Welcome back! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday filled with all the love and food your hearts and stomachs can hold. I am excited to slow things down a little and begin sharing some of my everyday recipes with you and to even get some feedback from you. That’s right, I have decided I want to hear from you and help you with your kitchen and cuisine questions, but we will get to that later.
This week I want to focus on a dinner I have made several times that has been a hit, not just with my family but also with all of our friends and family when we shared the pictures on Facebook. So, pour a drink, grab a snack and pen and paper because this meal is a crowd-pleaser you don’t want to miss out on.
While this meal will make a great weeknight meal it will take some prep work. Today we are making grilled pork chops with roasted beets, rainbow chard and fried radishes. This meal is bursting with flavor — let’s get started! For this meal you will need:
• 4 thick-cut pork chops without the bone
• Pineapple juice
• Soy sauce
• Ginger
• Garlic
• 8-10 fresh beets
• 2-3 bundles rainbow chard
• 2 –3 bundles of fresh radishes or a package or 2 of sliced radishes
• Butter
• Bacon diced (optional)
• Salt & pepper
• Garlic powder
First in a large bowl or container mix 1 cup pineapple juice, ½ cup soy sauce, 2 cloves of freshly minced garlic, and about a tablespoon minced ginger — I used the kind you can get in a tube in the produce section. Then place your pork chops in the marinade, cover and let sit for at least 30 minutes but overnight is best, flipping the pork chops once. Now let’s deal with those beets. Preheat your oven to 400o. Cut off the tops and wash the beets really well. Wrap each beet bulb in aluminum foil and bake for 50 – 60 minutes.
Next, you will want to wash the chard and radishes really well so they aren’t gritty from the dirt. Roughly chop the chard and set it aside. If you are using fresh radishes cut the tops and bottoms off and slice thinly. I use a mandolin for this but you can use a knife. Sprinkle garlic powder, salt and pepper on the radishes. Now you are about to have a lot going on in the kitchen – don’t get overwhelmed, pace yourself and have fun!
In one pan you will want to sauté some diced bacon. Once the bacon is crispy remove it from the pan but don’t you dare throw out that bacon grease. Reduce the heat to medium and add in that beautiful rainbow chard, stirring and tossing frequently; you want the chard to cook down a good bit so it isn’t too bitter.
In another pan melt a couple of tablespoons of butter — whichever kind you prefer but I like a salted sweet cream butter. Once the butter has melted add the sliced radishes and keep them in an even layer. Having too many radishes piled in the pan won’t get you the results you want. For the radishes you don’t want them to cook too fast and burn but not be cooked through so you will want to keep them on medium heat, flipping once or twice. At this point, you will want to take your pork chops out and set them on the counter to begin getting to room temperature. Bringing meat to room temp before putting them on heat helps them to not be tough.
I know a lot is going on in the kitchen right now, so it may be a great time to recruit your kids or a spouse or whoever else is around to be your assistant during this meal prep; it never hurts to have an extra set of eyes and hands to help stir things. The beets should be getting close to done at this point. Remove them from the oven and carefully open each foiled beet bulb to allow them to begin cooling. I am never patient at this stage and normally end up burning my fingers — don’t be like me, wait for them to cool a little.
When the beets have cooled enough to handle, the skins of the beets rub or peel right off, leaving this beautifully, shiny beet! After you have pulled the skin off each one and your hands are stained red — don’t worry it washes right off — then quarter each beet, toss with some melted butter, salt and pepper, and a little garlic powder. Now the beets are done!
Warm up your grill and when it’s ready place your pork chops on a medium-high flame. Make sure your radishes aren’t burning and when they begin to get slightly browned you can remove them from the heat. The chard should cook down to about half the size and once that has happened you can add the bacon, some freshly minced garlic and pepper — be careful about adding salt since the chard was cooked in bacon fat and now has the bacon in it. Now all your sides are done and dinner is almost ready.
The pork chops just need about 4 minutes on each side. I will tell you a good way to check for doneness without cutting open the meat. Take your pointer finger and thumb on the same hand and touch them together like you are making the “ok” sign. With the pointer finger from the other hand, touch the palm of the “ok” hand just below the thumb. That is what the doneness on your pork chop should feel like — firm but not hard. When the pork chops are done remove them from the grill and get ready to plate your dinner!
I know this may all seem like a lot, but remember it is my goal to encourage you to think outside the box and try new things. There are ways you can cut down on the prep time such as make the beets the day before and just warming them when everything else is ready, or chopping the chard and radishes a day or two before and storing them in containers in the fridge. Don’t be afraid to add your own touches like adding feta cheese to your beets, different herbs and spices to your radishes, or BBQ sauce on your pork chops instead of marinating them. You can also change this meal up by not preparing all the sides and just doing one or two and replacing one with something else your family likes, such as mac-n-cheese, or omitting the meat products altogether and making it a vegetarian meal!
I Want To Hear From You
So earlier I mentioned wanting to hear from you. If you have questions about something I have discussed or a recipe I have shared, I want to help. You can email me at lindsey.wolford@outlook.com and I will do my best to help you out. Please remember I am not a professional chef, I just cook from the heart and I want to encourage you to do the same. I look forward to sharing more of my family’s favorite recipes with you, and as always I am sending love from my kitchen to yours.
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