Baked Porkchops

INGREDIENTS:

6 pork chops
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
2 egg, beaten
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups Italian-style seasoned bread crumbs
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup white wine

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Rinse pork chops, pat dry, and season with garlic powder and seasoning salt to taste. Place the beaten eggs in a small bowl. Dredge the pork chops lightly in flour, dip in the egg, and coat liberally with bread crumbs.
3. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the pork chops 5 minutes per side, or until the breading appears well browned. Transfer the chops to a 9x13 inch baking dish, and cover with foil.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. While baking, combine the cream of mushroom soup, milk and white wine in a medium bowl.
5. After the pork chops have baked for an hour, cover them with the soup mixture. Replace foil, and bake for another 30 minutes.

Source: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-Pork-Chops-I/Detail.aspx

Vietnamese Beef Stew (Bo' Kho)

We love having hot Bo' Kho with crunchy French bread and so we decided to try making our own. I followed the recipe below precisely but noticed after it was done that it lacked seasoning so I added another teaspoon of the five spice powder and about 3 tablespoons of fish sauce. I also simmered it for an hour longer. That dried up the soup but made the meat super tender.

I think next time, I will try adding beef tendons and beef short ribs to make the soup more flavorful.

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless beef chuck, cut into 1.5 inch cube (weigh after trimming)
1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 2 inch pieces and bruised
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons Chinese five spice powder
1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes or 1 (14 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 lb carrot, peeled,cut into 1 inch chunks
2 star anise
3 cups water
Thai basil (optional)
cilantro (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix lemongrass, fish sauce, 5-spice powder, ginger, brown sugar and bay leaf, marinate the beef for 30 minutes.
2. Over high heat, heat oil in a heavy-bottemed 5-quart pot, sear the beef quickly then remove, reserve lemongrass and bay leaf for later use.
3. Reduce heat to medium, cook onions till translucent (5 minutes), then add tomato and cook with lid on for another 12-15 minutes.
4. If sauce is too thick, add a bit of water.
5. Add back the beef, lemongrass, bay leaf and star anise, cook uncovered for 5 minutes then add water.
6. Bring pot to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
7. Add carrots and simmer for another 45 minutes until beef and carrots are tender.
8. Remove bay leaf, lemongrass and star anise before serving with cilantro and Thai basil.
9. Taste great with steam rice or French bread.

Source: http://www.recipezaar.com/Vietnamese-Beef-Stew-Bo-Kho-108893