Thai Pork with Peanut Sauce

Today's creation, by request! :D I should probably disclose, unless otherwise stated, the recipes are from AllRecipes.com

Thai Pork with Peanut Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 boneless pork chops, about 3/4-inch thick
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion
• 1/4 cup sliced red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped dry roasted peanuts
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. On a plate, combine the flour, cumin, cayenne pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir to distribute the spices. Coat the pork chops with the flour mixture, and shake off any excess.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the pork chops in the hot skillet, and fry for about 4 minutes per side, until cooked through.
3. While the pork chops cook, stir together the chicken broth, coconut milk, peanut butter, honey, ginger and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Remove the pork chops to a serving platter, and keep warm.
4. Pour the peanut sauce into the skillet. Cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes, or until thickened. Pour peanut sauce over the chops, and garnish with green onion, bell pepper, peanuts and cilantro.

I will say, I was a fan of this one. I LOVED the peanut sauce- it was a great compliment to the pork chops. I think I would make it to put on just about anything! The flour/seasoning coating didn't really seem to do a lot in way of adding flavor, so I think I would either double dip to get a bit more of a coating, or ignore it completely. Now, I should point out that I did not add the green peppers, and didn't have cilantro on hand. Definitely would serve with rice or cous cous. 

Factoid of the day: I used to hate cooking. Never did it - Brean was pretty much the sole cook in our household. Talking to a friend today, I realized my enjoyment of cooking started when I had TIME to devote to it, and to look at new recipes and figure out different things that I liked. I learned what a roux was, and to follow taste instead of exactly a recipe. Suddenly cooking wasn't quite so scary and complicated! I love going through my daily e-mail from AllRecipes and picking out things that look interesting. Between reading, watching shows, and scrapbooking, this is my most frequent hobby. 

Plus, food is the universal language of small talk! Everyone has to eat, right? Some people may not consider food a hobby, but put any two people in a room, and they can at least say "well, any good ideas for dinner this week?" and the person can reply "well, lasagna sounds good" or "my mom made a really good meatloaf when I was a kid". Food brings people together, at holidays, and lunch at work, or dinner out with friends. 

So welcome to my small talk, world. I'm glad you're here.