ken, i wish i had known that your womenfolk were going away. i woulda been there, with ronjohn and a few kegs in tow (ok, the kegs in the back seat, ronjohn strapped to the roof).
it woulda been a beer swilling, who-cares-what you scratch-and-for-how-long, "simpson's" watching marathon.
oh well, next time. hey, wouldn't alix like to visit her sis in joisey again soon, with the girls? dw could take them on a whirlwind tour of at least 7 different shopping malls, each of which she has the store layouts imprinted in her brain.
as far as dinner for us tonight, i made pork tenderloin parmagiana. i have to say, for the first time in my life, i think i made a dish that was as good as my mom's. now, i cook a larger range of things, but what she cooks, she cooks better than anyone on this planet. chicken or veal parm is one of her specialties.
i had 2 pork tenderloins that were achin' to be cooked, so yesterday i made one of them, roasted, with dijon, fennel seeds, apples and onions. it was really good. i added just a splash of a sweet chinese soju that really kicked it up.
but having another tenderloin to make before it went bad, i figured i'd try something italian-american.
so i cut it into about 6 chunks on a bias, and pounded them out very thin. i was surprised at how well the meat stayed together and was of uniform thickness. chicken breasts always begin to split and break up if i pound them that thin.
the scallopinis were dipped in 2 beaten eggs, then seasoned breadcrumbs, and pan fried in light olive oil. they were then layered in a baking dish with a jarred mild sugo (i know, gasp! jarred tomato sauce
), and topped with what i thought was mozarella. it turned out to be a low fat mexican queso blanco, but i went with it anyway. into a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes, until the cheese melted and was just toasting on the edges. it was a work of art that van gogh would have been proud. (i call it "gooey night"...
)
well, the pork was really tender and tasty: sorta like chicken, but also kinda like veal. the best of both worlds.
but the real find tonight was using the queso blanco. for a low fat cheese, it was delicious melted. part skim mozarella just doesn't do it for me anymore, and non-fat mozarella, well, let's just say it's an abomination to call it cheese. i think they use the same stuff to make whitewalls.
anyway, i can't wait to make this for mi familia next time we gather, to see if they think my mom made it.
