Porker of a Sunday

As you can undoubtedly deduce, Gentle Reader, if you keep up with my rantings and ravings, everyone here at Chez Boeckman-Walker consumes a lot of chicken. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts to be precise, with a few "chicken tenders" thrown in every now and then to mix things up. But we're a house of white meat eaters.

So you'd imagine, perhaps, that we white meat eaters would naturally consider eating "the other white meat." To which I reply, "What other white meat? Don't tell me you fell for that Pork Council bullshit." Because pork is not white meat. It's red meat. If you need to reeducate yourself, check out this handy site.

But here's the thing: HEB has had pork chops at a pretty compelling price for several weeks, and chicken breasts of the boneless, skinless variety aren't dirt cheap. And they get dull after a while. So I thought I'd change things up at little and experiment with some pork.

No History With Pork
Mum never served us pork chops. Sausage was the only pig product we knew. And may the FSM forever bless J.C. Potter and its excellent sausage.

I think we never had much pork because my parents weren't pig people. They didn't grow up that way on their respective childhood farms, if my recollection is correct. Mum's never talked about hogs on the farm, and I know that Dad in his blue and gold days raised cows. (May the FSM bless dear Devil Boy, where he is.) Our beef-oriented eating seems a natural extension of these animal husbandry habits of my parents' respective childhoods. Or perhaps Mum and Dad didn't like pork. I dunno.

Anywho, my first encounter with a pork chop came at my best friend Joy's house, and I distinctly remember being surprised that the meat wasn't offensively bad. No, that's not a slam against Joy's mom's cooking. She was an excellent cook. I figured that pork must not be very tasty since Mum didn't make it, but I was wrong.

But that didn't mean I've eaten a lot of pork. Or handled it much. I learned a fair amount about proper raw pork handling in freshman-year home ec, but I didn't put it to use when I dallied in raw meat preparation at the grocery store where I worked after school and during the summer from '93 until '95. (Hmm, now that I think about it, AML didn't really offer fresh pork cuts aside from bacon. Perhaps Okiemolah is just not a pork state.)

When I decided to perhaps throw in a little pork into our meals here at Chez Boeckman-Walker, I had to track down some recipes and possibilities. I ended up choosing a recipe that seemed pretty simple appears in the January/February 2009 issue of Cooking Light, which arrived the same day I bought pork chops for the very first time.

Pork Chops Oreganata1 T extra-virgin olive oil
2 t lemon zest
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 t chopped fresh oregano
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 (4-oz.) boneless pork chops
1/2 t kosher salt
1/4 t freshly ground black pepper

1. Combine the first five ingredients in an 11 x 7–inch baking dish.
   
2. Add the chops, turning to coat. Let stand 30 minutes, turning the pork occasionally.
   
3. Preheat the broiler.
   
4. Prep the broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray.
   
5. Remove the chops from the baking dish, and place them on the broiler pan. Discard the marinade.
   
6. Sprinkle the pork evenly with salt and pepper.
   
7. Broil the chops 4 min. on each side or until done.

Nutritional Info
Calories: 168
Fat: 6 g
Sat fat: 1.9 g
Protein: 26.5 g
Carbs: 0.2 g
Cholesterol: 78 mg
Sodium: 283 mg

The Faudie's Futzings

• I used more than 2 teaspoons of lemon zest because the lemon I zested was larger.
  
• I used a lemon-flavored olive oil to help ensure good lemon-age. I figured, hey, if I screw up something, at least it'll be lemon-flavored.
  
• I didn't haven't any fresh oregano. While I considered replacing the oregano with freshly chopped cilantro, I opted instead to use some of the dried oregano that I've had literally for more than a dozen years. One of these days, I will finish that big-ass container I bought at Sam's back in Santa Fe in October of 1995....
  
• I completely forgot to sprinkle the chops with salt and pepper before broiling them. Oh well.
  
• I followed Lumpy's instruction manual and broiled the chops on high for 10 minutes on one side and 8 minutes on the other. Perhaps I should have followed the recipe's instructions:
  
  Before Broiling--
  Aren't they lovely?
  
  
  
  After Broiling Per Lumpy's Instructions--
  Lovely burnt sacrifices I have, n'est pas?

When Life Gives You Lemons....
After deciding on a pork chop recipe, my next dilemma was deciding what sort of side dish to prepare to accompany it. I presented this dilemma to the husband, whose tastes along with the boy's so often determine what side dishes I prepare. I admitted I didn't have too much to choose from--some frozen broccoli, frozen sugar snap peas, frozen soup veggies, frozen peas and carrots mix and frozen peas.

The husband suggested instant mashed potatoes.

I passed on his idea. For starters, potatoes would just be too damn all-'merican. I also didn't want to pair the pork with something heavily starchy.

While showering Sunday morning after kickboxing, I was thinking over the recipe for the chops and thinking about the lemon olive oil I planned to use. That's about the time inspiration struck: What about a lemon and mushroom rice pilaf of some sort? (I was in a mushroomy mood that Sunday morning for some reason, Gentle Reader. Just go with it.) I figured I could find some recipe online to start with and improvise from there.

Fortunately, I found a lemon rice recipe--also from Cooking Light--that I chose to make instead.

Fresh Lemon Rice3 C water
2 C uncooked basmati rice
3/4 t salt
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 T butter
1 t brown mustard seeds
3 T chopped fresh cilantro
2 t lemon zest
2 t fresh lemon juice

1. Combine the first three ingredients in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
   
2. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 15 min. or until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.
   
3. Remove the heat and let the rice stand 5 min. Fluff with a fork.
   
4. Heat the oil and butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat until the butter melts.
   
5. Add the mustard seeds and cook 2 min. or until the seeds begin to pop.
   
6. Scrape the seed mixture into the rice using a rubber spatula.
   
7. Add the cilantro, lemon zest and lemon juice to the rice and stir well.
   
8. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.

Nutritional Info
Calories: 146
Fat: 4.3 g
Sat fat: 1.5 g
Protein: 2.2 g
Carbs: 24.5 g
Fiber: 0.6 g
Cholesterol: 5 mg
Sodium: 309 mg

The Faudie's Futzings

• I used jasmine rice because I didn't have any basmati. And while I use two cups of rice, I only used about 2 1/4 cups of water. Three cups, in my experience, would have been too much.
  
• Salt? No.
  
• Screw the butter.
  
• I used about half a tablespoon of the lemon-flavored olive oil to cook the mustard seeds.
  
• Because the boy hates cilantro, I used only about two tablespoons, even though I had chopped probably four tablespoons' worth. Oh well, we'll have it ready for Wednesday burritos.

Heh, I did a mean thing to the boy when he came trotting through the kitchen as I was putting the final touches on the rice. He spied with pile of chopped cilantro on my cutting board and wailed his usual complaint against cilantro. So I told him no, that wasn't cilantro--it's parsley. And y'know what? The boy ate it.

He bitched about the mustard seeds though. Little fartknocker. At least he ate his chop without complaint, so I guess I scored some victory.

Pretty tasty dish, non?