Posole

This recipe comes from the novel, Pie Town, by Lynne Hinton (Morrow, 2011).

2-pound pork loin
1 vegetable bouillon cube
l large onion, diced
1 cup water
4 cans (4 oz. each) green chiles, diced
1 can (16 oz.) stewed tomatoes with juice
2 cans hominy (32 oz. each), drained
1 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Boil the pork loin until tender and then cut into small cubes. Set aside. 

In another pan, dissolve bouillon in boiling water. Add onion, chile, tomatoes, hominy, garlic powder, salt and pepper, then pork. Simmer covered for three hours. Serves 10. 

Barbecued Pork (Cha Shiu)

I don't think that the name "barbecued pork" describes this dish very well. The little slices of meat are delicately flavored and roasted in the oven, then served with a variety of dipping sauces. My recipe is based on a Chinese version that I found in my old Complete Asian Cookbook, by Charmaine Solomon. I have given you a link to the latest edition; my tattered old copy was published in 1976.

1/2 pound pork loin, cut in 1/4 inch slices

3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. grated ginger
1 tbl. soy sauce
1 tbl. honey
1 tbl. sherry (I substituted white wine, and it worked just fine)
1/2 tsp. five spice powder

Grind up the garlic with the salt in a mortar and pestle. Add the ginger, soy sauce, honey, wine, and five spice powder. Mix well and pour over the pork slices, stirring the meat around until well coated. Marinate for at least 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Pour an inch or so of hot water into a flat pan and arrange the pork slices on a wire rack placed on top of the pan. (I used a round pizza pan with holes in it, sprayed with Pam, and placed over a broiler pan). Roast the meat for 15 minutes, turn the slices and baste with any remaining marinade and roast another 10 to 15 minutes until done.

Serve with steamed rice, stir-fried vegetables, and some dipping sauces. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce
Peanut Sauce

Plum Sauce: Mix 1/2 cup plum jam (raspberry works, too), 1 tbl. chili sauce, 1 tbl. soy sauce, pinch of grated ginger, and Chinese rice vinegar to taste.

Red Burritos

These were so delicious when we had them last night that we plan to make them often. Perhaps it was the fact that we ate them sitting in front of a fragrant pecan wood fire that made the experience so wonderful.

There has been a little problem in getting our new gas range hooked up. The burners work, but we need a visit from an electrician to add an outlet so that the oven and timers all can function. Darned fancy stoves! Having no regular oven, we did the baking of this casserole in the microwave as follows: 10 minutes at 40% power; and 5 minutes at 30%. It worked out just fine.

1/3 to 1/2 lb. boneless pork, cut into 3/4 inch cubes

1/2 cup chopped sweet onion

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tbl. olive oil

Beef bouillon cube

Salt, pepper to taste

1/2 tsp. cumin

2 generous tbl. red chile powder (this is the powder made from grinding dried red chiles, with no additives)

Water as needed

4 potatoes, peeled and chopped into 3/4 inch cubes

8 tortillas, corn or wheat (your choice)

Grated monterey jack cheese (or cheese of your choice)

Sour cream as garnish

***

Brown the pork cubes, onion, and garlic in the oil. Sprinkle them with salt, pepper, cumin, and chile powder. Add about 1 1/2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer.

After the first 15 minutes, stir and add more water, if necessary. Cover and continue to cook.

After another 15 minutes of simmering, add the cubed potatoes and more water, if needed. Simmer an additional 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. (Note: Your total cooking time should equal 45 minutes).

Assemble the burritos: Spoon the meat mixture into each tortilla, sprinkle with cheese, fold and place in a greased casserole dish. Pour over the top of all the burritos any sauce you may have left and sprinkle with more cheese.

Cover the casserole and bake at 350〫for 30 minutes, removing the lid of the casserole for the last few minutes. Serve with a little sour cream on the side.

French Pork Pie (Tourtière)

So many people in New England come from Canada--now that I live in New Mexico, I miss hearing all those [anglicized] French last names. The French Canadian traditions include this wonderful pork pie, which you can usually only get if you know somebody's mom who still makes tourtière.

This version comes from one of those little cookbooks you get for free along with your

subscription to Yankee Magazine. This one was published in 1980 and is called Yankee's Main

Dish Church Supper Cookbook. It was apparently a small edition of a full-sized cookbook

of the same name, which is now out of print.

Crust:

1 cup shortening

1 tsp. salt

3 cups flour

2/3 cup water

Cut half the shortening into salted flour, then add the remaining 1/2 cup of shortening. Mix well and

stir in water. Roll out. Makes enough pastry for one 10" two-crust pie.

Filling:

2 lbs. pork, trimmed of fat and ground or cut into 1/2" cubes

1 lb. ground beef

1 cup hot water

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. allspice

2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 tsp. pepper

3 cups bread crumbs

Mix all ingredients together, place in a pastry-lined 10" pie plate, and top with the remaining

pastry. Cut a few slits in top crust to allow steam to escape.

Bake for 1 - 1/2 hours at 325° or until the pie is nicely browned. Serves 6-8.

Curried Pork Chops

Here is another of our family's old-fashioned pork chop recipes.

Brown pork chops on both sides in a little olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, then sprinkle both sides well with a good curry powder. Cover with a sliced onion and a chopped tart apple. Add about 1/2 cup water to the bottom of the pan.

Simmer, covered, until the chops are done, about 45 minutes, adding water if necessary to keep them from going dry.

Serve with steamed rice, chutney, chopped peanuts, and a vegetable of your choice.

Paprika Pork Chops

This is a comfort food, pure and simple. We used to serve these chops in the winter time, along with mashed potatoes and creamed corn. That doesn't sound very modern, does it?

Brown pork chops on both sides in a little olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, and then really dust them well with lots of paprika (sweet or hot, your choice). Cover them with a sliced sweet onion, then add about a half a cup of water.

Simmer, covered, until the chops are done, about 45 minutes. Check on them from time to time, adding a bit of water if they get too dry.

The Genuine Charcutier's Meatloaf

According to Pork and Sons, a cookbook by Stéphane Reynaud (here's my intro to this cookbook), "the term charcuterie is used to describe both the branch of cooking devoted to cooked or processed meat products, primarily from pork, and a shop selling these products. A charcutier is the man or woman behind the counter, and they are a great source of information and advice on pork." I've never made the following recipe, but the page is already well worn. I'm preparing the card for my recipe box so that it will be ready for me when I can go visit my local charcutier... Porky Meatloaf, here we come!

--Sweet Butter, for greasing
--2 and 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour, plus a little more for dusting
--4 tbsp Olive Oil
--3 Shallots, chopped
--1 and 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
--4 Eggs, lightly beaten
--1/2 cup White Wine
--1 cup fresh Whole Milk
--1/2 cup coarsely chopped Smoked Bacon
--1/2 cup coarsely chopped Jambon de Paris or other Unsmoked Fully-Cooked Ham
--1/4 cup coarsely chopped spicy Spanish Chorizo Sausage (or Mexican Chorizo)
--1/2 cup coarsely chopped Prosciutto

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a loaf pan with butter and dust with flour, tipping out any excess. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet. Add the shallots, and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, until golden brown. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add the eggs, white wine, milk and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix well, then stir in all the meat and the shallots. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes.

Red Chile

Red Chiles Drying (Library of Congress)*
This post first appeared on my other blog, The Zees Go West, long before I had a recipe blog. It makes sense to duplicate it here.

If you travel around New Mexico during harvest time you are bound to see ristras (strings) of red chiles hanging outside to dry in the hot sunshine. Down in Mesilla, south of Las Cruces, we saw them spread out on rooftops and up north in Chimayo they were hanging everywhere.

You can buy fresh green chiles in the summertime and the dried red ones later in the fall. They both come from the same plant—the red ones have just been allowed to ripen longer on the plant before being dried. They have an earthier flavor to me. When I grew my own chiles in Las Cruces, I couldn’t get over how many wonderful chile colors could be found on a single plant—sometimes all at once--the greens at first, and then as the chiles ripened they ranged through yellow and orange to red.

We make a very simple version of Carne Adovada at our house. We brown pork strips with onions and garlic, then simmer all in red chile sauce (below)** until the pork is tender and well done. I know that traditional versions call for a long marinating period, but the kind we make is absolutely delicious.

For some good basics to get you started, see Chile Colorado (Red Chile).

Visit the Focus New Mexico web site for information on both red and green chiles, where to find them in New Mexico, and how to use them. Be sure to check out the rest of the web site, too, for travel information.

**For a good Red Chile Sauce Recipe:http://www.pepperfool.com/recipes/southwest/nm_red_sauce.html

*Library of Congress photograph: I do not know of any copyright restrictions associated with this photo. If you do, please notify me via the comments section of this blog.

Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dogs with Mango Salsa

Last night, Marc and Becky invited me over for our usual Friday grilling. I had some bacon that I needed to use, so I came up with this. I worry that I might be going to hell for making this. It's just THAT good. So good, in fact, that it's actually illegal for Los Angeles street vendors to sell them!

--8 Hot Dogs (I prefer Nathan's Hot Dogs)
--8 rashers of GOOD Bacon (A nice thick-cut smoked variety with not too much fat)
--Toothpicks
--1 Mango, small cubes
--Juice from 1 Lime
--Half a Red Onion, chopped fine
--1 Serrano Pepper, seeded and chopped super-fine
--1 tbsp Olive Oil
--Salt and Black Pepper
--Fresh Rolls

In a small bowl, mix the mango, chopped onion and serrano pepper. Squeeze lime juice over it all, add olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix and refrigerate while you cook the dogs. Wrap one rasher of bacon around each hot dog, securing with a toothpick on both ends. Cook on a grill. Be aware that the bacon fat will cause the fire to flare up (so don't burn your meats!). When bacon is cooked, remove from the grill and take out the toothpicks. Serve in a fresh roll (I smeared on a light mayonnaise) topped with the mango salsa.

Mu Shu Pork

The second major major star of my Chinese dinner was Mu Shu Pork. I'd like to try this with chicken next. I had some trouble finding the recipe from Chinese Cookery, by Rose Cheng and Michele Morris, but this version from Recipezaar looks like it might be right.

--2 tbsp Soy Sauce, then 2 tbsp
--1 tbsp Dry Sherry, then 1 tbsp
--1 tsp Hoisin Sauce, then more to serve
--1/2 lb boneless lean Pork, shaved into very thin bite sized pieces
--4 Dried Black Mushrooms (or 8 Button Mushrooms)
--2 cups finely-shredded Napa Cabbage
--1 Carrot, julienned
--3 Scallions, white and light green parts, slivered
--1 cup Bean Sprouts
--3 tbsp Peanut Oil
--2 Eggs, lightly beaten with 1/2 tsp Salt
--3 Garlic cloves, minced
--3 tsp Freshly-grated Ginger
--3 tbsp Chicken Stock
--2 tsp Sesame Oil
--1 tsp Sugar
--Mandarin Pancakes

Combine 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sherry and 1 tsp hoisin sauce in a bowl. Add the pork, toss to coat evenly, cover, refrigerate and marinate for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, soak the mushrooms in enough hot water to cover for 20 minutes (no soaking if using button mushrooms). Drain and thinly slice. Set aside on a plate, along with the cabbage, carrot and scallions.

Heat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil and swirl to coat. Pour in the eggs, swirling and tilting the wok to form a thin film. Cook just until the eggs are set and feel dry on top, about 1 minute. Transfer to a platter, let cool slightly and cut into 1 inch strips. Return the wok to high heat, and swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Add the garlic, and ginger, and stir-fry to release the aromas, about 1 minute. Add the pork and stir-fry until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add the reserved mushrooms, cabbage, carrot, bean sprouts, and scallions, along with the chicken stock, and stir-fry another 2 minutes. Stir in 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sherry, sesame oil, and sugar, and cook, stirring until sauce boils, about 1 minute. Add egg strips and mix well.

To serve, spread a small amount of hoisin sauce on a warm Mandarin Pancake. Spoon about 1/2 cup mu shu mixture in center of pancake and wrap like a burrito, folding the ends to close.

Scotch Eggs

I discovered this gem of tastiness while on a winter tour selling posters to college students with my good buddy Christopher Yustin. We were in a frigid stopover in Madison, Wisconsin when we discovered The Brocach Irish Pub, a joint for regulars that smelled of old wood and pipe tobacco. Christopher swears that they served the best Guinness stout he'd ever tasted and I tried a scotch egg dipped in Coleman's Mustard (a re-discovery!) for the first time. With brains a-buzzin' and taste buds tingling, we had a crazy snowball fight on the steps of the majestic capitol building. Then a policeman took notice and we skittered off into the night. I went back to The Brocach in search of the eggs twice more that week, but they were sold out both times. I feel lucky to have eaten one. Here's my approximation of the recipe:

--6 Hard-Boiled Eggs, cooled.
--1 lb Bulk Sweet Pork Sausage
--2 tbsp Worstershire Sauce
--1 tbsp Fresh Parsley, chopped fine
--Seasoned Bread Crumbs
--1 Egg, Beaten
--1 tbsp Water
--1 tbsp. Coleman's Spicy Mustard
--Vegetable Oil for frying

Mix sausage with Worstershire sauce and parsley, then divide into six equal portions.
Press each portion into flat "sheets" and wrap a hard-boiled egg in it. Roll in bread crumbs. In a small bowl, mix the beaten egg with a tablespoon of water and the mustard. Dip each sausage-wrapped egg in the mustard egg wash, then coat in bread crumbs again. In a heavy kettle, heat about 2 1/2 inches of oil to about 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Deep fry the eggs for about 5 or 6 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on paper towels, then cut in half lengthwise and serve with Coleman's Mustard. It's probably awful for you, but you must eat this at least once in your life.

Pork with Broccoli in Oyster Sauce

1 tsp sugar 
1 tbl. cornstarch

1/4 cup oyster sauce

1/2 cup chicken stock 

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/8 tsp salt (optional, especially if your chicken broth is salty)

1 clove garlic minced 

2 slices ginger shredded
 
2 cups sliced lean pork

1 bunch fresh brocolli sliced

1/4 cup water 

Mix together sugar, cornstarch, oyster sauce and chicken stock and set aside. 

Heat wok until hot and dry. Add the oil and the (optional) salt and turn heat to medium. Add the ginger and the garlic and fry until golden brown. 

Turn heat to high then add the pork and fry until outside is lightly browned. 

Add the broccoli and stir fry for 3 minutes, then add the water and cover and cook for 4 minutes. 

Pour in reserved sauce mixture then stir while cooking until gravy thickens. 

Turn heat to low, cover and cook for 2 minutes more. 

Place in a covered serving dish until ready to serve. Serve with hot steamed rice.

Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

Back when we raised sheep in Washington state, we used to make this hearty breakfast with sheep sausage. Not lamb sausage, mind you, but actual sausage from mature mutton. It was absolutely delicious, because our home-grown mutton and lamb was always very delicately flavored. 

Stir fry a chopped onion in some olive oil in a large pan, just until transparent. Brown 1 pound of crumbled sausage (pork is good, too) in a large pan. 

When the sausage has been cooked through, sprinkle it with some all-purpose flour--about 1/4 cup. Stir the flour in well. When there is no more white flour showing, add about a cup of milk. Stir over medium heat, adding more milk as things thicken up.  You be the judge--some like a very thick gravy, some like it thin. Once it is the consistency you like, simmer it a bit over low heat so the sausage flavors the gravy. Taste for seasoning, adding a bit of salt and a lot of freshly ground black pepper. 

Serve on warm split and buttered Best Biscuits.

Heaven only knows how we got away with eating such hearty breakfasts without suffering any consequences. However, when I think back to that time, I realize that we were both holding down full time jobs., raising several children, doing mountains of laundry, remodeling an old farm house, raising a farm yard full of sheep and goats and poultry, milking goats, and keeping up a large garden. We needed all the energy we could get. Plus, we cooked everything from scratch, including granola, yogurt, cheese, and bread. Oh, and I spun and wove the wool from the sheep, after they were sheared (we even tried hand shearing a sheep, but only once).

It's making me tired to think about it.

Mezcal Magic Baby Back Ribs

BBQ, Part 3: The Meat

Finally, it's time to BBQ. It's gonna be a BBQ-filled summer for me!

--1/2 cup Mezcal Tequila
--4 slabs of Pork Baby Back Ribs (1 1/4 lb each), the thin membrane on the ribs' lower side stripped off
--Chile Rub Rojo
--Mezcal Chipotle Barbecue Sauce

Between 6 to 24 hours before you plan to grill, bake the ribs: Drizzle Mezcal over the meat and rub it in thoroughly. Coat the ribs generously with the Chile Rub Rojo. Wrap tightly in 2 layers of aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour at 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Unwrap and cool, then re-wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 1/2 hours. Remove the ribs from the fridge and let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Grill them uncovered over medium heat for 25-30 minutes, turning every 8-10 minutes or so. Baste ribs with the Mezcal Chipotle Barbecue Sauce in the last 5 minutes of cooking. Ribs are done when they are very tender with a surface that's crisp in some spots and gooey with sauce in others.

From Born to Grill by Cheryl and Bill Jamison.

Haddock with Bacon and Onions

Since I've admitted more than I should about my love of bacon, why stop now? This recipe is another very, VERY worthwhile use for a quality slab of the stuff. Bacon pairs perfectly with another of my favorite ingredients: the onion. This recipe introduced me to the sweet goodness of the cippolini variety.

--2 lbs Haddock fillets
--2 tbsp fresh Lemon Juice
--Salt
--Extra Virgin Olive Oil
--1 tbsp Butter, softened
--8 Cippolini Onions, thinly sliced
--6 rashers of thick-cut Smoky Bacon
--1 large Garlic clove, finely chopped
--1 cup Italian Bread Crumbs
--1/4 cup Flatleaf Parsley, chopped
--2 tbsp Capers, drained and chopped
--2 Plum Tomatoes, seeded and chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse fish and pat dry. Sprinkle with lemon juice and salt. Set into oven-safe skillet that has been drizzled with olive oil and softened butter. Set aside.

Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil and the bacon. Render the fat for three minutes, then add onions and garlic. Slowly saute for about 10 minutes until onions well cooked, then remove pan from heat. Add bread crumbs and stir to coat them in the drippings. Mix in the parsley and capers. Top the fish with the mixture, then bake for 15 minutes. When ready to serve, top with the chopped tomatoes.

From the Food Network's Rachel Ray.

Ham Hash

We moved from Washington state to New Hampshire in November of 1984 and bought a little house that had been built in the mid-1800s, probably to house one of the families that worked in the shoe factory that was nearby at the time. Those old shoe factory workers were later housed in a small, stone-walled cemetery up around the corner from where we lived; their lives and deaths marked with tilting old granite gravestones. 

We loved that little two-story red house, with its wide-pine floors and its many-paned windows (we loved those windows even more when we discovered how storm windows worked and slid ours down, which instantly warmed up the house). 

We especially loved our Saturday night suppers in the kitchen. It was one of my favorite kitchens ever, with lots of windows, lots of cupboards, and a "secret" pantry that was accessed by pulling on a bookcase built into its concealed door. 

We really liked the way that New Englanders embraced traditions, so we made a family tradition of our own of baked bean suppers on Saturday nights, and we ate while listening to the wind howling on the outside and the radio playing Prairie Home Companion on the inside. 

Lots of times our bean supper was accompanied by ham hash. This is a great dish to make with your leftover Easter ham. You can also serve Steamed Brown Bread with the meal.

Ham Hash

There really aren't any measurements for this recipe. Just take a look at your leftover ham and decide how many potatoes you want to add, and how much onion. 

Brown chopped onions in a little olive oil. Add some peeled, cooked, cubed potatoes and some chopped up ham. Stir and cook over medium heat until the potatoes have browned a bit. Season to your liking with salt (optional) and plenty of freshly-ground black pepper. 

Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage

It's hard to get pulled into the appeal of pumpkin in the springtime. It just seems so damned seasonal. But just because it's April doesn't mean that pumpkin is any less delicious. So in an effort to show off the versatility of the pumpkin...

--2 tbsp Olive Oil
--1 lb Sweet Italian Sausage, removed from the casings
--4 cloves Garlic, chopped
--1 medium Onion, finely chopped
--1 Bay Leaf
--4 to 6 sprigs Fresh Sage Leaves, cut into chiffonade (about 2 tbsp)
--1 cup Dry White Wine
--1 cup Chicken Stock
--1 cup Canned Pumpkin
--1/2 cup Heavy Cream
--1/8 tsp Cinnamon
--1/2 tsp Nutmeg
--Kosher Salt and Black Pepper
--1 lb Penne Pasta, cooked al dente
--Parmesan or Romano Cheese

Heat a large, deep non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and brown the sausage. Remove sausage and drain the fat from the skillet. Return the skillet to heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the garlic and onion. Saute 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are tender. Add the bay leaf, sage, and wine to the pan. Reduce wine by half, about 2 minutes. Add stock and pumpkin and stir sauce until it comes to a bubble. Add the sausage, reduce heat, and stir in cream. Season the sauce with the cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer mixture 5 to 10 minutes to thicken sauce. Toss with the pasta, remove the bay leaf and serve with fresh grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.

From the Food Network's Rachel Ray.

Bacon-Wrapped Dates with Mascarpone Cheese

Once, I made this to impress a girl. I already knew she liked bacon, plus I had an upcoming occasion that I was looking to surprise her for. Then, she let slip that bacon-wrapped dates dipped in mascarpone cheese was one of her favorite guilty-pleasures. Soon, a plan materialized...

I looked online and found this recipe on cooksrecipes.com. I was amazed at how simple and fast it was to make something so decadent. I placed the finished bacon-wrapped dates between layers of paper towel inside a Tupperware container. In another Tupperware container, I placed a small tub of mascarpone cheese on ice. I labeled and wrapped the containers and wrote a sweet little card. In the end, she was impressed.

--12 slices of Thick-cut Smoky Bacon (get the good stuff!)
--24 Pitted Dates
--Toothpicks
--Paper Towels
--1 tub of Mascarpone Cheese

Cut each bacon slice in half crosswise. Place all the slices on top of some paper towels on a microwave-safe plate. Cover with another paper towel and microwave on high for 4 minutes. Wrap each of the partially-cooked bacon slices around a date (Careful! Hot! Hot!) and secure with a toothpick. Place the bacon-wrapped dates on some clean paper towels on a microwave-safe plate, cover with another paper towel, and zap for on high for another 2 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature with the mascarpone cheese for dipping.

Andy's Sliced Roast Pork

When my childhood friend Andy May comes to town, we head over to Rai Rai Ken, an East Village Ramen Noodle joint. When I say "Ramen Noodle," I'm not just talking about Oodles-of-Noodles. This place serves up the real deal, a hearty soup for the body and soul. But Andy and I have been obsessed with another item on the menu: the sliced roast pork. Andy, a budding chef, has been trying for some time to figure out how it's made. Here's his version:

-- A pork sirloin roast, the back part of the loin, near the hind leg
-- Sesame Oil
-- Dark Soy Sauce

Sear the pork roast. Then roast at low heat (275 degrees) for 4 hours, basting often in its juices. Remove from oven and cut the roast into 1/4 inch slices. Re-sear these slices with a marinade of sesame oil and dark soy sauce*. Then eat it all in one sitting.

*Rai Rai Ken also includes coursely chopped scallions in this marinade.

Hawaiian Pork Chops

1 cup soy sauce

1 1/2 cups unsweetened pineapple juice

1/4 cup sugar

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/4 tsp. ginger

Mix all together and use as a marinade for pork chops. Refrigerate chops and marinate for 4 to 24 hours. Grill meat until well done. Discard marinade.