Vietnamese Caramelized Grilled Pork and Chive Salad

This dish represents my efforts in multitasking. Over at I Heart Cooking Clubs, we are cooking Mark Bittman's recipes each week. While looking for my next adventure with Mark Bittman, I found this recipe for Vietnamese Caramelized Grilled Pork and thought it would be perfect for Joanne's Regional Recipes roundup this month, which is featuring the cuisine of Vietnam. Wanting a unique and different side dish to go along with the pork, I chose Mark Bittman's Chive Salad which not only sounded delicious, but is also a perfect recipe to share with Deb over at Kahakai Kitchen for her weekly Souper Sundays roundup and also with Reeni at Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice for her Side Dish Showdown. If only I could multitask some of my household chores in this manner.....

I ran to the grocery store, stocked up on everything I needed to make both recipes and returned home. I tend to get rather excited when I have plans to try something new and this was no exception. However, once I got started I realized that the Vietnamese Caramelized Grilled Pork began with a REAL CARAMEL SAUCE. (NOTE: Caramel sauce is something I have not yet perfected, in fact it scares me.) Knee deep into this recipe I become quite flustered. Not only was I fighting with a caramel sauce but the the doorbell and phone were ringing at the same time. Does anybody know why that only happens at dinnertime? Are they in sync or something? Anyway, my version of Vietnamese Caramelized Grilled Pork puts a whole new spin on caramelized. Let's just say that everything was REALLY caramelized. Yep, caramelized....that's my story and I'm sticking with it! Can you tell by the very caramelized shallots in the picture? Not to say that it wasn't good, because it was....BUT in the right hands, this dish has major potential.

Vietnamese Caramelized Grilled Pork
Adapted from Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express
Pound boneless pork chops to quarter-inch thickness and heat the grill or broiler. In a small, heavy saucepan, combine half a cup of sugar with two tablespoons of water and stir with some grated ginger to make a paste; cook, undisturbed, over medium heat until it turns golden. Add a couple of finely diced shallots, a tablespoon each fresh lime juice and fish sauce, and a pinch of salt (at this point the caramel will harden); continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the caramel dissolves and the shallots are soft, about two minutes. Put the pork on the grill and brush with sauce, turning frequently until the chops are just cooked through.

This chive salad went perfectly with the pork and after eyeballing it in my copy of Kitchen Express, I was very happy to finally try it. Chives are probably my favorite herb and they really shine in this simple salad. A super duper light dressing is made from equal parts soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, water, a touch of sesame oil and pinch of sugar. It is a light and flavorful salad that would be a great side dish to any Asian-inspired meal.

Chive Salad
Adapated from Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express
In a large salad bowl, whisk together equal parts soy sauce, water, and rice wine vinegar. Add a few drops of sesame oil and a pinch of sugar. Roughly chop a couple of bunches of chives and add them to the bowl along with some chopped romaine or iceberg lettuce. Toss well and serve.

I am submitting the Vietnamese Caramelized Grilled Pork to Joanne for Regional Recipes and also to I Heart Cooking Clubs for this week's Potluck Theme.


I am submitting this unique and fun chive salad to both Deb @ Kahakai Kitchen for her weekly Souper Sundays roundup and also to Reeni of Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice for her monthly Side Dish Showdown.

In the meantime, I'm going to practice how to caramelize - LOL!

Saffron Chicken Kabobs, Couscous with Pistachios, Chickpeas, and Corn, and Green Salad with Herbs and Radishes

If you have not had Middle Eastern food, then you are missing out. This was one seriously delicious meal. I'm talking seriously delicious! It is so seriously delicious that you will not be able to focus on anything else while eating it. In fact, I was able to tune out my eight-year old daughter (for those of you who know young girls, you understand). You see, the child is never quiet. NEVER! She is either talking, humming, singing, blathering, arguing, you name it. I never heard a word she said throughout dinner. I was too busy marveling at all the fresh flavors, the textures, and the overall appeal of this dish. It was one of those meals where you are full, but you keep on eating anyway.

I have my friend Joanne, of Eats Well With Others, to thank for this meal. Joanne is now hosting Regional Recipes which is a monthly roundup of regional cuisines from around the world. This month, we are celebrating the cuisine of the Middle East. Believe me when I tell you that this is one delicious cuisine that uses fresh flavors and is very healthy, for the most part.

I borrowed a wonderful cookbook from the library called Feast From the Mideast by Faye Levy. I highly recommend it. I flipped through this cookbook for 5 minutes and was hooked. There are no pictures, not even black and white, but there are 350 delicious recipes. I actually preferred this cookbook to Claudia Roden's books. (Sorry, Claudia)

I have been wanting to cook with saffron for a really long time so I decided on the Saffron Chicken Kabobs. To go along with the kabobs, I chose the couscous and green salad with radishes (I love radishes).
Saffron Chicken Kabobs (Chich Tawouk)
*Adapted from Feast From the Mideast by Faye Levy*
Pinch saffron (1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon) crushed
2 or 3 onions
3 tablespoons strained lemon or lime juice
1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut in 1-1/4 inch pieces
salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 large cherry or small plum tomatoes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or melted butter
Basil sprigs, chives and other fresh herbs
fresh pita bread
Put saffron in small cup and pour 2 tablespoons hot water over it. Let stand for 5 minutes. Reserve 1 tablespoon liquid saffron for basting chicken. Pour remaining saffron into bowl large enough to contain chicken. Finely grate 1/2 onion and add to bowl. Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice and mix well. Add chicken pieces to bowl and mix well. Cover and marinate for 2-6 hours in refrigerator.
Cut peppers in 1-1/4-inch squares. Quarter remaining onions. Remove chicken from marinade, brushing off bits of onion and discarding marinade. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Thread chicken on skewers, alternating with pepper pieces, onions and tomatoes.
Heat barbecue, stove-top grill, or broiler and lightly oil rack. Combine remaining liquid saffron with oil and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Brush this basting liquid over chicken. Put kabobs on barbecue. Grill or broil about 10 minutes, until chicken is just cooked through but is still succulent, turning kabobs often and brushing them occasionally with basting liquid. To check, cut into a chunk- chicken should not be pink inside. Serve hot with herbs and fresh pita.

Couscous with Pistachios, Chickpeas, and Corn (Salat couscous im fistookim v'hummus)
*Adapted from Feast From the Mideast by Faye Levy*
3-4 tablespoons EVOO
1 onion, minced
1/2 large zucchini, diced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-1/2 cups water
1/2 carrot, finely diced
1 cup couscous
2-4 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 small garlic cloves, minched
pinch cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried mint
1 cup cooked or canned corn kernels, drained
1 - 15 oz- can chickpeas, drained
1/3 cup salted pistachios, toasted

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in medium saucepan. Add onion and saute over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add zucchini, salt, and pepper and saute for 1 minute. cover and cook for 1 more minute. Remove vegetables to bowl. Add water, carrot, and a pinch of salt to saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 2 minutes. Add couscous and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 7 minutes.
Lightly spoon couscous mixture into large bowl and fluff with a fork. Add remaining oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, cayenne, and mint, and mix lightly. Add corn, chickpeas, and sauteed zucchini mixture and toss lightly. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve salad warm, cold, or at room temperature, sprinkled with pistachios.

Green Salad with Herbs and Radishes (Marul salatsi)
*Adapted from Feast From the Mideast by Faye Levy*
5-6 cups bite-size pieces romaine lettuce, or one 10 oz. package
3/4 to 1 cup coarsely chopped arugula or watercress (optional)
6 small red radishes, sliced
2 green onions, sliced thin
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or mint
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lmeon juice or white/red wine vinegar
2-3 tablespoons EVOO
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup good-quality black olives, such as kalamata (optional)
Toss lettuce with arugula, radishes, green onions, parsley and dill in bowl. Whisk lemon juice with oil, salt, and pepper in small bowl. Pour over salad and toss lightly. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve garnished with olives.

Notes/Results: I love this meal! Surprisingly, I think the radish salad might have been my favorite component of the meal. It was bright, fresh, lemony and had a bite to it. Of course, I could just be biased because I love radishes. The saffron chicken kabobs were tender and juicy and had a very mild flavor. I didn't really know what to expect of the saffron. For some reason, I expected it to have a very strong flavor, but it was somewhat mild and pleasant. The couscous salad was addictive. When you bite into it the corn and chickpeas burst in your mouth and the overall texture of the couscous is wonderful. You have the tenderness of the couscous, the crunch of the pistachios, and the sweet burst of the corn. Let's just say that this cook had her fair share directly out of the bowl. It's all about quality control, right?

Click HERE for information about Regional Recipes.

Hmmmm.....if only I had made the Queen of Sheba Chocolate Cake:D

Slow-Braised Meatballs with Cranberry Sauce and Egg Noodles - Recipe #45 Stirring the Pot

When I heard that Joanne of Eats Well With Others was hosting Regional Recipes this month, I knew I wanted to participate. Joanne is not only a great blogging friend, but a very dedicated and inspiring young lady. In fact, she just ran a marathon! I figured that if Joanne could run a marathon, then I could get my act together to make this recipe for Regional Recipes.

This month, Regional Recipes is focusing on Scandinavian cuisine. This Scandinavian theme was perfect for me because I had been wanting to make this recipe, Tyler's version of Swedish meatballs. This is how Tyler describes these meatballs:

"These aren't your typical goodfella's meatballs. You can look to Sweden for the inspiration here with the sweet cranberry sauce serving as a substitute for the traditional lingonberries."

Tyler's recipe is in Stirring the Pot, but you can also find it here on the food network.

Notes/Results: This was a pretty cumbersome dish to make and involved many dirty pots and pans! Over at Tyler Florence Fridays, Tyler is famous for yielding many dirty dishes :D We still love him though. Tyler directs you to brown the meatballs on the stove top first in a large roasting pan. Well, I didn't have a roasting pan large enough for 3 pounds of meatballs and oodles of braising liquid. I had to cook everything in batches. Then I had to transfer to another roasting pan in order to put it into the oven. Maybe I wasn't with the program yesterday, but there has to be an easier way. Overall, we liked this dish. It was an extremely savory dish and fairly mild in flavor, even with the addition of the cranberry sauce. The meatballs had a soft and delicate texture due to being braised in the cooking liquid. My husband doesn't care much for a "soft" meatball, but he did like these. The soft texture of these meatballs didn't bother me at all. I quite liked them. I enjoyed dunking my meatballs into the cranberry sauce. The cranberry sauce was a beautiful red color and really helped bring the meatballs up another notch. This was a stunning dish when it was plated with the saucy meatballs, red cranberry sauce, and pretty green dill sprinkled around the plate. It would be great at the holidays!! A very tasty dish indeed, especially if you can get around all those dirty dishes :D

I will also be submitting this to Tyler Florence Fridays this week! Don't forget to head on over to TFF this weekend to see what everyone else is cooked up throughout the week. There are still two weeks left to participate with TFF!!