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As the Days Turn into Weeks

As days turn into weeks, little changes. I have only bought two entrées from beloved restaurants: the mini hamburger salad at Olio and the blue wedge salad from 2Wives.

Otherwise, I cook.

I am eating healthily enough, most of the time, although, periodically, I want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a Subway sandwich, the BLT with American cheese and extra tomatoes.

As for the latter, I still had coupons. I gave my neighbors one for three foot longs for $17.99. They dropped mine on my porch bench. It was delicious, but I would have loved to share our bounty together.

I am cooking a lot, much from my freezer and pantry. I have packets of mashed potatoes for the bread recipe here. And thick pork chops, into which I slice a pocket to add the stuffing in the other recipe. I even have sour cream. If you don’t have some and instead have a packet of gravy seasoning, that will do nicely.

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 Chops with Rye-Bread Stuffing with Sour-Cream Gravy

adapted from two recipes in The New York Times Cookbook by Craig Claiborne (Harper and Row, New York, 1961)

Yield: Serves 2 or 4

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2 2-inch loin pork chops

2 tablespoons of butter or bacon fat

1 medium onion, chopped

1 or 2 large cloves of garlic, minced

1 ½ cups soft rye-bread crumbs

1 teaspoon salt

freshly ground pepper, to taste

½ teaspoon caraway seeds

¼ cup chopped parsley

1 egg, beaten

water to moisten

1 cup stock or water

2 tablespoons flour

¼ cup sour cream

Have the butcher cut pockets in the pork chops.

In a skillet, heat butter or fat and sauté onions and garlic, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and combine with bread crumbs, salt, pepper, caraway seeds, parsley, egg, and water and mix well. Stuff chops with mixture, closing the openings with toothpicks.

Place chop in a baking pan (that can then be heated on a heating element on the cooktop) and season to taste with a little more salt and pepper. Cover closely and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until brown and tender, about 30 minutes longer. Remove chops to a heated platter.

Pour off fat from the pan. Add stock or water and bring to a boil. Thicken with flour mixed with a little more water. Add sour cream and mix. Serve chops with sauce.

“Overnight” Mashed Potato Bread

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

½ cup warm water

1 cup warm milk

1 ½ sticks butter, softened in the milk

1 ½ tablespoons salt

2 eggs

1 cup mashed potatoes

6 or so cups all-purpose flour

Dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in warm water and let proof for about 5 minutes until you see some bubbles. Then add warm milk, butter, ½ cup sugar, salt, and eggs to yeast mixture and stir to blend thoroughly. Add mashed potatoes and stir well. Then add flour, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition to make the dough.

Turn out dough onto a floured board and knead for 12 to 15 minutes, until dough is very smooth and shows elasticity.* Butter large mixing bowl; place dough in bowl and turn to coat on all sides with butter. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let double in volume on the counter. (This could take up to 2 hours if the kitchen is a big cold—I keep the temperature in the condo at 60 to 65 degrees.)

Spray two 8-inch loaf pans with Pam or another cooking spray and set aside. Remove the dough from the bowl, punch it down, and knead for about 2 minutes. Cut into two equal oval loaves and place each in the greased pan. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean towel and allow to almost double in volume, about another 2 hours. When almost ready, heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove the wrapping or towel and place the loaves in the oven. Bake to 40 to 50 minutes.

The best way to know the loaves are ready is to use a digital thermometer with a needle. Place the needle into the middle of the bread; it is done at about 200 to 205 degrees. If you don’t have a thermometer, rap the loaves on the bottom with your knuckle; they should sound hollow. The top crust should be medium dark on top. Remove the bread from the loaf pans and return to the oven rack to crisp the bottom and sides, about 5 minutes. Cool thoroughly before slicing, if you can wait that long.

*I used my large KitchenAid mixer for from the first sentence in the first paragraph until the fourth. After I take the dough out of the mixer, I turn in onto a floured board. I knead it with my hands for about 1 minute, then pour it into the buttered bowl.