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Carrabbas Pork Chops in Port Wine
Copycat Recipe

Serves 2

1-2 pork chops per person 3/4 inch thick
1 large apple  Granny Smith or Red Delicious
salt and pepper
1 large onion, sliced thinly
3 garlic cloves
1/3 cup port wine
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon freshly dried thyme
olive oil and a little butter

Sprinkle freshly cracked pepper on one side of pork chops and a little of the thyme and set aside on a plate. Slice onion thinly while skillet heats up on medium heat. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil into hot skillet and add onions.Cook for 4-6 minutes, stirring frequently.While onions cooking, mince up garlic and set aside.Once onions are cooked and slightly browned, take out of skillet and put in bowl and set aside.

Cook the Chops:  Put skillet back on heat, add a little olive oil and a teeny amount of butter and place your pork chops spiced side down into hot skillet. Cook 3 minutes on each side.If you chops are thicker than 3/4 inches, you will have to cook them longer. Chops are done when they have just lost their pinkish color. They will continue to cook a bit once out of the skillet. Sprinkle salt, pepper and additional thyme on the other side of unseasoned chops.While chops are cooking, peel and slice thinly your apple.Turn chops and let brown on the other side.Remove chops onto a plate.

Make the Sauce:  Add apple to skillet and let brown, stirring frequently, let cook for 3-5 minutes, add a little butter if you have to. Add garlic and let cook one minute only, you do not want to burn the garlic. Add port wine carefully to skillet, scrape bottom to remove brown bits. Add onions back to skillet. Let cook for two more minutes.Add bullion paste, and water and let reduce by a half. Add one small pat of butter remaining sauce taste for any need of salt or pepper. Pour mixture over your pork chops and dinner is ready.

This is a stir-fry my mom makes regularly. She uses greens like amaranth or drumstick leaves. This is made as a side dish with rice and any spicy gravies, particularly seafood dishes. The best combination which I like the most is meen kuzmbu, fish fry, and this stir fry made with drumstick leaves. This is also comfort food for my sister and I. Sadly I don’t get drumstick leaves here, which is my favorite, but I did get a chance to taste many different ones like Swiss Chard, collard greens, turnip greens etc. I keep all of them in my freezer and this is very easy to make any side dishes with greens in just minutes. This time I have made this dish with collard greens. Collard greens have a slight bitter taste, so I have used one small tomato. This can be omitted if any other less bitter green like spinach is used.

INGREDIENTS:
1. Collard greens, 1 bunch.
2. Small onions, 2.
3. Tomato, 1.
4. Green chilies, 1-2.
5. Ginger-garlic paste, 1 teaspoon (optional).
6. Mung dhal or green gram, ¼ cup.
7. Mustard seeds, ½ teaspoon.
8. Cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon.
9. Salt as per taste.

PREPARATION:
Precook the dhal until they are cooked but the dhal is still whole and has a bite to it. This can be done either on stove top by cooking the dhal in a pot with enough water to immerse the dhal and cooked for 10-15 or microwave for 10 minutes. Wash the greens and chop it finely. Dice the onions and tomatoes and slit the green chilies into 2. Heat a pan with some oil. When the oil turns hot, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add the cumin seeds and fry for a few seconds. Now add the diced onions and sauté for a few minutes until the onions turn translucent. Then add the chopped tomatoes, chilies, ginger-garlic paste and keep sautéing until everything is well blended. Add some salt along with the chopped greens and dhal and mix everything well. Cook closed under low flame for 5-10 minutes until the greens are wilted and all the water is absorbed. Serve hot with rice.

A tablespoon of grated coconut can be added after switching off the stove. Even around ½ teaspoon of ground cumin seeds can be added in the end.

These are decadently petite, but so very tasty, which will end up being the hit at any party or gathering...

Yields: (Yields: 24)

Prep. 20 Mins. |
Bake: 22 - 25 Mins.
Posted: by Sandra at:

INGREDIENTS

*Nutella Cream Filling:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons confectioners’ (powdered sugar)
1/2 cup Nutella
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

**Raspberry Dessert Sauce
1 cup fresh raspberries, or frozen
--(no need to thaw)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon orange juice
tiny pinch of kosher salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ cup cold water

***Profiteroles (Mini-Cream Puffs):
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup butter
pinch of kosher salt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs, lightly beaten

--Confectioners’ (powder) sugar, for dusting through a fine sieve

METHOD

*Nutella Cream Filling (chill for 1 hour):
Whip the heavy whipping cream in a chilled bowl with chilled beaters of a mixer until fairly stiff peaks form, and slowly add the confectioners’ sugar, and the vanilla until combined. Add the nutella to a separate bowl, and add 1/2 the whipped cream to the bowl with the nutella, and whip until combined. With a spatula, fold in the remaining ½ of whipped cream, and place in refrigerator to chill.

**Raspberry Dessert Sauce:
Combine the raspberries, brown sugar, orange juice, and kosher salt in a cold saucepan. Whisk the cornstarch in a small bowl with the cold water until smooth, and add to saucepan, and then bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for about 5 minutes while occasionally stirring, and then strain out seeds it through a fine sieve that has been placed over a small bowl, using a wooden spoon to push all of the sauce through, and then place in refrigerator to chill.

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a mini-muffin pan with baking spray, and set aside. Also, set a cooling rack aside.

***For the Profiteroles (or Mini-Cream Puffs):
In small saucepan combine water, butter and salt; bring to a boil over high heat. Add flour all at once while stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon until mixture leaves sides of pan and forms into a ball. Remove from heat and add the beaten eggs vigorously stirring until smooth and thick. Using small and slightly mounded ice cream scoop (or a tablespoon) place batter into cups. Bake 22-25 for minutes, until medium golden brown on top. Remove from oven and make a small slit ½ way up the sides of each profiterole to release excess steam. Remove profiteroles from pan onto a baking rack and allow to cool (this only takes a few minutes).

Once puffs are cooled, gently cut in half (as in photo), and careful pinch out any obvious large strands of extra dough in bottoms, leaving tops as is. (Be careful not to take out too much or else you’ll expose the bottom.). Spoon or pipe the filling into bottom of profiteroles, and then the sauce, topping with the lids. Place on serving platter, and dust with powdered sugar. – Enjoy!

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Tip:  To store, place a piece of bread or non-flavored cracker inside an airtight container, and place profiteroles in a single layer.

Roasted eggplant salads are very common in Thrace, where I come from, during the summer. Thrace (Trakya in Turkish) is the northwestern corner or the European part of Turkey. Thrace is a historical and geographical region that spreads over Greece, Bulgaria, and Turkey. The Turkish part is the Eastern Thrace. Eastern Thrace, in years, witnessed major waves of migration--like the two big ones after the Ottoman-Russian war and the Lausanne Treaty--which created the marvelous ethnic, cultural, and culinary mosaic of the region today.

My favorite jewel of this culinary mosaic, Tunçilik, is one of the many different versions of roasted eggplant salad or meze (=appetizer) thats made in the region. Tunçilik is a specialty of the southwestern part of Turkish Thrace around Tekirdağ.



















for 6 people
4 eggplants
5-6 big red peppers or banana peppers
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
6-7 tbsp of vinegar
3-4 tbsp olive oil
salt
1/2 bunch parsley, finely chopped
Theres nothing written in stone. You can use more or less of everything. Whatever you do, make sure you use all the ingredients. Theres no such thing as Tunçilik without parsley, peppers, or tomatoes, or vinegar. Make it less vinegary or more oily or peppery, but have all the ingredients.
















-Roast eggplants and peppers on a grill, or in oven at 450F. Roast tomatoes along with eggplants and peppers for 4-5 minutes.
-Let them cool first. Then peel eggplants, peppers, and tomatoes. And seed them.
-Chopped them all finely.
-In a bowl mix crushed garlic, eggplants, peppers, tomatoes, and parsley.
-In a small bowl, mix vinegar, olive oil, and salt. Add this on vegetables.
-Mix well. Taste. If you think you can handle a little more garlic and vinegar, do not hesitate to add more.
-Tunçilik goes well with red meat or poultry, especially if theyre grilled. And do not forget to soak the juice with fresh bread.

One of the readers of the blog, Tash, has made some wonderful suggestions to perfect this recipe (also see Tash comment below). Id like to share them with you:
- After removing the roasted eggplants from the hot ashes, they are cut length wise, salted and kept vertically in a colander for a few minutes to drain. This I am told drains the bitter taste out of eggplants and removes excess moisture for a more consistent texture in the mix. 
-Roasted tomatoes and peppers are not always peeled to add texture and smokier taste to the mix. Just brush off the ashes. 
-If available Tahini and little lemon juice with a little roasted garlic was sometimes added to the mix.
-I also noticed that lemon juice was omitted if the roasted tomatoes were in the mix. 
-Mixing in fresh kaymak (solidified heavy cream) to the basic mix was my favorite version.

2 cups hominy; drained
2 tbl sorghum syrup
2 tbl oil
milk; to make loose paste
1/2 cup masa
1/2 cup hominy paste
1/2 cup acorn flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 pc egg
1 tbl sorghum syrup
1 tbl oil
1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
1 tbl gluten flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup dried cranberries

1. Blend first four (4) ingredients in a blender set at puree until a
smmoth loose paste is accomlished.

2. Mix the remaing ingredients with 1/2 cup of the homony paste and beat
with about 50 to 70 strokes adding more milk if to tight.

Devide into 3x5 oiled (spray) pans bake at preheated oven 375 F for 30
minutes or a tooth pick comes out clean.

Serve with vanilla ice cream drizzle with a huckleberry or blueberry sauce.

Contributor: Burning Tree Native Grill

Yield: 1 small loaf

This aint yo Mommas  Split Pea and Ham Soup...

Servings: (8 to 10)
Prep: 10 mins.
Cook: Appx. 2 hrs.

INGREDIENTS

-1 (16 oz. pkg.) dried green split peas
-4 cups water
-4 to 6 cups loww-sodium chicken broth
-1 tablespoon cider vinegar
-2 heaping teaspoons brown sugar
-2 cups cooked ham, cubed
--(or 2 *smoked ham hocks, or *ham bone with meat on it, or a ring of smoked sausage)
-1 lg. carrot, scrubbed, and chopped
-2 ribs celery, chopped
-½ yellow onion, diced
-1 russet potato (or sweet potato), peeled and chopped
-1 large garlic clove, minced
-1 bay leaf
-1/8 teaspoon each: dried oregano, basil, and thyme
-1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
--(I do not add any salt due to the saltiness of the ham)
-Dash of hot sauce

METHOD

Spread the dried split peas out on a baking sheet and pick through them; toss any unwanted matter, then rinse in a colander.

In a large dutch oven (or heavy-bottom soup pot), bring split peas, water, broth, cider vinegar, and brown sugar to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1-1/2 hours; stirring occasionally.

Add remaining ingredients, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaf, and toss. Taste for seasoning, and add more broth or water if a thinner consistency is desired.

Serve with hot rolls or slices of French bread. - Enjoy!

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*Tip: If using smoked ham hocks or ham bone with meat on it, add at the beginning of the cooking process, and remove after 1-1/2 hours to pull meat from hocks or bone, cube, and return to pot when adding vegetables.

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Note:

I added a small block of jaggery to the thalagam as I was missing the sweet tinge that pumpkin lends to it. Despite not using the traditional vegetables, the taste of this one came very close to what my taste buds remembered from the years.

Tags:

Thalagam, tambram recipes, thiruvadirai, tamil recipes, festival recipes

How to make an easy chocolate cake with chocolate frosting recipe

This is a delectable chocolate cake recipe that is simple to bake yet very impressive to serve to family and friends.

Chef uses Belgium milk chocolate to bake a fabulous cake that is filled and covered with a milk chocolate frosting.

The chocolate cake is soft, moist and bouncy like a compact sponge, the frosting is pure milk chocolate silk.

This tasty chocolate cake also has three layers to it baked in three 7 inch cake tins. If you only have two cake tins then this recipe can be make into a chocolate sandwich cake instead, please note two 7 inch tins will be too small so make sure both cake tins are 8 inches wide for a sandwich cake.

If you love milk chocolate and you love cake then you will love this delicious and easy recipe.

To learn how to make Chefs easy chocolate cake recipe simply follow the step by step instructions below and get baking.