Methinks lunch today will be something light & easy. Some cottage cheese perhaps? Yogurt & cereal maybe?
Which brings to mind one of my favorite things - food. No problems with it today (I'm human again!), and that's a good thing.
I have a pressure cooker here and I have to say that these things are really nifty. I remember my folks had one when I was a kid, as did my grandparents. This was the old kind with 6 screw-down clamps around the edge of the lid and a weighted poppet thing that rattled and kept pressure in the pot. Mine is a modern Fagor pot with all the safety stuff and it's a fun and interesting way to cook. Imagine taking a slow cooker and going from all day to less than an hour.
Anyway, I cooked up some thick pork loin chops a few days ago and posted a quick how-to over at BbL in the Food & Cooking forum.
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This is incredibly unscientific. Big batch of Japanese-style white rice and some steamed veggies went along with it.
Four cans of chicken broth plus about a cup of water in an 8 qt. pressure cooker. Add a little bit of salt, some coarse ground black pepper, and garlic powder. Substitute as you see fit, remembering that this is the seasoning that really counts. I've used minced fresh garlic with good results, but the powder is easier. Besides, this ain't fancy - it's comfort food. Leave the pot open and get it heating up a boil, then back off to a very slow simmer.
Get four big ol' loin chops, about an inch and a half thick. Bone-in or boneless is up to you. Rinse in fresh water to get rid of the cooties then pat off the big pieces of moisture. Coat with unseasoned Bisquick.
Put a little light olive oil in a frying pan and get it hot enough to sear the meat. Once to temp, sear both sides of the chops. Takes 3 minutes or so per side. Once seared, transfer to the pressure cooker.
Clamp the lid on and crank up the heat. Once you get it hissin' and spittin' really good, back off the temp a bit to maintain the boil inside. Cook for 45 minutes.
At 45 minutes, turn off the heat and bleed off the pressure. Once the lid unlocks (read up on modern pressure cookers), remove it and transfer the chops to a plate or something and keep warm in the oven.
I use a grease separator measuring cup thingy to siphon off as much of the grease from the broth as possible. Everything else, especially all the solids, goes into a non-stick frying pan and is allowed to cool a bit.
Mix some flour, corn starch, and water in a container (I use a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup). Mix thoroughly so that you have no lumps.
Slowly add the flour and corn starch mixture to the broth, stirring constantly. If at this point the broth is too hot or boiling, you're gonna end up with drop noodles. That's why it has to be allowed to cool a bit. It's nothing terribly precise and you'll know when it's right. Anyway, keep stirring, bring to a boil, and cook for 5 minutes. It's really important to not short-cut this cook time or your gravy will be gritty. About 4 minutes in, toss in some mushrooms. They should be pre-cooked or they'll add a bunch of moisture to the gravy. Mal will chastise me for saying this, but canned 'shrooms work here.
If you don't want to deal with mixing flour and corn starch, you can substitute Wondra granulated flour. Shake in as much as you need to the partially cooled broth and cook as above.
That's it! Done! Chow down!
Try the exact same thing with a pork shoulder roast or boneless country-style pork "ribs". More tender, more juicy, and a lot tastier.
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And a little more random pr0n:
Something new(ish)
Something old
Ken...
