine into the pan and cook for 1 minute.
8. Then whisk in the preserves and 1 cup of the stock.  Season with salt and pepper and let the gravy thicken over low heat.
9. Heat a medium nonstick skillet over med-high heat with the remaining tbsp of olive oil.  When the oil smokes, add the linguica or chorizo and brown it for 2 minutes.
10. Add the celery, onions, garlic, and bell pepper, and season them with salt and pepper.
11. Cook for 5 minutes, then crumble the muffins into the skillet and combine with the vegetables.
12. Dampen the stuffing with the remaining cup of stock and season with the paprika and thyme.  Reduce the heat to low and keep the stuffing warm until it is ready to serve.
13. Heat 1 inch of water in a skillet and add salt and the beans.  Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the beans are tender, then drain.
14. Remove the meat from the oven and whisk the drippings into your gravy.
15. Pile the stuffing on plates with the chops alongside and ladle the gravy over both.
16. Scatter the parsley over the meat and stuffing.  Serve with green beans.

A few notes from Erin:  I used smaller pork chops. I used chorizo, couldn’t find linguica.  Also, I used regular paprika instead of smoked paprika.  I did not use parsley. And although the stuffing was the best part, I feel like the recipe made too much for 4 people.  You may want to plan on halfing the recipe for the stuffing, or plan on having leftover stuffing for another meal.

A close up.

The official announcement: Benjy got a job!  He started work last Monday at a custom frame shop called “House of 10,000 Frames”.  He really enjoys the job so far and is looking forward to learning more each week.

Friday:  We went out to celebrate Benjy’s new job at Athens Steam Company Pub.  Much to our disappointment this has become more of a music venue than a restaurant. Fortunately, since the show didn’t start for another 2 hours, we convinced them to let us in to eat pub food and drink a couple of beers.  Then we went to Five Points Bottle Shop, Benjy’s new beer heaven.  Benjy got his current favorite, Terrapin’s Wake-n-Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout, and a couple new beers to try.  I got Carlsburg Elephant, the beer I would be serving at Sunday’s brew fest.  We thought I should give it a try, so I could attempt to describe to any potential tasters.  We returned home to watch “In Her Shoes“, a movie we both really enjoyed.

Saturday:  The first half of the day was pretty lazy.  At 4 o’clock Terrapin was unveiling their new beer, the India Brown Ale, at a local wine bar called Aromas.  We decided to attend the event.  The firkin keg was pretty small and Aromas was pretty crowded, so we got nervous that we might not get to try it, but the best waiter in the world made sure we each got a pint.  It was good stuff!  Next, Benjy tried a Big Poppa Cherry Stout (by Oskar Blues?) and I munched on some pita with yummy feta and sundried tomato spread.  We didn’t realize the Big Poppa Cherry was 10.5% alcohol until the check read $7.50 for a pint!  We returned home and with a belly full of beer, Benjy took a nap.  I cleaned windows.  Then we ate Chinese.

Sunday:  We stuck the dogs inside all day because the weather called for some nasty storms, then we headed out for the Classic City Brew Fest.  Benjy was asked to help by Blockader, the store where he buys his home-brew supplies.  His table had brochers and homebrew supplies.  I signed up to volunteer through the festival coordinators, and was assigned to pour beer.  My table had Carlsberg, Carlsbery Elephant, Peroni, Erdinger Hefe Weiss and Fuller’s ESB. Benjy and I each got souvenier t-shirts, and Benjy got a couple other goodies.  Benjy ended up getting to sample beer throughout the fest, but I had to wait until the end.  I didn’t sample very many, but I really liked Fuller’s ESB.  It only rained briefly in the early afternoon.  Most of the festival was indoors so it wasn’t a problem, but boy were the doggies antsy when we got home.  The after-party for the volunteers was a cramped little room full of hungry volunteers and beer, beer, beer!  So we grabbed a couple of slices of pizza, a few new beers to try, and got the heck out of there.  We both had a good time, but I wish we had another day to rest before going back to work.