A Visit From My Parents

Wow, it's been so long since I had some time to do some blogging! Now I'm playing catch-up....

My parents came in for the afternoon from Johnstown last Saturday to have lunch. We haven't seen them since the wedding over two months ago, so it was nice to catch up for a little bit.

For lunch I made a yummy breaded pork chop recipe that I tried a couple of weeks ago from Eating Well magazine. The original recipe called for a pork tenerloin, trimmed into cutlets. I used chops instead. It was definitely a keeper! I had that along with some roasted red potatoes (just halved, mixed with EVOO, salt, pepper and garlic and roasted), and a tomato/zucchini gratin (from the Food Network) and baby spinach salad. For dessert we had pear pie served with some vanilla cool whip.

Golden Baked Pork Cutlets
Source: Eating Well Magazine

1 lb pork tenderlion, trimmed
1/2 C dry breadcrumbs
1 t sugar
1/2 t paprika
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t salt
4 tsp canola oil (I used EVOO)
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
4 tsp cornstarch

Preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.

Cut tenderloin into 4 long thin "fillets" (hold chef's knife at 45 degree angle and perpendicular to the tenderloin)

Mix breadcrumbs, sugar, paprika, onion powder and salt in a shallow dish. Drizzle with oil and mash with a fork until the oil is thoroughly incorporated. Lightly beat egg white with a fork in another shallow dish. Sprinkle cornstarch over the pork slices and pat to coat evenly on both sides. Dip the pork into the egg, then press into the breading mixture until evenly coated on both sides. (discard leftover egg and breading mixture)

Place pork on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until just barely pink in the center and an instant read thermometer registers 145 degrees, about 14-16 minutes.

Tomato and Zucchini Gratin
(Source: Emeril Lagasse, foodnetwork.com)

1 pound Creole or beefsteak tomatoes, 1/4-inch slices
1 pound zucchini, 1/4-inch slices (I used zucchini and yellow squash)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup fine bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped mild herbs (basil, chervil, tarragon, etc.)
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Salt and pepper
Garnish: parsley, Essence

Preheat the oven 400 degrees. Lightly grease four individual gratin dishes with olive oil. Season each slice of the tomatoes and zucchini with salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon olive oil. In a small mixing bowl, combine the bread crumbs, herbs, cheese and remaining olive oil. Mix thoroughly. Season the bread crumbs with salt and pepper. Alternate layers of the tomatoes and zucchini in each gratin dish. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the top the vegetables. Place in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Garnish with parsley and Essence.

**I also had some cippoline onions that I sliced up and layered with the veggies. Overall the dish was 'ok'. I personally didn't think it had a lot of flavor, but everyone really liked it.