David's Take on Pork & Beans

I can't take the credit for all of the dishes that come out of my kitchen these days. While most of the stuff on my blog is definitely my doing, there is a much more experienced and talented palette at my side.

So, I'll post a few of David's creations here and there, sans recipe, for your culinary inspiration and stomach's desire. Why no recipe? Some chefs don't like to freely give away their secrets, especially on their carefully tested (or magically concocted) recipes. I have to respect David's wishes. I ask him *politely* if he minds if I post a recipe that he comes up with, and if he gives me that look... I just post a photo. Another reason is that David usually cooks as he goes (without a recipe in mind), and his recipes tend to have more complicated-than-I-feel-like-typing steps.

Luckily for me, even after a 50+ hour week in the restaurant, he still wants to come home and cook. This was dish #2 to come out of our massive pork shoulder buy. 

It's David's take on pork and beans. Braised and seared pork shoulder with cranberry beans, watercress (can't get enough of these two) and chimichurri. Being from The South, this was not at all what I envisioned when tossing around ideas about doing a variation on the classic dish. It was light and fresh, packed with flavor, and dare I say it, pretty damn healthy.

The Importance of Eating Seasonally

There are plenty of reasons why one should eat seasonally. Without a doubt one of the main reasons is flavor. Take a mango for example, which, a few months ago, would not only cost you twice as much as it does today, but would also not shower you with the amazing sweetness that a perfectly ripe mango can offer. I adore mangoes. Probably due to the fact (ok, mythical fact) that I fell from the mango tree - which is where my mom told me I came from.

A few weeks ago, Ataulfo mangoes started appearing at our international farmer's market. Native to the Philippines and Mexico, they're smaller, bright yellow, luscious, and buttery. Unfortunately, they were all imported from Mexico, but alas, it's difficult to find these type of mangoes in the U.S. (mangoes grown in Florida are usually Tommy Atkins).

This same time last year, I was in the Philippines visiting the other half of my family for the first time since 1995. Sixteen years. My cousins who once were small enough for me to tote around on my hip were now sharing a beer with me at the dinner table.

 

 

I forgot a lot of things about the Philippines... the sights, the sounds, the smells... well, I may have purposely dismissed some of that from my memory.

 

I forgot, or maybe just never realized how good the food really was. Everything seemed new to me, except for my Lola's house... and the taste of a perfectly ripe mango.

Nothing beats the bang! thump, thump... thomp of a mango falling off of the tree and rolling down your roof... then bribing your little brother to climb up there and get it for you. That's right, they are so ripe that they fall off the tree. None of this picking it 2 weeks before it's ready so that it holds up through shipping and processing crap.

Super Simple Tonkatsu

If there's one thing I know I'm going to miss from the States, it would have to be fried chicken. Good ol' southern, crispy, fried chicken. Don't get me wrong, I'm kind of happy that I won't have the usual greasy chicken and cheeseburgers knocking at my door like they do in the states. I should eat a little healthier. Really good(I mean bad for you) cheeseburgers here in Paris are few and far between... and fried chicken? Well, I haven't even heard the words "fried chicken" since I've been here. Tear.

So yesterday, I was on my own, as Quentin went to Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Bougival to do some job stuff and grab my tripod from his parent's place(I want better pictures, damn it!). As I sipped my morning... okay, who am I kidding... afternoon coffee I read through a few of the newest food blogs I'm following. A post I happened to stumble upon from Tasty Colours caught my interest. I knew I could get recipe inspiration from following all these food blogs, never had it occurred to me that I could also get advice on the best "food" places to go in Paris(duh, Katrina). As I read through the post, I came across La Grand Epicerie de Paris. La Grande Epicerie is like the Louis Vuitton of grocery stores. Very high-end, unique, and exquisite quality products. Their website sells hedgehog-shaped sugar cubes, molecular gastronomy kits, black salt from Hawaii... just to name a few. To make it even better... it's two stops from the closest metro. Weeeee!!! I'm there.

I felt like I was going to freaking Disney World. I walked inside, and it literally took my breath away. This place is huge. As you walk in, the first thing you come across(and you can't miss it) is the absolutely perfect display of desserts. Macarons, éclairs, fruit tarts... oh how I wish I had extra money to throw around. I was a little hesitant to take pictures in there with my big camera, so I'll try to go back with my little point and shoot to get some photos of this place.

I took my time, and walked through every aisle. They had an entire aisle dedicated just to salts, one just to oils, and so on. I was in culinary heaven. Even though everything in there is ridiculously expensive, their produce is what I was I was there to buy. It's still fairly pricey, but when you're only buying for one or two people, the quality is worth the price. I bought one eggplant(to re-make my awesomely drunken fusili with roasted eggplant), some fresh apricots, two celery ribs(you can buy them by the rib, an individual portion of the celery stalk, which is perfect when you only need one or two), a head of broccoli, and two small pork chops. I really only knew what I was going to do with the eggplant, the rest I figured I'd improvise. I spent a total of 9.68 euros and got the hell out of there before I could do any more damage.

So back to the whole fried chicken bit(sorry, I got a bit carried away back there), I was trying to figure out what I was going to do with the pork chops I bought from La Grande Epicerie. Pork chops in themselves are pretty easy to mess up, if you overcook them they become dry and tough. The ones I bought were small and very thin, so I wanted a way to make sure I didn't overcook them. Since I've been craving fried anything since I got here, I figured the best way to cook these little chops would be tonkatsu style.

Tonkatsu is a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet that is usually served with shredded cabbage. Typically, very thin pork cutlets are used for this dish, since quickly frying them in oil prevents them from drying out. Another important ingredient is the breadcrumbs. Japanese panko breadcrumbs are the best to use for tonkatsu, and will yield a light, and super crispy crust. Perfect for me, since I had two thin little pork chops, and while rummaging through the cupboards found some breadcrumbs and flour. Instead of serving this with shredded cabbage, I made it with rice and steamed broccoli.

Super Simple Tonkatsu

2 thin pork cutlets or chops, about 1/3 of an inch thick
1/3 cup of flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup of panko breadcrumbs
vegetable oil, for frying
salt and pepper, to taste

Add about 1/4 inch deep amount of vegetable oil to a large frying pan. Heat vegetable oil on medium high until nice and hot. I like to test that the oil is ready by flicking a drop of water on the oil, if it crackles and pops, it is ready. You can also be more precise with a thermometer and heat the oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a shallow bowl, add flour, and salt and pepper to taste. In another bowl, add the egg, and gently whisk with a fork. In the last bowl, add the breadcrumbs. Take each pork chop and first dredge in the flour mixture until fully covered, then into the egg mixture, and lastly into the breadcrumbs. I like to sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the pork and pat them into the chop, so the crust adheres to the egg mixture. Once both chops are completely breaded, gently place in the hot oil and fry until browned on each side(for my small chops it took 2 minutes on each side, if you have larger chops, it may take longer).

Once browned, place on a paper towel to absorb any extra oil, and allow to rest for 3-5 minutes. Serve this either with tonkatsu sauce, or in my case, I only had worcestershire sauce, which is equally as delicious. Serves 2.