18.09.08: Sherried pork chops, carrot salad, and green bnz

Pretty fancy for a Thursday nite alone, but after a mostly disappointing week-and-a-bit of solo meals, she was prepared to indulge: sherried pork chops with mushrooms, green bnz, brown and wild rice, and harissa-coated torchi chfenaria in gem lettuce cups.

SHE SAYS: A little own-blog sleuthing turned up this tasty pork recipe from Cooksister, last prepared back in March (why did I wait so long to have it again?). I forgot to marinate the chops in advance, but half an hour in the fridge seemed to infuse them with herby goodness well enough. Creamy, delicate and slightly indulgent sauce made me glad I had some nutty rice ready to sop it up. The tangy, caraway-tinged carrots also proved a fork magnet, tho' I think I prefer them a bit warmer than room-temp.

HE SAYS: After a long, tiring journey back from the States, with lots of 'orrible plane food, I couldn't resist a bowl of the nish fresh, herby carrots with their sweet and zesty goodness. A cuppa tea and a sit down did accompany this dish and brought on that warm n' fuzzy feelin' I was missin'.

17.08.08: Pork piccata, potatoes and spinach

Sunday can't get much tastier: the pork version of Ramsay's veal piccata, lush with capers and créme fraiche, made boiled potatoes and spinach steamed with nutmeg feel like swank restaurant fare. The salad borrowed panache from some asparagus grilled earlier for lunch, plus radishes, leftover lime-zest beets, and lots of curly, spicy watercress.

HE SAYS: A winter-warmer-comfort-food-esque dinner in August - with the summer we've had it's not so strange. The pork was tender and perfectly seared on both sides, and the gravy was so moreish with the capers adding that extra rich deliciousness, I thank the lord for those spuds which helped mop up that tasty elixir of life. The asparagus injected the salad with bold, salty chargrilled yumminess that played well with the can't-be-beat beets.

SHE SAYS: It's that Sunday dinner feeling...kinda brown, kinda roasty, kinda salty, kinda creamy...offset by some virtuous veg. I'm always a little concerned about cooking pork and tend to nurse it along to a cardboard consistency, but this batch retained a nominal tenderness. The sauce was a little thin compared to previous efforts, but pooled nicely throughout the plate. Potatoes and spinach made excellent sauce conveyors, and the potats themselves had a nutty, sweet flavour (charlottes?).

13.05.08: Pork piccata and butternut squash + sweet potatoes

Comfort food: Ramsay's veal piccata in pork chop form, with a capery, garlicky, herby creme fraiche - white wine sauce accompanied by butternut squash and sweet potato cubes (look familiar?) spiced with ras-al-hanout. The simplest of salads with Sweetfire beetroot looks on.

SHE SAYS: Saucy! Great flavour, but my chops were pretty tough - took forever to brown. Mmm, me love the capers. V. pleased with my idea for seasoning the veg cubes - I'd made a mix of nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom, but it was way too strong. Then the ras caught my eye, and now I know.

HE SAYS: What a lovely sauce, of course! Could've been a little more liquidy, but still delishy. The butternut squash and sweet 'tator cubes worked well in their new boiled incarnation but the chops were too tough to call this meal a Tuesday nite classic. Sweetfire beetroot never fails to dress up any salad, end of.

12.03.08: Sherried pork chops and mushrooms

He prepared a somewhat decadent midweek feast of herby, sherried pork chops and mushrooms finished with single cream; potatoes roasted in duck fat; steamed sugarsnap peas; and simple cherry tomato and mixed-leaf salad.

SHE SAYS: The herby sherried mushrooms and onions gave a luscious dimension to the nicely browned chops. Crispy roast potatoes will never do me wrong, and the perfectly al dente snap peas balanced it all out with virtuous veggie goodness. Snips of Her ho-made preserved lemons raised the salad to yum level - an inspired touch.

HE SAYS: Once again deglazing the pan come up trumps. Have to thank Cooksister for her great recipe, will def. try again but perhaps with a little more single cream at the end. The slow roasted potatoes needed quite a bit of babysitting what with the consistent basting, but it was worth the effort: crunchy on the outside and fluffy in the centre. Loved the preserved lemons in the salad too, so salty, tangy and generally fab.

12.02.08: Baked pork chops and polenta

This was one of those dinners where all the different elements complemented each other really well: Baked pork chops with a piquant sauce from Ramsay's Fast Food, quick-cook polenta with parmesan stirred in, and a leafy salad with avo and cucumber.

HE SAYS: I thought the pork was tasty with the tomato-based sauce, but the polenta was the best thing on the plate. Haven't had it for a while, forgot how much I enjoyed it. Makes a nice alternative to rice. Think I'll choose thinner pork chops next time.

SHE SAYS: Would def. make this again - even though you have to bake, saute, and boil, there's very little prep, and it all goes pretty fast. The sauce was a perfect mixer for the polenta, and made for a fairly healthy way to enjoy pork chops. Really glad I thought of doing polenta last nite!