Cooking is an art, recipes are "suggestions"

I’m not a by-the-book cook. I’m a wing it, taste it, and cross your fingers kinda cook. Tonight was no different.

I had pork chops, I’d normally grill them, but it’s a grand total of 7F outside and windy. So I figured, oven was more weather friendly tonight.

I looked up a recipe online, but I didn’t have everything on the list, so I improvised. It called for panko, I had just used the last of it on a mac n’ cheese. I decided to use crushed butter crackers (aka Ritz).

It called for dipping the pork chops in water to before dunking in the crust, that sounded weird, so I went with an egg wash.

I also had a delicata squash, and my friend Liz suggested roasting with butter and maple syrup, but I had just used the last of my syrup on oatmeal this morning. So I used brown sugar.

We added some quick Brussels sprouts with just a little olive oil and black pepper. Pro tip, if you cut the sprouts up they cook fast, like 5 minutes. Helps with timing out the meal.

Moral of the story, I need to go to the grocery store and stock up on staples. Other moral, recipes are suggestions, not set in stone.

They say cooking is an art, we make art you can cook with. Happy cooking!

Cracker Crusted Pork

Preheat oven to 450F
Half a sleeve of butter crackers, crushed in a zip lock bag
Add in 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese (I used what we refer to as “shake cheese”)
Add some spices, I put in Penzey’s Lamb Seasoning
Mix up 1 egg with some water and put on a plate
Dunk pork chop into egg on both sides and then toss into the ziplock bag and shake until coated
Place in a oven proof container, I used a Clay Coyote Flameware Large Skillet
Bake in oven for 30-35 minutes

Delicata Squash with Brown Sugar

Cut in half
Scoop out goop
Place flesh side up in oven proof container, I used a Clay Coyote Flameware Cazuela
Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes, flesh will be soft
Pour off water, brush flesh with butter and sprinkle with brown sugar
Broil for last 2-3 minutes so that you get a little caramelization action on the sugar

Brussels Sprouts with Olive Oil and Cracked Black Pepper