The Next Try at Pork Chops

After the first try at pork chops, it's taken some reading to get me on to my next try at pork chops. I got a little recipe. Wanna hear about it? Here we go!

Ingredients:
1 - one teaspoon white pepper
2 - one tablespoon hot paprika
3 - two tablespoons salt
4 - two tablespoons fresh ground pepper
5 - one teaspoon fresh sage, chopped
6 - two boneless center cut pork chops
7 - four tablespoons olive oil
8 - half cup all purpose flour

Mix the first five ingredients in a large bowl. Brush the pork chops with two tablespoons of olive oil total. Coat with the spice mixture. Put the flour in a large plate and dredge the chops.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Also heat the other two tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet on high. Brown the pork chops two minutes per side. Transfer chops to the oven and cook for ten minutes. Remove from oven and let rest.

Am I going to fry up the chops or my fingers?

Okay, it's just the chops.

I served the chops with some scallion kimchi. In the end the chops were great, though I'm still not ready to make them for other people. I also would use scallion kimchi sparingly. It's very strong.

Your soundtrack for this entry: Ghost Brigade - Clawmaster. 

The Watermelon Eating Contest

So technically this was Labor Day and technically I didn't actually eat any watermelon. Well, it weren't technical, I just didn't participate. Vikings don't get melon pulp in their beards.

Many of my friends did, though, and technically Sal won. The winner of the contest threw up afterward, while Sal came in second place and did not. If I were judging, keeping it down would be an important factor.

Leandra begins failing after three bites.

Darren takes a break while Ethan enjoys free watermelon.

If you're down for watching a bunch of people you don't know much watermelon, here's a video. USA courtesy of George Rallis.

Your soundtrack for this entry: Lamb Chop - The Song That Doesn't End.

The Chargrilled Steak

Toward the end of August I went out to the West Coast to visit my Mother at my Aunt's place for the former's birthday. My Aunt lives south of Portland, Oregon in some righteous farm country. Blueberries, pumpkins, corn...hops. It's beer central there. Walking into a grocery store beer section there is akin to walking into the world's greatest beer distributor.

We took a drive up to White Salmon, Washington on one of my last days in town for a family reunion of sorts. I met numerous cousins of various degrees and removals. Each and every one was impressive. Hoofing it back to Oregon in the evening, we were somewhat vexed as to what to do for dinner. I wanted steak. More importantly I wanted to take my first opportunity to cook steak on a grill and I wanted to do it in my Aunt's beautiful back yard.

Picked up a pair of fantastic chops at the grocery store.

Mom sautéed fresh jalapenos, onions, and mushrooms.

One of the wickedest beers I've ever had I picked up at the grocery store. The Deschutes Hop in the Dark was a taste bud tap dance inducing ambrosia of sensation. Looks like a porter because it's dark, but hoppy like a double IPA. Please bring this to Astoria! I can't get it here.

Here's the final table set. That's the Hop in the Dark in the foreground, the sautée in the mid-ground, and our steaks in the centre of the table. Overall my first steak grilling experience worked out well. I got one steak to a medium rare and one to a medium. Rare is what I prefer, but I had no experience cooking steak over charcoal, so I wasn't too fussed.

Your soundtrack for this entry: Dot Allison - Colour Me.