How you doin’? These simple pork chops are cooked to perfection in a cast iron or heavy bottom pan. Make sure you get the best quality pork chops. You will only need a handful of simple ingredients to create restaurant-quality pork chops.
 
With the skyrocketing cost of beef, seafood and chicken, I still find pork to be the best bargain protein.
 
Prep time:  5 minutes
Cook time:  10 to 15 minutes
Stand Time:  3-5 minutes
Yield:  4 servings
 
Ingredients 
4 bone-in pork chops (1-1/2-inch thick / 6 to 8 ounces each)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 thinly cloves garlic, sliced
4 sprigs fresh rosemary, 1 tablespoon plus chopped fresh rosemary for garnish
 
Directions

1. Gather all the ingredients. Take the chops out of the refrigerator and let them stand at room temperature for 60 minutes before cooking.
2. If there is a fat cap on the sides of the chops, make a few vertical slits through them, so the chops will not curl as they cook and some of the fat will render out.
3. Blot chops dry with paper towels, and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
4. Heat a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Add the oil.
5. Add the chops and cook for 2 minutes.
6. Turn and cook 2 minutes more.
7. Add the butter and garlic to the skillet.
8. Place the rosemary sprigs atop each chop. Tilt the skillet to allow the melted butter and oil to pool on one side.
9. Spoon the butter and garlic mixture over chops occasionally while cooking for 2 minutes. Remove rosemary, turn the chops, replace rosemary and cook, basting chops occasionally, cooking 2 to 3 minutes more or until chops are 140⁰ F in the center when tested with an instant-read thermometer.
10. Remove the chops from skillet and place on a cutting board or serving platter.
11. Tent the chops with foil and let them stand 5 minutes before serving. Temperature will rise to 145 F while standing.
12. Garnish with chopped rosemary.
13. Drizzle the pan juices over each of the chops.

​ChefSecret:  For most pork chop preparations, look for bone-in pork chops about 1.5-inches thick. The bone actually slows the cooking time and adds flavor. We're not talking long, just a few minutes. But even a few minutes can spell the difference between moist, tender pork chops with tasty sear marks and dry, tight-textured chops. Look for center-cut loin chops with a T-shaped bone; the loin is on one side of the bone, the tenderloin on the other.

Quip of the Day:  As a butcher is shooing away a dog from his shop, he sees a $25 bill and a note in his mouth, reading: “10 pork chops, please.” Amazed, he takes the money, puts a bag of pork chops in the dog’s mouth, and quickly closes the shop. He follows the dog and watches him wait for a green light, look both ways, and trot across the road to a bus stop. The dog checks the timetable and sits on the bench. When a bus arrives, he walks around to the front and looks at the number, then boards the bus.
The butcher follows, dumbstruck. As the bus travels out into the suburbs, the dog takes in the scenery. After a while he stands on his back paws to push the “stop” bell, then the butcher follows him off.
The dog runs up to a house and drops his bag on the step. He goes back down the path, takes a big run, and throws himself -WHAP!- against the door. He does this again and again. No answer. So, he jumps on a wall, walks around the garden, beats his head against a window, jumps off, and waits at the front door.
A big guy opens it and starts cursing and shouting at the dog. The butcher runs up and screams at the guy: “What in hell are you doing? This dog’s a genius!”
The owner responds, “Genius, my ass… It’s the second time this week he’s forgotten his keys!”
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Do you have a question or comment? Send your favorite recipes, pictures or thoughts to [email protected]. Recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to  Feeding America, Tunnel to Towers, Union Rescue Mission and/or American Red Cross.

#Entree #BestPorkChops #Dinner #2024Recipes #URM #T2T #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup  
 
                                                                                    ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2024 

How you doin’? In my last book I talked about the importance to mankind of food and drink to culture.

“The Anthropology of Man Can Be Traced More Accurately Through the Foods & Beverages Of Time Rather Than Just The Richness Of Art, The Prose Of Literature, The Rhythm Of Music Or The Structure Of Architecture.”
 
Well, listen up… an ancient scroll from almost 2,000 years ago has finally been decoded. Quite the step up from the bits of hieroglyphics we ‘learned’ in high school Ancient Egypt classes, this task needed the help of artificial intelligence (AI) to be worked out.
 
The Herculaneum papyri are made up of about 1,800 scrolls and ended up buried in ash after Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79AD. These scrolls were excavated from an ancient Roman villa, but it’s been an absolute slog trying to unroll and read them. So, the Vesuvius Challenge was set up in March 2023 to try and decode them, offering a mega prize pot of $1million to crack the code. Papyrologists (yes, they’re a real thing) worked with the contest, believing the Roman scroll contains ‘never-before-seen text from antiquity’. Might it be politics, religion, pros, poetry or maybe something else?
 
Three students managed to read 15 columns in a scroll, helped out by AI-powered coding machines. Youssef Nader in Germany, Luke Farritor in the US, and Julian Schilliger in Switzerland will get to share the $700,000 prize money after managing to read over 2,000 letters.
 
Nat Friedman is one of the challenge’s organizers and TIME reports that after printing out the winning submission he said: “All this has been in this dreamlike digital world in my imagination before. Seeing it on paper, rolling it up, it just made it so tangible.”
 
This winning submission totals four passages, each of 140 characters. TIME explains: “With at least 85% of the characters in each of those passages recoverable by professional papyrologists. It also contains a further 11 columns of text.”
 
The text in question is a piece of Epicurean philosophy on the subject of cuisine pleasure… that’s right, Epicurean philosophy! The winning submission shows ancient Greek letters on a large patch of scroll, and the author seems to be discussing the question: are things that are scarce more pleasurable as a result?
 
The scrolls were excavated from an ancient Roman villa, Herculaneum.
The author, whose identity is unconfirmed, doesn’t think so: “As too in the case of food, we do not right away believe things that are scarce to be absolutely more pleasant than those which are abundant,” one passage from the scroll reads.

In the final section of the scroll, the author appears to criticize his intellectual adversaries, who 'have nothing to say about pleasure, either in general or in particular, when it is a question of definition'.
 
Professor Alice Roberts dubbed this discovery ‘the archaeological discovery of my lifetime’. Although, there is yet a whole load to be discovered with the combined efforts of the Vesuvius Challenge resulting in about five percent of one scroll being read. And the contest confirmed on X: "In 2024, our goal is to from reading a few passages of text to entire scrolls, and we're announcing a new $100,000 grand prize for the first team that is able to read at least 90% of all four scrolls that we have scanned."
 
So, what might they have discovered—a recipe for spiced, Roman-Style Meat Balls?
 
                         Roman Meatballs with Pompeiian Tomato Sauce
 
Prep time:  25 minutes
Cook time:  40 minutes
Total time:  1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients 
For the meatballs
1/2-pound lean ground beef
1/2-pound ground pork
1 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Italian grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons fresh chopped Italian parsley
4 cloves minced garlic
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
olive oil (for browning the meatballs)

For the sauce
1/2 cup virgin olive oil
1 medium finely diced yellow onion
4 cloves garlic, whole
1-28-ounce can of San Marzano Italian-style tomatoes (imported from Italy)
1-28-ounce can of tomato purée
3 tablespoons freshly chopped Italian parsley
2 teaspoons dried thyme
kosher salt to own taste
fresh ground black pepper to own taste
 
Accompaniments
1-pound dried spaghetti
extra chopped parsley for serving
 
Fresh basil
 
added options
red pepper flakes for serving
grated Pecorino Romano

Directions
To make the meatballs

1. Preheat your oven to 250°.
2. Combine lean ground beef, ground pork, breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, parsley, four cloves minced garlic, eggs, salt and black pepper.
3. Form the meat into 2” balls and brown in olive oil until done, about 10 minutes. Set aside on paper towels to drain.
4. Place a serving platter in the pre-heated oven.

To make the sauce

1. In a frying pan, add the olive oil, onions and the four whole garlic cloves. Stir often over medium heat until onions are golden.
2. Remove garlic cloves and discard.
3. Drain the Italian-style canned tomatoes, reserving 1/4 cup of the liquid. Place the liquid from the canned Italian-style tomatoes and the tomato purée in the blender for about 10 seconds.
4. Add the cooked onions, drained tomatoes and blended tomato purée to a sauce pot; cook for about 10 minutes on medium heat.
5. Season the Marinara sauce with fresh parsley, dried thyme, kosher salt, and black pepper and stir the sauce well; simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring the sauce a few times.
6. Boil 1-pound of pasta according to the package directions for al dente cooked pasta.
7. Drain the pasta once done. Do not rinse the pasta.

 
To put it all together

1. Pull the heated serving platter out of the oven.
2. Pour the drained spaghetti onto the heated platter, top with the cooked meatballs and then cover with the sauce.
3. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons chopped parsley and lots of grated Pecorino Romano cheese.

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Chefs Secret:  No need to add olive oil to the drained pasta… you’ll just end up with unnecessarily oily pasta.
Quip of the Day:  After a long day of conquering, Julius Caesar liked to unwind with a nice Roman-ade.
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Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to [email protected]. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to  Feeding America, Tunnel to Towers, Union Rescue Mission and/or American Red Cross.
 
#Entree #RomanMeatballs #SpaghettiAndMeatballs #PompeiianTomatoSauce #HerculaneumPapyri #Dinner #2024Recipes #URM #T2T #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup 
 
                                                                                 ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2024

How you doin’? My Pork Loin Rib Roast is the perfect dinner for company or holidays when Prime Ribs of Beef are not so affordable, and you don’t have to slave in the kitchen to serve something special. Here’s everything you need to know to make it perfectly every time so it’s juicy and delicious.
 
A Pork Loin Rib Roast is a pork loin with the ribs still attached. Another way of thinking about it is similar to rack of lamb or prime rib. If you slice the roast into chops, you’d have 8 or 9 pork rib chops. Unlike a rack of lamb, one pork chop is plenty for one person, so that single pork rack will feed a crowd.
 
You probably won’t find a pork rib roast at the supermarket unless you make arrangements ahead of time. So, call your butcher and order one and ask them to French it for you. “Frenching” means trimming the extra meat between the ribs. It’s not imperative, but it makes for a nice presentation. You can do it yourself, but why bother when the butcher will happily do it for you?
 
Since a pork rib roast is basically a pork loin roast with ribs, I use the same cooking method as I would for roast pork loin. Since it’s a little more sophisticated, I give it a little extra flavor by seasoning it with a dried herb blend. Use whatever kind you like—Italian herb blend, Herbes de Provence (a French herb blend), or make your own. Because there is so much flavor in this cut of pork it doesn’t take much.
 
Ingredients 
Pork loin rib roast, 3 – 5 pounds
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Equipment 
You’ll need an oven-safe rack to set the roast on while it cooks. Don’t have one?  Three or four ribs of celery will work. The idea is to allow the hot air in the oven to circulate under the roast. You’ll also need a roasting pan, large enough to hold the roast and some aluminum foil.
 
Directions

1. Pre-heat an oven to 350°F.
2. Mix together the black pepper, garlic powder and salt.
3. Sprinkle it all over the pork loin roast and rub it all over until it’s well coated.
4. Put the roast on a rack in a roasting pan.
5. Drizzle the pork with balsamic vinegar.
6. Put the roast into the preheated oven.
7. Roast until the internal temperature is at 130°F-150°F. That will take about 18-28 minutes per pound at 350F.
8. You should start checking the temperature after 18 minutes per pound, and then every 10-15 minutes after that. Note that the final temperature by the end of this recipe will be at least 145F, which is the lowest safe temperature for pork. If you want it to be at that temperature, you will take it out at 130F at this stage. If, on the other hand, you don’t like your pork to have any pinkness visible, then you will want the final temperature at the end of the recipe to be 160F, so you will take it out at 150F now. The resting and final cooking will bring the temperature up. Remove the roast from the oven and cover roasting pan with foil and let rest for 30 minutes (remember, the meat will continue to cook while it’s resting).
9. Heat the oven up to 475°F.
10. Uncover the roast and remove the thermometer. If there are any drippings in the pan, pour those out to make gravy. Alternatively, you can move the roast out of the pan, swirl some stock or broth around in there to loosen up any drippings, and then pour that out to use for gravy.
11. Wipe out the pan well, or put the roast into a clean pan, and finish roasting for another 10 minutes. Test the pork to make sure that it is the temperature that you like, and that it is at least 145⁰ F.
12. Use those 10 minutes to make gravy, if desired. If don’t want the gravy, remove the roast from oven, carve and serve immediately.

ChefSecret:  Some people like their pork really well cooked because it used to be recommended that pork be cooked to 160⁰ F. People got used to pork like that and continue to prefer it very white and drier, versus slightly pink and moist. If that’s you and you need your pork more well done, then go with a final temperature of 160⁰ F. That will be 20-25 minutes per pound for a 3-5 pound roast, and 11-15 minutes per pound for an 8-10 pound roast. You’ll take the roast out when it is at 150⁰ F and then let it rest, and then do the final high heat in the recipe. The resulting temperature will be 160⁰ F.
 
If you prefer it juicy and very slightly pink at the center, then go with 145⁰ F. For a 3-5 lb. roast, this will be 18-23 minutes per pound , whereas for an 8-10 pound roast it will be 8-11 minutes per pound. You’ll take the roast out when it reaches 135⁰ F and then let it rest, and then do the final high heat cook. The final temperature will be 145⁰ F. These are the correct times and temperatures according to the National Pork Board.
 
Finally, crank up the oven really high (475⁰ F) and give the roast a last blast in there for 10 minutes. That extra heat really browns and crisps up the outside of the roast, for extra flavor and texture, while not penetrating into the roast to take away the juiciness created earlier. Then carve it immediately and serve. No need to rest it again because the inside of the roast already had its resting time. That results in a juicy pork loin (which is often hard to accomplish) while still having a nice crust.

Quip of the Day:  Q. Why is working at a Pork Sausage factory the worst job?  A. Because every day is Ground Hog Day. 
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Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to [email protected]. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to  Feeding America, Tunnel to Towers, Union Rescue Mission and/or American Red Cross.

#Entree #PorkLoinRibRoast #Pork #PrimeRib #Dinner #2024Recipes #URM #T2T #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup  
 
                                                                                    ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2024

How you doin’? Over the years, Perspectives has worked with most of the major fast food chains in creating new products. As you would expect some were more successful than others. You have to be impressed when someone “invents” or reinvents something as long lasting as Pan Pizza for Pizza Hut, Fish Taco for Rubio’s and McRib for McDonalds.
 
The downside to the rib sandwich for McDonald’s is that they originally formalized McRib with over 60 unique and mysterious ingredients ribs not necessarily being one of them. Easy for them to make; difficult for competitors to copy.
 
With a little reverse engineering and not having to put it through freezing, distribution, and easy-to-make-in-McDonald’s mandate, I developed a home-made-easy recipe that you should try with real ribs. While it takes little active prep time, you do have to allow time for cooking, cooling and cutting—bake, chill, cut, sauce, finish on the grill, and voila, one of the best BBQ sandwiches for your family.
 
McDonald’s sold so many McRib Sandwiches that they had to “bank” the cut of meat so as not to destroy the wholesale pork market. If you knew when they would bring this favorite sandwich back you could make a fortune on pork futures. All of the vendors were sworn to strict secrecy so as not to inflate prices.
 
My recipe only has 10 ingredients and one of them is really baby back ribs instead of shaped ground pork.  You’ll love the flavor of my Ed’s MacRib* Sandwich.
 
Prep time:  10 minutes
Cook time:  3 hours
Cool time:  8 hours
Yield:  8 sandwich halves
 
Ingredients 
For the Dry Rub
1/3 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
 
For the Sandwiches
2 racks baby back pork ribs (extra meaty and well-trimmed)
1 cup barbecue sauce, divided (your choice—I prefer Masterpiece Original)
1 tablespoon liquid smoke (I prefer Wrights Liquid Smoke)
4 long French-style long sandwich rolls, split and toasted
1 cup coleslaw (store bought or your favorite recipe)
Optional: white onion rings and bread and butter pickles.
 
Directions 

1. Preheat an oven to 325⁰ F.
2. Mix the salt, brown sugar, chili powder, pepper, cumin, garlic and cayenne together to make the rub.
3. Place rib racks on a foil-lined rimmed sheet pan. Season both sides generously with some of the rub. Save the remaining rub for next time.
4. Cover the tops of the rib racks with parchment paper and wrap foil over the edges.
5. Cover the whole baking sheet with another large sheet of foil sealing the sides.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until tender, about 3 hours.
7. Remove the ribs from the oven and unwrap ribs to cool briefly until safe to handle.
8. Carefully twist out the bones, stuffing any loose pieces of meat back into the holes. Checking carefully for bone fragments and pieces of cartilage.
9. Wrap ribs back up and refrigerate until cold, 8 hours to overnight.
10. Cut each rack in half.
11. Brush both sides generously with barbecue sauce.
12. Preheat a charcoal grill for high heat and lightly oil the grate.
13. Grill ribs until heated through, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove from grill and brush with more barbecue sauce.
14. Drizzle more barbecue sauce onto each roll.
15. Sandwich each rib section between a roll and top with coleslaw. Add onions and pickles to taste.
16. Cut in half to make 8 portions.

ChefSecret:  Make sure you don't use the larger St. Louis-style ribs. Use a sweet mayonnaise coleslaw. Use extra-large sesame seed hamburger buns (5-inch) as an option to the French rolls.

Quip of the Day:  Inflation has gotten so bad in the last year; McDonald’s is selling the 1/4-Ouncer.

*Disclaimer: Not wanting to infringe on anyone’s trademark I have named my masterpiece, Ed’s MacRib Sandwich.
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Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to [email protected]. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross.
 
#Entrees #MacRibSandwich #PorkRibs #MasterpieceOriginal #WrightsLiquidSmoke #2023 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup 
                                                                        ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023

How you doin’? Here is a dinner entrée that, as of this writing, might still save you a little money. The prices on pork and chicken don’t seem to be going up as much as other proteins—of course, this is dependent on the cut you choose.
 
At first glance this pork chop appears like many others of the Milanese variety you’d find—a generous cut of meat pounded, breaded and fried. However, it’s the important last step that really sets my Milanese Pork apart from all the others.
 
After the chop has been fried, the oil is poured out of the pan and then the meat is returned to the skillet, where it is generously doused with white or red wine vinegar, continued cooking soaks up all the liquid. It gives the dish an outstanding note of acidity that cuts through the fat.
 
Prep time:  10 minutes
Cook time:  10 minutes
Yield:  2 servings
 
Ingredients
2 ounces all-purpose flour
3 large eggs, whisked
2 ounces panko Japanese-style cut breadcrumbs
2 pork chops
2 ounces canola oil for sauteing
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 ounce white or red vinegar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
 
Directions
Prepare a dredging station

1. Place enough flour on a plate or large flat bowl to lightly coat the pork chops.
2. Whisk the eggs and pour them into a flat bowl large enough for you to be able to turn the pork chops in. You could add some grated garlic, smoked paprika, or herbs de Provence to the eggs to add an extra layer of flavor.
3. Place the panko crumbs into a third and separate large, flat bowl.
4. Hammer the pork chops with a meat tenderizer on both sides to flatten.

​To prepare and cook the pork chops

1. Lightly cover the pork chops in flour, dip and coat in the whisked eggs, then evenly cover the chops in panko.
2. Get a large pan big enough to fit the chops, cover the entire surface with neutral oil and warm over medium-low heat.
3. Add the butter to the warm oil and once the butter has melted into the oil and is beginning to sheen, carefully add the pork chops.
4. Cook and caramelize the pork chops on the first side to a golden-brown.
5. Carefully turn the pork chops with a pair of tongs and continue to cook the other side to golden brown.
6. When both sides are caramelized, lift the pork chops out of the oil and place onto a wire rack to the side.
7. Carefully pour the frying oil into a heatproof container to the side and return the pan to the heat.
8. Turn the heat up to medium and put the pork chops back in the dry pan followed by the vinegar.
9. Shake the pan a little while the vinegar bubbles and is absorbed into the pork chops.
10. Once the vinegar has pretty much absorbed, lightly season the chops with salt.
11. Serve with a side of pasta, potatoes or topped with well-dressed greens.
12. Eat immediately.

ChefSecret:  I like to add a little sweet paprika, garlic powder and white pepper in the flour dredge for a more robust flavor.

Covid-19 Quip of the Day: “Nella botte piccola, c’è il vino buono. In small barrels, there is good wine” deriving from the tendency of winemakers to keep the part of the wine considered best in smaller barrels. This should enhance its aromas and flavors. It is used to emphasize that apparently insignificant objects, or people of short stature, may have valuable qualities that are revealed with more careful observation or knowledge.”
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Do you have a question or comment?  Do you want to share a favorite recipe or pictures with our readers?  Send your thoughts to [email protected].  All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross.
 #Entrees #Pork #MilanesePorkChops #Panko #2023 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup 
                                                                                 ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023