Pork Chops with Roasted Poblano Sauce

Big news everyone - I bought a cast iron skillet! I've wanted one for a while but always thought they were crazy expensive. Turns out the un-coated ones are really affordable - like $25 affordable. I bought mine from Sur la Table, but found the exact same one on Amazon for about $10 cheaper.

So what's the big deal about cast iron skillets?
1. First and foremost - they look cool
2. Untreated pan = no toxic fumes = you will may live forever
3. You'll boost your iron intake when you eat foods cooked in them (see note above about eternal life)
4. They maintain an even heat and are great for high-temperature cooking/searing, so you can impress people by cooking a steak inside that they will actually want to eat

I wanted to try this baby out and I thought I'd christen it with some enormous pork chops. You guys - these things were GIGANTIC. Probably a solid 1.5 inches thick. It all seemed very Fred Flintstone - minus the electric range, cast iron skillet, and iPhone to take pics. I made these with an awesome roasted poblano sauce in the same pan, which required a little bit of prep but came together pretty quickly. I'd definitely recommend this!

Massive

 Recipe adapted from here
You'll need:
2 bone-in pork chops, about 1 inch thick each
Salt and pepper
2 T butter or oil, divided
2 medium poblano peppers
1/4 small onion, chopped
1/4 c cilantro 
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 t ground cumin
1/4 c chicken broth
1/3 c heavy whipping cream (I used fat free half and half, it was weird, don't do it)
Additional salt and pepper

Turn your broiler to high and roast the poblanos a few inches off the broiler, turning to get all sides charred. This took me about 2 minutes per side. Charred and black is what you're going for - this makes the skin way easier to peel off. Pro-tip: if your peppers have long stems, snip them off. Mine caught on fire! Don't tell Curtis!

So fresh and so green green

The right stem is shorter because it burst into flames

Place the poblanos in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let cool, then rub the skin to remove as much as possible. I ended up just pulling the stem and seeds out with my hands at this point, but you can also cut them out if you're feeling it. Finely chop in a food processor or blender with the 1/4 chopped onion and 1/4 cup cilantro and set aside. Don't have a processor or blender? Just cut it all up with a knife, NBD.

Pork time! Pat the pork chops dry with a paper towel and season both sides with salt and peppah. In a large [CAST IRON IF YOU'RE COOL] skillet over medium-high heat heat 1 tablespoon of the butter or oil. Add the chops and brown on the first side for about 3 minutes. Turn the chops over and reduce heat to medium. Cook through, about 7 more minutes (or until the center of the chop is 135F). Since I got dinosaur-sized pork chops, I cooked mine for 5 minutes on the first side and 10 minutes on the second. Remove chops to a plate and tent with foil. 

Seriously - enormous

Sauce time! Add remaining butter or oil to the pan and let melt. Add the minced garlic and cumin and let it get fragrant - about 1 minute. Add the chopped poblanos/onion/cilantro and the broth and bring to a simmer. Cook for 2-3 minutes until broth is mostly evaporated. Stir in the cream and warm through, then add any accumulated pan juices from da chops. Finally, salt and pepper to taste.

I plated up a whole one for the pic, but I swear this lasted me 3 meals. I broiled some asparagus and mushrooms on the side - just place on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, add some salt and pepper, and broil for about 5 minutes (shaking the pan halfway through). Voila!

Peruvian-ish Halibut

I moved to Seattle from DC almost 3 years ago, and the food I miss most - hands down - is Peruvian chicken. Specifically from Pollo Rico. Specifically specifically quarter dark meat, extra green sauce, fries, coleslaw, with a Sprite, eaten cross legged while sitting on the floor in front of my coffee table on a Sunday afternoon POTENTIALLY suffering from being over-served the evening before. (It's happened). Who's with me?!?

You think this would be a recipe for Peruvian chicken, right? It's not. We recently won the friends of friends of friends lottery and got a bunch of freshly frozen halibut, spot prawns, and dungeness crab from a family who goes on a yearly Alaskan fishing trip. They haul in so much fish that somehow even we get a piece of it - trickle down fishenomics. I was looking up different halibut recipes, but I just kept thinking about how I really wanted to eat it with this green sauce. So I made a few adjustments to my favorite Peruvian-style roast chicken marinade, threw the fish in, whipped up the green sauce, and hoped for the best!

Thankfully it was delicious - you should make it too!

You is kind, you is smart, you is important

You'll need:
For the fish:
 3 T extra virgin olive oil
Juice from 2 limes
4 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/2 T kosher salt
2 t paprika
1 T cumin
1 t dried oregano
1 t sugar
1-2 lbs halibut (cod or swordfish would work, too)

For the green sauce:
 [Note - the original recipe calls for sour cream and mayonnaise, but I use all Greek yogurt and it is still super delicious]
2 or 3 jalapeno peppers, seeded (I keep about half of the seeds)
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
3/4 cup Greek yogurt
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 t salt
2 T extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 F, and place rack in the center. Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a blender/food processor and blend until smooth. Pour over your halibut. Simple enough. You think I could've remembered to take a picture before putting it in the oven, amirite?

Epic food blogger styled photo

 Note that fish doesn't need to be (and really shouldn't be) marinated for a long time, like beef or chicken. I think it would be ok if the fish was marinated for about 30 minutes or so, but if you go much longer the lime juice might start "cooking" the fish. 

Cook the halibut for about 15-25 minutes, depending on the size of the fish. This hunk-o-halibut took about 20 minutes. 

While the fish is a-bakin, combine all of the green sauce ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer sauce to a bowl and allow it to thicken up in the fridge while you wait for the fish to bake. 

After the fish is done, allow to rest for about 10 minutes. I don't know if this is necessary, but I just did it. 

See? Peruvian-ish!

I served mine alongside some roasted root veggies and steamed broc, and went nuts with the green sauce.

So nice I posted this picture twice

Ch-Ch-Ch-Chimichurri Flank Steak

My boyfriend is a sauce man. I'd say an extreme sauce man. One time when we were at a baseball game he got THIS much ketchup with garlic fries: 
 

Slightly unreasonable

Love of the sauce is what prompted us to start making chimichurri. I've tried a few recipes and this one from Bon Appetit is my favorite. There are a few changes in my version below, which I'd say is even better than the original! #brag

I like to use flank steak, but you could put this sauce on anything - chicken, fish, veggies, or eggs if you're crazy. 

You'll need:
1/2 c red wine vinegar
1 t kosher salt
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, finely chopped (I removed 1/2 of the seeds)
1/2 c minced fresh cilantro
1/4 c minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 c minced fresh mint
2 T minced fresh oregano
3/4 c extra-virgin olive oil

Combine vinegar, salt, garlic, shallot, and jalapeno in a medium bowl. Let stand for about 10 minutes while you chop up all those fresh herbs. Throw those herbs in there, and then use a fork to whisk in the oil. Remove 1/2 c or so of the sauce to a small bowl, season with some additional salt, and put aside for a sauce. 

Take your flank steak and stab it all over with a fork. DISCLAIMER: I don't know if this really does anything - growing up we always had to stab meats excessively before marinating, so I wanted to keep the tradition alive. Cover the steak all over with the ch-ch-ch-chimichurri and let it marinate for 3 hours to overnight. 

Hello, beautiful!

When you're ready to rumble, set your oven to broil and move a rack to the top of the oven. Line a baking sheet with foil and place the steak in the center. Broil on each side for 5 minutes. When done, allow the steak to rest for 10 minutes. This part is important! And hard! 

Slice that bad boy against the grain and serve with the reserved extra sauce. So good! So fresh! So saucy!

I paired this with a smoky kale caesar, which I'll post soon!