Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Sour Cream Issues

I am totally uninspired for tonight's post, so this is about as creative as I can get. No fun alliteration for you. My guess is my brain is on the verge of fried-dom - or I am completely distracted watching Glee with tonight's particularly brillz banter.

Fun fact about me: For the longest time, I had a very strange, almost unreasonable hatred of sour cream. I couldn't touch it, let alone cook with it. Of course, my father's staging of a sour cream fight whilst I was in middle school and shoveling a load of it in my face probs didn't help (I actually threw up). However, my advanced age has also brought a newfound maturity when it comes to the white stuff. I can now cook with it. I still don't like it on its own, and I still get a little skeeved when I see people eat it by the spoonful, but at least I can deal.


Hungarian Pork Chops
Source: American Heart Association Low-Salt Cookbook (3rd Edition, 2006)

Rub Ingredients:
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 3/4 tsp dillweed, crumbled (used dill seed - made purchase error)
  • 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Other:
  • 4 boneless pork loin chops, trimmed (about 4oz each)
  • 1/2 c. water
  • 1/2 c. fat-free or light sour cream
  • 1/4 tsp salt (skip)
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped green onions (skip - forgot to buy)
Directions:
  • In a small bowl, stir together rub ingredients. Rub half the mixture on one side of the pork.
  • Lightly spray a large, heavy nonstick skillet. Heat over medium-high heat. Reduce to medium, add pork and cook with seasoned side down for 4 minutes. Rub the top side with the remaining mixture, turn pork over and cook for 4-5 minutes or until barely pink. Transfer to a plate, cover with foil to keep warm.
  • Increase the heat to high. Pour in the water, scraping the skillet to dislodge any browned bits. Boil for 1-2 minutes, or until liquid is reduced to 1/4 c. Reduce heat to low.
  • When boiling stops, whisk in the sour cream and salt. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until heated through, whisking constantly. Don't let it boil.
  • To serve: spoon sauce over pork, sprinkle with green onions.
Yield: 4 servings (3oz pork + 3 tbsp sauce)
Per serving: 199 calories; 6.5g fat (2.8g sat, 0.5g poly, 3g mono); 72mg chol; 7g carbs; 26g protein; 221mg sodium

Review:
I was a little concerned with the sauce situation (see note above re: sour cream issues), but I went ahead and loaded on about 2 tbsp (3 was too many for a 3oz portion). Luckily, the sauce didn't really have a strong sour cream flavor. The kid did not like the sauce at all, and the hubs thought it was OK, if used sparingly. In his defense, he's not usually super keen on lots of sauce (vs. me, who loves it). We also had roasted asparagus and butternut squash risotto from Trader Joe's. Neither of the boys liked the risotto, with the hubs proclaiming it to be "too sqaushy" JUST before the kid took his first taste. So, you can obvs imagine how that went down.

Ranking:
Two Forks. Since neither boy really loved the sauce, and since the pork on its own was OK, I don't know that I would make this again. On the other hand, I really liked the risotto.


Saucy

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