SC - Pantry Surprise, yet again

[Kerri Canepa]

Greetings the list,

Since we all seem to have a free rein on topics whilst Pennsic War commences, I
thought I might share yet another of my excursions in cooking ala' Pantry
Surprise. Otherwise known as cooking with whatever happens to be on hand.

Friends of mine actually, invited, nay, implored that I come cook for them (I
_did_ offer to come cook during a conversation the week before). Always up for a
new cooking experience, I acquiesed.

The Menu for this chapter of Pantry Surprise:

Pork chops with fruited sauce
Something like an antipasto with asparagus mousse
Fruited couscous
Lightly pickled cucumber slices

Pork chops:
6 pork chops
salt
pepper 
olive oil
6 ziplock bags

Put a pork chop in each bag. Add salt, pepper, and olive oil to suit you. Seal
bags and massage until all ingredients coat chops. Set aside for 15-20 minutes.
Set temperature in oven to broil. Put chops on a broiler pan about 7 inches
below broiler. Broil until browned (about 10-12 minutes), turn once, broil until
done.

Fruited sauce:
about 1 cup drained and chopped apricots soaked in brandy
3/4 cup craisins (the sweetened, dried cranberries)
1/4 cup fruited mustard
2 tbsp Guldens mustard
1/4 cup port wine
raspberry vinegar
white zinfandel wine

Mix all ingredients in a small pan on medium heat. The proportions of raspberry
vinegar and zinfandel wine were based on personal taste preference. Stir
occasionally, cook for about an hour on low heat.

Something like Antipasto (SLA):
1 can black olives, pitted
1 can green olives, pitted
3/4 cup marinated mushrooms
1/4 cup pickled garlic
1/2 cup pickled onions
1 can cut green beans
4 slices provolone cheese, sliced into strips and cut in half
1/4 cup olive oil
1-2 tsp dried thyme
pepper

Drain and rinse vegetables. Mix all ingredients. Add pepper to taste. Toss and
let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Asparagus mousse:
1 can asparagus spears
2-3 tbsp pub mustard

Drain and rinse asparagus. Mash the heck out of it until smooth. Add mustard and
mix well.

Fruited couscous:
3 cups couscous
5 cups water
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 figs preserved in honey, minced
3 tbsp roasted peanuts, chopped
2 tbsp sesame seeds

Boil water with salt, add couscous, stir, remove from heat and cover. After
couscous has absorbed water, fluff with a fork and add other ingredients. Mix
well.

Lightly pickled cucumber slices:
1 medium cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
raspberry vinegar, enough to cover slices in a pot
2 tbsp or thereabout granulated sugar

In a small pot, heat vinegar and sugar over low heat until dissolved. Add
cucumber slices, cover, and let simmer for 10-12 minutes. Drain and chill.

Each pork chop had the fruit sauce poured on it (although it didn't really pour;
it had the consistency of chutney) with the couscous mounded next to it. The SLA
came with a fair sized dollop of asparagus mousse on it and the cucumbers were
almost a garnish on the side.

Well, I can amaze even myself sometime. Six of us ate it all (there was some
couscous left) and then two of us ran to the store for box o' cheesecake. I do
love pairing fruit and pork. Mmmmm. The surprise of the evening was the
asparagus mousse; it was amazingly yummy. I also experimented with adding some
cumin to a bit of it and that was quite good as well but I wasn't sure it went
with the SLA. Yes, you can do something tasty with canned asparagus after all.

And the coolest thing was that only the cucumber was purchased for this meal.
Everything else was somewhere in their kitchen.

Having way too much fun,

Cedrin