Ten Dollar Dinners

Part of my road to a better me is to become a better cook. And by better cook I just mean a cook. I have never cooked much (read more about that here) and until now have been content with my handful of recipes that I've picked up here and there. My new goal is to add one new recipe a week to my collection.

I have found that the most frustrating thing about adding new recipes to my list is finding the recipes. I try looking online, but there are just too many options and I end up getting frustrated and going back to frozen pizza. I have also tried cook books. The problem with that is that I have about 3 of them and they are all full of casseroles. I recently tried to buy a cookbook which didn't go well. I spent an hour at the bookstore only to come out with a book that I have not used once.

As I was searching through my TV guide the other day, I came across a show on Food Network called Ten Dollar Dinners. I started to record it thinking that they sounded like my kind of dinners and after about 2 weeks of the shows deleting themselves, I finally watched one. OK I watched part of one (I've never been one for cooking shows). The chef is Melissa D'arabian and while she is kind of annoying, she made some pretty good looking food.

I looked online for the recipe and decided that I will try it this week as my new food. Below is the recipe...stay tuned for a post on how it tastes.

Parmesan-Crusted Pork Loin Cutlets

4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 (12-ounce) pork loin
• 3 slices white bread or crusts from 8 slices
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 4 lemon wedges

Directions

Cut the pork loin into 4 equally-portioned pork chops. Place each chop between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet until the chop is about 1-inch thick.

Place the bread in a food processor and pulse into large breadcrumbs. Add the Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper, and pulse a few more times. Transfer the crumb mixture to a shallow bowl.
Prepare a breading station: In a shallow bowl or plate, place the flour along with salt and pepper. In another shallow bowl, beat the egg with 1 tablespoon water, until the egg is no longer stringy, about 1 minute. Line up the flour, egg, and breadcrumbs in that order.
Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat, and add the vegetable oil and butter. Dip the pork chops in the flour to dust lightly, shake off the excess flour, then dip in the egg and finally the crumbs. Cook the pork until golden brown and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Once cooked, remove to a paper towel-lined plate to blot the excess oil. Season the cutlets with salt, and pepper and serve with lemon wedges.

Garlic Oil Sauteed Pasta with Broccoli

4 servings

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 head broccoli, sliced into very thin florets, stalk peeled and cut into matchsticks
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• Few tablespoons water or pasta cooking water, if needed
• 2 cups penne pasta, cooked al dente
• Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Directions

In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil, garlic, and pepper flakes over medium heat until fragrant. Once the garlic has turned golden in color, remove it from the pan. You are left with garlic-infused oil in the pan. Add the broccoli to the pan.

Cook's Note: Be sure the broccoli is completely dry before tossing it into the pan.

Toss the broccoli to coat with the oil. Season with salt and pepper and saute over medium heat until the broccoli barely loses some of its crunch, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat up to high and deglaze the pan with the red wine vinegar. Add a few tablespoons of water, if needed.
Cook's Note: Use pasta water if the pasta was made fresh.

Add in the pasta and toss to coat with the oil. Top with Parmesan cheese for serving.