What a title, and what a decadent meal! It’s been a while since we made such an all consuming dinner like this- but warm weather called for grilling out and our meal plan had some tasty recipes for us to use. The pork marinates for 2 hours, or overnight- so plan ahead. The favorite was hard to pick from the trio of yumminess- the crisp cheesy sweet potatoes were perfect bites, creamy cauliflower puree was full of decadent butter and milk set under a perfectly grilled pork chop that was bright and lemony with hints of Dijon and pepper….
I was really excited to make the puree, I love potatoes and have nothing against them, but when I can use a bonified vegetable that tastes just as good and that the baby can eat too- it’s a major win. The recipe I very loosely followed called for heavy cream and 1.5 sticks of butter- we used a bit of fat free milk and 1/2 the butter, it was for cauliflower after all, so it’s balanced- right?
GRILLED LEMON + MUSTARD PORK CHOPS, adapted
serves 4
Ingredients:
2 lemons, juiced ( 1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4- 8oz bone-in pork chops
- In a large resealable bag, combine lemon juice, oil, garlic, mustard, salt, pepper, garlic powder and red pepper. Place chops in bag, seal, and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight. Turn bag frequently to distribute marinade.
- Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat. Remove chops from bag to a tray, dicard marinade.
- Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill pork chops for 5 to 7 minutes per side.
CAULIFLOWER PUREE, adapted
serves 4
Ingredients:
Two 2-pound heads of cauliflower, cored and separated into 2-inch floret
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 cup fat free milk
1/2 stick unsalted butter
salt, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Directions:
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the bouillon cube then add cauliflower florets until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain well. Return to pot over medium high heat and stir for 5 minutes, to dry out most of the water.
- In a small saucepan, combine the milk with the butter and bring to a simmer over moderate heat just until the butter is melted.
- Puree the cauliflower with an immersion blender stick in your pot or in a blender with the warm milk/ butter mixture until smooth, then season with salt and cayenne to your own taste.
THYME + PARMESAN ROASTED SWEET POTATOES, adapted
serves 4
Ingredients:
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 medium sweet potatoes, washed and cut into 1/4″ coins
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves, remove stems and rough chop
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
fresh ground pepper
Preheat the oven to 450′. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large plastic bag, toss the sweet potato coins in the corn starch to coat.
Transfer them to a large mixing bowl, drizzle the olive oil and toss to coat. Add the thyme, salt, Parmesan and a few grinds of pepper, toss again by hand to coat each coin evenly
Transfer the coins to the parchment lined tray in a single layer, sprinkle more Parmesan and cracked pepper if desired, and bake for 20 minutes. Flip all the coins over so both sides get nice and crisp, return to the oven for 25 minutes ( total 45 minutes)
Serve with ketchup, if desired.
Urban Kitchen Blog 