Another grilling favorite at our house is pork chops. It goes with a lot of different sides and it is usually on sale. We picked up some beautiful golden potatoes at the farmer’s market and fresh okra, which we have only cooked in gumbo. With the help from some sweet ladies in line at the vegetable stand, we put together this tasty side dish.

Pork Chops

Mark likes to marinade his pork chops in either Lawry’s Teriyaki or Steak and Chop marinades for a couple of hours.

He does his usual sear over medium heat on both sides before moving it to the top rack to finish. We absolutely hate over cooked pork, so our digital thermometer with probes comes in handy. Just let the internal temp get to 145 degrees and they are good to go.

We serve them over a bed of arugula. Sometimes we add a little more of the marinade, but it’s not necessary.

Smashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

B sized potatoes

Butter

Grated parmesan cheese

Smashed potatoes are one of my favorites. They take a little extra time because they are similar to a twice baked potato in that they are cooked two times.

Add the potatoes to a pot of cold water and bring to a boil. Continue cooking for 20 minutes after boil.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Drain water and put potatoes on a cookie sheet lined with foil and sprayed with a cooking spray like Pam.

Using the bottom of a heavy glass, smash the potatoes down until they are about 3/8″. Microwave butter to melt and brush over tops of potatoes. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Put the potatoes in the oven for approximately 30 minutes. You want them to be crispy on the outside.

Serve immediately.

Okra with Tomato Wine Sauce

Ingredients:

4 slices of bacon, cooked

3/4 cup of cornmeal

1/2 cup buttermilk (I am sure whole milk would work, too)

1 pint of grape or cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup of chardonnay

2 cloves crushed garlic

The woman at the farmer’s market told us the best way to make okra is to soak them in buttermilk, coat with cornmeal and fry it in a hot skillet. Of course, I did my own version of that.

First, I cooked the bacon, leaving half the grease in the pan.

I added the cornmeal to the food processor and mixed in the bacon until it was fine.

Next, I cut off ends of the okra and into bite sized pieces. If you haven’t worked with okra, they are sticky when you cut them. I soaked them in buttermilk for 30 minutes and then placed them in a bag with the cornmeal mixture to coat them.

I tried to keep the oil down and just sauté them in half the bacon grease, but they did not hold the cornmeal like they would if they were deep fried. Most of it came off. My plan to “northern them up” backfired.

Plan B was to add a 1/2 cup of chardonnay and tomatoes to absorb some of the cornmeal and diced tomatoes and garlic. It tasted yummy but did not look so good. I need to work on it. Stay tuned!