Pork Piccata

Hello friends, I want you to prepare yourself for one of my favorite dishes I make. This is the first meal I ever made for Cayley when we were first dating and I was driving from Oklahoma City to Ponca City where she lived.  I like to pretend that it was because of this dish that we are husband and wife today.  That or because of my phenomenal good looks and intelligence.  Lets stop kidding.  On that day, however, the protein was pan fried chicken rather than pork chops but the result was just as delicious.  This is a dish of my creation and I have tweaked it over the years so I really hope you enjoy it. Who knows, it may land you a wife? 

Pork Piccata

Lemon Butter Sauce:

1/4 cup white wine

5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

5 tablespoons heavy cream

1 cup butter, chilled

salt and pepper to taste

Pork and Pasta:

1 pound dry farfalle pasta

4 pork chops - cut off the bone and pounded to 1/4 inch thickness

2  cups vegetable oil

2 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon dry rubbed sage

3 eggs – lightly beaten

1 cup extra flour set aside

salt and pepper to taste

½ pound bacon

12 ounces artichoke hearts, drained and halved

1 tablespoon capers, drained

Directions:

To make the sauce, pour the wine and lemon juice into a saucepan over medium heat. Cook at a low boil until the liquid is reduced by 1/3. Stir in cream, and simmer until it thickens. Gradually add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time to the sauce, stirring until completely incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and keep warm.

 

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and set aside.

To make the pork, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. In a bowl, stir together flour, panko, cayenne, salt, and pepper. In a separate bowl, coat the pork in the extra flour then dip the chops in the beaten eggs. Lightly coat the dredged pork with the panko and flour mixture. Without crowding, carefully place pork in hot oil. (If necessary, cook in batches.) Fry until cooked through and golden brown on both sides, turning once; about 4-5 minutes per side. Remove the pork to paper towels. In a separate skillet, heat the butter over medium heat.  Stir the bacon and cook for 3-5 minutes. Add the artichokes, and capers into the bacon and continue to cook until the bacon is done.

To serve, place pasta in a large bowl. Stir the bacon mixture into the pasta. Taste, and adjust seasonings. Stir in lemon butter sauce. Toss well, add pork chop on top of pasta and enjoy.

Fry until golden brown!

This recipe is not for someone looking for a healthy meal, but it is incredibly tasty.  Take the time to do most of your prep work before you start. This meal doesn't take a super long time to make, maybe an hour, but as you can see from the picture below, if you want it all to come out hot and together, there will be some multi-tasking.  For best results, grab a helper to stir here or cut there as necessary to relieve the burden.  My gorgeous wife was more than helpful last night in making this wonderful dinner.  I hope you like it as much as my family does.  Just remember, taste is relative!

Four things working at once!

Burger Paradise

Be prepared to have you life changed, friends. Most Wednesday nights, Cayley and I go to dinner with family and friends after we go the our local gym. Last night I was so tired, I told Cayley that I really didn't feel up to the long night of conversation and eating that usually ensues. We still needed to eat so Cayley suggested we stop by a burger restaurant that we had been meaning to try for some time now.  The name is The Cow Calf Hay. That's right, sound it out.  It is a restaurant that had been opened in a different location many years ago under the name of The Mad Cow. As you can probably figure out, trying to sell burgers with the name The Mad Cow didn't go over to well. They closed down and reopened in a different location in Edmond a couple of years later. For my local friends, The Cow Calf Hay is an extension of City Bites, a local Oklahoma sandwich shop, and the decor is just as wild. When you step inside, there are cow pictures adorning the walls, the emergency exit looks like a barn door, there is a sculpture cow rear section stuck in the wall, and there is even a trough that has a mini farm diorama inside of it that has been plexiglassed on top to create the neatest little bar that patrons can eat off of.  

Let me preface this next part with a little back story.  I have been craving a juicy, salty, all beef burger for months now and have been let down time and time again by local spots and fast food joints. That craving was satisfied last night. Each one of their burgers comes in either 1/3 or 1/2 pound sizes and is cooked to order with a side of amazing crispy curly fries or hand battered onion rings.  I went for the Fried Onion Burger that came with, naturally, grilled onions, american cheese, pickle, and my choice of dressings. I decided to add some very tasty smoky bacon to my burger and went simple with ketchup and mustard.  I wanted to cry with joy when I bit into my perfectly cooked burger, but my mouth was so full of burger, no sound came out.  I wish I could remember most of the menu because they do not have a website, and the menu and open times are not 100% correct on urbanspoon. The menu is mostly the same and they are open until 8:00 every night so I'll give you that link anyway.

The Cow Calf Hay

You will not be disappointed. Also, if you are like my gorgeous wife, then you will love that you can add a fried egg to any one of their delicious burgers to make it even more decadent. Red Robin, eat your heart out. You don't even belong in the same league as these guys. Well friends, I hope you make it out to try my new favorite burger spot in town. Just remember, taste is relative!

TV Dinner Night

     Do you remember the days of TV dinners with the entire family in the living room?  Every person had their TV tray and the television was playing those classic shows like "I Love Lucy", "Lost In Space", "Dragnet", or the like. Those days are not over! Mutts Amazing Hot Dogs has a special meal every Tuesday evening called TV Dinner Night.  Picture retro sectioned metal trays with delicious food that changes each week, a television playing classic shows like "I Dream of Jeanie", and a table of family and friends laughing and enjoying life without problems like we did when we were children.  

     Tonight's wonderful TV dinner was fried chicken, a side of mashed potatoes and gravy, a flaky biscuit, corn, and chocolate pudding. I'll be honest with you, when the chicken came out with no gravy, I was a little wary.  There was no need for that. the incredible chefs at Mutts have done it again.  The breading on the chicken was perfectly crispy, incredibly flavorful, and the chicken inside was as juicy as I have ever had.  The mashed potatoes and gravy were amazingly creamy and the corn was loaded with onions and bell peppers.  I couldn't finish flaky biscuit; not because it was anything but perfect, but by that point, I was about to explode and I hadn't even tried that beautiful chocolate pudding.  I don't think I can adequately describe how delicious that pudding actually was.  The fresh cream was accented with what I can only assume was crumbled Oreos all covering a chocolate pudding that was so rich, I couldn't believe it.  I feel so bad telling you about it because the TV dinner changes every week so you will probably never get to try this magnificent creation. If you do listen to this review, as you very well should, and decide to come out on a Tuesday night sometime in the future, I am confident you will find whatever meal they have planned for that night just as amazing as the one we had tonight.  Who knows? Maybe you will run into Cayley and I when you come out. Either way, I hope you love it. Just remember, taste is relative!

Skirt Steak with Roasted Root Vegetables

Tonight, Cayley made an incredible skirt steak with a side of roasted carrots and parsnips.  If you aren't familiar with my wife, you don't know that she is a food magazine addict.  I'm pretty sure she has subscriptions to Rachael Ray, Food Network, Real Simple, we get Food and Wine from a friend at work, and yet she still stops at every grocery store magazine rack for more dinner ideas.  This particular recipe came from the October 2011 issue of Food Network Magazine.  Here is the recipe for tonight's incredible dinner.

Skirt Steak with Roasted Root Vegetables

As you can see, the skirt steak was perfectly cooked to a medium rare and the parsnips added a different dimension to our regular roasted carrots. Both the steak and the vegetables were coated in worcestershire sauce, garlic, rosemary, salt, pepper, and olive oil.  This was a very easy to make recipe and is also very easy on the budget.  If you would like to see what we are having for dinner the rest of this week and check out Cayley's blog, click on the link below.

The Italian Scallions

Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

Well, I'm a day behind.  I brought you into my kitchen yesterday morning for some amazing huevos rancheros with the promise for more later in the day. Admittedly, I did cook later on that day, but three incredible hours over a hot pot of gumbo were enough to make this man too tired to blog. You are, however, in luck. I chronicled this delicious journey so you can try it for yourself if you dare. Beware friends, this is not a quick meal, but if done correctly every second will be worth it.  Let me begin by telling you that this is not my recipe.  I have, however, tweaked it a bit for my liking and changed the name to what I find to be more appropriate.  Here is the complete link to the recipe, but don't worry. I'll be sure to tell you what I have done differently.

Chicken and Andouille Gumbo recipe

chicken browning in the pot

The holy trinity of cajun cuisine: celery, onion, and bell pepper

 Almost all cajun cuisine starts with the holy trinity of vegetables. They use onion, celery, and bell pepper in so many dishes.  Always remember, consistency in the size of your chopped vegetables will guarantee that they cook in the same amount of time so no pieces are over or undercooked.  Take the time to chop carefully, the beauty is in the details.


I know, I know, the recipe calls this an etouffee but I just don't agree. There isn't much difference between a gumbo and an etouffee but consistency is the biggest determining factor between the two. Etouffees tend to be thicker and are generally served over rice. Call it whatever you want as long as you call it delicious. Tonight I decided to leave the shrimp out of the regular recipe because if I ever decide to reheat leftovers quickly in the microwave, seafood almost always turns to rubber.  I have used the shrimp in the past and even substituted it for crawfish tails and it is delicious. Again, do whatever makes you happy.  The other change I made was to add almost twice the amount of sausage and use two different kinds.  I used the traditional andouille but also a very flavorful jalepeno cheddar sausage.  Lastly, once you begin to make the roux, do not forget to stir continuously to prevent scorching.  Your roux can go from magic to ruin in a few short minutes if you aren't paying attention. I prefer my roux as dark as melted semi-sweet chocolate.

Beautiful dark roux

This gumbo has such a deep rich flavor that cannot be matched by any instant roux from a box.  It is impossible to mimic the slow developed flavors of freshly browned chicken and sausage.  All those wonderful drippings come together to create the base for you gumbo.  I hope you love this recipe as much as I do. With fall knocking on your door and winter right around the corner, this hearty dish will comfort you and your family for days.  Just remember, taste is relative!

The finished product. Isn't it beautiful

Huevos Rancheros

     Good morning, friends! Today I would like to invite you into my kitchen for a couple of home cooked meals. One of my favorite weekend activities is sleeping in then making my wife's infamous Huevos Rancheros.  I usually can count on Cayley's help for some/most of this dish since it is her own recipe but today she was a little preoccupied with the ticket release of the latest Twilight movie.  Hence, this one was all me, and I have to say, it came out pretty awesome.

For 2 servings, you will need:

4 eggs

1 tsp rice vinegar

2 Tbsp salted butter

1 small can refried beans

Tabasco to taste

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 medium size flour tortillas

sour cream

salsa or picante sauce

     Turn the broiler on in your oven at 500 degrees. Start heating a small pot of water to bring to a boil. While that is heating up, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat and add refried beans.  Add Tabasco (I enjoy about 5-7 good shakes) and cook while stirring for about 3-5 minutes until beans are heated and the butter has been fully incorporated into the beans.  Remove the beans from the heat. Next, place the tortillas on a cookie sheet and place in the heated oven for 1-2 minutes until slightly crispy on the edges.  Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and spread a layer of beans on the tortillas. Continue to leave the oven on broil while you do this as you will use it again later. You may not use all of the beans, it is up to you and how much you enjoy. Cayley and I usually have a little bit of beans left that we save for a little snack some other time.

    The water should be boiling at this time. Add the rice vinegar to the water and turn down the heat to medium low until just not boiling.  Carefully crack the eggs into the water to poach for 3 minutes if you prefer a medium or a hard egg yolk the add 1-2 minutes for cooking time.  You may want to have a slotted spoon ready to strain off any egg white that does not stay with the eggs.  After 3 minutes remove the eggs using the slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain for 1 minute.  Next, carefully place the poached eggs on the beans, 2 per tortilla.  Place the cheddar cheese on top of the eggs and place back in the oven, keeping a careful eye on your huevos. Remove the cookie sheet once the cheese has been completely melted and allow to sit for one minute before transferring to your plate.  

     Now you can dress it however you choose.  I place a layer of sour cream on top the cheese and top it all off with a generous helping of picante sauce. Cayley likes to add fresh chopped green onions or chives as well.  The finished product should look like the picture above.  Once you cut into this masterpiece, the yolk should be perfectly cooked and run onto you plate as pictured below. Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy this wonderful home cooked breakfast. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Just remember, taste is relative!

Happy Marriage

     My wife, Cayley, and I were married July 11, 2010, exactly two years from the day we first met.  The time we have spent together has been incredible and I have learned so much from her about life, love, and especially myself.  I will not presume to know anything about how to make a happy marriage as every couple has a different dynamic.  The only people I can speak for is myself and my wife.  The world is riddled with testimonials of failed relationships where the couples slowly drift apart, losing what was once most precious to them.  They talk of losing the excitement, how it used to be when they were dating, or how the lack of quality time together was their eventual demise.  Cayley and I decided early on that we would set special time aside just for each other so we could keep the flame of passion burning.  This time usually comes in the form of our evening dinner.  Once we both return home from our respective jobs we meet in the kitchen and discuss our days while prepping and cooking our meal.  We have both begrudgingly learned to concede the role of "head chef" about every other night as we are both are very headstrong in the kitchen.  Having a hobby that I can share with my wife every single day is the greatest gift of our marriage so far.  The other way we set time aside for ourselves is in the form of our weekly lunch date.  Every Friday, I pick Cayley up from work around one o'clock and we go on a lunch date. Most days it is to our favorite little Mexican restaurant just around the corner from her workplace called Señor Tequila which is where we went today.
     Once we are seated in our comfy little booth, positioned beneath one of the many beautiful paintings of blue agave fields that adorn the restaurant, we are promptly greeted by our server who waits on us each week.  The usual dance of water glasses, chips and salsa, and our favorite, their phenomenal white queso, ensues while we peruse the menu.  For me, this is a formality, as I always order the same meal every week.  I do, however, pretend to browse the menu so my wife won't feel rushed.  My favorite meal at Señor Tequila is the beef chimichanga with white queso.  After many months of ordering this dish and leaving half of my rice and most of my beans on the plate at the end of my meal, I asked if I would be allowed to order the chimichanga a la carte and they happily obliged.  Today I was particularly peckish so I ordered two beef chimichangas.  The perfectly seasoned tender beef, green peppers, and onions came wrapped in a heavenly deep fried house made tortilla and was smothered in their creamy and salty queso. Please forgive the attached photo. I was halfway through gobbling my first chimichanga when Cayley asked if I was going to pictorially chronicle my meal, as I often do on facebook, before I ate it all. Embarrassed, I slowly put my utensils down and snapped said picture. Even though the dish looks a little one-note, it will take your breath away.  Note of warning: If you don't handle greasy food well or if you are on a diet, do not, I repeat, DO NOT order this dish.  On the other hand, if you are looking to go into a food coma from delightfully deep-fried goodness, look no further.  I hope I have piqued your interest and that you will try this wonderful little hole-in-the-wall for yourself. Just remember, taste is relative!

The Garden Hound

Those of you who know me know that I have an addiction to a local restaurant called Mutt's Amazing Hot Dogs.  I mean, what could be better than assorted meats in tube form? All kidding aside, if you are in the mood for seriously gourmet hot dogs, then this is your place.  I am truly addicted to this establishment. Only two people have earned the fabulous honor of being bestowed with a t-shirt claiming that the bearer had consumed all twenty-seven of their gourmet dogs, and yours truly is one of those two.  If you are a food snob who is huffing at my love for these hot dogs, I will pause and silently lament for you and what you are missing.  Pause... Ok, so tonight I decided I would go for a vegetarian option and have the Garden Hound which is a falafel dog topped with incredible vegetarian chili and optional chopped onions and cheddar cheese.  I know, I know, why would I go to a hot dog restaurant and have a vegetarian dog? Well, for those of you who are falafel lovers, Mutts makes a great version.  This deep fried chickpea based dog has just the right amount of spice and the veggie chili is amazing.  If you are a first timer to Mutts, then I will always suggest their Duck Fat Fries which are hand cut french fries cooked in, yep, duck fat.  Decadent doesn't even come close to describing them.  There is an option for adding truffle oil to the fries but as truffle is not my wife's favorite flavor, tonight we opted to eat them au naturel.  One order is enough to easily feed two to three people.  My wife went for the Primanti dog tonight but as I was busy with a veggie dog and duck fat fries, alas I cannot comment on it for tonight. I can only assume it was as wonderful as the first time I tried it.  All in all, Mutts is a fun filled, retro themed, family oriented, friendly staffed establishment that will remain one of my very favorite Oklahoma restaurants.  I hope you try them out and love them as much as I do.  Just remember, taste is relative!

Blast off

     I don't like mayonaise... except when I do. This statement pretty much sums up my outlook on life. My name is Nick, and I am a strongly opinionated Italian-American man who is married to an amazingly patient and wonderful woman. I form my beliefs from experience but am never too close-minded to change them. When I am not cooking meals at home with my wife, I am out sampling local cuisine; always looking for a suprise. 

     I decided to start this blog because my wife, Cayley,  and I are extreme food enthusiasts and I have enjoyed making, tasting, and talking about food since I was a little ankle biter clawing at my mother's legs in the kitchen.  I knew how to make a red sauce, what my grandma would call gravy, before I could multiply. This is, by no means, a complete history of my life or any kind of credentials for writing this blog. This is merely a brief look into why I love food as much as I do and why I decided to start a blog. I hope you journey with me as I chronicle my life in food. Who knows? Maybe you'll find something you enjoy. Just remember, taste is relative.