(Dolen Perkins-Valdez, hardback). From the title you might think this is a book about the s-x word. It’s not. By a long shot. But the story, set in about 1852, is about a black slave woman, and her somewhat misguided “love” for her master. About the children she bore him, under the eagle eye of the master’s wife. But it’s all tied together with a yearly journey made to a place called Tawawa House, a rural inn of sorts in southern Ohio (a free State), that for some years allowed white slave owners to stay at the resort in rustic cottages with their black slaves, as couples. This place existed, according to the author’s afterword, and finally closed because some of the regulars (white couples who stayed in the main house) didn’t fancy this concubine business going on out in the woods. It’s about Lizzie’s relationships with the other slave women, about their desire to run to safety through the local underground, about them secretly meeting some free blacks, finding out more about abolition, and about the hardships all these black mistresses endured, and how little their lives were valued. A real stunning book. (I was sent this book as a perk from Harper Collins – because I had mentioned The Help. No strings attached – I could choose to mention this book, or not, here on my blog. I’m glad to because it’s a very good read.)
(Jamie Ford, on my Kindle). A poignant story about a Chinese-American, growing up in Seattle at the beginning of World War II. Henry falls in love with a young Japanese girl before her family is interned in a relocation camp. It a very secretive relationship because his parents would highly disapprove. The story goes back to the 40’s and forward to the 1980’s when Henry is in his 50’s and his wife (not the Japanese woman) has just died of cancer. The story pulls you in from the first page, especially when some artifacts are found in the basement of an old hotel which contain personal belongings from several Japanese families who were suddenly taken away back in 1942. You can see where it’s going, can’t you? I heard criticism of this book that it was just a little bit contrived. Halfway through I’m enjoying it very much.
(Kathryn Stockett on my Kindle, an excellent read); 
by Jetta Carleton (Kindle edition, eh); 
by Susan Richards (Kindle edition, good book); 
by Sally Gunning (Kindle edition, very good read)
; 
; 
(Mario Batali & Gweneth Paltrow); 
; 
.
It was a couple of years ago that our daughter-in-law, Karen, served this dish to us, and I liked it so much. She got it from Food & Wine magazine. In the few months after that, I made it several times, thought I’d entered it into my cooking software program, but somehow it dropped in the cracks. Recently Karen fixed it for us again with fresh Swiss chard from her garden, and I was reminded how good this dish is. And how EASY it is, too. How often can you make a dinner entrée (here it’s with pork chops) and NOT have to brown the chops? This baked casserole, if you can call it that, but not in the traditional casserole type meaning, is put together with relatively few ingredients. You might think it’s going to be blah. Au contraire.
Let me just tell you how easy it is: first you chop up a pound of (buy the pre-washed if you can) Swiss chard into ribbons and pieces. This is placed in a large Pyrex (or crockery) baking dish and you toss it with some olive oil and salt and pepper. You rub the pork chops (1-inch or thinner) with some oil too, season them and put them on top of the Swiss chard. Now, you know how much volume there is of the chard when you start – it will be mounding over the edge of the dish, but that’s normal. You drizzle the top of the chops with a bit more oil, then sprinkle on the two different cheeses. You bake it for exactly 18 minutes, remove it, cover the dish for 5 minutes and you’re DONE. Serve with a salad and some bread and you have a complete dinner. I sometimes add herb seasoning (like rosemary or thyme) to the pork chops, but that’s IT. I kid you not, this one is so simple and delicious.
Baked Pork Chops with Swiss Chard
Recipe: from Food & Wine, via our daughter-in-law, Karen
Servings: 4
1 pound Swiss chard — stems removed, leaves washed and cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
Fresh-ground black pepper
2 pounds pork chops — 1-inch thick, about 6 ounces each
1 1/2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese — grated (or more)
2 ounces Fontina cheese — grated, about 1/2 to 3/4 cup
1. Heat the oven to 450°. Oil a 7 1/2-by-11 1/2-inch baking dish. In a medium bowl, toss the Swiss chard with 1 tablespoon of the oil, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Put the chard in the baking dish.
2. Rub the pork chops with 1 tablespoon of the oil, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Put the pork chops on top of the Swiss chard. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon oil over the chard, around the pork chops. Sprinkle the Parmesan and fontina over the chard, around the chops. Bake until the chops are just done, about 18 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Per Serving: 525 Calories; 38g Fat (64.8% calories from fat); 41g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 129mg Cholesterol; 745mg Sodium.
printer-friendly PDF
0 Comments