Brown Rice Vermicelli Salad with Turmeric Curry Pork

I am a big sucker for fancy pants noodles. 

Some noodle purists may scoff at concepts that stray away 

from the basic white variety, but I will proudly say 

that I am not one of them.

I, for one, welcome the use of yams, buckwheat, 

whole wheat, tofu, black sesame, beans, kelp and whole wheat.

The weirder the ingredient and color, the better. 

How can you not get excited by the rich variety and 

textures available??

  

(I then proceed to vehemently shake an imaginary picky 

eater who refuses to ingest food with more 

than one syllable to its name) 

I'm sure you can only imagine my excitement when I saw  

whole grain vermicelli seated proudly in the 

Asian aisle at the supermarket.  

Normally, vermicelli is used to make the much celebrated, Pho.  Since it was a bazillion (no exaggeration here) degrees outside, I chose to use the noodles in a fresh and crisp salad instead. 

Sound familiar?

Past post shout out!

This salad was inspired by 

my favorite Vietnamese dish, Bun Bo Xao. 

Whole Wheat Vermicelli Noodles

Accessories used to jazz the noodles up! 

Turmeric Curry Pork Loins

I used Curry Powder, Turmeric Powder, Sea Salt,
Onion Powder and Paprika

This papaya shredder can be found in any Asian Market.
I use this shredder to also create
pretty ridges on cucumber slices. 

Seeeee....

Ingredients for my Salad Dressin'!
I'm a southern gal, we don't say vinaigrette, we say dressin'! 

Confetti of spice and flavor

Tossed, plated and topped with avocado slices. 

Brown Rice Vermicelli Salad with Turmeric Curry Pork

Serves 4

1 package of Whole Grain Vermicelli Noodles 

For the pork

3 1/2 inch slices of boneless pork tenderloin

1 teaspoon of curry powder

1 teaspoon of onion powder

1 teaspoon of paprika

1 teaspoon of tumeric 

1 teaspoon of sea salt

For the salad

1/2 bunch of chopped cilantro

1 medium cucumber, thinly sliced

1/2 carrot, shredded

1 avocado, sliced 

For the dressing

1/4 rice vinegar

1/4 fish sauce

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 inch knob of ginger, minced

1/2 small red onion, diced

1/2 jalapeno, sliced

2 tablespoons of honey

1. Add the spices for the pork into a small bowl and mix to make a dry rub. 

2. Sprinkle spice mix onto both sides of the pork and set aside. 

3.  Mix dressing ingredients in a non reactive bowl and mix well. 

4. Take a medium sauce pan and fill half with water. Allow to boil.  Remove vermicelli noodles from wrapper and place in large bowl.  Once the water is boiled, pour over uncooked noodles and cover.  Let the noodles sit for approximately 4 minutes.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  

5. In a heated lightly coated pan, sear both sides of the pork.  Approximately, 4 minutes on each side.  Once cooked through, place pork on a plate and allow to rest for five minutes. 

6.  Slice pork into quarter inch pieces.  In a salad bowl, toss noodles with vegetables and pork with dressing.  

7.  Serve with avocado slices.   

Asian Spice Rack Drunken Ribs

"I want ribs for breakfast."

 This is what a beloved said when I announced that I was going to make ribs for dinner the following night. Point blank, my ribs are so good that you want to eat them for breakfast. 

There is no real secret as to why my ribs are so spectacular. The only three things you need to remember is to make sure you marinate the ribs overnight. Number two, cook your ribs LOW and SLOW. Number three, always use a fresh meaty swine.  That's it. 

 Since I was still in Jacksonville and not in my own kitchen, I didn't have my own spices, so I had to improvise and search through my ma's spice rack.  Here's what I found. 

 

Little of this (taste) and a little of that (taste).  Seriously, you can use anything at your disposal that you normally love to spice your meat and you will be fine! Don't be scared! It's just ribs! Since I had to make a lot of ribs, a lot of marinade was necessary. In need of some serious filler, I decided to add half a bottle of my favorite honey bbq sauce.  Done.

Well, not quite.

Any excuse to use a little of the happy drink! I found this in my parents' china cabinet next to a porcelain bear reading a book about friendship. I thought... whisky? Good. Honey? Gooood.  American? Great! In it went in my marinade!  

Marinate the ribs overnight in your sauce (set aside a cup of unused sauce for glazing later).  Preheat your oven to 275 degrees (remember! Looowww and sloowwww). Place the ribs meat side down in a pan along with the marinade. Cover tightly with foil and slide in the oven. Wait three hours. Meanwhile, read a book, run in circles or cuddle with puppies! When the three hours are up, CAREFULLY (hot steam! hot steam!) remove your foil and sear the meat in a searing hot grill pan or an actual grill until the ribs achieve that beautiful char we all love.  Glaze with preserved sauce. Serve!

Asian Spice Rack Drunken Ribs

Serves 4

For The Marinade:

Remember! This is an approximation.  I usually use the "add a little of this, taste. Add a little of that, taste some more" technique

 1 tablespoon of dry mustard
 1 tablespoon of chili powder
 1 tablespoon cayenne
 1 tablespoon paprika
 1 tablespoon ginger powder
 1 tablespoon garlic powder
 1 tablespoon of montreal steak mix
 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
 3 tablespoons of fish sauce
 1 4 oz shot of your favorite brown liquor
 1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
 5 cloves of garlic minced
 2 tablespoons of honey
 1/4 cup of brown sugar
 3 tablespoons of oyster sauce

 2 racks of St. Louis Style Ribs

1. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl, tasting the sauce before you add each ingredient!

2.  When the sauce is to your liking, reserve a 1/4 cup of the sauce and set aside.

3. Submerge the ribs in remaining sauce and marinade overnight.

4. The next day, preheat oven to 275 degrees.

5. Once the ribs reach the desired temperature, place ribs meat side down in oven proof pan, still submerged in sauce.

6. Cover tightly with foil and insert into oven, let cook for three hours. 

7. Preheat your grill or grill pan.  Once hot, lightly coat with oil.

8. CAREFULLY remove foil, and take out ribs.  Your ribs will be fork tender, so remove with care.

9. Char each side of the ribs on grill and coat with preserved BBQ sauce. Serve! Finger licking good!!

Panko Nutty Pork Chops with Endive Beet Bacon Bites

There was a craving inside of me that could not be satisfied with the produce found in New York. I found that every peach I bit into, every mango slice that I ate and every orange wedge I gnawed on lacked a juicy sweet and sticky slurp factor that was supposed to accompany a summer fruit. Don't get me wrong, there was some ooze after every bite, but the flavor lacked the INTENSITY that justified the 1.99 EACH price tag. I wanted each bite to scream "YA'LL!".  Instead, it screamed "you all."  Lame.  I knew then I needed to fly back home. So, I booked a ticket to my hometown of Jacksonville, Florida and off I went.

From the airport, I asked my driver (okay, my dad) to take me to the Farmer's Market so that I can get my fix.  Once there, I loaded up on mangos, peaches and strawberries and stuffed my face with fruit on the car ride to my parents' house. After my body was fully detoxed, I was ready to retox with the other thing the South is known for, fried food.  Before I went to my favorite Chicken and Waffles spot, I thought I should ease into it with a pan fried meal first then indulge in deep fried territory.  In order to get started, I needed some pork.

Pork Chops, inexpensive but oh so luscious.

Invited a few friends to the pig party.

I used honey roasted mixed nuts to add to my panko parmesan coating.  Why? Because honey and pork go together like peanut butter and more peanut butter (I'm not really a jelly person).  Also, you can chop your nuts with a heavy cleaver so that you can control the size of each piece.  Use this method for when your guests arrive. Once they are settled in the next room, throw the remaining whole nuts in a zip lock bag and bang the bag with a rolling pin. 
That works too.

Mix the chopped nuts, parmesan and panko together in a bowl.

Create your assembly line - pork, whipped eggs, then your breading. Make sure you season your pork chops with salt and pepper before you begin!

In a very heated pan, crisp a few slices of bacon and for the love of everything glorious in this life, save the fat. Set cooked bacon aside on a few sheets of paper towels.

Coat the seasoned pork chops with egg then dip in panko nut mixture.  Next, gently  lay pork chops in hot bacon fat until golden brown (approximately 5 minutes), flip and brown on the other side.  Make sure you don't crowd the pan.

Place pork chops on a rack and insert into a 350 degree oven until cooked through.  Meat internal temperature should be around 145 degrees.  Aren't they precious??

After  about 10 minutes, carefully remove pork from oven... (I should really brush my hair).



Viola, crunchy panko pork chops!

But wait, there's more! Before we begin our feast, we need a side item. Ladies and gentlemen, meet my sister!

Because cooking should be a family affair, like crocodile hunting!

My latest obsession. My sis recently introduced me to this amazing show. The fiance is really going to love Swamp People clogging up our Teevo. Anybody know where I can get fried gator tail in New York, please, PLEASE do tell. Mmmm... Okay, back to the food!

Raise your hand if you find beets extremely sexy...

 

And grotesque at the same time? Femme Fatale of the root family. I digress, this recipe is super easy. 

Hey, there. What's your name? What's your sign? Oops, sorry.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Quarter your beets and liberally season your beets with sea salt and pepper. Wrap in foil. Pop in the oven, cook until you can easily spear with a fork. 

Around 40 minutes. 

Once cooked, dice in one inch pieces.

EEEK! EEEK!! BLAHHHhhahhHHH!

Okay, I'll stop.  Dice your bacon from before and assemble. 

Super easy. Ready?

Boom.

Bam.

Bim.

Bap. 

You're done! Now put it all together...

A match made in heaven! Short and simple. Why?

Because more time should be spent cuddling with puppies.

Panko Nutty Pork Chops

Serves 4

4 (5- to 7- ounce) Center-cut bone-in pork chops

2 eggs

1/4 cup panko

1/4 cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese

1/4 cup crushed honey roasted mixed nuts

5 slices of thick cut bacon

salt & pepper to taste

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Season both sides of your pork chops with salt and pepper.

2.  Whip two eggs in bowl and pour in flat plate

3.  Combine panko, cheese and mixed nuts in another plate

4.  Heat skillet. Once heated through, fry bacon until crisp and fat is rendered.

5.  Dip seasoned chops in eggs, then coat pork chops in breading.

6.  Gently lay the chops in bacon fat.  Cook until both sides are toasted.  

7.  Place porkchops on rack over a baking sheet and slide preheated oven.  Cook until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.  Serve immediately.

Endive Beet Bacon Bites

serves 4

4 Belgian endives

2 medium sized red beets

1 cup blue cheese

5 strips of bacon, crumbled

1/2 cup of slivered almonds  

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Seperate, wash and dry endive leave.  Place each leaf next to one another on a flat serving tray.

2. Put a large piece of aluminum foil on a baking sheet and put the beets on it.

3. Drizzle olive oil over them and wrap them tightly in the foil, making a packet.

4. Roast until a knife inserted into the largest beet meets no resistance, about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.

5. Cool and remove the skins by rubbing the beets with a paper towel. (Gloves are a good idea to prevent staining your hands.) 

6. Cube beets.  Once cubed spoon on each endive.  Spoon blue cheese, then sprinkle almonds on top.  Top the plate with crumbled blue cheese and crumbled bacon.  Serve.