Pork Chops and Caesar Salad

Hubby and I co-made a delicious meal last week: Homemade Caesar salad, and oven BBQ pork chops.

The pork chop recipe came from the newspaper: "Oven Pork Chops with Easy Barbecue Sauce".
Here's all it takes:
- 1-2 Tblspn veggie oil
- 4 bone-in pork chops (about 2 pounds)
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1 Tblspn brown sugar
- 1 Tblspn cider vinegar
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- a shake of Tabasco sauce (or the like)

- Preheat the oven to 350.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm 1 Tblspn of the oil. Add the chops and brown 5-7 minutes per side. Season with salt and pepper. (My chops were so big I had to do this in two batches)
- Transfer to a lightly sprayed or oiled 2-quart (I needed a larger one) casserole and set aside.
- For the sauce, reduce the heat under the skillet to medium, add a bit more oil, and saute the onion until tender (about 5 minutes). Add remaining ingredients, stir, and simmer for a few minutes.
- Pour sauce over the chops and bake uncovered about 25 or 30 minutes.

These were tender and the sauce was nice and tangy!

Now for the Caesar - which came out of the Cooks Illustrated magazine from Jan-Feb 2011. I won't go into all the science and testing behind it, but here's the essential recipe - which was incredibly tasty and went well with the pork.

Croutons:
- 5 Tblspns olive oil
- 1/2 tsp garlic paste from 1 medium clove (basically, grate it fine and squish it)
- 1/2 loaf ciabatta bread, cut into 3/4 inch cubes (about 5 cups)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 Tblspns finely grated Parmesan

- Combine 1 Tblspn oil and the garlic in a small bowl and set aside.
- Place bread cubes in a large bowl and sprinkle with water and salt - toss and let the bread soak up the water.
- Place remaining 4 Tblspn oil and the bread in a large nonstick skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently (we had trouble with sticking, so be careful!) until brown and crisp - 7-10 minutes.
- Remove skillet from heat, and push croutons to sides of skillet. Add the garlic/oil mixture to the cleared center and cook on residual heat for 10 seconds.
- Add the Parmesan and then toss the garlic, cheese and bread together to distribute.

Salad:
- 3/4 tsp garlic paste from 1 medium clove (as above)
- 2-3 Tblspns fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 6 anchovy fillets (get them in a little jar of oil), patted dry with paper towels, minced fine, and mashed to a paste with a fork - about 1 Tblspn
- 2 large egg yolks
- 5 Tblspns canola oil
- 5 tsp olive oil
- 3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
- fresh ground pepper to taste
- 2 or 3 romaine heads, cut into 3/4 inch slices, rinsed and dried well


- Whisk together the garlic paste and 2 Tblspn lemon juice in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes
- Whisk Worcestershire sauce, anchovies, and egg yolks into the garlic/lemon mixture. While whisking constantly, pour in the oils in a steady stream until emulsified. Add 1/2 cup of the Parmesan and pepper to taste. Whisk all together.
- Add the romaine and toss to coat. Add the croutons and mix until incorporated. Season with more lemon juice if desired, and top with Parmesan.