Main Entrée: Spiced ‘N Fried Pork Chops
Ingredients:
- Thawed pork chops (however many desired; can be from one to four or more) preferably boneless and skinless, although any pork chop will do
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 tsp. fresh rosemary; minced (fresh rosemary is preferred as it has more of a light taste than heavy; also, you may use 1/2 tsp. rosemary for a heavier spiced taste)
- 1/4 tsp. marjoram; minced (Again, 1/2 tsp. marjoram may be used for a heavier spiced taste)
- Eggs (optional)
- Vegetable oil
Preparation:
Mix together flour, minced rosemary and marjoram in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Now, you may want to put a large skillet on the stove to heat up. Pour oil liberally before the skillet heats up all the way; otherwise, watch out for oil splatters burning your skin!
Next, wash pork chops in cold water. If desired, whisk eggs together in a small bowl and dip pork chops in eggs. If eggs are not desired, water is fine. When pork chops are saturated, dip pork chops in dry spice-flour mixture on all sides until a liberal coating is desired.
Then, place one side of pork chop onto the hot oil. Flip when coating is a golden brown. Repeat until all sides of pork chop are a golden brown.
Repeat for other pork chops, if necessary.
*Note: The secret to any cooking is trial and error. If you don’t get it right the first time, experiment! Also, not always going by the measured ingredients is another good strategy. Not everyone’s taste is the same, some may like a heavier taste, and some may like a lighter taste. So again, experiment. Find out your personal preferences, and spice to taste!
Main Side: Otik’s Spiced Potatoes
Ingredients:
- 6-8 small, firm red potatoes
- 1-2 sticks butter
- 1/2 tsp. garlic salt (more or less; I usually sprinkle to taste)
- 1/8 tsp. Oregano
- 1/8 tsp. Basil
- 1/8 tsp. Thyme
- 1/8 tsp. Parsley
- Black Pepper
Preparation:
Wash red potatoes and cut out any sprouts. You may put the potatoes in the microwave or boil them. I prefer in the microwave as the skin stays on better. Microwave potatoes 10-15 minutes, depending upon your microwave (best way to tell when the potatoes are done is to stick a fork in the middle of the potato, if the fork does not slide in easily, the potato is not done). Boiling potatoes takes about 30 minutes.
When potatoes are done, dice or slice them up and set aside in large bowl.
Put stick(s) of butter into bowl and heat in microwave until butter is melted (usually about a minute). Sprinkle in garlic salt, oregano, basil, thyme, parsley, and black pepper into butter and mix well. Pour butter-spice mixture over potatoes and mix potatoes up until butter is spread well over all potatoes.
Yields to about 5 people (unless you’ve invited Caramon, in which case you may want to make double the amount).
Congratulations!
You’ve just made a wonderful dinner. A nice White Zifandel wine goes great with this dinner.
