Country Cookin'

To go along with my garden beans, I wanted a meal that would be flavorful, but light. Personally, I don't eat much meat, and almost never pork, but for some reason Pork Chops seemed the thing to do...
I made a Honey Mustard marinade and let the chops marinade over night so that they would grill up nice and moist the next day, and boy did they!
Although I made a tuna steak for myself, the Pork Chops came out sweet and mustardy, light but intensely flavorful. And what could go better with Green Beans and Pork Chops than Buttery Noodles?!?!?!Honey-Mustard Pork Chops
- 3 Pork Chops
- 2 tbsp stone ground Country Dijon Mustard
- 2 tbsp Honey Mustard Salad Dressing
- 1/8 c Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 tbsp Hickory Syrup (or Maple Syrup)
- 1 tbsp Ground Thyme
Mix all the ingredients to prepare marinade and pour over pork chops in a Ziploc bag to marinate over night. The next day, preheat grill, and grill meat, basting frequently with leftover marinade until meat is mostly white, but still moist in the center. Let sit five minutes before serving.

Buttery Noodles
- 4 servings egg noodles
- water
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- sea salt


Boil water, add noodles, and cook 10 to 12 minutes until pasta is done. Drain. In a skillet melt butter, and once butter begins to brown, add noodles and stir constantly to coat noodles. Season with dill and salt and enjoy the deliciousness of simplicity.
I served these along with Honey Mustard Pork Chops and Rosemary-Infused Green Beans for a proper country meal.

Honey-Jalapeño Chicken

This is America, home of the...?
Salad Bowl, Melting Pot, whatever, American culture and cuisine is a special mixture, a fusion of various flavors and cultural inspirations. Think Tex-Mex, think Cajun, think even seemingly ordinary styles like Barbecue or Soul Food...
For me, someone who appreciates complements and contrasts in food, Honey-Jalapeño Chicken hits all the bases. Spicy, sweet,light and yet rib-stickingly satisfying thanks to the soba noodles, this dish is a family favorite and almost a weekly meal in my house. And to add to its praises, it's also pretty damn easy to make.
You can buy Soba (buckwheat) noodles at any Korean/Asian market.


Honey-Jalapeño Chicken
- 1 rotisserie chicken, meat pulled
- 1 bunch cilantro, trimmed
- 2 jalapenos, seeded and halved
- dash each of Ginger, Curry Powder
- 1/4 to 1/3 c honey
- 1/3 c vegetable broth
- 1 vidalia onion, sliced thin
- 4 scallions, sliced thin
- 2 tbsp pickled ginger, minced
- splash of soy sauce
- soba (buckwheat) noodles

Pull meat from chicken, saving the skin, and set aside. In a skillet, saute onions with Jalapeño halves until the peppers are just soft. Remove peppers and place them in a blender with Cilantro, vegetable broth and honey and puree. Add sliced chicken skin to onions and cook until crispy, then add chicken and then the cilantro/jalapeño puree. Season with ginger powder and a little bit of curry and let simmer until hot.
In another pot, boil water and cook the soba noodles. Drain and return noodles to pot and toss with soy sauce, then portion into bowls. Top noodles with the chicken and sauce and, garnish with pickled ginger and scallions, and enjoy with healthy doses of Sri Racha chili sauce.

variations: I make a veggie version of this with Quorn cutlets. Steam cutlets in microwave for 2 minutes with 2 tbsp Mirin (sweet sake) and a shake of powdered ginger. Pan-fry on each side, then cut into pieces and stir into sauce before serving

Cheese-Filled Turkey Burgers with Sun-Dried Tomato Onion Compote

I have this thing for cheese-filled burgers, and I like to top them with sauteed onions or mushrooms. Sometimes I cook the onions down in wine, sometimes in BBQ sauce, or even in Chili sauce, depending on the type of burger/theme of the meal...
This time, I decided to make spiced turkey burgers with an herby cheese filling, and topped it off with an onion and sun-dried tomato compote that complimented the meat very well.

Cheese-Filled Turkey Burgers
- Ground Turkey
- French Onion spreadable cheese

- Seasoning (smoke paprika, lemon pepper, salt)

- 5 leaves Fresh Sage, minced

- Herbs (tarragon, dill)

Season the meat with the paprika, lemon pepper, salt and half of the fresh sage, mixing with your hands until well combined. Form into patties, twice as many as the amount of burgers you want to make. Mix 2 to 3 wedges of spreadable cheese with tarragon, dill, and the rest of your sage, and then put a small spoonful on the middle of half of your burgers. Top each cheese-topped burger with another burger, pinch the edges shut, and form into a ball. Throw them on the grill and serve topped with the onion compote.

Sun-Dried Tomato Onion Compote

- 1 Vidalia Onion, sliced thin
- 1/2 package of Sun-Dried Tomatoes, julienned
- White Wine
- Sherry
- Spices (onion powder, thyme, pepper, mustard powder)

Soak the Sun-Dried Tomatos in White Wine for 20 minutes. In a frying pan, saute onions until translucent, then season with onion powder and salt. Add in the Sun-Dried Tomatos and season with pepper. Then add between 1/2 to 3/4 c of cooking Sherry, season with ground thyme and a couple dashes of mustard powder, and simmer until most of the liquid is dissolved.

I served these burgers with Garlic Spinach and Roasted Eggplant and Parsnip Fries, and a couple bottles of wine, of course...

It Was Awesome...