The Cupboard Is Bare

It might be the emptiest our kitchen has ever been. Coming back from my trip I opened the fridge. Echo . . . prosciutto, cheese, left over white wine, and a half bottle of heavy cream lingering from last week's dessert.
Prosciutto cream sauce. I started a pan with a bit of olive oil and a bit of butter and sautéed half an onion, finely chopped and a couple cloves of garlic. When the onions we just translucent I tossed in the prosciutto and gave that a few minutes to start to crisp up. Next I deglazed the pan with some of that white wine and then added the cream and let everything cook down to a sauce while the pasta boiled.
Pretty simple, but pretty delicious.
I've gotta go shopping.

Spaghetti With Peas, Cream and Ham

Same ingredients, different day, different dinner.

James must have liked last night's dinner because when I asked what he wanted tonight he opted for spaghetti with a "simple sauce. " "Maybe prosciutto and peas," he said. Pork and peas were on the table last night too.

Tonight I sautéed a chopped onion in butter until soft and added in fresh peas (not even our own, packaged from Trader Joe's and delicious) and a bit of water and let the peas cook. Next went in some chopped Leoncini rosemary ham (one of the many spoils of my trip to Epicure Imports), followed by a good dose of cream. I let the cream simmer for a bit and added the drained pasta to the sauce along with a large handful or parmesan cheese.

Simple spring sauce, Italian style.

Pork Cutlets In Mushroom Sauce

It's hard to think of something new. Meats and sides run through my head until I just pull something off the shelf and decide to work around it.

Although James will say he doesn't like pork (hmm perhaps he isn't aware that bacon, prosciutto, and the roast he practically licked off the plate from our neighbor Joyce were all pork). I think what he doesn't like, and quite reasonably so, is dry, overcooked, flavorless pork. What James doesn't like is bad food and that knowledge haunts every trip to the grocery store.

And so I set out on my pork chop challenge.

I pulled out boneless loin chops and sliced and pounded them into thin cutlets. I dredged the cutlets in seasoned flour and lightly browned them (not cooked through) in a combination of hot oil and butter. I set the meat aside and added chopped onions and sliced mushrooms to the pan and let it cook until the mushrooms were a bit soft and had given up their liquid. Then I poured in about 1/2 cup of white wine, deglazed the pan, and cooked down until the wine was just about gone. Then I poured in some heavy cream -- just enough to get a nice color to the sauce and let the whole mixture simmer for about five minutes. I added the pork back into the skillet and let the meat heat through (and finish cooking at the same time).

James cleaned his plate -- even dragging the green beans through the rich sauce. "This was really good," he said. "And, I don't even like pork."