Guest Chef: The Hunter

Yesterday, The Sun got back from vacation and was recharged and ready to cook.  Unfortunately, The Wolf had prior commitments and was unable to take part in the cooking process.  Enter: The Hunter (previously known as Joshua Bates).  He decided to step up and completely take over this week's dinner.  He sent out the invitation, planned the menu, went grocery shopping, and aside from some prep work from The Sun, did all of the cooking himself.  It was an excellent dinner, and despite feeling overwhelmed at times, everything went great.  


The menu: pork chops with Dijon sauce, roasted new potatoes, and carrot and parsley salad. 
Guests: 9

Pork Chops with Dijon Sauce- from simplyrecipes.com

Serves 4

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

4 pork chops

salt and pepper

¼ cup shallots, chopped finely

1 cup Chardonnay

¾ cup chicken stock

¾ cup heavy cream

2 tbsp Dijon

1 tbsp chopped parsley

1. Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels. Sprinkle salt and pepper all over them.  Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat.   As soon as the butter has melted, add the pork chops to the pan and sear them about 3 minutes per side. 

2. Remove the chops from the pan and pour off the fat.  Add the shallots and cook for about 30 seconds.  Add ½ cup of the wine and bring to a boil while deglazing the pan.  Stir in the stock and return the chops to the pan.  Bring the sauce to a simmer then reduce heat, cover and cook until done (about 10 minutes depending on thickness of chops).

3. Remove the pork chops and set aside on a warm platter and cover with foil.  Add the remaining half cup of wine and boil.  Reduce the juices by half.  Add the heavy cream and boil 3 more minutes.  Remove from heat and whisk in parsley and mustard.  Place over chops and serve.

Roasted New Potatoes – from simplyrecipes.com

Serves 4

1 ½ lbs of red potatoes, cleaned and quartered

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons rosemary

¼ teaspoon salt

pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 450.  Place potatoes in a mixing bowl with all the ingredients and toss until well coated.  Spread the potatoes as a single layer on a baking pan and roast for 40 minutes or until browned.  

Carrot and Parsley Salad-- from MoosewoodCooks.com

3 ½ cups carrots, shredded

1 bunch parsley, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsps fresh lemon juice

¼ cup olive oil

salt and pepper

Combine shredded carrots and chopped parsley and mix.  In a separate bowl combine the garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper.  Stir dressing into the salad while tossing.  Serve. 

 And the final product:

                                                    Good job, The Hunter!

                                           The Hunter, sooo happy that it turned out well

                                                     The Hunter and The Sun
And then after dinner...

                                               Will, back after a Wednesday dinner break

                                              

                                                        Justin looking cartoon happy

                                                     The Wolf made a brief appearance