The other white meat

We found a whole bunch of pork on sale. We bought it. Hence, LOTS of pork recipes. Here is what's cooking tonight at the cafe.

Modenese Pork Chops

2 tablespoons butter
2 (1 inch thick) pork chops
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary
1 clove garlic, minced


In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Cook chops in butter, turning once to brown evenly. Pour in wine, and season with salt, pepper, rosemary, and garlic. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until chops are tender. Transfer pork chops to serving plates, and spoon sauce over the meat.

Hmmmm ... yummy. Cheers!

Burgers

We are tired.  We have been up north all weekend so "the royal we" didn't feel much like cooking.  So burgers on the grill it is.

Courtesy of Allrecipes.com

1 pound ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
4 hamburger buns, split

Per others' reviews, we skipped the salt.   We grilled some buns, baked some crinkly fries, and put oranges in our Oberons!   Happy summer cooking.  Cheers!

Sesame Honey Grilled Shrimp

We had a Surf & Turf themed dinner just East of the Equator last night. The turf part was easy enough: I took two beautiful ribeye out of the fridge about an hour before I put them on the grill and we seasoned them with Montreal Steak Seasoning. As for the surf, Deirdre and I have been on a bit of a shrimp kick the past few weeks. We scoured the internet for some new recipes and we found a recipe that looked very good.

From East of the Equator, Summer 2011

Here is the recipe:

Sesame Honey Grilled Shrimp

- 1/2 cup sesame oil

- 1/4 cup honey

- 2 1/2 tablespoons of line juice

- 1/2 tsp. ginger

- 1/2 tsp. minced garlic

- 1lb uncooked lg. shrimp, peeled and drained

- 5-6 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for an hour.

Mix first 6 ingredients in large bowl. Season with salt. Add shrimp, turning to coat marinate in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Prepare barbecue (medium high heat). Remove the skewers from the water and remove shrimp from marinade. Skewer the shrimp, placing 5-6 shrimp on each skewer. Place the skewered shrimp on the grill shrimp until done, 3-4 minutes approximately each side.

Cook's Notes: We marinated the shrimp for 90 minutes and they turned out great. This recipe uses a lot of sesame oil, but the flavor of the shrimp is amazing. Because of the honey, the shrimp sort of carmelized, so the shrimp did not have much of a pink color when they were done. If you like any of the ingredients in this recipe, you gotta try this recipe.

Saturday night Surf and Cluck Dinner

It has been a little slow at the Cafe recently. Work has been getting in the way of my blogging, but it does pay for our slice of paradise on Lake Huron. Speaking of East of the Equator, we had a Surf and Cluck dinner last night: Margarita Grilled Shrimp and Cajun Chicken.

From East of the Equator, Summer 2011

 Here are the recipes:

Margarita Grilled Shrimp

Ingredients:

- 1lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined - 3 T fresh chopped cilantro

- 2 cloves garlic, minced - 1/4 t ground red pepper

- 2 T fresh lime juice - 1/4 t salt (optional)

- 3 T olive oil - 5-6 bamboo skewers, soaked in water

- 2 T tequila for 1 hour

1. Combine the shrimp, garlic lime juice, olive oil, tequila, cilantro, red pepper and salt in a bowl and mix. Cover and place in a refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.

2. Prepare an outdoor grill. When the charcoal is ready, drain the marinade from the shrimp and discard. Thread the shrimp on the skewers,

3. Cook the shrimp on the grill until the shrimp turn pink, 3-4 minutes per side

Cook's Notes: I cooked the shrimpies for ~ 6 minutes and they turned out great. next time, I will add more red pepper. This recipe is a keeper.

Cajun Chicken

Ingredients:

- 3/4 cup olive oil - Garlic powder to taste

- 2 1/2 t Cajun seasoning - 2 1/2 t lemon pepper

- 2 1/2 t dried Italian seasoning - 4 skinless chicken breasts

1. In a shallow bowl, mix the oil, Cajun seasoning, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and lemon pepper. Place the chicken in the dish and turn the breasts to coat them in the marinade. Cover and place in a refrigerator for 1 hour.

2. Prepare an outdoor grill. When the charcoal is ready, remove the chicken from the marinade and discard the marinade.

3. Place the chicken breasts on the grill and cook until done, 8-10 minutes per side.

Cook's Notes: This was an incredibly easy dish to make and it was delicious. For Cajun seasoning, I used Emeril's Essence. Also, I had never heard of "Italian seasoning" until I saw this recipe. Conveniently, I found a bottle of Italian Seasoning at Meijers. After the chicken was done, I placed the breasts on a plate and covered them with aluminum foil and I allowed the chicken to rest for 10 minutes before I served them. I will definitely make this recipe again!


We washed it down with a delightful wine.  

From East of the Equator, Summer 2011

Cheers from East of the Equator!