Archives

formats

BBQ Pineapple Pork Chops

BBQ Pineapple Pork Chops with some Polynesian flair, that’s moist and tender. The key is all in the marinating. by using fresh pineapple’s enzymes to tenderize the pork. This is a quick and easy BBQ Pork that can be done in less then 20 minutes.

Polynesian Sauce

It’s all about the sauce, a hybrid of teriyaki sauce with tropical profile. The fresh pineapple is one of the key ingredients giving more tropical flavor profile. What makes this different is use of ketchup as supporting flavor profile. Still holding true to key components of teriyaki sauce with soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic and vinegar. A simple short cut would be to use western dressing with garlic and crushed pineapple which works very well. But I found that making your own sauce can tweak flavors and build more unique profile. Two simple tweaks to Polynesian Sauce was canola oil and crushed hot chili flakes. Adding these two additional ingredients really boosted flavors. Of course the amount of chili flakes and type of chilies flakes can be adjust to your likings. This sauce can be used as marinate and dipping or brushing sauce.

 

BBQ Pineapple Pork Chops
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Print Recipe
BBQ Pineapple Pork Chops is super moist pork chop with a Polynesian Profile. Using fresh pineapple’s enzymes to tenderize pork. Topped with grilled pineapple and macadamia nuts for totally yummy BBQ.
Servings Prep Time
2 People 15 Minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
8 Minutes 2 Hours
Servings Prep Time
2 People 15 Minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
8 Minutes 2 Hours
BBQ Pineapple Pork Chops
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Print Recipe
BBQ Pineapple Pork Chops is super moist pork chop with a Polynesian Profile. Using fresh pineapple’s enzymes to tenderize pork. Topped with grilled pineapple and macadamia nuts for totally yummy BBQ.
Servings Prep Time
2 People 15 Minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
8 Minutes 2 Hours
Servings Prep Time
2 People 15 Minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
8 Minutes 2 Hours
Ingredients
Polynesian Sauce
Polynesian Pork Chops
Servings: People
Units:
Instructions
Preparation
  1. To make the Polynesian sauce put the pineapple chunks, soy sauce, garlic, ginger root, Western Dressing, honey and cider vinegar into blender. Process until forms a emulsion about 45 seconds on medium speed.
    Blending Polynesian Sauce in Vita Mix
  2. Trim pork, cut into 6 oz portions and wrap a strip of bacon around each pork chop. Secure bacon to pork chop with toothpick. Season each bacon wrapped pork chop with garlic pepper. Place in zip lock bag.
    Trimming pork loin and wrapped with bacon
  3. Pour 2 tablespoons of Polynesian Sauce over each bacon wrapped chop in zip lock bag. Zip close the bag and refrigerate the marinating pork chops for 1 to 2 hours.
BBQ/Grilling
  1. Place Marinated Pork Chop just off the direct heat if charcoal grilling, place cover on grill and BBQ for 6 to 8 minutes on one side. Turn over each grilled pork chop. Place pineapple slice more closer to direct heat. Cover grill and cook another 6 to 8 minutes. Check the temperature of pork chops they should have internal temperature of 150°F. Brush some more Polynesian Sauce over each pork chop. Finally turn the pineapple over move pineapple so it doesn’t burn.
Presentation
  1. Plate the BBQ Pineapple Pork Chops with brushing of Polynesian Sauce over top of choppes and sprinkle chopped macadamia nuts over each chop. Serve with Black Bean and Corn Salad or Polynesian Rice. Garnish with fresh fruit and cilantro or parsley sprigs.
Share this Recipe
Powered byWP Ultimate Recipe
Photo of Black Bean and Corn Salad
formats

Black Bean and Sweet Corn Salad

Black Bean and Sweet Corn Salad:

Sweet Corn is everywhere in Iowa, we have fields of corn so it’s perfect for salads. The black beans is perfect healthy addition to corn salad, adding complex carbohydrates and vegetable protein. This salad is perfect for those summer BBQ that works well with all types of grilled meats and fish.

Preparing the fresh sweet corn:

My favorite way to make this salad is by grilling ears of sweet corn on my Green Egg. This gives corn nice grilled flavor and carmelize the corn kernels boosting that BBQ flavors. Just hard wood charcoal over medium heat about 350°f works fine. Watching carefully that kernels don’t burn turning ears corn often for about 10 to 12 minutes. I tried using apple wood chunks as grill and flavors where too harsh, with too much smoke flavor to salad. Just using hard wood charcoal works best good BBQ flavor profile with hint of smoky flavor.

Making the Black Beans:

Black beans are simple to make if you pre-soak the beans. It only takes 15 minutes in the Instant Pot saving you time easy to use without having to worry about burning the beans. There is also supermarket short cut buying canned black beans, but they lack flavor and often have canned taste If you do use canned black beans be sure to rinse off brine they are packed with.

The perfect ratio to make black beans is 1 part dry black beans to 2 parts cold water using the Instant Pot. Season with BBQ spice or garlic pepper using 1 tablespoon to every cup of dry black beans. Be sure to pick through black beans looking for foreign materials, and rinse the dry beans before soaking. I use the same soaking liquid to cook beans. This preserves the black color in beans, if you drain off soaking liquid you will loose some of color of beans.

For best result soak beans overnight, but a quick soak will work also, just bring black beans to boil reduce heat cook 1 minute. Turn heat off beans and cover with lid, let beans soak in hot liquid for 11 hour. Then place soaked beans liquid and all in Instant Pot add seasoning. Place lid on Instant pot with valve closed. Push select beans preset which should be 15 minutes. Then let the pressure come down naturally. This should take about 20 to 30 minutes totally. Cool the black beans and they are ready to use in salad. I always start the black beans first and by the time beans are cooked and cooled  , everything can be mixed together.

 

Photo of Black Bean and Corn Salad
Black Bean and Sweet Corn Salad
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Print Recipe
Black Bean and Sweet Corn Salad is perfect recipe to accompany those BBQ Foods. It’s healthy, colorful and also mighty tasty addition to any BBQ Meats.
Servings Prep Time
8 Cups 15 Minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
20 Minutes 1 Hour
Servings Prep Time
8 Cups 15 Minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
20 Minutes 1 Hour
Photo of Black Bean and Corn Salad
Black Bean and Sweet Corn Salad
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Print Recipe
Black Bean and Sweet Corn Salad is perfect recipe to accompany those BBQ Foods. It’s healthy, colorful and also mighty tasty addition to any BBQ Meats.
Servings Prep Time
8 Cups 15 Minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
20 Minutes 1 Hour
Servings Prep Time
8 Cups 15 Minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
20 Minutes 1 Hour
Ingredients
Servings: Cups
Units:
Instructions
Prepare Corn
  1. Shuck the husks off ears of sweet corn and remove silk, raise well with cold water. Then trim ends of corn with sharp chef’s knife.
  2. Coat each ear of corn with canola oil, I like to us the EVO sprayer to evenly coat ears of corn with oil. Next sprinkle garlic pepper over each ear of sweet corn.
  3. Grill seasoned sweet corn over 450°F direct heat, turning corn often to prevent kernels from burning. This should take about 10 minutes. Remove from grill and allow corn to cool.
  4. Cut the grilled sweet corn kernels off the cob and place cut corn in mixing bowl.
Black Bean & Corn Mixture
  1. If using canned black beans drain liquid and rinse with cold water. Or cook dried black beans for 15 minutes in Instant Pot, 1 cup dried black beans soaked to 2 cups water and 1/2 tsp salt. Then drain and rinse cooked black beans with cold water. Note be sure to drain beans well after rinsing.
  2. Place the drained and rinsed black beans in the mixing bowl with cut corn.
  3. Small dice the red and yellow peppers and onions. Place red, yellow peppers and onions in with black beans and corn bowl. Toss mixture with spatula to evenly mix vegetables.
  4. Combine together the honey, cider vinegar, oil, cilantro, lime juice, lime zest and garlic whisking well to create emulsion. Season with salt and pepper to taste, Pour this dressing over black bean and corn mixture and stir well until all vegetables are coated.
  5. Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, lime juice and honey.
Share this Recipe
Powered byWP Ultimate Recipe
formats

Brussel Sprout Coleslaw

Brussel Sprout Coleslaw

Healthy crunchy and tangy coleslaw using finely shredded fresh Brussel Sprouts with sweet peppers, red onions and carrots. This coleslaw has a vinaigrette based dressing made with cider vinegar, canola oil, herbs, spices and balanced with honey.

Adding extra shredded carrots and sweet peppers to mixture.

Adding extra shredded carrots and sweet peppers to mixture.

The biggest hurdle working with Brussels Sprouts raw is the bitterness of the aftertaste. It’s similar bitterness to arugula and  radicchio, for some individuals this is welcome flavor profile, but for majority it’s just too bitter. So goal is to remove some of bitter notes and add some more sweeter cabbage to achieve balance. Also adding more sweet vegetables like mini sweet peppers and carrots can balance bitterness.

Vinaigrette Coleslaw Dressing

Making a vinaigrette dressing light needs balanced oil to vinegar ratio, the classic is 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar this has way too many fats in dressing. Using the proper ingredients with oil and vinegar a 1 to 1 ratio of oil and vinegar can be used. Using the right emulsifier to bind oil and vinegar helps, a sweet fruit purée works wonders.  I am thinking  Crushed pineapple blended into purée, then adding oil and vinegar. Because vinegar is so acidic and cutting the oil down drastically extra sweetness is the answer to achieve right balance. Honey is one very best sweetner, because of levels of sweetness it brings to the palette.

Boosting the flavor with spices is final step in making the right vinaigrette coleslaw dressing. The key to success is matching right spices, because of amount of bitterness in the Brussels Sprouts keeping more less intense strong spices like dill weed, celery seeds and smaller amounts mustard, these spices and herbs are very common in coleslaw dressing. The last seasoning adjustment is to add in the right amount of salt, pepper and sugar.

Right accompaniment

Plated Air Fryer Potato Crusted Fish Filets with Baked Tomatoes and Asparagus

Plated Air Fryer Potato Crusted Fish Filets with Baked Tomatoes and Asparagus

Choosing the right foods to go with Brussels Sprouts Coleslaw leads to many creative possibilities, first thought is  pairing with fish, pork or poultry dishes. First pairing is with Air Fryer Potato Crusted Fish this be a perfect match with mild fish with more vibrant slaw. Let your thoughts go wild and venturesome, it’s time to be creative and enjoy fruits of your endeavors.  Bon appétit.

 

Brussel Sprout Coleslaw
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Print Recipe
This healthy coleslaw has finely shredded Brussel spouts along with sweet pepper, shaved red onions, carrots with a vinaigrette based dressing sweetened with honey.
Servings Prep Time
8 servings 15 minutes
Passive Time
2 hours
Servings Prep Time
8 servings 15 minutes
Passive Time
2 hours
Brussel Sprout Coleslaw
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Print Recipe
This healthy coleslaw has finely shredded Brussel spouts along with sweet pepper, shaved red onions, carrots with a vinaigrette based dressing sweetened with honey.
Servings Prep Time
8 servings 15 minutes
Passive Time
2 hours
Servings Prep Time
8 servings 15 minutes
Passive Time
2 hours
Ingredients
Brussel Sprouts Slaw Mix
Vinaigrette Dressing
Servings: servings
Units:
Instructions
Brussel Sprout Mixture
  1. Trim the fresh Brussel Sprouts stem end off and remove outer leaves. Remove the stem and seeds from sweet mini peppers and some of excess membrane. Cut the ends off the red onions and remove outer skins of the onions. Rinse off all the trimmed up vegetable with cold water draining excess water off in colander or strainer.
  2. Set up food processor with slicing blade at 2 mm setting or width. This should be fairly thin slicing blade if you have pre set blades.
  3. Filling the processor tube with Brussel Sprouts, pushing down on tamper tube with even pressure should result in nicely thin slices. Remove slicer blade for next step.
  4. Place the coarse shredding blade on the processor.
  5. Fill the narrow feeding tube of processor with peppers and shred, then carrots, and red onions. Note make sure smaller feed tube is packed full of vegetables this will shred the vegetables better. Remove the lid a pick out vegetables that didn't shred properly. Now all the Brussels sprout mixture is together.
    Adding extra shredded carrots and sweet peppers to mixture.
Vinaigrette Coleslaw Dressing
  1. Gather the mise en place ingredients to make the Vinaigrette Coleslaw Dressing. The ingredients are canola oil, cider vinegar, honey, kosher salt, celery seed, black pepper, dill weed, mustard and peaches.
  2. Measure all the ingredients so they are ready to be mixed together quickly.
  3. Place the peaches into the food processor, that is fitted with knife blade and process the peaches into a puree.
  4. Put all the vinaigrette coleslaw ingredients into a mixing bowl.
  5. Whisk all the ingredients with wire whisk vigorously until a good emulsion is formed.
  6. Place the Brussels sprouts slaw mixture into mixing bowl and pour the vinaigrette emulsion over coleslaw mixture. Stirring well with spatula until Brussels sprout coleslaw is well coated. Adjust seasoning with kosher salt, pepper and sugar or honey as needed.
  7. Place Brussels sprout coleslaw in bowl for serving. Note this will keep well for up to a full week in the refrigerator.
Share this Recipe
Powered byWP Ultimate Recipe
formats

Country Ribs Cabbage & Potatoes

This recipe is a total one pot meal, featuring meaty country ribs cabbage & potatoes that can be done in 30 minutes using a electric pressure cooker. Inspired by my German Heritage remembering mom’s great one pot meals that simmered for hours in a cast-iron pot. I used both stove top pressure cooker and electric pressure cooker testing this recipe, both types of pressure cookers make wonderful comfort food that is full of flavor.

The new electric pressure cooker takes less watching over then stove top pressure cooker, the stove top cooker need to be babysit all through the process. The beauty of the new electric pressure cooker is once the lid is locked into place, your free to do what other tasks needs to be accomplished until timer goes off. One thing I did learn is not to leave food in the pressure cooker after it is done for too long of time. What every you have in the pressure cooker continues to cook even with no pressure, and can become over cooked. The cabbage can become overly soft, potatoes can become mushy. So if you know your going to leave pressure cooker unattended for over hour, adjust cooking time down by 10 minutes. The food can stay hot for a good 2 hours after timer shuts off, but longer it’s left in the pressure cooker the more it continues to cook.

Just remember when using stove top pressure cooker one very important thing. Never leave a stove top pressure cooker unattended!

Country Ribs Cabbage & Potatoes
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Print Recipe
A total meal in one pot, featuring meaty country style ribs cabbage & potatoes that can be done in 30 minutes using a pressure cooker.
Servings Prep Time
4 people 15 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 people 15 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Country Ribs Cabbage & Potatoes
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Print Recipe
A total meal in one pot, featuring meaty country style ribs cabbage & potatoes that can be done in 30 minutes using a pressure cooker.
Servings Prep Time
4 people 15 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 people 15 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: people
Units:
Instructions
  1. Mise en place all ingredients, have all the ingredients ready to be cooked in the pressure cooker.
  2. Season the country style pork ribs with salt and pepper.
  3. Set the electric pressure cooker for 25 minutes or place stove top pressure cooker on medium high heat. Add minced garlic and olive oil into pressure cooker container. Stir until fragrant.
  4. Add the seasoned country style pork ribs to pressure cooker container and brown on both sides. Remove the browned pork ribs onto a resting plate.
  5. Add to the pressure cooker container the onions and carrots, sweat for 1 minute.
  6. Add to the pressure cooker container red wine, stirring with spatula to deglaze the container.
  7. Add the stock to pressure cooker container, then place country style pork ribs back into pressure cooker container.
  8. Sprinkle the caraway seed, dill weed, salt, pepper, brown sugar, cider vinegar and bay leaf over pork ribs.
  9. Layer the cabbage, potatoes and diced apples over top of pork ribs. Sprinkle more salt and pepper over vegetables.
  10. Put pressure cooker lid on and lock it into place. Made sure pressure valve is on steam. It will take about 10 to 11 minutes to build up pressure. Then steam for 25 minutes.
  11. After 25 minutes let pressure come down naturally, about 5 minutes.
  12. Remove lid carefully, steam is hot! Dump the Country Pork Ribs Cabbage and potatoes on large serving platter. Serve family style. Each serving should have a wedge of cabbage and 4 to 8 potato pieces, with one country pork rib.
  13. Garnish with dollop of sour cream and fresh herbs like dill or parsley.
Share this Recipe
Powered byWP Ultimate Recipe