grilled pork chops with peach-tomato barbeuce sauce, fresh corn with shallots, roasted haricot vert

***in which i learn that shaving corn kernels from the cob and cooking them is really the way to go, period. and that i really like saying the phrase "haricot vert", like Lisa from Next Food Network Star. "no, we didn't have GREEN BEANS. what are we, plebians? we had 'aaaar-ee-coh vehr'."***


This is a recipe I found on the Martha Stewart website while trolling for more things to grill. I had been toying with the idea of grilling up a pork tenderloin, maybe with some pineapple, when I found this menu, which also featured pork and fruit and sounded really yummy.

I have to say, it was just okay. I'm not sure if it was the sweetness of the sauce that I wasn't crazy about, or maybe the consistency, but it reminded me of peach baby food. There wasn't enough bite or acidity to it, and I think if I make this again, I'll try to tweak the sauce recipe a bit. I also decided to baste the pork in the sauce while it was grilling, which made a mess of my beautiful grill grates. Mistake!

Grilled Pork Chops with Peach-Tomato Barbecue Sauce (6 points)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 one-inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
1 1/2 cups canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup peach jam, preferably homemade (hahahaha, gotta love that Martha! homemade!)
2 ripe peaches, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
1 tablespoons to 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 pork chops, 6 to 8 ounces each, trimmed of excess fat

(Note: I halved this recipe and it turned out just fine.)


1. Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the minced garlic and the ginger; cook about 2 minutes more.
2. Stir in tomato sauce, peach jam, and peaches. Reduce heat to low; simmer until sauce thickens, about 30 minutes. Stir in vinegar to taste. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Remove from heat; let cool.
3. Pour half the barbecue sauce into a shallow baking dish; add the pork chops, turning to coat both sides. Reserve remaining sauce.
4. Grill pork chops on a medium-hot grill or grill pan until chops are well marked and cooked through, at least 5 minutes per side. Baste chops with barbecue sauce; rotate during cooking. Remove from grill. Let stand about 10 minutes before serving. Serve with remaining sauce.


Fresh Corn with Shallots (2 points)

I decided to tweak Martha's recipe for Summer Rice and Corn Pilaf, and just do the corn part. It turned out fantastic, which is probably owing in part to the fact that the corn, sweet white local corn, was fantastic. So, uh, I guess results may vary?

2 ears corn, kernels shaved off
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp sea salt
Pinch of sugar
1 Tbsp butter

1. Melt butter in a large saute pan.
2. Add corn kernels and shallots, along with salt and sugar. Add freshly ground pepper to taste.
3. Saute about five minutes on medium-high heat until corn is cooked and slightly softened, but with a bit of a bite.

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What are haricot vert? They are simply a very thin type of green bean that happens to have a fancy French name. So instead of chefs having to put the humble "garlicky green beans" on their menu, they can say "haricot vert with whole garlic cloves roasted with olive oil and sea salt". Voila! Instant marketing.

I simply made a little pouch out of heavy-duty tinfoil, and tossed about 30 beans with a few whole garlic cloves, some olive oil and some sea salt, sealed the packet and put it on the grill for about 15 minutes. The beans were overcooked - they had lost their pretty bright green color - but tasted phenomenal. This would be great with squeeze of lemon.