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Learning How to Turn ‘Eh’ into Something Special

I have mentioned, I’m sure, that my mother didn’t cook. My mother told me that her mother didn’t like to cook, either. The difference, I think, is that my grandmother did cook, but my mother actually found a way to avoid it. We had a housekeeper and she cooked and baked while my parents went to work. Our housekeeper, Mrs. Davis, had dinner ready by 6 p.m. I dried the dinner dishes and my dad took Davie home at 7.

By the time I was in high school, Davie was gone. I would start potatoes around 5 p.m. and we would have lamb chops, hamburgers, maybe some other kind of meat. Some kind of canned vegetables. Food was merely sustenance. My mother learned to make soup, roast chicken, once in a while stuffed cabbage. I never learned to cook. I married after my second year of college. I would stop at the supermarket on my way home from work and stare at the meat. I had one cookbook. There were no food magazines.

After that there was a divorce. Then I met my Doug. I bought The New York Times Cookbook and learned to cook for a husband who was incredibly grateful. I became a good cook, good enough to feed him and friends and daughters and sons.

I don’t stare in meat counters anymore. I read recipes and look for an ingredient that would turn a pedestrian cut of meat into something special. I found this recipe two weeks ago. The special ingredient is pineapple. This is delicious.

Lee White of Old Lyme has been a food editor and restaurant reviewer for more than 25 years. You can email her at leeawhite@aol.com.

Pork Shoulder with Pineapple and Sesame Broccoli

From Bon Appetit, February. 2017, page 74.

Yield: serves 4

Ingredients:

1 2-pound skinless, boneless pork shoulder or 4 pork blade chops

Kosher salt

1 1-inch piece, ginger, peeled, finely grated

1 garlic clove, finely grated

1 tablespoon, plus 2 teaspoons, balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons, soy sauce

1 ½ pounds broccoli

3 small shallots, thickly sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1 tablespoons vegetable soil

½ small pineapple, peeled, cut into one-half inch pieces

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions:

Place a roasting pan in oven; preheat to 450 degrees. Cut shoulder into four 1-inch thick steaks; season with salt. Whisk ginger, garlic, 1 tablespoon vinegar, and 1 tablespoon soy sauce in a small bowl; set both aside.

Remove stalk from broccoli. Peel, trim, and slice into ¼-inch thick planks. Divide broccoli into large florets. Blanch stems and florets in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until bright green, about 10 seconds. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet, and let cool. Pat dry and toss in a medium bowl with shallots, olive oil, and sesame seeds; season with salt.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Cook reserved pork, undisturbed, until deep gold brown underneath, about 5 minutes. Turn and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registered 135 to 140 degrees for medium, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes.

Pour off fat from skillet and cook pineapple, tossing often and adding a splash or so of water, if needed to keep mixture saucy, until slightly softened and browned in spots, about 3 minutes. Add butter along with any pork juices on cutting board; toss until sauce is glossy and emulsified. Stir in immediate vinegar and soy sauce. Season with salt.

Meanwhile, transfer broccoli mixture to hot roasting pan. Roast until lightly browned but still crisp-tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add to reserved dressing and toss to coat; season with salt. Serve pork with pineapple and broccoli.