Grilled Pork Chops with Date and Cilantro Relish

I was happily surprised the other day when I checked my mailbox and found Bon Appetit magazine waiting for me. Who knows how they found me, but I'm so glad they did. I ripped out a bunch of recipes and put them on our fridge. The first recipe I made was the grilled pork chops with date and cilantro relish. It was delicious and more importantly, super easy. All I have to say is Bon Appetit, you've won me.

What you need:

2 pork chops or 1 pork tenderloin (go to Bon Appetit's website for the pork tenderloin recipe) 

* You can use any other meat that floats your boat. It would do beautifully with poultry or lamb.

Relish

3 tbsp. olive oil or avocado oil

2/3 cup Medjool dates, deseeded and chopped into small pieces

2 tbsp. fresh orange juice

3 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Dash of salt and pepper

Marinade

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup chopped cilantro 

3 tbsp. salt

Directions:

1. Get your pork chops marinating to get the meat infused with flavor. Mix all the marinade ingredients together and place your pork in the mix. Refrigerate until you're ready to cook. 1 to 3 hours is the perfect amount of time.

2. Prepare your date-cilantro relish. Mix all the ingredients together and refrigerate.  

3. Remove pork chops from marinade. Dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Mist the grill pan with a little oil and grill away. Getting the grill really hot will make sure your pork chops get a beautiful sear

 

4. Serve with date-cilantro relish on top! 

Lamb Chops with Yogurt-Mint Sauce

Tyler and I went on an impromptu run to Williams & Sonoma this past weekend and boy did we have the best luck! We found a Chinese bamboo steamer (I've always wanted one), a jar of sumac and za'atar (love!), and the star of the meal tonight, a hot mint jelly, which was only $2.99 for a big jar! Ty came up with the idea to make lamb chops with a yogurt-mint sauce for dinner and it turned out perfectly. Not only was it delicious, but it was so easy to make. We made it in less than 30 minutes. Hope you love it as much as we did!

What you'll need:
2 lamb chops
1 tsp. of sea salt
1 tsp. of sumac
1/2 cup of fat-free plain yogurt
4 tbsp. of hot mint jelly
Handful of fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Season the meat with sea salt and sumac. Sumac has a really tart, lemony flavor. It's the perfect seasoning for a more gamey meat like lamb.

2. Grill on the foreman or on the stove. It should take about 10 minutes per chop. Once it's done, set aside. Always let your meats rest to ensure maximum tenderness and minimum runniness.
3. Now it's time for the sauce! Chop up some fresh parsley. We used the parsley from Tyler's herb garden. Mix the yogurt, hot mint jelly, and parsley in a bowl.

4. And you're done! Just add a sprig of parsley on top of the meat and drizzle a little sauce on the chop or you can set it on the side. It's delicious!

Homemade Pesto

Forgive me for the absence of my recent posts! Preparing for vacation, going on vacation, and recuperating from vacation has certainly been preoccupying. Though I have to say, I will have to do quite a few posts on the meals I had while in England and Scotland and my attempts at trying to recreate some of those awesome dishes: fish and chips, haggis, neeps, and tatties, steak and ale and kidney pie, the list goes on. In the meantime, I'd like to start off with a simple dish that will make your tummy thank you and your friends go yum, grilled chicken and pesto farfalle with a sprinkle of diced tomatoes. I'm going to focus on the pesto we made, since most of you already know how to grill chicken and boil pasta from a box! But in case you're wondering, all I did was cook the chicken in olive oil on the stovetop and sprinkle with kosher sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder. As for the farfalle, all it is is bowtie pasta so just the water boiling and add the pasta. Here's the pesto recipe!

What you'll need:
Basil leaves, about 3 cups worth - I don't know exactly how much we used, but I can say we had a ziplock bag full of the basil leaves we plucked right from our plant.
1/2 cup of cashew nuts - pine nuts are the tradition for pesto, but since it's so expensive nowadays, we use cashew nuts or macademia nuts. Walnuts and almonds are other great substitutes!
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
A dash of sea salt and pepper

Directions:
1) First, heat the oven to 350 degrees to roast the cashew nuts. This will bring out the cashew's maximum flavor.

2) While that's roasting, measure and then add the basil leaves, parmesan cheese, and garlic into a food processor. Once all the ingredients are added, mix in the roasted cashew nuts.
3) As the food processor is working, mix in the olive oil slowly.

4) Season with salt and pepper once complete!

For a complete meal, just mix with the farfalle pasta and add the chicken and fresh diced tomatoes. Everyone will be happy and satisfied at the end. I was!

Guacamole

So I’m embarrassed to say it, but I used to be one of those people that ran to the store to buy some guacamole, scooped it into a nice glass bowl, and then brought it to a party and said "yep, I made that!" The ease and convenience of buying pre-made guacamole was just too darn irresistible. But after watching Ty make his homemade guacamole recipe one day, I never turned back. How could I? In just one crunchy, scoopable Tostito, I was overwhelmed with the freshness and powerful flavor of the avocado, cilantro, lime, and cumin.  Now, it’s my turn to convert you and trust me, you will. You can use this guacamole as a traditional dip or add it as a garnish or sauce to other dishes like hamburgers, omelets, tacos, baked potatoes, and deli sandwiches. Trust me, it's a much tastier, healthier, and refined substitute for whatever you may have normally added. Enjoy!

What you'll need:

2 Avocados, Halved and seeded

3 vine tomatoes, diced

1 lime, juiced

1 quarter of an onion

1 jalapeno, seeded – keep the seeds if you like your guacamole super spicy

LOTS of chopped cilantro

A sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper

1 tsp of cumin

Directions:
1) Blend the avocado and lime juice in a food processor. Mixing the lime with the avocado first will help maintain the bright green color of the avocado. No one likes a brown goopy mess. Also, if you don’t have a food processor, which is perfectly alright, mash the avocados by hand and chop everything else a bit finer so it’s easier to mix and eat.

   2) Now work on dicing the tomatoes, onions, and jalapenos. Make sure you drain the tomatoes of the juice. Ty just cuts them in half and squeezes them over the trash can. Otherwise, your guacamole will be too watery.

   3) Once everything is done, fold in the diced tomatoes, onions, jalapeno, and cilantro. But don’t over-blend.  The chunky texture will give it that extra yummy homemade taste and I guarantee you, it'll set it apart from all the store bought guacamoles out there.

     4) Season with salt and pepper and cumin. Make sure to do a test taste, just don’t taste too much!

P.S. Be playful with this recipe. If you think of something to add or something to take away, do it. Making it your own is the beauty of cooking.