Baking pork chops in the oven

Pork, The Other White Meat, was an advertising slogan developed for the National Pork Board and it successfully made pork a household word. For many years people were somewhat afraid of pork. 

The fear of trichinosis, caused homemakers to cook their pork so long that it was usually served dry and tough, not a very appealing combination. While trichinosis still exists, the US government has set standards for the way that hog feed is prepared and the risk has been greatly reduced. It is known that if you are still wary of the parasite, all you really need to do is cook your port to a temperature of 140 degrees. The parasite cannot survive beyond a temperature of 137 degrees.

You can choose lots of great ways to bake pork chops. You can opt for the long slow method which produces a fall apart chop that is fork-tender and loaded with flavor. It is given a milk and egg bath and dredged in flavored bread crumbs before being placed in a 9 by 13 roasting pan and covered with aluminum foil. 

It is cooked for hours in a low heat oven and the results will blow you away. It is luscious as most pork chops are not and just so that you can relax and just enjoy this wonderful pork, use a meat thermometer to be sure you have exceeded 130 degrees. If you steer clear of pork because you think it is dry, give this method a try, you will be a convert. 

Another way to bake pork chops is in water. Get out your roasting pan and cube up a couple pounds of any white potatoes and two or three yellow onions, place these in the pan with six nice center-cut bone-in pork chops. Don't go for the thin chops, get a nice thick cut. Cover everything with about 2 inches of water and 2 tablespoons of Gravymaster. Place the pan in a 350-degree oven and cook for about an hour and a half uncovered. You will know that it is done when the water is gone and the potatoes and onions are starting to get crispy.  

These pork chops have a very deep flavor and the potatoes and the onions are just the best. You can add other vegetables if you want such as carrots or other root vegetables. This is a hearty meal and makes a great fall or winter dish. It can be done on the counter in an electric frypan as well.

  

Baking pork chops is a good way to pull all the flavor out of them. Breaded or not, they are the perfect meal without having to do a whole lot of extra work, they cook themselves with very little attention from you.

Farfalle with garlic chicken and spinach

Necessity is the mother of invention and we will be leaving soon to head back north. I had some fresh spinach and a chicken breast and I didn't want to waste them I decided to boil some farfalle and make an olive oil sauce with garlic and spinach to pour over it. I cooked the chicken in the air fryer.




This pasta dish served 2.


Chicken breast:

Salt and pepper and garlic powder on both sides. Preheat the air fryer for 3 minutes. Place the chicken on the tray and cook for three minutes. Pause the machine, turn over the chicken and cook for another 3 minutes. Slice and set aside.




Boil about half a pound of pasta.




In a frying pan pour in olive oil, I mixed chili garlic oil with just regular olive oil, sorry I never measure but put enough so that the spinach won't stick, add prewashed spinach, and cover. When the spinach has wilted add a tablespoon of jarred garlic, the juice of half a lemon and salt and pepper. Place on warm. Add some of the pasta water and more olive oil to make enough to constitute a sauce.




Pour over pasta, add sliced chicken, add another squeeze of fresh lemon, and if you like grated cheese. Eat and enjoy.

Brooklyn's Backyard Ocala, Florida

You probably wouldn't even notice Brookly's Backyard unless you specifically know that they are located in a strip mall in the NE quadrant of Ocala. We had a coupon for $5 off of $30 that we wanted to use so we went looking for them. I had a pretty good idea where they were since I looked for them last year when I was looking for somewhere to have breakfast. They don't serve breakfast just lunch and dinner so we went to Richard's Place but vowed to return for lunch.

Inside is quite rustic, obviously, this is not Brooklyn New York!! Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad thing. Casual is the norm here and you will feel the relaxed but very friendly vib as soon as you walk in the door.

As I looked at the menu I spotted the edamame and had to have it. I ordered that app with our drinks. Then we took our time looking over the extensive menu. It includes everything from burgers and sandwiches to mac and cheese with burnt ends which sounded wonderful.

Al decided to try the sirloin steak with rosemary parmesan fries. Let me say right off these are homemade fries and very very good. The steak was smothered with mushrooms and onions and topped with swiss cheese. It was a generous serving and gave Al enough for lunch and dinner.

The special of the day was 10 wings and fries for $10 which is what I chose. Very good wings with Brooklyn sauce, there are lots of other choices but this one was sweet and spicy so it sounded like me and I was correct.

I loved the fact that our drinks were served in a Mason jar and the half and half iced tea was excellent.

I was very pleased with our first visit to Brooklyn 's Backyard and our waitress told us that if we enjoyed steak, Tuesday is steak night where a New York Strip is offered for $12.99. Sounded good to us. I am quite sure we will be back!!

Please forgive the photos I had to use Al's flip phone. 

My Love Affair with the 4 Qt Ninja Airfryer

I got myself an air fryer before Christmas but since I was down here in Florida shortly thereafter I decided I wanted to be able to cook with it here. I decided to get it from QVC since I like the fact that they stand behind the things that I have bought from them. It is a Ninja 4 Qt air fryer.




I have a Cooks Essentials 5.3 Qt model at home so this one is a little smaller. but I have discovered that it is plenty big enough for the two of us. I have also discovered that the book that was included with the airfryer is not always the most accurate when it comes to time and temperature. I ended up with a trial and error approach.

I keep a notebook near the air fryer and I write notes about what I cooked and how long I cooked it. This way when I want to cook something again, I know what I did the first time.

One of the features that I really like about this model is the ability to pause the fryer while you open it to check on the doneness of the food being cooked. The downside is that there are no presets so you can't just push the button for wings say and have it cook a set time. It also has a tray for dehydrating things.


I am amazed every day at the scope of things that I can cook in the air fryer. It is by far my favorite new toy and hardly a day goes by when I don't use it. Be prepared to make room on your countertop for this air fryer, you will never want to put it away.

Side Dishes to serve with Spaghetti

Spaghetti is a staple of many people's diets. Not only is it delicious but it is inexpensive and adapts well to a variety of different sauces and toppings. Traditionally it is accompanied by a red sauce and meatballs but that is just the beginning. Before you decide on what side dishes to serve with spaghetti, you need to decide exactly what your main dish is going to be. If you opt for traditional pasta and meatballs, Bolognese or Marinara and Italian sausage, then there are some equally traditional side dishes to serve with spaghetti that many people opt for.

Garlic bread

Garlic bread is one of the traditional side dishes to serve with spaghetti and meatballs. It is very simple to make and certainly is available to buy already made. All that is required is an Italian or French bread, some olive oil or butter and some garlic. The bread is spread with the oil or butter and the garlic, either fresh or garlic powder and then baked in the oven until warm and crispy. To take it up a notch, consider using roasted garlic and/or cheese. If you buy it frozen, it can be melty delicious in just a few minutes by cooking it in an air fryer. 

Tossed salad

The crunch of a salad is a great accompaniment to the soft comfort of a spaghetti dinner. It can be a Caesar salad or a mixed green salad. If you want to continue an Italian theme, an antipasto salad with black olives, cubes of Italian cheese, peppers and Italian sliced meats is another option. In most restaurants, it is the side of choice.

Broccoli rabe

Broccoli rabe is an interesting side dish to serve with spaghetti especially if you are having it with Italian sausage or with pesto. It is certainly one of my personal favorites. It is a bitter tasting green that when combined with olive oil and garlic makes a tasty way to add some dark greens to your diet. Italian sausage is often served with broccoli rabe.

Meatballs

If you are serving your spaghetti with Marinara sauce or another meatless sauce, then you may want to serve meatballs and/or Italian sausage as a side dish. You can make homemade meatballs if you have the time but they are also available in your grocery stores frozen foods department. 

Vegetables

A few vegetables make an interesting side dish to serve with spaghetti. Most dark green veggies work well, including asparagus, zucchini or spinach. If you are serving spaghetti without a tomato based sauce, stewed tomatoes make an interesting side dish. Eggplant is another vegetable that works well with spaghetti.

When thinking about what side dishes to serve with a spaghetti dinner, keep texture in mind. It is always nice to have something that adds a little crunch.

Simple and Delicious Banana Bread

My motto is never waste a banana. I usually buy more bananas than I know we can eat. When my bananas get black I peel them, put them in a ziplock bag and freeze them until I am ready to make some banana bread. I then thaw them and they are perfect. Here is one of my favorite recipe. It makes enough to eat and share. Not many people will turn down a fresh, home-baked loaf of banana bread. 

5 cups of white flour
2 cups of sugar
7 teaspoons of baking powder
2 teaspoons of salt
6 tablespoons of vegetable oil
2 cups of 2 percent milk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs
2 cups of mashed bananas
1/2 chopped maraschino cherries 

optional: 2 cups of walnuts chopped roughly

Heat the oven to 350. Grease and flour two loaf pans (I like stone).

Place all the ingredients except for the bananas, cherries, and nuts into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until well blended. Make sure to stop every so often to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Mash the bananas with a fork until they break down a bit. Add the bananas to the batter and blend. Fold in the cherries and the nuts.

Divide the batter between the two pans and place them in the center of the oven. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Use a toothpick or knife to check if it is done. If it comes out clean, it is done. Place the pans on a rack to cool. Loosen the edges with a knife, flip the pans over and tap the bottom, I use a knife. Lift the pan off slowly in case the bread is sticking to the bottom of the pan.

If you want to take it up a notch, add 1 cup of chopped dates in place of the maraschino cherries. Another good substitution is 1 cup of mini chocolate chips again in place of the cherries. You can also melt 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and drizzle the loaf.

This recipe will make about 8 good size muffins if you prefer to have a small portable portion.

Serve the loaf sliced and spread with butter or eat plain. This is a good moist bread that keeps for several days in the fridge. It also freezes well and stays delicious for months if you pack it carefully. Since it makes two loaves you will have to decide whether you prefer to share or have some for next week or next month.

Restaurant review: Tony's Cedar Key, Florida

What can I say about Tony's except that they are the most popular place in Cedar Key to dine, ask any local, this is the place they recommend. We decided to have lunch here on a Friday in April. We got there at about 11:45 a.m. and we were not the first ones. 

You can't have lunch here without trying the clam chowder. It is New England style and I can't even believe as a New Englander that I am saying this, it is the best clam chowder I have ever taste. I'm not the only one that thinks that it is award-winning chowder. We liked it so much, we bought a quart to take home for later. They have even canned it. 

While the chowder is

certainly a winner, the rest of the food isn't lacking in any way. 

Tony's offers a wide variety of steamed and fried seafood. This is the combo platter and it was a platter full of deliciousness. 

We were lucky enough to find a parking spot literally in front of the restaurant, otherwise, parking can be a bit tricky but take the time to find a spot, you won't be disappointed.