Twelve drummers drumming...

Aaaaaaaand we're back.

So today is the Feast of Epiphany, or the last of the Twelve Days of Christmas.  Any Christmassy things that were neglected so far must be done NOW or must wait until 12/25/10.  So there.

There was really only one thing I hadn't done in time (aside from the Christmas cards, but those are all sent now!  And there are still gifts to send to the Pittsburghian relatives.  Darn it!) this year, and that was make Figgy Pudding.  So, I made some today.  And because I'm extra nice, I will post the recipe here for you to enjoy next Christmas season.

Not THIS Christmas season, though, because that will END TODAY.

Mary Cratchitt's Figgy Pudding*

Ingredients

• 16 oz. dried Calimyrna Figs
• 1 ¾ cup milk
• 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 ½ tsps baking powder
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 large eggs
• ½ cup butter; melted and cooled slightly
• 1 ½ cup fresh bread crumbs (3 to 4 slices white bread)
• 1 tbsp grated orange peel (bottled)

Brandied Hard Sauce

• 1 ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
• ½ cup butter; softened
• 2 tbsps Brandy
• ½ tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2.5 quart metal pudding mold or fluted tube pan.  I recommend spraying every square inch of the pan with Pam or your friendly neighborhood grocery store brand vegetable spray.  Seriously, spray that thing until it drips.  Well, maybe not that much, but close.

Chop the stems off the figs and then cut them into small pieces. I find it helps to slice each one once longways and then two or three times across.  They will be really sticky, so as soon as you finish chopping them up, wash your knife and cutting board.

In a saucepan over medium-low heat, cook figs and milk, covered, 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally (mixture may look curdled). Be careful not to let mixture boil.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt.

In a large bowl, with mixer at high speed, beat eggs for 1 minute. Reduce mixer speed to low; add butter, bread crumbs, orange peel, and warm fig mixture. Gradually add the flour mixture; beat until just blended.

Spoon mixture into the greased mold, smoothing the top. Use the spoon to push the mixture into all the cracks and crevices of the mold, and try to get the top as even as possible. Next, cover the mold with a sheet of greased foil.

Place the mold in a deep roasting pan and place on the oven rack. Pour hot tap water into the roasting pan to come 2 inches up the side of the mold. Bake the pudding for 2 hours or until it is firm and pulls from the sides of the mold.

While it is baking, mix the hard sauce. In a small bowl and with mixer at medium speed, beat all sauce ingredients until creamy. Refrigerate if it is not served right away. It makes about 1 cup of sauce, which should be enough.

Remove pudding from water bath; remove foil and cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert onto serving plate and remove mold. Serve warm.

*I originally found this recipe online several years ago, but the website where it was posted no longer exists and I haven't been able to find it again.  Luckily, I had printed it out and am now returning it to its internet home.

The sauce is extremely sweet, so don't overdo it!  I like to put some on it while the pudding is hot and let it seep in, and then keep some extra for those who have a sweet tooth.  Or twelve.

Merry Christmas and Happy Epiphany!

Stovetop Pork Chops

To counter the depressing tone of my previous post, I give to you the recipe for stovetop pork chops. EP Dude and I started with a Jacques Pepin recipe and tweaked it to something that works for us when we don't have oodles of time to cook dinner but still want something tasty and not take-out.

Ingredients:

4 trimmed boneless chops
~1/4 Cup all-purpose flour
~1/2 Cup Italian Seasoned bread crumbs
~4 shakes dried Oregano
~2-3 tsps Dinosaur BBQ Cajun Foreplay rub (or spices of your choice)
~2-3 tsps fresh ground pepper
~1-2 tsps Kosher salt
1 large egg
Canola Oil

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.


Over medium heat, pour just enough oil into a 10" non-stick skillet to cover the bottom. If your stove is anything like mine, it will take a bit of time for the skillet to come to temperature, giving you enough time to prep the chops.

Combine the flour, bread crumbs, oregano, rub (or spices of your choice), pepper, and salt into a bowl.









Beat the egg in another bowl.










Dip the chops into the egg and then the breading mixture one at a time and set them aside until the skillet heats to temp (which for me is when a couple flakes of breading sizzle in the oil).





























Arrange the breaded chops into the skillet. They should cook for about 6 minutes per side, depending on their thickness. I time it out by washing up the cutting board and dishes from prepping them while they cook on the first side, then flip them and prep the sides while the other side cooks.





When I flip the chops, I make sure that whichever side or end was on the outside of the skillet now rests closer to the middle, to made sure they cook evenly.










When the chops are golden brown on both sides, remove them from the heat and place in an oven-safe glass dish. Put them in the oven until the side dishes are ready This will make sure that they are cooked through and keep them warm.


For tonight's dinner, I made a side of summer veggies right in the same skillet in which I cooked the chops. The recipe for this is from the Betty Crocker cookbook.

Add about 1-2 tablespoons of oil to the already-hot skillet and turn the heat to medium-high.




Start with one zucchini (sliced 1/4" thick), one summer squash(sliced 1/4" thick), and about one cup of sliced mushrooms.












When the skillet is hot enough, toss them all in and stir frequently for 4-5 minutes











When they look like this:


















add one cup of grape tomatoes.












Sprinkle with chives and some garlic powder, and let simmer (still stirring frequenly) for another 2-3 minutes.










Time to plate up!












Oh, I also made a box of Toasted Pine Nut couscous. Yes, from a box.

Who do you think I am? Martha Stewart?