Kate’s Cuisine

4 bone-in porkchops $8.16
Salt and pepper $0.02
5 Roma tomatoes, chopped $3.50
1 onion, halved and sliced $0.47
6 cloves garlic, minced $0.06
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce $0.36
1 tablespoon celery salt $0.18
3 tablespoons cumin $0.48
2 tablespoons chives $3.30
2 tablespoons coriander $0.96
3 cups beef broth $1.50
2 tablespoons vegetable oil $0.14
Salt and pepper $0.02

Total Cost $19.15

1.) Set oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

2.) In a skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat. When hot, season chops with salt adn pepper and place them in a skillet and brown on all sides.

3.) After chops are browned, place them in a casserole dish. Then, turn heat down under skillet and add tomatoes, onion slices, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, celery salt, cumin, chives, coriander, and salt and pepper.

4.) Cook for about ten minutes, stirring occassionally, until onions start to soften and the tomatoes start to break down.

5.) Remove skiller from heat and add beef stock. Mix thoroughly and then pour over chops.

6.) Place chops in oven, uncovered, for 3 – 3 1/2 hours until they are cooked through and extremely tender. When done, take chops out of casserole dish and allow to rest for 5  minutes. When plating, then spoon some of the basting sauce over the chops.

7.) Serve and enjoy!

Read the review here

I’m always looking for new ways to cook pork chops, and this is a great one, namely because braising things is one of my favorite ways to cook.  These pork chops are so tender when they come out of the oven that they really do just about fall off the bone, and all of that juiciness is still there by the time they reach your plate.These chops are also easy to prepare, and truly a “set it and forget it” type of meal.  And that means that you have time to prepare a spectacular side dish or two to go along with them!

4 fresh mangos, ripe but not too soft, peeled $4.00
3 tablespoons vegetable oil $0.21
1 teaspoon chile flakes $0.23
2 1/2 cups medium diced red onion $1.35
1/4 cup minced fresh ginger $0.30
1 cup small red pepper, diced $0.45
1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice $0.47
1/2 cup cider vinegar $0.29
1/2 cup brown sugar $0.10
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder 2.59
Salt and pepper $0.02
1/2 cup lightly toasted pinenuts $2.99

Total Cost   $13.00

1.) Cut the mango flesh away from the pit and roughly chop.

2.) In a saute pan, heat the oil and add the chile flakes. Be careful not to burn the chile, just toast to flavour the oil. Add the onions and sweat until soft. Add the ginger and bell pepper and saute for one to two minutes. Finally add the mango and cook for one more minute.

3.) In a separate bowl, combine the pineapple juice, vinegar, sugar, and curry powder. Add this mixture to the pan. Stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a bare simmer and reduce for about thirty minutes, stirring frequently. Season with salt and pepper. Add the nuts and allow to cool.

4.) Serve and enjoy!

Read the review here

I found this recipe off of the Food Network website, and it comes from Alton Brown, although I have to admit, I’ve never heard of Alton. I did make a few alterations to the recipe – I didn’t put raisins in it (1/2 cup for anyone who’s interested) and I also substituted the pinenuts for macadamia nuts, which the recipe originally called for. I’d do both the same again. This chutney was delicious! I used a yellow curry, which is fairly yellow, but the chutney was still quite spicy, definitely too spicy for my girls. But I loved it! It had the heat from the curry and it was still a little warm when it reached my plate. Delish!

Tuesday night’s episode of MasterChef was much of the same of the week before it. Hopefuls came to cook for Gordon Ramsay; a bald judge who’s name I believe is Joe, and who I’ve decided I don’t like in the least; and another judge I still don’t the name of, who I like quite a bit. I wasn’t nearly as moved this week as I was last week, but last week I was in the whole “Gordon Ramsay without his Chef’s jacket on” high so my judgement was somewhat skewed. I still like the show, and I do think it’s going to get really, really good, but this week’s episode just didn’t do it for me.

Firstly, this bald guy with the attitude has got to let it go. Whatever it is that makes him like that, he’s got to let it go. There’s no reason to be dramatic just for drama’s sake, and it really just makes him look ridiculous. When you ask someone to stand in front of  you and outright tell them to plead to you about how much they want it, that’s just unnecessary. Wanting to see some passion is one thing. Humiliating people is something else entirely.

One of the more dramatic parts of the show came when a woman came in to cook her curry dish. Gordon Ramsay loved it, thought it was delicious, and the other two judges didn’t like it, although the younger chef kept admitting that it had a ton of flavour. After the woman left to collapse in the arms of a loved one outside while she wept, Gordon told the other two that he thought they had made a mistake. I did understand that. I didn’t really understand why she was going home either, when everyone said that her dish was delicious. What I didn’t get was why Gordon was only talking to the younger judge, and actually said to him, “If you had any balls, you’d go out there and give that woman this apron.” But why just him? And when the younger judge did go out there and give the woman her apron, Gordon stayed inside the room, pacing and telling Baldy how that woman did not deserve to go home. Meanwhile, Baldy paced right along with him shaking his head and saying, “I don’t know.” Why didn’t Baldy have to grab his balls and go out there with the other judge? I’m not quite too sure.

That was really the highlight of what happened on MasterChef last night. Oh yeah, and Gordon also made one hopeful go back home after cooking her dish, grab stuff out of her fridge, and come back and cook for him. She did and of course, made it through. But I didn’t like her very much. There are a few people that I already know I will really like. Among them the guy who made Mac N’ Cheese and the woman who made Smothered Chicken. I know I don’t like the guy who made the Bouillabaise and the girl who had to go home and get stuff from her freezer.

The actual show starts next week when I’m guessing we’ll watch Gordon Ramsay dole out challenges while our least favourites and most favourites go home every week. It should be a good one and I can’t wait to dive in and see what Master Chef really has in store for us!

Tuesday’s episode of Hell’s Kitchen was by far, the best this season. It started out with Chef Ramsay telling the cooks, via Chef Andi, to dress in their best clothes and come to the kitchen. They did, with Jay stating that the nicest thing he had was jeans – which was of no surprise to anyone. Chef Ramsay then went on a bit of a tangent about the remodel that the Savoy is currently undergoing, blah blah blah. So, he can’t take them to the Savoy, but he can bring the Savoy to them. And out come four waiters, each carrying a plate of a menu dish that is offered at the London Savoy.

The cooks all looked thrilled as they sat there with Chef Ramsay, and listened to his thrilling tales on the history of the Savoy. While that was interesting and all, I couldn’t believe that all of the cooks – yes, all four of them – sat there, absentmindedly eating this dish that they have the potential of cooking about 200 times a week, and barely paying any attention to it. And, even if you’re not interested in the dish, and really do want to know more about the history of the building in which you’ll be working, you’ve gotta know this isn’t just a nice ol’ sit down with Chef Ramsay; an honest to goodness chance to just put your feet up and eat some good food. Nope, Chef has some tricks up his sleeve as he always does and even I know that it involves the dish that four cooks aren’t even looking at as they sit immersed in Chef’s storytelling.

Then he drops the bomb. Did the four cooks enjoy the dish? Good. Because they have 45 minutes to recreate it. Chef must have noticed that the lackluster four also didn’t pay much mind to the dish, because he presented them with a new one to rip apart, taste again, and analyze so they would be better prepared for cooking it. Because Lord knows they needed help. It came down to the “protein” as it kept being called (that’s meat for laymen like you and me), and the puree. Jay chose filet mignon for his protein, while everyone else chose venison. Jay also chose pear for his puree, while everyone else chose apple.

When it came down to all four cooks presenting their dishes to Chef, Ramsay was quick to point out that Jay had made two very different, and quite bold, choices. The drama grew as we all waited in anticipation wondering if Jay had made a vital mistake. I kind of expected him to get both things right because that would be the universe turning on me once again, and making Jay the winner of Hell’s Kitchen. Chef dramatically told us that the pear puree was correct. Unfortunately, the filet mignon was wrong, and the correct protein was venison. Not only did Chef point out Jay’s mistake, he blatantly mocked him, telling him that the difference was “fairly obvious.”

Holli won the challenge, of course, because Holli wins most of the challenges the cooks face. And while she got to go on a fabulous yacht and spend more time with her friend and “best friend” baby daddy, the other cooks got to lug around boxes that apparently were so heavy that they all had to wear back braces while they worked. But the work was too much for Ben who afterwards kept complaining about how much his back hurt and how he couldn’t even bend over. In far too much pain to move, Ben informed the other cooks that he wouldn’t be able to prep that day. Which meant 6 – 8 hours of work for them that Ben wouldn’t have to do.

Being quite pissy about it, (and quite reasonably so seeing as how they got completely screwed), the three remaining cooks prepped the kitchen while they complained about Ben. They shut up quick though after he walked through and went up to talk to Chef. Ben told him that his back was in far too much pain, that the medic and the chiropractor looked at it (and found nothing wrong), and that he just couldn’t possibly cook that night. Chef told him that he was throwing away the opportunity of a lifetime and told him to think about it. Maybe Chef Ramsay said more to good ol’ Ben up there in that office, but Ben came back saying that Chef “inspired him” to work through it and to go on and cook that night. Ben came back to the kitchen to tell the cooks that he was staying, and Holli and Jay pretty much planned out his death in Hell’s Kitchen from there on in.

The service went great because, well let’s face it, at this point it should, but Chef Ramsay dropped a bombshell at the end of service. Two people were going home. They went back to the dorms and all fought about how they were better than each other, and they all pretty much attacked Ben for giving up. Which they also had full right to do in my HBO.

When they came back to face Chef, he called Autumn up first. And we all knew that was coming too. He gave her his words of inspiration, and she was the first of two cooks to leave Hell’s Kitchen. Then, Chef announced one person that would be staying to fight until the end – Jay. No surprise there either. But, who will be going with him – Ben or Holli? The oversized picture behind Chef started to fade in and out and landed on Holli’s picture, declaring the lovebirds the final two competing in Hell’s Kitchen. As Ben gave Chef his jacket, Chef told him that he had something within in him. And to never, ever give up.

So now we have Jay and Holli in the Final Two of Hell’s Kitchen. Next week we’ll be treated to old cooks coming back and bugging the crap out of us again, while Holli and Jay try desperately to hang onto their cool, and their chance to cook at the Savoy in London. I don’t know if Fox is going to do a full two hour finale or break it up into two weeks. It’ll be very interesting to see how this one turns out in any case. I am seriously, seriously rooting for Holli, and have been for a very long time, but really feel as though Jay might take it. It’s really anyone’s kitchen at this point.

1 1/4-pound beets, trimmed, rinsed, and peeled $1.50
1 tablespoon olive oil $0.18
6 – 7 cups vegetable broth $3.00
2 tablespoons butter $0.12
2 tablespoons olive oil $0.36
1 medium red onion, finely chopped $0.65
2 cups Basmati rice $1.75
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese $2.25
2 tablespoons butter $0.12
1/4 teaspoon salt $0.01
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper $0.01

Total Cost   $9.95

1.) Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

2.) Place whole, peeled beets on a large piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle with one tablespoon olive oil and tightly wrap beets into a foil packet. Place packet on a baking sheet and roast until tender, about 45-55 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

3.) When the beets are cool enough to handle, cut them into 1/4″ cubes and set aside to cool.

4.) In a medium saucepan, warm vegetable broth over low heat. Keep at a bare simmer, covered.

5.) In a large saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-low heat. Add onion, stirring occasionally until softened but not brown, 8 – 10 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and stir rice into onions, stirring constantly for one minute. Pour in 3/4 cup of the vegetable broth, stirring until most of the liquid has been absorbed, about one minute. Reduce heat to low and ladle in another 1/2 cup of the warmed broth, stirring until the broth is almost completely absorbed.

6.) Continue adding 1/2 cup of broth at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition be almost completely absorbed before adding the next. Continue this process for 20 minutes. The risotto is ready when the rice is mostly tender but with a hint of texture to it.

7.) At this point, stir in the roasted beets, Parmesan cheese, butter, salt, and pepper. Blend well and let it stand 3-4 minutes before serving.

8.) Serve and enjoy!

Read the review here