Fried Pork Chops

In the middle of winter there is a tendency to crave comfort food…fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes. You get the idea. I certainly didn’t say anything about healthy…just comforting. This particular plate of food is one of my favorites. Fried pork chops are homey and comforting and pair perfectly with a healthy spoonful of mashed potatoes and some sweet applesauce.

During my high school years, I spent many of my weeknight dinners with a family friend. Her mother cooked what I consider comfort food on a regular basis. My recollection is that she would cook fried pork chops at least once a week. I don’t recall what we ever ate with those pork chops because they were just so delicious. When I make these Fried Pork Chops, I remember those fun weeks hanging out with friends and looking forward to home cooked comfort food. Delicious!

Fried Pork Chops Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 Pork chops, medium thickness
• 1/2 Cup All-purpose flour
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
• 1/2 tsp Garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp Onion powder
• 1 Cup Vegetable oil

Directions

1. Pat the pork chops dry with a paper towel. Combine flour and seasonings in shallow bowl. Coat pork chops in flour, shaking off excess. Set aside until ready to fry.
2. Heat vegetable oil in large skillet over medium high heat. When oil is hot, add pork chops to fry. Cook on each side for about 5 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove to paper towels. Serve hot.

Turkey Salad Sandwich with Havarti Cheese and Cranberries

So, it’s January and I miss the long holiday weekends of November and December. I even miss the leftover turkey sandwiches. It’s time to pick up some turkey breasts and ensure there are plenty of leftovers for my favorite next day sandwich: Turkey Salad with Havarti Cheese and Cranberries.

Turkey Salad Sandwich with Havarti Cheese and Cranberries Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 lb leftover turkey breast, skinless and boneless

1/2 cup celery, sliced thinly

1/4 cup onion, diced

3/4 cup dried cranberries

4 T mayonnaise

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

4 slices Havarti cheese

Bread of your choice…I choose Hawaiian Sweet Rolls

Directions:

1. Shred turkey into bite size pieces. Add all remaining ingredients except cheese and bread. Taste for seasoning. Chill until ready to serve.

2. Assemble sandwiches by topping bread with Havarti cheese then turkey salad. Enjoy!

Meyer Lemon Bars

There simply is nothing like a lemon bar. You have the tart lemon surrounded by that mildly sweet flavor that is truly addictive. The sprinkling of powdered sugar makes them so attractive too. Do you want to try an even sweeter version of the much craved lemon bar…go with Meyer Lemon Bars.

Now is the time of year when you can find meyer lemons at specialty food stores and farmer’s markets. When you find them, grab them immediately! Grab extra too! They are well worth it just to have the experience of the perfect lemon bar. These Meyer Lemon Bars have an addictive shortbread crust, an almost but not quite cakey texture, and that oh so sweet and slightly tart lemon filling. If you are unable to find meyer lemons (sigh), you can use this recipe for the standard lemon bars. They will just be more tart and will miss that unique orange flavor that is the hallmark of the meyer lemon. Either way, you are going to love it!

Meyer Lemon Bars Recipe

Makes 18-24 small bars

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Flour (All Purpose)
• 1 Cup Confectioner’s sugar
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 2 Sticks Butter, cold and cut into small cubes
• Filling:
• 4 Eggs
• 2 Cups Sugar
• 4 Tbsp Flour (All Purpose)
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 2 Tbsp Meyer lemon zest
• 1/2 Cup Freshly squeezed meyer lemon juice
• Powdered sugar for garnish

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. To make crust: Using a food processor, add 2 cups flour, confectioner’s sugar and salt. Pulse to mix. Add cold butter gradually with food processor on until texture is similar to crumbs. Remove and press evenly into pan. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
3. To make filling: Whisk eggs, sugar, flour and salt until combined. Add in lemon zest and juice, whisking until combined. Pour into crust. Bake for 22-27 minutes or until set and lightly browned on top. Cool completely.
4. Sift powdered sugar over top and cut into bars to serve.

2011 Recipe Round Up – The Favorites:

Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches with Horseradish Mayo and Crispy Shallots

Buttermilk Garlic Ranch Dressing

Tomato and Feta Bruschetta

Pumpkin Orange Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Klinker Spaghetti ~ my Grandfather’s family recipe

Sauteed Chicken Breasts with a Cherry Tomato Pan Sauce ~ while not the best picture….still delicious!

Honey Roasted Carrots with Mint

Guava and Cheese Tarts

White Chocolate Raspberry Croissant Bread Pudding

And the three recipes that YOU commented on the most in 2011…

Spaghetti Carbonara

Baked Feta Appetizer

Bacon Cheeseburger with Garlic Mayo

Miso Soup

Being under the weather is never welcomed with open arms but I have to say…I sure do enjoy all the soup. This year, I added Miso Soup to my list of sick day soups. There is always Chicken Noodle Soup and sometimes I just want a seasoned broth. Miso Soup though is a perfect match for the cold or flu. It has a salty broth and the best part? I control the flavor with the amount of Miso that I add. It really is delicious and kicks that cold to the curb!

My Miso Soup is enhanced (in my opinion anyway) with some chicken broth and a few thinly sliced vegetables. You can add some diced firm tofu but that isn’t what I crave when I am sick. Once I have cooked the soup I give it a final taste. This is the beauty of a Miso Soup…you can adjust with more miso paste. This way you make the soup your own. Try some Miso Soup today!

Miso Soup Recipe

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp Vegetable oil
• 1/4 Cup Mushrooms, very thinly sliced
• 2 Green onions, minced
• 2 Cups Chicken stock
• 2 Cups Water, hot
• 4 Tbsp White miso paste, more as needed for taste
• Handful of spinach leaves

Directions

1. In a soup pan over medium heat, add oil then mushrooms. Sauté until lightly browned. Add 1/2 of the green onion tops, chicken stock and 1 cup of hot water. Bring to a boil.
2. In a small bowl, whisk one cup hot water and miso paste. When combined, add to soup. Turn off heat and allow to sit for 3-5 minutes. Test for personal taste. Add more miso paste (dissolved in hot water) as needed. I usually use anywhere from 4-6 tablespoons.
3. Serve by topping with remaining green onion tops.

Moscato Poached Pears with Vanilla Whipped Cream

I decided to do a little shopping during my lunch yesterday…MISTAKE! I had scheduled 45 minutes for this trip, which turned into about an hour and a half. And that’s without the actual lunch! Unless you have to do it, shopping should not be part of your plans right now. The traffic, the lines, the frantic search for that one last gift…it is all driving people a little crazy.

Given all this craziness, I think a simple dessert that screams pure elegance is just what is needed for our family meals this weekend. This dessert has everything one could wish for ~ the freshness of pears, the wintry spiciness of cinnamon, the delicate flavors of Moscato wine, and the sweet creaminess of vanilla whipped cream. After a heavy meal, Moscato Poached Pears with Vanilla Whipped Cream is simply perfect.

Moscato Poached Pears with Vanilla Whipped Cream Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 Bottle Moscato wine, 750 mL
• 2 Cups Sugar
• 2 Cups Water
• 1 Cinnamon stick, broken in half
• 1 Vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 6 Pears, firm and ripe, peeled with stem remaining
• 1 Cup Heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp Powdered sugar

Directions

1. Make the simple syrup: In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water over medium heat. Boil, reduce to medium low and simmer another 5 minutes, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove pan from heat and allow to cool.
2. In a large, deep pot (must hold all pears in single layer) over medium heat, add wine, simple syrup, cinnamon stick halves, vanilla seeds and bean. Bring to a simmer.
3. When simmering, add pears and continue to simmer for 20 minutes, turning pears occasionally. When pears are tender (not mushy), remove pears and allow to cool slightly.
4. Continue simmering the remaining liquid for 15 minutes. Sauce should thicken and reduce by half. Cool to room temperature. Remove cinnamon stick and bean.
5. While waiting for sauce to cool, beat heavy cream, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar in glass bowl to a soft peak.
6. Serve one pear per person with wine sauce and a dollop of whipped cream.

Grandpa Klinker receiving Promotion with U.S. Army

Before I share this family recipe with you, I should explain that it appears to have been created in Germany while my grandfather was stationed there with the United States Army after World War II. While my ancestors are of German descent as far back as I have researched, the Klinker side of my family settled in Delaware, Ohio around 1837. Much of the Klinker family still resides in Ohio. My grandfather, Ronald William Klinker (b. 30 Aug 1927, d. 16 Dec 1978), was raised as a meat and potatoes kind of man. My mother remembers living her early years in Germany eating a decidedly Mid-Western diet of nothing but meat and potatoes. My grandmother was a native German and would feed my mom and her brothers authentic German food sometimes but meat and potatoes topped the family’s menu. However, when there was a little extra money for fresh produce (not always available or affordable in post-war Germany), Grandpa Klinker would get a wild hair and go Italian…well, kind of. Klinker Spaghetti was my very German/American Mid-Western family’s version of Italian.

Klinker Spaghetti truly is delicious and is a hearty rendition of Spaghetti and Meat Sauce. What makes it ‘Klinker’ you might ask? Klinker Spaghetti is chock full of mushrooms, onions, green peppers and, wait for it…kidney beans. The addition of kidney beans threw me for a loop but after eating my bowl clean, I decided that Grandpa Klinker knew what he was doing!

Klinker Spaghetti

A funny part of this family recipe is that my Mom grew up  thinking that Klinker Spaghetti was her mother’s concoction. Although really, she should have known better since my Grandmother’s tastes lean towards pickled pigs feet, head cheese, and authentic German food. Only recently did she learn that this was her father’s recipe, giving her a new twist on her fond memories of growing up in Germany. Mom tells me that Klinker Spaghetti was what she thought Italian food should taste like all her life. When she finally had authentic Italian food she was surprised that the ingredients were simple and minimal. So when Mom wants “real” Italian food she opts for her family’s version…Klinker Spaghetti. We hope you enjoy!

Grandma and Grandpa Klinker at Marriage Ceremony, 12 Oct 1948

Klinker Spaghetti Recipe

1 1/4 lb ground beef

1 large can tomato sauce

1 small can tomato paste

3/4 cup Water

1 large onion (large dice)

8 oz mushrooms sliced

2 cans light kidney beans, drained

1 tbls Chili powder

1/2 tbls garlic powder

1 tbls garlic salt

Directions

1. Brown hamburger. When browned,  drain fat. Add spices, onions, and green pepper. Sauté with meat until vegetables are softened.

2. Add tomato sauce and tomato paste with ¾ cup water. Add more water to the consistency you prefer. We prefer a thicker meat and vegetable sauce. As the sauce cooks, you may want to add even more water if it gets too thick.

3. Add kidney beans and cook at medium low for about one hour.  Add mushrooms and cook for another 30 minutes on low.

4. With 10 minutes remaining, cook spaghetti in salted, boiling water and cook according to package directions.

5. Serve with spaghetti and garlic bread.

Fresh Radishes with Dill Butter and Sea Salt

Sometimes the simplest of foods are the most satisfying. These fresh Radishes with Dill Butter and Sea Salt are the perfect example. Delicious and peppery radishes straight from the farmer’s market combined with a homemade compound butter and a coarse salt…so easy, yet so tasty. What more is there to say?

Radishes with Dill Butter and Sea Salt Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 Bunch Radishes, cleaned
• 2 Tbsp Sea salt
• 1/2 Stick Butter, room temperature
• 3 tsp Fresh dill, minced
• 1 tsp Green onion tops, minced
• 1/4 tsp Black Pepper

Directions

1. Mix butter, dill, green onion tops, and pepper. Store in refrigerator to chill only slightly.
2. Serve radishes with the salt and butter on the side.

Notice I mentioned above that my family is small? With my perception that I could count my known family on my fingers and toes, I was convinced that my family search would be quick and painless. Boy was I wrong! So far I have researched (quite thoroughly I might add) and found almost 1,000 ancestors and living family members. I have talked with family I never knew existed! I have pieced together my ancestor’s lives through pictures, census records, family stories, newspaper archives, and historical publications. I have discovered that I am really good at research (a big plus for researching your family history) and that my family wanted to be remembered.

My Fourth Great Grandfather, Joseph J. Klinker's Resting Place; b. 1799, d. 1851, Buried in the beautifully quaint Mayfield Cemetery, Ohio

One way to learn more about my family is to educate myself on the lives they led. I can do this by learning about the events of their time…historical happenings and major events. However, I also want to learn about them through food, an obvious connection to my love for cooking. My family has recipes that have been passed down through the generations. I want to share those. There are also recipes that were specific to certain geographic locations, cultures, and historical timeframes. I want to share those too. What about your family’s recipes and memories? I would love to share them as well! Email me here to give voice to your family’s favorite meals and in remembrance of your family history.

Watch out for my first family recipe this week. I can’t wait to kick off this new and exciting way of cooking for the family!

Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Phyllo Tarts

Need a quick and easy yet elegant appetizer this December? These Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Tartlets are your answer! A few ingredients and some help from pre-made phyllo tarts make these bite size appetizers speedy, simple, and scrumptious.

I was planning my contributions to a big family dinner recently and decided that I was tired of the pre-dinner starvation ritual that we all go through. You know it…about four hours before the big dinner, people start hovering in the kitchen, begging for something to hold them over. Everyone was “smart” and decided to forego lunch in preparation for the gluttony to come for dinner. No one thought about how hungry they would be while they waited on the big meal. My response at this meal? Here…have a Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Tartlet. They were a big success but were gone way too quickly!

Note:  If you are feeling ambitious, make your own phyllo tarts with phyllo sheets, butter and a mini muffin tin. Just cut small squares of phyllo, layer two or three decoratively in the mini muffin tins with butter brushed on each in between. Bake until golden brown. Done.

Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Tartlet Recipe

Makes 12 Mini Tarts

Ingredients

• 1/2 Vidalia onion, sliced thinly
• 1 Tbsp Vegetable oil
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
• 4 oz Goat cheese, crumbled
• 12 Mini phyllo tarts, thawed (can be purchased in frozen section)

Directions

1. In a large skillet, add oil and onions. Slowly cook over medium heat. When onions are translucent, add sugar and balsamic vinegar. Reduce to medium low. Cook for 15 minutes or until onions are a caramel color. Allow to cool.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place a crumble or two of goat cheese at the bottom of each tart shell. Add 1 tablespoon of onion mix into each tart shell. Top with goat cheese. Bake for approximately 5 minutes, or until cheese is slightly melted. Serve immediately.