Szechuan Red Wine Pork Chops with a Salad of Horseradish Greens and Mustard Leaves

The flowers are edible.  They are the blooms of arugula, the plants termed as, “arugula rocket” because they grow straight up without swaying their strong stems of any weight, like in rocket-form, something meant to shoot up into the sky.  They are tall and erect.  Not only do the blooms pretty-up a plate, they add a good kind of a vegetable flavor to the salad.   They compliment the peppery flavors of horseradish greens and mustard leaves.

Use coarse salt and ground or crushed Szechwan pepper, also known as, “sichuan” that has a lemony and woodsy overtone.  This Chinese pepper has health benefits aiding the digestive system and is a blood purifier, contributes to immune support and weight loss.  This pepper is unadvised for pregnant women.  If eaten too much at one time, it can have a numbing sensation.  It is good for pain relief not only for the attributes it provides in culinary purposes.  It is a delicious pepper spice.  It makes the dish more appealing in flavor, the food more interesting, and it brings an exotic flair to food.

To have a good balance of the yin and the yang as far as hot and spicy to mild go, I chose a sweet red wine to soak the pork chops in, and I recommend several hours, turning them halfway through soaking time.  I think that so many things factor in when bringing a meal together.  It’s the hidden elements that go into the process in making food taste great and be very good in quality to serve.  I believe it’s the layering of flavors like something that is built.  It’s the construction of building something that does not have to be complicated or too drawn out to prepare and cook.  It can be a relaxing event, so don’t be afraid to be passionate about it.  It can be fun.  It’s also an art and a science with some of the techniques that make food become a rewarding experience while bringing forth a fantastic meal.  Being taught to cook and actually learning to cook from within are two totally different things.  It entails all the senses that a person has.  It’s not plopping a frozen or thawed cut of meat into hot oil and calling it cooking.  It’s so much more than that.  It’s careful preparing, it’s wise food selection, it’s time management, it’s having the palate, even on the roof of your mouth for temperature to know what to look for in the textures and flavors of food.  There’s nothing numbing or dumb about it.  All the natural senses need to be present.

Melt herbed goat cheese in the microwave, stirring it a little at a time with a whisk when melting.  I prefer the mild goat cheese so it isn’t so dominate.  Into melted goat cheese, whisk in half ‘n half milk.  Add enough of it for the combination of liquid to be a runny thickness to coat the meat well.  Have hot oil ready in a deep skillet.  Pork chops that were soaked in sweet red wine, dredge into dry ingredients of half cornstarch and half all-purpose flour.  The cornstarch also aids in the texture and crispiness of the fried meat.  After dredging in the combined flour and cornstarch, dip the pork chops into the milk and goat cheese, then back into the flour and cornstarch; fry.  To insure crisp edges, don’t overload the skillet.  Give the meat “room to breathe”, and do not shift when placed into skillet; otherwise, the breading will fall off before it has a chance to adhere to the meat.  Salt and pepper with Szechuan before frying, and again when turned.  Place fried meat on paper towels to absorb grease.

While the meat is frying, chop a red onion and rosemary leaves.  In a small skillet, caramelize together, also salt and peppering with Szechuan.  This will go on the salad, mixed in with your choice of salad dressing.  I can’t imagine a meal without incorporating onions in some way– ask anyone; I’ve got to have my onions!  To me, it’s like salt and pepper, such a need in cooking.

Here’s what you can do with the left over caramelized onions and rosemary, half ‘n half and goat cheese.  Peel and slice potatoes to put in a small or medium-size buttered casserole dish.  Simply pour over the potatoes, cover and bake at 300º for several hours, slow-cooking.  You can add some more salt and Szechuan pepper.  The potatoes will soak up all the milk, leaving little bits of goat cheese, but it will initially embed the mild goat cheese into the potatoes.  This can be saved for the next meal; therefore, nothing is wasted and you end up having the best of both worlds.  It’s not just something made from the leftovers; it becomes a a very good dish of food.

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