Fast Food is for Road Trips: Seared Pork Chops with Sauteed Apples and Leeks
When I take road trips, I don't stop until I get there. I drive too fast at traffic-free times of day. I don't sit for meals, and Kayla doesn't get walked (she's a camel, that one). I'm forever on the quest for my record time.
As part of the fun, I only eat fast food on road trips. Though some colleagues refuse fast food completely, I believe it's better to be of the culture than above it; it's too food snobby and un-American to refuse fast food.
I was gearing up for the new McDonalds Angus, but Burger King had a monopoly on the Chesapeake House, and I would never stop twice. That's okay; as my palate has matured, I prefer BK. That flame broiling seems to drip out some of the beef funk, and their chicken salad is a superior representation of the genre.
So a Whopper it would be. Post-purchase, I returned to the Northern Maryland stretch of I-95, shifting and unwrapping my burger with great success. My cell phone wrang, so it looked like I'd be able to lunch with a friend.
Somehow I manage to answer the phone, explain my fast food ritual, and gush that I'm about to enjoy my annual Whopper. His response?
"Eeew. I used to like those things until I stopped eating them."
Did I want to know why? My mouth was open, the Whopper was steaming. I figured I was going to hear about his bad stomach, his allergic reaction to spinach, or his OCD. This friend is always going on about his ailments. Note to men: Women don't like this. Your momma we ain't. Put your best foot forward and save the whining for your declining years.
"And why did you stop eating Whoppers?" I asked.
"Because I read Fast Food Nation. And this Sunday's Times. Beef is baaaad."
I was time-machined back to the sixth grade cafeteria, where I'd occasionally unwrap a tuna fish sandwich, or a PB&J on whole wheat to a chorus of "eeeew". It was not until I dined on crunchy cheese doodles and micro-warmed chocolate chip cookies that my lunch met with peer approval.
"You know what, pal? This is suddenly feeling very middle school," I said. "Don't be the kid at the table that says eeeeew while I'm eating."
He apologized, kinda, and it occurred to me that had I been eating a tuna sandwich, or a PB&J on wheat, it probably would have been acceptable to him.
The Whopper was drippy and kept me sated for the rest of the drive. Culinary guilty pleasures are an important ritual, and no matter how virulently vegan, assertively Atkins, or chastely Kosher you may be. You know you have a cuilinary guilty pleasure. Fast food is mine.
Seared Pork Chops with Sauteed Apples and Leeks
A few days before I took to the road, I made this dish, and enjoyed the first chop as much as the fourth. This will keep for 5 days in the fridge; see if you can make it last that long.
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 golden delicious apple, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 (1-inch) bone-in pork chops
2 leeks, trimmed, halved, cut into 1-inch pieces and washed
1 1/2 teaspoons flour
1/3 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock (plus more if sauce is too thick)
1 teaspoon mustard (optional)
1/4 cup cream
1/3 cup roughly chopped or whole parsley leaves
1. In a large nonstick or regular skillet, melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add apples and cook, gently tossing, until golden on each side, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove and keep warm in a low oven or by covering with aluminum foil.
2. To the same skillet, add 1 tablespoon oil. When oil is hot (after about 30 seconds), add pork chops. Cook over medium-high heat until golden, about 4 minutes. Turn, cover, and cook an additional 3 to 4 minutes until just cooked through and golden on each side.
3. Pour out almost all fat from the pan, leaving 1 tablespoon. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons flour to the skillet and stir. Add wine and cook for 1 minute, until the mixture forms a thick paste. Add chicken stock and leeks and bring to a simmer. Cook until leeks have wilted, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove cover; add mustard (if desired) and cream. Return chops to skillet and warm through, about 2 minutes. Add parsley; taste sauce and adjust for seasoning.
4. Serve pork chops with leek sauce and garnish with apples.
TIP: For a thicker sauce, continue to simmer the chicken stock mixture after the lid is removed. For a thinner sauce, add more chicken stock.
As part of the fun, I only eat fast food on road trips. Though some colleagues refuse fast food completely, I believe it's better to be of the culture than above it; it's too food snobby and un-American to refuse fast food.
I was gearing up for the new McDonalds Angus, but Burger King had a monopoly on the Chesapeake House, and I would never stop twice. That's okay; as my palate has matured, I prefer BK. That flame broiling seems to drip out some of the beef funk, and their chicken salad is a superior representation of the genre.
So a Whopper it would be. Post-purchase, I returned to the Northern Maryland stretch of I-95, shifting and unwrapping my burger with great success. My cell phone wrang, so it looked like I'd be able to lunch with a friend.
Somehow I manage to answer the phone, explain my fast food ritual, and gush that I'm about to enjoy my annual Whopper. His response?
"Eeew. I used to like those things until I stopped eating them."
Did I want to know why? My mouth was open, the Whopper was steaming. I figured I was going to hear about his bad stomach, his allergic reaction to spinach, or his OCD. This friend is always going on about his ailments. Note to men: Women don't like this. Your momma we ain't. Put your best foot forward and save the whining for your declining years.
"And why did you stop eating Whoppers?" I asked.
"Because I read Fast Food Nation. And this Sunday's Times. Beef is baaaad."
I was time-machined back to the sixth grade cafeteria, where I'd occasionally unwrap a tuna fish sandwich, or a PB&J on whole wheat to a chorus of "eeeew". It was not until I dined on crunchy cheese doodles and micro-warmed chocolate chip cookies that my lunch met with peer approval.
"You know what, pal? This is suddenly feeling very middle school," I said. "Don't be the kid at the table that says eeeeew while I'm eating."
He apologized, kinda, and it occurred to me that had I been eating a tuna sandwich, or a PB&J on wheat, it probably would have been acceptable to him.
The Whopper was drippy and kept me sated for the rest of the drive. Culinary guilty pleasures are an important ritual, and no matter how virulently vegan, assertively Atkins, or chastely Kosher you may be. You know you have a cuilinary guilty pleasure. Fast food is mine.
Seared Pork Chops with Sauteed Apples and Leeks
A few days before I took to the road, I made this dish, and enjoyed the first chop as much as the fourth. This will keep for 5 days in the fridge; see if you can make it last that long.
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 golden delicious apple, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 (1-inch) bone-in pork chops
2 leeks, trimmed, halved, cut into 1-inch pieces and washed
1 1/2 teaspoons flour
1/3 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock (plus more if sauce is too thick)
1 teaspoon mustard (optional)
1/4 cup cream
1/3 cup roughly chopped or whole parsley leaves
1. In a large nonstick or regular skillet, melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add apples and cook, gently tossing, until golden on each side, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove and keep warm in a low oven or by covering with aluminum foil.
2. To the same skillet, add 1 tablespoon oil. When oil is hot (after about 30 seconds), add pork chops. Cook over medium-high heat until golden, about 4 minutes. Turn, cover, and cook an additional 3 to 4 minutes until just cooked through and golden on each side.
3. Pour out almost all fat from the pan, leaving 1 tablespoon. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons flour to the skillet and stir. Add wine and cook for 1 minute, until the mixture forms a thick paste. Add chicken stock and leeks and bring to a simmer. Cook until leeks have wilted, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove cover; add mustard (if desired) and cream. Return chops to skillet and warm through, about 2 minutes. Add parsley; taste sauce and adjust for seasoning.
4. Serve pork chops with leek sauce and garnish with apples.
TIP: For a thicker sauce, continue to simmer the chicken stock mixture after the lid is removed. For a thinner sauce, add more chicken stock.
posted by Allison Fishman Task at 12:56 PM
1 Comments:
i knew i liked you! i too think fast food has its time and its place and that drive-thrus were invented for people on road trips. the naysayers can enjoyed their packed bags of trail mix; give me a chik fil-a sandwich (with mayo, thankyouverymuch)and some waffle fries and i'm a blissful girl. also... i was planning fish for the next dinner, but i'm craving craving CRAVING pork belly and your pork chops may have tipped the scales.
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