Something OId Becomes Something New

     Now I have done a few dishes that where inspired by desert. It is always fund to make something old new again. Steak & Potatoes are great! but doing it the same way does get boring. So to change it up I got some inspiration from camping. Around this time each year when the weather just barely starts to warm up we start planning our Annual Memorial Day camping trip. What comes to mind when you think of camping? That is right , S'mores come to mind when we think of camping. So I decided to incorporate that into dinner. Just for fun one day I decided to turn a normal steak dinner into S'mores. The beauty of this dish is you do not have to change a recipe or buy extra stuff for it. All that is needed is to present (or plate) it differently.I did this by cutting the steaks into thin squares to take the place of the graham crackers. To represent the marshmallow I used mashed potatoes. I used an ice cream scoop for the job just so it would look nice , drizzled brown gravy to represent the melted chocolate. Topping it off with another thin square of steak to complete the s'more. A very simple yet fun twist on steak & potatoes. 

   I did debate on doing country fried steak for a crunchier texture like a cracker. It would also be a light brown color which would look more like a graham cracker, but the house hold voted for grilled steak. Who could blame them? I do believe I should try it sometime though.

**WARNING! DO NOT EAT WITH YOUR HANDS** 

(unless you let it cool down first) 

     It is very messy. Yes I did take my first bite by picking it up and eating it just as I would a real s'more. It was just as messy, but not with the gooey goodness of the real thing,though it was still fun. ENJOY!

Crossing My Fingers

I am sure you have heard about the Culinary Scholarship being given away. Well I just submitted for it. If you are interested just go to www.foodnetwork.com/scholarship.

SPOILER ALERT!
Next post will be about S'mores! Just remember there will be a twist to it!

Pomegranate Pork

     This dinner was inspired by an episode of Good Eats. I saw him make grenadine and pomegranate molasses which he used in lamb. I thought this would be very interesting so I gave it a shot but mixed it up just a little bit. To start I made the molasses, which took a large amount of time. The good thing is you are just reducing down pomegranate juice with sugar and lemon juice so you do not need to stay with it the whole time.  I will not post a recipe for the molasses as I took it straight from the show, but if you would like it just CLICK HERE.
     I decided to go with a boneless pork chop for this dish. I crusted both sides with an Italian herb mix and grilled it on a indoor grill. For the last few minutes of cooking I basted both sides with the pomegranate molasses. Paired with a pine nut couscous and fresh steamed green beans we had a wonderfully earthy, fruity, sweet and nutty dinner with a nice crunchy texture from the steamed veggie.
     I love just getting fresh green beans and steaming them for no more than 2 minutes. A quick dunk in cold water to halt the cooking process keeps them nice and "snappy."  Now I have to admit I did not like the texture of the couscous, but the flavor was great. A jasmine rice would be a good substitute if you are not sure about couscous. The possibilities of the molasses are endless, it made a great pomegranate milk, and was very good as a topping for ice cream.  Go crazy and have fun, enjoy!