Grilled Lemon Pork Chops with Cauliflower Puree and Parmesan Crusted Sweet Potato Chips

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

 Directions:

1. 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.
2. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat. Remove chops from bag to a tray, dicard marinade.
3. 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:

1. 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.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the milk with the butter and bring to a simmer over moderate heat just until the butter is melted.
3. 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.

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BBQ Pulled Chicken and Easy Slaw

This was really quick and simple to throw together, and a tasty healthy meal. Perfect for a summer Sunday like we just had! Using a rotisserie chicken is a great way to make cooking faster, clean up easier and you can find one for around $6- can’t beat that! This sauce is sweet and savory, not thick and overpowering- we promise you won’t miss the fatty pork at all, dig in!

BBQ Pulled Chicken

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 large onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

16 ounces low-sodium tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

5 tablespoons molasses

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke

1 whole rotisserie chicken, skin removed, meat shredded into thin strips (about 4 to 4 1/2 cups)

6 whole-wheat hamburger rolls

6 large romaine lettuce leaves

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over a medium heat. Add the onions and cook until they are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add tomato sauce, water, vinegar, molasses, pepper and liquid smoke and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes. Add chopped chicken, return to a simmer, and cook an additional 10 minutes.

Split rolls. Place a leaf of lettuce on each roll, then pile on 3/4 cup of the chicken mixture onto the roll.

Easy Classic Coleslaw

Ingredients:

1/2 cup nonfat Greek-style yogurt

1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper, plus more to taste

1 (12-ounce) bag broccoli slaw mix

Directions:

In a large bowl whisk together the Greek or stained yogurt, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Add coleslaw mix and toss to coat.

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Sweet and Sour Brisket

We ran across this recipe in our favorite cookbook, The Food You Crave, by Ellie Krieger. It’s slow cooked brisket in a home made, and plate licking, sweet and sour sauce. We bought our brisket at Fulton Market and literally couldn’t wait to prepare this, but it takes some time! So make this on the weekend, and please let us know what you think, because we literally have never tasted any brisket more incredible then this one! We had to share. Some tricks we learned while making this… make sure you have a large stove top to oven pot, like our Le Creuset dutch oven with the heavy lid. Also, you have to let the roast rest and cool down for 45 minutes before slicing it- otherwise it will shread ( which is also yummy but not as ideal for sharing a sliced roast!) Just put the sliced meat back in to the sauce over the stovetop to heat it back up- and it’s perfection!

Ingredients
1 (3-pound) beef brisket, first-cut or flat-half cut, trimmed of any excess fat
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 medium onion, cut in 1/2, then thinly sliced into 1/2 moons
3 cloves garlic, chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
One 15- oz. can tomato sauce, preferably no salt added
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth or water
3 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup golden raisins
5 black peppercorns
1 allspice berry

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Pat the brisket dry and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven or braising pot. Sear the brisket until it is browned, 4 minutes per side. Transfer the brisket to a plate.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pot and cook the onion, stirring a few times, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomato sauce, broth, brown sugar, 1/3 cup of the vinegar, the raisins, peppercorns, and allspice and stir to combine well. Bring mixture to a boil, return brisket and any accumulated juices to the pot, spoon some of the tomato-vinegar mixture over the brisket, cover tightly, and transfer to the oven. Cook until the brisket is fork tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Remove the brisket from the oven, transfer the meat to a cutting board, and let rest for 10 to 20 minutes or, if serving later, cover and refrigerate the meat and sauce for several hours or overnight. When you are ready to serve, cut the meat against the grain into 1/4- inch thick slices. Return the sliced brisket to the sauce until heated through, then serve.

Yield: 10 servings, serving size: 4-ounces brisket plus 3 tablespoons of sauce

adapted from 2007, Ellie Krieger, All rights reserved

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