The Italy-Inspired Spaghetti, Butter, and Sage

First off, apologies for the blur in my last post. I admit, it was a lazy one, but then again I was busy cooking out and having a blast for the 4th of July. Must've had a pig and a half last week!

Secondly, this post contains a recipe inspired by my recent trip to Italy. This one is quite simple, with only a handful of ingredients and not much more than 20 minutes prep time. It's also quite flavour-full!

Ingredients:
- 2.5 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- 2 - 3 tablespoons of fresh sage, chopped
- 2 sprigs of fresh sage for garnish
- 2 ounces of baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- half a pound of spaghetti
- 1/2 cup of spaghetti liquid reserved after draining
- 1/4 cup shaved parmesan

Heat up the water for the spaghetti while you're doing your other prep. You should start cooking the spaghetti before you start the sauce. Cook it about five minutes until not quite done, then drain, reserving a half cup of the liquid.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until bubbling. Add the sage and mushrooms. Cook in butter until tender. Now add your spaghetti and mix thoroughly. Cook another two to three minutes until al dente, adding reserved liquid if it gets dry.

Serve into bowls and garnish with shaved parmesan, fresh pepper, and a sprig of fresh sage.

Your soundtrack for this entry: Alice in Chains - Would?

The Tomahawk Chops

It's no secret that I don't have a grill. There's not even a courtyard in my building I could use. So when I get the opportunity to jump over to someone else's joint and use theirs, I definitely hop to it. My now former boss had a housewarming/going away party (it's complicated) this weekend. To see him off I got a pair of tomahawk chops for the grill.

The grill I had to work with. It was fantastic. There you can see the chops front and centre, with some Argentine-marinated skirt steaks to the left, pork sausage behind, and roasting corn on top. 

These are the wonderful chops. They are HUGE. This was a little over four pounds of meat, rubbed down with olive oil, and then sprinkled liberally with salt and pepper. When I want great meat of all kinds I hit up the International Meat Market in Astoria. My friend Sal always jokes that this is actually a bar down the street whenever I say I shopped at the meat market. The butcher who cut and frenched these chops was nothing if not an artist of the highest caliber.

The final product. 

Your soundtrack for this entry: Michael Jackson - Rock with You.

The Za'atar Lamb Chops and Golden Crusted Brussels Sprouts

I came so close to making fish. Then it was almost another pasta. Then I figured just because I love pasta, you dear readers would think that's all I could make. Bah! The lamb caught my eye and the lamb's what I made. My arteries probably hate me now, but who needs them?

So, what's za'atar? Until a few months ago I didn't know either, but the Thrifty Sifter made some of her own and conveniently left it at my place. Essentially it's a Middle Eastern equivalent to salt and pepper in that it's the spice. Serious Eats has a more in-depth za'atar description. It goes great on meat, as I proved to myself last night.

Overall this was an extremely simple dinner to make.

Ingredients for lamb chops:
- lamb chops
- fresh ground pepper
- salt
- za'atar

Ingredients for brussels sprouts:
- brussels sprouts
- olive oil
- salt
- pepper
- shaved parmesan

To paraphrase Heidi Swanson, whose golden crusted brussels sprouts entry I perused, this isn't much of a recipe. Hell I would barely consider the above a list of ingredients. You can essentially follow her directions for the brussels sprouts. The only change I really made was using shaved parmesan.

Also, you should take her advice about using small sprouts. I'm battling a cold and don't feel so hot, so I rushed through the grocery store produce section instead of hitting up my regular United Bros. Fruit Company across the street. Some of my sprouts were on the large side and, yes, they burned and didn't make it to the final plate.

The lamb chops are a simple affair, too. Sprinkle salt on both sides, grind pepper on both sides, and dust both sides with za'atar. Let sit for 15 minutes or so, then sear them in a skillet over medium heat to desired doneosity. Let them rest a few minutes and serve. 

And yeah, even though I'm sick, I had to have a beer with dinner. That's a Hop Noir from Peak Organic, a black IPA. NOM!

Your soundtrack for this entry: Ghost - Ritual.

The Next Try at Pork Chops

After the first try at pork chops, it's taken some reading to get me on to my next try at pork chops. I got a little recipe. Wanna hear about it? Here we go!

Ingredients:
1 - one teaspoon white pepper
2 - one tablespoon hot paprika
3 - two tablespoons salt
4 - two tablespoons fresh ground pepper
5 - one teaspoon fresh sage, chopped
6 - two boneless center cut pork chops
7 - four tablespoons olive oil
8 - half cup all purpose flour

Mix the first five ingredients in a large bowl. Brush the pork chops with two tablespoons of olive oil total. Coat with the spice mixture. Put the flour in a large plate and dredge the chops.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Also heat the other two tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet on high. Brown the pork chops two minutes per side. Transfer chops to the oven and cook for ten minutes. Remove from oven and let rest.

Am I going to fry up the chops or my fingers?

Okay, it's just the chops.

I served the chops with some scallion kimchi. In the end the chops were great, though I'm still not ready to make them for other people. I also would use scallion kimchi sparingly. It's very strong.

Your soundtrack for this entry: Ghost Brigade - Clawmaster.