| OK guys, amateur hour is over. This weekend we went over to Simi's new apartment to christen it. Simi (my bff, sommelier, and wiz in the kitchen) told me to pick out a recipe and get the ingredients to make dinner. I totally overestimated Simi's skills and just picked up some pork chops, some cheese, a bundle of strawberries, and a couple of tomatoes and showed up at her apartment. She was like, "um, where is the recipe and what am I supposed to do with this?" Total fail on my part, but her, being as awesome as she is, actually was able to whip up something totally phenomenal from my random assortment of ingredients. I got the pork chops from Arcadian Pastures at Eataly. Eataly is my go to when I haven't planned ahead. They have some great farms, and they will always tell you where their meat is coming from. |  |
No Nuts Pesto
1 bunch basil
1 cup grated pecorino
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1) Place all ingredients except olive oil into food processor and blend.
2) While blending, slowly pour olive oil into mixture. (Simi explained that you do this because you want the oil molecules to break up and emulsify so that the oil does not separate from the pesto when finished.)
1 bunch basil
1 cup grated pecorino
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1) Place all ingredients except olive oil into food processor and blend.
2) While blending, slowly pour olive oil into mixture. (Simi explained that you do this because you want the oil molecules to break up and emulsify so that the oil does not separate from the pesto when finished.)
Pork Chops with Strawberry Onion Reduction
4 Pork Chops
1 container of strawberries, chopped into quarters
1 onion, sliced
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Place onion and strawberries in baking tray. Mix in balsamic vinegar and add salt and pepper to taste.
3) Season pork chops with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning and pan sear about 2-3 minutes on each side.
4) Place on top of strawberry onion mixture and place tray in oven for 15 minutes.
5) Check temperature after 15 minutes. The pork should be cooked at anywhere between 140-160 degrees, depending on how you like it.
6) The strawberry onion mixture at the bottom will probably still be really watery. Reduce it down on the stove top until it thickens to a sauce
4 Pork Chops
1 container of strawberries, chopped into quarters
1 onion, sliced
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Place onion and strawberries in baking tray. Mix in balsamic vinegar and add salt and pepper to taste.
3) Season pork chops with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning and pan sear about 2-3 minutes on each side.
4) Place on top of strawberry onion mixture and place tray in oven for 15 minutes.
5) Check temperature after 15 minutes. The pork should be cooked at anywhere between 140-160 degrees, depending on how you like it.
6) The strawberry onion mixture at the bottom will probably still be really watery. Reduce it down on the stove top until it thickens to a sauce
 |  |  |  Master Chef Sim Sim |