Cookin' it Old School: Pork Chops in Sour Cream Sauce

When my mother passed away, I had about six days to travel 1600 miles to another country, get everything squared away, and get back.  I couldn't take nearly everything I wanted to, but I made sure to grab her cookbooks, which included some very old ones. I find it fascinating to see how folks cooked when they were closer to their food, before the days of instant this and microwave that.

We did a Costco run the other day and came back with, among other things, a 9-pack of pork chops, each one of which is the approximate size of a Cadillac. So I broke out this gem:

(Sorry...I've no idea why my phonecam keeps rotating things and getting all weird.)

...and found a great recipe.  My changes are annotated below the copy.

Pork Chops In Sour Cream Sauce

4 shoulder, rib or loin pork chops or pork steaks*
1 1/2 tsp instant minced onion or 2 tbs chopped onion*
1/8 tsp instant minced garlic or 1 clove garlic, minced*
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup catsup or chili sauce*
2 tbs brown sugar
1 bouillon cube or 1 tsp instant bouillon*
2 tbs flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sour cream

In fry pan, brown chops on both sides.  Add onion, garlic, 1/2 c water, catsup, brown sugar and bouillon.  Cover and simmer 30-40 min until tender.

Combine flour with 1/4 c water.  Remove chops to heated platter, add flour mixture to cooking liquid.  Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and thickens.  Reduce heat, add sour cream.  Heat, but do not boil.  Serve over meat along with noodles or rice.

*  So, we only used three of these chops...the damn things are about 1.5" thick, and it's more than enough for us.

For onion, I had some shallots that were almost past their prime, so I minced and substituted them.  Shallots are right there in the onion family, if a little stronger.  Should have a little more bite, but nothing too drastic..

For garlic, I tossed in about 2 tsp of pre-minced garlic, because, well, garlic.

The choice between ketchup and chili sauce was obvious; when cooking from a mass-produced American recipe book, use the highest heat they recommend.  For Thai, Vietnamese, Indian and other cuisines, use caution.  Chili sauce it is.

I did the bouillon cube, since I wasn't going to open a can of beef stock for a freakin' teaspoon.

Verdict?

It made a very nice, understated but enjoyable and filling meal.  A thick, comforting sauce with a noticeable sweetness blanketing the whole experience.  I'm thinking of tossing in some hot sauce or hot curry powder next time to spice it up a bit, though Mrs. Wraith isn't sure about the idea.  Either way, it's a keeper.

New Year's Chili

There's apparently a butt-ton of superstitions concerning foods you're supposed to eat or not eat on the first day of the year.  Seems that spinach, pork and black-eyed peas will give you the wealth of Bill Gates, the drive of Donald Trump and the looks of Fergie or Will.I.Am.  Conversely, if you eat lobster, crayfish or anything with wings, your house will catch fire and your cat will die.  Or something like that.

Anyway, my lovely bride insisted that we get with the good-luck foods for our New Years' dinner.  Not to distrust that the Lord has things well in hand, but I figured both we and America needed all the luck we could get this year, so I agreed.

Luck was with us in the taste department at least, as we found a great recipe for Black-Eyed Pea Chili.  Modifications were necessary, both for the availablity--or lack thereof--of ingredients and the fact that I can't stop tweaking every recipe I find.  I'm weird like that.

Black-Eyed Pea Chili

1 tb. olive oil
1 large onion,  diced
3 small sweet peppers, diced (I used one yellow, one orange and one red to add a splash of color, but if you don't care, neither do I)
1 lb. lean ground pork
1 jalapeno pepper, diced(or one small can of pre-diced jalapenos)
2 cloves minced garlic (or two tb. pre-minced garlic)
1 tb. chili powder
1-15oz. can of black-eyed peas(drained)
1-28oz. can crushed tomatoes(with juice)
1/2 c. chicken broth

Heat the oil in a large pot at med-high.  Add the onion and saute until soft(@ 3min.).  Add garlic and cook about one minute.  Break up and add the pork, cooking for 4-5minutes until cooked through.  Stir in peppers and chili powder and cook about 1 minute more.  Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer (stirring occasionally) for 20-25 minutes.

Don't forget the shredded cheese, sour cream and other garnishes that enhance chili of every kind.

Good luck, and good eating!