Broiled Marinated Pork Chop/A Very Long Engagement

After nostalgically looking at old blog entries, I decided it was time to jump back on the bandwagon. At the risk of making this entry too personal, I'm just going to say that m boyfriend just moved away to Austin, and now I have found myself with much more time on my hands. Also, some entries might be written from the south! Oh yeah I also just signed up for my first half marathon. So I guess I have to start eating like a runner or something? We'll see what happens with that.

next thing you know, I will look like this

I made some spicy brown mustard using this recipe for our memorial day barbecue a couple of weeks ago. The Serious Eats website I got the recipe from is probably my new favorite food blog. It's especially awesome for people that live in Chicago and New York. I don't eat a lot of hot dogs or hamburgers, so a marinade seemed like a natural way to use some of it up.

And the movie...well, I've seen it before but I felt like watching it again. It's my favorite romantic film of all time.

Recipe: Broiled Marinated Pork Chops

Ingredients:

3 tbsp spicy brown mustard

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 garlic cloves

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp salt

1 sprig each rosemary, thyme, oregano

3 tbsp olive oil

4 good pork chops

1 onion (optional)

1 cup mushrooms (optional)

1 cup cherries (optional)

Dice the garlic and herbs. Combine the first six ingredients in a small bowl. Slowly add the oil while whisking to emulsify. Trim the excess fat off of the pork chops and marinate them in the fridge for at least an hour. 

I cooked the pork chops one at a time (I will be eating them in my lunch throughout the week). You can adjust or use a larger skillet if need be. I'm sure they would be great on the grill as well! 

Once the hour is up, preheat the oven to 425. Spray a cast iron skillet with cooking spray and preheat it on medium-high heat. Add the pork chop and sear on that side for about 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Flip the chop and add a quarter of the onion and a quarter cup of the mushrooms. Continue to cook until that side of the chop is brown. Add a quarter cup of the cherries. 

Put the entire skillet into the preheated oven (be careful the handle is hot!), and cook for about 5-10 minutes. I had to check to be sure the internal temperature was 145. You then have to allow it to rest for 3 minutes while the meat continues to cook. 

Eat it up because that pig is damn good.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Dice the garlic and herbs

mix the garlic, herbs, mustard, salt, lemon juice, and soy sauce in a small bowl

slowly add the olive oil while whisking to emulsify

trip the excess fat off the pork chops

marinate for at least an hour in the refrigerator. discard marinade when done

preheat the oven to 425. spray a cast iron skillet and preheat over medium high heat. add the pork chop

flip once brown and add a quarter of the onion, diced, and a quarter cup of the mushrooms. once that side is brown, add the cherries and throw in the oven. cook for about 5-10 minutes, or until it has reached an internal temperature of 145 degrees.

enjoy! impress your carnivorous friends and loved ones! I ate it by myself. #foreveralone

Review: A Very Long Engagement

I saw this movie a while back and shelved it because it is pretty sappy and romantic. I love the director though, (you may recognize this one of his) and I feel like I am at the time in my life when I needed a movie like this.

The film centers around Matilde, a young French woman with polio that saw her fiance and childhood friend Manech off to fight in World War II. He had a pretty rough D-Day, suffered from some stress, and intentionally got his hand shot while on post late one night. His superiors saw that this was a ploy to go back home, court marshaled him, and he was sentenced to death. Matilde is aware of this half of the story, and then things get a bit hazy as she attempts to find out whether or not anybody actually can account for Manech's death. We follow her through a long puzzle, and every time hope is almost lost, something new keeps her going...

Whether or not she finds him in the end you will have to find out for yourself (hint: you can find the movie on the cheap at Big Lots). Either way, it's an inspiring story that makes you realize that (at risk of being cliche-blogger-Kim) love can make you do some pretty crazy things. Sometimes these crazy things can lead to amazing things. Sometimes they lead to nowhere. It's all about taking risks and hoping for the best. 

All sappy emotional Kim aside, the film is really well done as per usual with Jeneut (the one exception being this one). It defines itself as being quirky but not over the top, and has just the right touch of melodrama to scratch that romantic movie itch you've been having. I always seem to cry at the end, but I'm not sure if that's because of the time I choose to watch the movie, or purely the emotional ending. Either way, it's worth a watch. Even for the boys out there (I dare you).