The Orange Pork Chops recipe from Sharon Bray that we found in our old friend, Treasures and Pleasures from First Presbyterian Church of Apopka, is different from most of our day-to-day pork chop recipes. This one makes a tasty sauce. The orange goes very well with pork, and cooking on top of the stove simplifies the chore. Make sure to use your meat thermometer and cook the pork to between 145 and 160 degrees. And, I know: most of us are used to cooking to 160 degrees. Actually, I still do cook to 160 degrees!
Stan Smith’s Chicken ala King is wonderful served over toast points, rice, or biscuits with a vegetable or salad on the side.
From Southern Living’s All-Time Favorites, we find broccoli and walnut sauté. It will be a wonderful dish to serve with the pork chop dish, above.
Gourmet onions from Savannah Style won’t take long, once you get the onions peeled, cooked and drained.
From Savannah Style, try the black bean soup. They instruct us to “use only a wooden spoon for stirring.” I don’t know why and have tried looking it up. Does anyone out there reading this know why they say to “use only a wooden spoon for stirring.”
Our friends in Georgia share Sybil Carter’s Grits and Egg Casserole in their wonderful publication, Plains Pot Pourri.
“Robert is Here” is a rowdy roadside market in Homestead that was started by six-year old Robert Moehling in 1959 as he sold his father’s cucumbers on the honor system with a can where the customers could put their money while Robert was in school. However, on day one, as little Robert was at the stand, no one stopped. His dad thought no one saw Robert, so he made signs that he tacked up on both sides of the stand proclaiming, “Robert is Here.” It worked. Thus, their thriving family business was born and continues today with a greatly enhanced inventory of fruits and vegetables. By age 14, industrious Robert had bought his first ten-acre piece of property and planted an avocado grove. The key lime recipe below, inspired by Robert’s recipe, is “an old-fashioned standard in our family,” says Robert’s wife, Tracey.
SHARON BRAY’S
ORANGE PORK CHOPS
Recipe from First Presbyterian Church of Apopka, Treasures and Pleasures
Pork chops, 1 thick chop per person
Seasoned flour
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1-1/2 cups orange juice
1/2 cup sherry wine
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Onions
Coat pork chops lightly with flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Brown quickly on both sides in hot oil. Place one thick slice of onion on each chop. Reduce heat to simmer and add orange juice, sherry and soy sauce. Cover and cook over low heat until chops are tender (about 30 to 40 minutes), basting occasionally with sauce. After removing chops, sauce may be thickened, if desired, and spooned over rice.
STAN SMITH’S CHICKEN ALA KING
Recipe from First Presbyterian Church of Punta Gorda, A Taste of Heaven
1/4 cup margarine
1 to 2 cups mushrooms
Green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup flour
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Thyme
Tabasco
2 cups milk
1/4 cup sherry
2 cups chopped chicken
9 ounces frozen peas, thawed and drained
2 ounces pimento, drained
In a medium sauce pan, melt margarine and sauté mushrooms and green pepper. Stir in flour, bouillon cube, pepper, thyme and Tabasco. Gradually add milk. Cook over medium-high heat until thickened, stirring constantly. Add sherry, chicken, peas and pimento. Simmer 5 minutes. Serve over toast points, rice or biscuits.
BROCCOLI AND WALNUT SAUTE
Recipe from Southern Living
All-Time Favorites
1-1/2 pounds fresh broccoli
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup thin onion strips, cut vertically
1/2 cup thin sweet red pepper strips
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
Remove and discard broccoli leaves and tough ends of stalks; cut broccoli into flowerets. Peel broccoli stems, and thinly slice. Set broccoli aside.
Combine water and next three ingredients; set cornstarch mixture aside.
Saute garlic, onion, red pepper, and broccoli in oil in a large skillet over medium heat three minutes or until broccoli is crisp-tender.
Add cornstarch mixture to vegetable mixture, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook one minute, stirring constantly.
Spoon vegetable mixture into a serving dish; sprinkle with walnuts.
Makes 6 servings.
GOURMET ONIONS
Recipe from Savannah Style,
a Cookbook by The Junior League
of Savannah, Inc.
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup sherry
10 to 12 small white onions, peeled, cooked and drained
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in sugar, salt, pepper and sherry. Add onions and beat quickly (about five minutes), stirring frequently to avoid burning. Turn into a serving dish and sprinkle with cheese.
BLACK BEAN SOUP
Recipe from Savannah Style,
a Cookbook by The Junior League
of Savannah, Inc.
1 pound black beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium ripe tomato
1 bay leaf
1/2 medium onion
1/2 medium green pepper
1 garlic clove, unpeeled and crushed
…
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 level teaspoon crushed oregano
1/4 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
…
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
2 tablespoons dry sherry
Wash beans and discard imperfect ones. Place in a deep bowl and cover with water 2 inches above beans. Soak overnight.
Next day, pour beans into a 3 to 4 quart kettle with the same soaking water. If necessary, add more water so that beans will be covered one inch above. Add to the beans: 2 tablespoons olive oil, whole tomato, bay leaf, 1/2 onion, 1/2 green pepper, crushed garlic clove. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to moderate, cover and cook until beans are tender, about 1 hour. Use only a wooden spoon for stirring. Remove the bay leaf and what is left of the half onion, tomato, pepper and garlic.
In a skillet, heat 1/2 cup olive oil and sauté the chopped onion and green pepper until transparent. Add the garlic, crushed oregano, cumin, wine vinegar and salt. Stir to mix well and cook 2 minutes longer, then add to beans. Stir in hot sauce, cover and cook for a good half hour. Correct seasonings, and add sherry. Serve hot with cooked long grain white rice and raw chopped onions.
SYBIL CARTER’S
GRITS AND EGG CASSEROLE
Recipe from Food Favorites of Plains, Georgia Plains Pot Pourri
1 cup grits
4 cups water
2 egg yolks
2 egg whites, stiffly beaten
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup sharp cheese, grated
Salt and pepper to taste
Cook grits with dash of salt and let cool slightly. Add all remaining ingredients, blend well with grits and turn into baking dish. Bake 45 minutes at 325 degrees.
ROBERT MOEHLING’S
CLASSIC KEY LIME PIE
HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA
Recipe from Field to Feast
CRUST: (makes 8-inch pie)
1-1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
FILLING:
4 egg yolks
14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh Key lime juice
TOPPING:
3/4 cup chilled heavy cream
Make the Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a bowl with a fork until combined. Press onto bottom and sides of 9-inch pie plate. Bake on middle rack of oven 10 minutes; cool completely.
Make the Filling and Bake: Whisk together egg yolks and condensed milk. Add Key lime juice and whisk until mixture thickens slightly. Pour filling into crust and bake on middle rack of oven 15 minutes. Cool completely, then refrigerate, covered, at least 8 hours.
Make the Topping: Just before serving, whip cream with an electric mixer until stiff. Serve pie topped with the whipped cream.
