Thursday, March 10, 2011

Dumpster Diving for Dinner: Pork Chops & Pears


No, I didn't actually go dumpster diving for my dinner. And, my friend reminded me why. It all started with a show called Portlandia, a sketch comedy poking fun at Portland, Oregon's stereotypes. It's is so true it has to be funny. In one of the clips a couple is obsessed with dumpster diving because it's the green thing to do. They find toys, clothing and even food. Of course they use it. There's hardly anything wrong with it... aside from those specks of dirt and the flies circling it. But, when they invite their friends over for dinner the guests always cancel on them. I wonder why.

My time with my friend, who did show up because she's not afraid of my meals, was refreshing. It was one of those talks where things in life are slightly sucky but there's still hope strewn within, because you know the sucky things are temporary. After the venting, eating and inhaling of green tea and grapes we thought it smart to learn more about Portlandia. We ended up watching clips for an hour and a half and we laughed the entire time. I usually make it a strict rule to not do things like this because it is "YouTubing", when people gather around a computer and laugh at silly videos and continue to share them for hours. I usually can't stand it, but obviously my heart needed a good laugh. I couldn't help but smile and share the show with everyone I talked to for the next day.

I would also like to think my dinner was a little bit better than dumpster dive dessert. I made pork chops in a white wine sauce topped off with pears. I thought if apples could go with pork chops why not pears too? Plus, a pear dipped in white wine - come on! It's delicious! It was an extremely simple dish to make and the white wine really did complement the pears and the pears really did complement the pork. But, in the end I'm still searching for that one extra thing to make it pop. I thought I could bake it next time, to make the pork softer. It's possible I got thrown off by the texture. What do you think? What could it use?

Continue the conversation, and please don't suggest baby food from the dumpster out back. Enjoy!

What You'll Need:

Pork Chops
White Whine
Butter
Shallot
Garlic
Pears

I eyeball all of my garlic and shallot. Once it's chopped start to cook it in the butter, and shortly after add the white wine, on medium heat. The butter helps to thicken up the sauce and keep the ingredients from burning to the bottom.

After it's sizzling a little add the chops to the middle of the pan, covering them in the sauce, and then place the pear slices around the pork. I put the lid on after this and let it do its thing, occasionally checking to make sure nothing was sticking to the bottom.

Once the pork is cooked thoroughly and the pears are softened the dish is ready to be served. Simple Enough.

2 comments:

  1. I do a similar meal but with a tangier taste. I put down some evo, salt and pepper the chops and brown them for a few minutes on each side, pull chops out, brown some quartered red potatoes (for a few minutes) add the chops back in, and dump a butt load of sauerkraut on top. Throw in a tsp of coriander, cover and cook on medium-low for 40-45 minutes.

    Anywho- I can see how your version would taste just as yummy on the sweeter side of things. :)

    I think chops always taste best cooked slow on lower heat...

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  2. Mmm! That sounds really good. I should try that. I love sauerkraut. Thanks for sharing, Jen :)

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