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It’s the middle of the week, I’m feeling expansive, and I want to do something nice for Shanin, so I made a meal that I think she’ll like. She should be home from work any minute now, and my task is to get dinner ready and served practically when she gets home so we can go work out tonight and get to bed at a decent hour. My additional spin on the task is to make it a nice meal that she can brag to her friends about (and I can brag to mine, let’s be honest). Enter Wild Mushroom Pork Chops with a side of Tomatoes Caprese.

We haven’t been eating much meat lately, simply because it’s so darn expensive; I can make excellent meals without having to go and purchase chicken, pork, lamb, or duck (she’s not much of a beef eater) which can almost double your food bill. I’ve been doing very well at staying around $50 for the two of us per week. But, as I said earlier, I’m feeling expansive, so this week I’m making both chicken and pork; this put the food bill from Trader Joe’s alone at $75, and I usually go to a couple other places for other items!

Anyway, I found a great recipe in Cooking Pleasures magazine (affiliated with CookingClub.com) and just had to go for it. After all, shiitake mushrooms, pork, whipping cream… this all starts to sound really good! Okay, so I’m not perfect, and I still haven’t gotten the hang of our electric stove. I’m getting better, but on the burner I like to use for more even heat dispersion (it’s larger), medium is more like “nuclear”; it’s difficult to get the right temp when they say “medium-hot”. Plus, if there are any temperature reductions, forget it! So, I burned the minced garlic and shallot, but it didn’t smell acrid; I can only hope that the mushroom flavor will get rid of it. (I haven’t finished cooking yet!)

Because she’s one of those freaks that think you have to eat vegetables with every meal, I decided to make a side dish of Tomatoes Caprese with a Balsamic Reduction. We had this (along with other stuff, of course) for our wedding dinner, so it’s got a little significance. If you don’t know how to prepare this, get small, tasty tomatoes, a chunk of mozzarella cheese, and some fresh basil leaves. For the reduction, pour some balsamic vinegar, maybe about half a cup, in a pot and boil it. WATCH IT! When the bubble start getting thicker and slower, take it off the heat. Slice the tomatoes and cheese, stack with the basil, and drizzle with the reduction. That’s it! Simple, huh? Oh, I’m sure you can find a thousand different ways to spruce this up (make it hot with shredded mozz and fried tomatoes, sprinkled with chopped basil in the last minute or two of cooking… yum!), but I like simple and the tomatoes tasted fabulous and the basil is from my plant.

Well, she’s just about home now, so I get to surprise her with my culinary prowess again. Hope she likes it!

Update: she does! Here’s some pics:

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