Getting Real

Each week I pick a different cookbook to pick a few recipes from. This week, my choice was Weber's Real Grilling Cookbook and that is what we cooked from tonight. We had Coffee-crusted Pork Chops with Bourbon Cream Sauce, Grilled Corn on the Cob, Sauteed Zucchini, Yellow Squash and Onions, and Oatmeal Date Bars to finish with.

I started tonight's dinner with the Bourbon Cream Sauce, by sauteeing some finely chopped onion in butter until tender, before adding chopped garlic. I removed the saucepan from the heat and added 1/4 cup of bourbon. I put the pan back on the burner, tilted the pan slightly to the flame and watched the huge flame burn for about a minute. It's always fun to flame things, but also a little intimidating. Once the flame subsided, I added some beef stock and a little heavy cream, and cooked until it reduced to a scant amount (this reduction process took about 30 minutes) and created a very well-rounded sauce. I added some chopped fresh thyme and salt and pepper to adjust the seasoning, and set aside.

I prepared a rub for the Pork Chops by combining finely ground dark-roasted coffee, chopped fresh thyme, salt and pepper. The pork chops were brushed with a little olive oil on each side and the rub was then evenly applied to both sides.

The corn on the cob was soaked in cold water to cover the cobs for 1 hour, still in their husks. The charcoal grill was lit to allow for its 30 minute start up time.

While the corn and pork chops were grilling, I sauteed a chopped Vidalia onion until softened before adding a sliced zucchini and sliced yellow squash, with salt and pepper. I added a little chopped fresh thyme to tie in the flavors with the rest of dinner.

When the pork chops came in off the grill, they got to rest for 3-5 minutes which is when I reheated the Bourbon Cream Sauce.

The pork chops were fabulous with the rub on the meat which turned brown and crusty on the grill and served with the sauce, which was very flavorful and creamy. The corn on the cob, I was very curious about, since this was the first time we cooked corn over charcoal. It came out perfect and delicious, but not any different from cooking it over a gas grill. All the dinner components were ready and plated at the same time and everything came out perfectly.

We rounded out the meal with Oatmeal Date Squares which is a childhood sweet I grew up with. Sometimes you just feel the need to go back to your roots and this was a craving. I started by combining some cut up dates, brown sugar, water and vanilla extract in a saucepan and cooking until smooth. While this mixture cooled, I made the bar mixture by whisking together brown sugar, fine oatmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt. I cut in butter until a fine mixture was achieved. Most of the oatmeal mixture was pressed in the bottom of a casserole dish, the date mixture went on top of that evenly and lastly some of the oatmeal mixture was sprinkled on top before going into the oven.



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