.pork loin chops w/ garlic herb butter.

For Christmas, Jim bought me a new cookbook. It's Gordon Ramsay's "Fast Food" and I'm enjoying it. I think it might send me on an English cooking spree though... especially reading this book in tandem with watching his new show called "The F Word". Have you seen it? I love it! You can find it on BBC America.

Anyway... this recipe comes from this cookbook and it's great because a lot of the recipes are divided into sections by meal. For example, he has a recipe for salad, and side dish, and entree. It's pretty cool. But even better, the meals are quick to make.. hence the title of his book.

So on to the recipe. Make the butter first.

Cut a stick of butter in half (1/4 cup) and then divide it into 4 pats (4 tbsp). Put the butter in a bowl or mixing bowl. I used my Kitchen Aid to whip all this together. If your butter is softened (which the recipe recommends), then you can easily do this by hand in a regular bowl.

Chop enough italian parsley to equal 1 Tablespoon.

Chop up enough mint... yes mint! You'll need 1 teaspoon full of this.

Add the parsley and mint to the mixing bowl. Season with pepper. If you're using unsalted butter, add some kosher salt as well.

Oops.. I didn't get a picture of this, but mince 1 clove garlic and add that to the bowl. Whip on high until the herbs, garlic and butter are well combined.

My lovely little sous chef, Paige shows what the butter will look like once it's all processed together.

Using a rubber spatula, scrape all of the butter out of the bowl and put on a piece of saran wrap.

Carefully wrap the butter and roll into a cigar shape. Put in the freezer to firm up while the chops are cooked.

Take 2 to 4 boneless pork chops and season both sides with kosher salt, pepper, and some thyme.

Heat some olive oil in a warm pan. Place the chops in the pan and sear each side for about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes.

The center of the chop should give just slightly. This means the meat is cooked through. I've said it before in another post but you don't want to overcook this chop. It dries it out considerably and you'll be left with jerky instead of a delicious, moist piece of meat. The process pork now goes through with FDA regulations, it's okay if there's a little pink in the center. You won't get any kind of terrible illness. You don't want it medium rare, obviously... but perhaps a perfect medium.

Remove the pan from the heat (or just turn the heat off if you're using gas) and put a dollop of the herbed cheese on top. Before my chops were all the way done, I did put some of the herbed butter in the pan and kept coating the pork with some of the butter as it finished cooking. mmm mm mm...

Allow these to sit for a few minutes so that the juices can return to where they need to go. Plate and serve!

.chicken kiev.

This recipe seems intimidating by the name, but really, it is so so very easy. Don't be afraid to try it sometime. Chicken Kiev is a breaded chicken breast stuffed with butter, green onion (or chives), and garlic. As it bakes, the butter melts and the onion and garlic infuse into the flesh of the chicken and you are left with a moist, flavorful piece of chicken.

Here's what you'll need:

• chicken breasts (1 per person)
• butter
• green onions
• garlic
• bread crumbs
• thyme
• salt and pepper

Use a mixer to whip together butter (1/2 stick butter per person), finely chopped green onion, and finely minced garlic.

Put this butter mixture in a piping bag and set aside.

Take your chicken breasts and create a pocket in the middle by sticking a knife into the fattest end of the breast and carefully move the blade to the right and then to the left. Make sure you don't go too far to the edges or else it will tear when you fill with the butter.

Take the piping bag and stick it in the hole and squeeze gently. You'll see the breast begin to fill up. You might need to use your finger to push the butter down to the bottom and then add a little more at the top.

Do this with each chicken breast and set aside.

Squeeze any leftover butter in a pie plate and melt in the microwave.

Coat the stuffed chicken breasts in the melted butter.

As soon as you coat with the melted butter, coat with breadcrumbs. I put salt, pepper, and some thyme in with the bread crumbs to season. I have in the past used crushed butter crackers (like Ritz or Club Crackers) instead of bread crumbs and it really makes a yummy crust!

Heat a little olive oil in a skillet. Sear each side of the chicken breasts for a few minutes. Transfer to an oven safe dish and put a 350* oven. Bake for 20-30 minutes.

Serve with mashed potatoes and your favorite veggie.

Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_8dm6pmzfr