"Make Shift" Mu Shu Pork with Broccoli Slaw

When I was growing up, we almost never ate out at restaurants (having five kids in the family makes dining out a bit of a challenge financially and logistically).  What we did do for special occasions, however, was get Asian takeout.  Although we usually got Vietnamese or Thai food, occasionally we would get Chinese and when we did, my mom especially loved to order mu shu pork.  It's a little unique, because it's one of the few dishes not served over rice.  Instead, you get to enjoy a tortilla-like pancake brushed with smoky-sweet plum or hoisin sauce and topped with a mixture of stir fried pork and vegetables.  Delicious!

A few nights back, I was trying to come up with something to use up a bag of broccoli slaw.  When Googling "Broccoli slaw," all that came up was recipes to make it into a salad (go figure).  Then, I remembered the mu shu pork of my childhood and felt inspired.  Although the recipe is far from authentic, it turned out so delicious that my four year old (who sat at the table crying for an hour the other night because he didn't want to try his broccoli cheese soup) even wanted the leftovers for lunch the next day!  To make things even easier, you can try substituting flour tortillas for the Mandarin pancakes (really, they don't take too much effort, give them a try!).

Make Shift Mu Shu Pork
serves 4
2 thick cut pork loin chops (about 3/4 pound), trimmed of fat at sliced into thin, bite-sized strips
3/4 cup your favorite bottled stir fry sauce (SoyVay or Trader Joe's Soy Yaki suggested)
2 eggs, well-beaten
salt and pepper
cooking spray
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
4 green onions, white and green parts, sliced
1 bag broccoli slaw (or substitute coleslaw mix)
 cup your favorite bottled stir fry sauce (SoyVay or Trader Joe's Soy Yaki suggested)
1/4 cup hoisin or plum sauce

Directions: If making your own pancakes (see recipe below), make ahead of time and warm just before serving.
Stir together strips of pork and 1/4 cup of stir fry sauce.  Set aside and allow to marinate for about 30 minutes.  In a large skillet over medium-high heat sprayed with cooking spray, scramble eggs seasoned with salt and pepperl.  Once cooked through, remove from the skillet and set aside.  Add 1/2 tablespoon oil and over medium-high heat, stir fry pork until no longer pink.  Remove pork and add to scrambled eggs.  Wipe out pan with a paper towel and add remaining oil.  Over medium high heat, stir fry garlic, ginger and green onions stirring frequently until fragrant and onions are softened (about 1 minute).  Add slaw mix and stir fry for an additional few minutes or until vegetables are beginning to soften but are still crisp-tender.  Add remaining stir fry sauce, scrambled eggs and pork back to the pan and cook just until heated through.

To serve, spread a small amount of hoisin sauce on pancake or tortilla, top with a couple spoonfuls of pork mixture and fold to eat like a soft taco.  It is helpful to fold the bottom part of the pancake up so the filling doesn't escape!   Also, it truly isn't "mu shu" without mushrooms, I didn't have any that night (and honestly, we didn't miss them).  If you're wanting to be more authentic, though, go ahead and add some sliced mushrooms (preferably a shitake or wood ear type) while stir frying the veggies.

Mandarin Mu Shu Pancakes (or can use flour tortillas)
makes 16 small pancakes
(from Cooking Light)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup boiling water
1 1/2 tablespoons dark sesame oil

Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and water in a large bowl. Stir until a soft dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 3 minutes). Shape the dough into a 1 1/2-inch-thick log. Divide the dough into 16 equal portions. Roll each dough portion into a 6-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Brush 8 pancakes evenly with oil. Top each with one of the remaining pancakes, gently pressing together.
Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Place 1 pancake stack in pan, and cook 1 minute on each side or until slightly puffed. Remove from pan, and cool. Peel pancakes apart.

Green Chile Stew and Homemade Tortillas

Growing up, I had the opportunity to live in Albuquerque, NM for a few years.  It was there that I was introduced to green chiles.  They are amazing.  Being rather young (upper elementary school) when we lived there, I don't know if I got to fully appreciate how amazing and unique New Mexico and its cuisine truly is, but one thing that remains distinct in my memory is that in the fall, the air would be perfumed with the scent of roasting chiles. 

Now living in Colorado, we are fortunate to be able to have access to fresh roasted chiles again.  Just recently, a stand (trekking up from the green chile-famed town of Hatch, NM) sprouted up near our house and I knew I had to get some.  Two bushels later, I have ten quart-sized freezer bags of green gold that I will be happily adding to quesadillas, chile relleno casserole, breakfast burritos, soups and more throughout the winter! Here's one of the first green chile recipes I made with my bounty!  We served it with homemade tortillas (well worth the little extra time over packaged!).  Scroll (way down) if you came just for the tortillas...

My box of freshly roasted chiles.  If it says "Hatch," you know it's the real deal!

Green Chile Stew and Homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound boneless pork loin, trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons flour
1 medium onion, finely diced
2-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium carrot, diced
1 small tomato, diced
4 cups green chiles, roasted, peeled and seeds removed (see note)
2 cubes chicken bouillon
6 cups water
2 cups pinto beans (canned--drained and rinsed, or homemade--see earlier post on beans and rice)
2 small potatoes, large dice

Season cubed pork with salt and pepper and toss with flour.  In a large pot over medium high heat, brown pork, stirring occasionally to brown on all sides.  Add onion and garlic and allow to cook 2-3 minutes, or until onions are beginning to turn translucent.  Dump in carrot, tomato, green chiles, water and bouillon cubes.  Stir to combine and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 2 hours or until pork is tender and falling apart.  Raise heat to medium and add beans and potatoes.  Simmer about 20 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender.  Feel free to garnish with cheese, sour cream, cilantro, etc. (but I like it just plain!) and serve with tortillas.

Notes on Green Chile:  If there aren't chile roasting stands near you, you can also buy fresh chiles in the grocery store (look for Anaheim peppers near where the jalapenos are kept--they can range in heat, but are generally pretty mild).  To roast them at home, you can put them on the grill or under the broiler, turning occasionally until most all of the skin is blistered and blackened.  Put into a paper grocery sack and allow to steam for at least 30 minutes.  Then, the skins will slip right off.  Make sure to wear gloves when peeling and seeding the chiles (better safe than sorry!).

If you are not as lucky to have access to freshly roasted green chile, don't despair, you can find canned ones in the Latino foods section of the grocery store.  Sometimes, you can also find green chile in the freezer section as well!  Also, the chiles can really range in heat depending on the variety.  We like mild ones (because we like to taste our food and so I don't burn my four year old's socks off), but you can get hotter ones, if you like. 

Finally, if you omit the potato and beans, you roughly have "pork green chile."  You can serve this also as a soup with tortillas or serve over (or in!) burritos.  Delicious!

Homemade Tortillas
(Adapted from Homesick Texan Blog-- http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/)
2 cups flour (substitute 1 cup whole wheat for all purpose to make whole wheat tortillas)
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup warm milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
more flour as needed, for rolling

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine flour, salt and baking powder.  Add oil to warm milk and stir milk mixture into flour mixture until it forms a sticky dough.  Knead a few times in the bowl until dough becomes smooth.  Shape into a big ball, cover with a damp towel and allow to sit covered for 20 minutes.  Remove towel, form dough into small balls (you'll end up 10-12 for approx. 6" tortillas) and lay out on a flat surface.  Recover with towel and allow to rest for about 10 more minutes.  To roll out, scatter some flour on a smooth surface.  Using a rolling pin, roll out one dough ball at a time until as flat as you can make it.  Continue to roll out tortillas, covering them up as you go so that they don't dry out.  To cook, heat a dry skillet over medium high heat.  Once it's hot, lay tortillas, one at a time, on skillet.  Let cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, until bubbles start to form on top.  Flip over (there should be brown spots on the bottom of the tortilla) and allow to cook about 30 seconds longer or until starting to blister and brown on the bottom side again.  Watch them closely, they can start to burn quickly! Serve immediately.  We like to spread them with a little bit of butter!

30 minutes starts now!

So something a little strange happened the other night. I was preparing dinner and the doorbell rang. Ugh. Solicitors. Of course my first born raced to the door so I couldn't feign not being home and I felt like I had to answer the door. It was two young men from the inner city who were selling the magazine subscriptions, you've seen them before, right? So some of you may be thinking to yourself, "This is the time you just tell them that you're not interested and politely remind them soliciting is against one of the many statutes of our fine community." Unfortunately, I sometimes seem to have a hard time being direct in saying "no."

Anyway, when I told them I was fixing dinner, they asked if I might have any extra. Ha, ha, ha, funny joke, right? No, they were serious. Subscriptions I could not purchase, but my husband and I figured we could come up with something to feed them. Of course we had just polished off the sandwich fixings earlier that day, so it was going to take a little bit of inventiveness. I had Jay tell them to come back in 30 minutes and we'd have something to feed them. What commenced was a very frantic raid of the kitchen. This is what I came up with:

Of course it didn't look like that, though. This was frantic remember???
If we're being truthful, it looked exactly like this:

Slap, slap, slapped together.

The lesson of this is twofold:
First: Even when you don't think you have anything to come up with a fast, easy meal, you probably do and you really can do it!

Second: And somehow, when I agreed to feeding these guys, what was running through my head is the story in Genesis 18 where Abram has a divine appointment with some visitors (check it out!). It's possible that their knocking on the door right at dinnertime was just an inconvenient coincidence. But then again, I'm not sure that I believe in coincidences. Regardless, it was a reminder to me that I can show hospitality in some small way to everyone who crosses my path (especially at dinnertime).

Oh, and this was actually done in about 20 minutes!

Sweet and Tangy Grilled Pork Quesadillas
serves two hungry fellows

2 boneless pork chops
Canadian Steak Seasoning
4 tortillas
2 Tablespoons apricot jam
2 Tablespoons brown mustard
1 cup shredded cheese (I used a Mexican blend)
chopped cilantro (this was just used in the pretty, re-made version)

Sprinkle seasoning on both sides of pork chops and grill 3-5 minutes on both sides, or until cooked to about medium-well. Remove from heat and allow to rest for a few minutes.

While pork chops are cooking, stir together jam and mustard. Set aside.

Lay one tortilla in a large skillet over medium high heat. Spread about a tablespoon of the jam mixture on the tortilla and sprinkle with about 1/4 cup of cheese. Allow the cheese to start melting while the tortilla is still open-faced. Slice pork into small strips. Sprinkle on top of melting cheese. If you like cilantro, this is a nice time to sprinkle some of that over the quesadilla as well! Use a spatula to fold the quesadilla in half. Remove from heat and keep warm in a 200 degree oven. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Slice into wedges and serve!

Note: Hopefully, (if you don't do this already) this should open up a whole world of quesadilla options for you! Feel free to substitute different meats, cheeses and fillings. You can use the mustard-jam option with deli ham, cheese and thinly sliced pear or apple. We're particularly fond of spreading pesto sauce, using deli turkey, fresh spinach, slices of red bell pepper and Italian cheese blend.

Once you've experimented, please let me know what your favorite combination is so we can try it out too!

Better than a restaurant...and in just over 30 minutes!

Pork Milanese with Whole Wheat Spaetzle
and Baby Green Salad with Lemon-Mustard Vinaigrette




Having a husband from Iowa, I knew that he would be pretty excited if I tried to make ANY version of a breaded pork tenderloin (I think it might be the State dish and if it isn't it should be). Not only was he thrilled, I got rave reviews from both of my boys (the ones that are eating solid food, of course--the baby seemed to enjoy his pureed squash but was looking pretty envious). Even better, I dressed things up a bit (a usual tenderloin would be served on a bun with some combination of ketchup, mustard, pickles and onion), so I felt like it was healthier and company-worthy.

Also fun about this dish is that you can feel anywhere from humble to cosmopolitan depending on what name you give it and what you serve along side. "Breaded Pork Cutlet," totally down-home. "Pork Schnitzel," very Germanic. "Pork Milanese," so very sophisticated...anyway you call it, every single part of the meal was done in just over thirty minutes. See? No excuses! I think it gives "pork chop night" a whole new appeal! I've included the separate recipes for all the components and down below, I'll give instructions on how to prepare everything at the same time to be done in just over a half an hour.

Breaded Pork Loin:
4, 1-inch thick boneless pork loin chops
Canadian steak seasoning
3 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup breadcrumbs, unseasoned
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tablespoons olive oil

Directions:
Lay out a piece of plastic wrap big enough for each pork chop to be spaced about three inches apart and with some overhang. Lay pork chops evenly spaced apart. Cover with another piece of plastic wrap. With a meat mallet or rolling pin, take out any pent up aggression by pounding pork chops until they are an even thickness (1/2 to 1/4 inch thick).

In a shallow dish, mix together breadcrumbs, garlic powder and Parmesan cheese. Have beaten egg in another shallow dish waiting. Pull off plastic wrap and sprinkle steak seasoning on both sides of meat. Rub flour into each side of chop and then dip into beaten egg. Finally, dredge in breadcrumb mixture on both sides.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Place pork chops in a single-layer in skillet and brown about three minutes. Flip and brown on other side (lower the temperature a bit if getting browned too quickly) about 3.5 minutes. Voila! Your pork is finished!

Whole Wheat Spaetzle:
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup whole wheat
3/4 cup white flour flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2-4 Tablespoons butter, depending on taste
chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Fill a medium sauce pan with water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat eggs until well combined. Whisk in milk. Combine flours and salt and whisk into egg mixture. It should look like thick pancake batter. Take spoonfuls of batter and using a spatula, scrape the batter across the large holes of a cheese grater into the simmering water. It will form small, irregular-shaped dumplings that will sink to the bottom and then quickly rise to the surface again. Give a gentle stir and then, with a slotted spoon, remove spaetzle dumplings and place in a bowl to hold. Repeat process until you've used up all of your batter. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place spaetzle in skillet in a single layer. Allow to brown (2-3 minutes) in butter and then turn to brown on the other side. Remove from heat and toss with parsley to garnish

Baby Green Salad with Lemon-Mustard Vinaigrette:
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 Tablespoons stone ground mustard
3 Tablespoons lemon juice (about one lemon), reserving zest for garnish
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
fresh ground pepper to taste

1 bag of salad greens (I used one that was on sale at the supermarket, Mache, it's sort of like a combination in texture and flavor of spinach, watercress and arugula). Baby spinach or arugula would go beautifully, but use what you can find!

Remove zest from lemon and set aside. On a cutting board, mash down on garlic clove with the side of a large kitchen knife. Chop into smaller pieces and then sprinkle salt over top. Using the side of the blade again, drag the salt through the garlic pieces repeatedly to form a paste out of the garlic and salt (this way you won't have sharp bites of garlic pieces in your dressing). Scrape garlic paste into a small bowl. Whisk in mustard and lemon juice and stir to combine. Finely drizzle in olive oil while whisking constantly to form a smooth vinaigrette. Season with fresh ground pepper. Toss with salad greens. Feel free to garnish with lemon zest or fresh tomato for color.

Meal Preparation Instructions:
Bring spaetzle water to a boil. While waiting for water to boil, pound out and bread pork chops as well as mix together spaetzle batter. Let pork chops rest while you are simmering spaetzle. Then, after all the spaetzle have been cooked, brown pork chops. While pork chops are browning, prepare salad dressing. Flip the pork chops and brown spaetzle in another skillet (or wait until the pork chops are out of the skillet and use the same skillet to melt the butter and brown the spaetzle). Toss dressing with salad and you're ready to plate! Ha! Don't you feel like Rachael Ray???