happenstance cooking

so on monday, natalia suggested an excellent idea for a potluck. the concept was this: each person would bring an ingredient and we would cook things with what we ended up with, for better or for worse. josh and carrie gave v + me a ride to natalia’s apartment on western ave, stopping by whole foods, where as usual we wanted to buy everything in the store but didn’t have the funds necessary. the things we amassed: sage, savory, heirloom tomatoes, corn, shallots, bell peppers, coconut milk, white peaches, boneless, skinless chicken thighs, and cod.

i think the key to this kind of party is to have people go shopping on their own – so what people bring is really a surprise. for us, it was more that we cooked dinner together, which was certainly lots of fun anyway. we ended up with caramelised corn and shallots, peach-tomato relish/salsa, cod with cajun seasoning, chicken with savory, mushrooms, and onions, and lots of natalia’s excellent bread. when mary arrived, she asked the same question we asked: “where did you get the bread?”

i really have to admit that savory isn’t a great herb to cook with. it’s reminiscent of green stuff, but it’s a rather weak taste and if you were to smell it, you wouldn’t really be able to place its smell. kind of like grass, kind of like wet leaves in the springtime, kind of like sage (but that’s probably because sage is the other herb i’d bought). i suppose the right word to describe its smell would be “verdant,” if that makes any sense. on the other hand, i used the sage a few days later with pork chops – pan fried, with a sauce made with the fond, a whole lot of port wine, onions, and mushrooms – and it was fabulous. one of the great herb-meat pairings is definitely pork and sage. it’s entirely possible that i might be able to cook pork chops now, too, to the right amount of tenderness.

going back to our potluck…it was capped by an excellent birthday cake that natalia’s parents bought her, at concord teacakes. i had no idea that concord teacakes made cakes, though i suppose it’s kind of obvious from the name of the store. i’ve had lunch there, but never paid that much attention to the fancy stuff there. the cake was a chocolate cake layered with chocolate mousse, with a ganache frosting and all sorts of lovely truffles on top. served with the cake was mango sorbet and fresh raspberries from the market in central square – the raspberries were probably the best i’ve seen this summer.

pork chops with a sage-port wine reduction

2-3 thick-cut, boneless pork chops
olive oil or butter
1-2 cups diced onions
1 cup mushrooms, sliced thin (that small package, 6 oz, is it?)
3 cups port wine (this makes for a sweeter sauce; use 1-2 cups wine for a less sweet sauce)
2-3T minced sage (1/3 to 1/2 a package)

[1] Heat a 3T oil or butter in a pan (I recommend butter) over medium-high heat. Place the pork chops in the pan (which should be NOT nonstick) and cook 5-6 minutes each side. Remove with tongs to a plate or bowl and tent with foil.

[2] Add the onions to the skillet and saute until cooked through and translucent. Add the port wine (add the wine sooner if the pan starts to get too brown). Use a rubber spatula to scrape up the fond as the wine comes to a boil. Simmer until the sauce is reduced and thickened slightly (to the consistency of a cream soup). After the wine has simmered for about 10 minutes, add the sage. Somewhere in there add the mushrooms, and just let them cook through (it shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes or so).

[3] Return the pork chops to the skillet and let the sauce absorb in the each side briefly. Plate the chops, add sauce, and serve.

[serves 2-3]