The Great Rachel Ray Experiment - Recipe 289

As previously noted, I received a Rachel Ray cookbook for Christmas, "365: No Repeats". I started to cook my way through this book beginning with recipe 289; sage and balsamic pork chops with creamy pumpkin polenta.

Yum-O? Yuck-O? I'd say somewhere in between. Just Eh.

I did not follow the recipe to the letter and instead of the pumpkin polenta chose to roast acorn squash in an effort to save a few calories.

When roasting the squash, instead of my usual loads of nutmeg, I chopped the remainder of my sage and sprinkled it over the squash which was already coated with olive oil cooking spray, salt, pepper and garlic powder. The additional crunch of the herby sage made the acorn squash the best part of the meal.

I get where Rach and her garbage bowl were going with this recipe. The sugar from the balsamic caramelizes the pork chop and helps the herb rub adhere to the meat. It is a pretty basic combination of flavors but in this case, the parsley overpowered the sage. If I were to make this again, I'd reverse the amounts of sage and parsley listed below and would probably omit the parsley altogether if it wasn't handy.

I do have to give Rachel some credit, since I am pretty certain her pumpkin polenta recipe would have been pretty good so I am giving her a break and including it in the recipe below. I am also including the annoying Rachel-isms in the recipe so you can roll you eyes along with me! Delish!

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, EVOO (seriously!)

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, enough to just coat the pork chops; eyeball it (more like roll eyeball here)

5 fresh sage leaves; chopped (I'd double this)

1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, a handful, chopped (I'd do half the amount listed or omit completely)

1 lg garlic clove chopped

salt and freshly ground pepper

4 1 1/2 inch thick boneless center-cut pork chops

2 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth

1 cup milk

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

freshly grated or ground nutmeg, about 1/8 tsp

3/4 cup quick-cooking polenta

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus some for garnish

2 tbsp unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 375.

Preheat a large, oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat with 2 tbsp of the EVOO, twice around the pan (yes it's still annoying). In a shallow dish, combine the balsamic, sage, parsley, garlic, the remaining 1 tbsp of EVOO, salt and pepper. Coat the pork chops and then place them in the skillet and sear the meat on both sides to caramelize, about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer the skillet to the oven to finish off, about 8 minutes, or until the meat is firm to the touch but not tough.

While the chops are cooking, in a sauce pot combine the chicken stock, milk and pumpkin and season with the nutmeg, salt and pepper. Place over high heat and bring up to a simmer. Whisk in the polenta and stir until it begins to mass together. Add the grated cheese and butter, stirring to combine.

Christmas Day!

Santa was very good to Ms. Foodie!

Before leaving for RRR's I was the lucky recipient of some culinary gifts: "Santa's Cookies" aka decadently delicious chocolate covered graham crackers with caramel and peppermint from Bossman1, a lovely 2003 Barolo from Bossman2, another bottle of vino from J-Bends, some Jacques Torres Cocoa Dusted Almonds from JC (who knows about my culinary crush on Jacques) , and a box of Max Brenner chocolates from CJ to go with the Jacques Torres chocolates and baking sheets I already received from Rockstar.

So before Christmas Day even arrived, I had done pretty well for myself. What other surprises could be waiting for me under the tree?

Well, dear readers, Ms. Foodie and RRR couldn't stop laughing (and perhaps crying) when we both received copies of Rachel Ray: 365 No Repeats! Yes, a cookbook from none other than Rachel Ray, who I continue to mock in this blog, despite getting rave reviews for making her sage sausage bites at the recent Petey Holiday Party!

Perhaps my resolution for 2008 should be to stop making fun of the goofy joker faced pseudo cook and take some of her dishes for a spin. Maybe I'm missing something that has the rest of the country so enthralled.

Regardless, this gift should provide fodder for many posts to come!

Petey Holiday Party!

Awhile back, a few of my closest friends decided to call our group of girls the "Petey's" --- also sometimes Pete's, Peter's, you get the point. Anyway, every year we get together around the holidays, eat too much food, drink too much wine and exchange gifts a la Secret Santa/Hanukkah Harry. This year it was my (second) turn to host the gathering.

I made an appetizer and the main course. Thighs brought the cheese, crackers and crudite. Sockitome brought some well-seasoned asparagus, brussel sprouts, parmigiana and small rounds of fresh mozzarella from a local market, Rockstar brought dessert a la Fresh Direct - a dairy free lemon and a chocolate tart (Marathon Man, our lone dude for the evening, is allergic) and Chef MJ brought her famous deviled eggs and Caesar salad. Of course, everyone brought plenty of wine!

While Thighs was preparing a cheese, crackers and crudite plate, I was being the biggest hypocrite on the planet and preparing a Rachel Ray recipe! I KNOW!!!! I can't stand her Joker-grinned cheesy shtick but RRR had made her sage sausage bites with balsamic apricot dip and it was a big hit. As much as I loathe her and everything she stands for, I have to admit, this appetizer was super easy and quite tasty! The spice of the sausage was perfectly balanced by the herby sage and sweet dip with the right amount of tart from the balsamic. My few revisions to the dish (recipe on the link above) would be to put a bit more of the dip in the sausage, use hot sausage in lieu of sweet and to not make as much of the dip as the recipe calls for - I wound up with a lot left over!

Ms. Foodie made a rookie mistake when baking these tiny sausage meatballs... I used a flat cookie sheet instead of one with edges and before you knew it the kitchen was filled with smoke from the oil that was burning on the bottom of the oven! Oh well, it kept me and Thighs on our toes!

After devouring the sausage bites, we moved on to Chef MJ's deviled eggs which were deliciously rich and simply made using egg yolks, mayonnaise, dijon mustard and pepper. Fresh chives, paprika and a bed of purple cabbage added to the overall presentation.

Her Caesar dressing is even more impressive... made with one coddled egg yolk, olive oil, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, anchovies and lemon juice. I am not always a fan of Caesar, but MJ's is so light, flavorful and full of salty anchovy goodness that before you know it, you've gone back for seconds and thirds! Lucky for me, there was lots of dressing left over!

With my time being limited this week thanks to some late nights at work, I needed to make something less time consuming as the main course. I looked to that goddess of Italian cuisine, Lidia Bastianich, for a hearty pasta recipe and chose her bucatini with pancetta, tomato and onion. The recipe comes courtesy of my signed (how cool is that?!?) "Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen" cookbook and the complete recipe is on the link above.

The sauce was hearty and flavorful and actually tasted sooo much better the next day once the flavors had a chance to meld (as is often the case with sauces). We all found the bucatini a bit tough to eat and there was a lot of slurping; especially from my side of the table.

The best part of the meal was our gift exchange! We all know each others tastes so well and the gifts were simply perfect! I received a set of baking sheets from my Secret Santa, later revealed to be Comet aka Rockstar. The baking sheets came in a set of three different sizes with edges so I am sure not to repeat my sausage oil fire hazard stated above.

I also received a box of Jacques Torres chocolates! Oh me and my love - reunited at last! It's been too long! What a great way to kick off the holidays!

Foodie F-Rants: E-V-Oh-nO!

On today's shopping trip I saw something so revolting and frightening that I wish I could go back to being blissfully unaware of its existence:

RACHEL RAY EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL! And of course it is called "EVOO"!

When did this culinary crime against humanity happen? And more importantly, can the Rachel Ray juggernaut be stopped?

I think I'm going to be sick... somebody get me a garbage bowl!