Jamie All Week

Organic + farmers market fresh Roasted Carrots and Beets and the Juiciest Pork Chops


First off, you're probably thinking "pork chops, again?" (See this post.) Cooking and blogging about bone-in pork chops two times in one month might appear suspiciously unoriginal, but I swear I'm no one trick-pony. I
just happened to have beets and carrots from the farmer's market lying around that day and that needed to be used immediately. As bad as I am at this, I attempt to use veggies the day of purchase in order to maximize the freshness. Actually, I usually suck at this so it was time for me to shape up.

Here's the thing about beets. I love to eat them, but I hate cooking with them. The long scraggly leaves, the dirt that collects in the crevasses­ all these factors leave me feeling lazy and uninspired. All the peeling and slicing and boiling and dot dot dot. With that being said, the beets I saw at the farmer's market last weekend were gorgeous: Robust, with healthy green leaves, unusual for beets sometimes. So I bought some, not knowing what would befall upon one of my weeknight meals until I found Jamie's pork recipe. My last "Jamie" pork was such a success that this one seemed like a smart investment. This project has turned me into a day trader I tell you.

The sage + pork combination was going to be a surefire winner. Sage is so good with most meat dishes. It's kind of woodsy and savory. Burn it and you ward off evil spirits, or something of that auspicious nature. Press it onto a pork chop, and you get a fatty, juicy decadent dinner entree. Sage is awesome and in my own kitchen, a very underrated herb.

The carrots and beets were roasted until glazed. The carrot was dressed in an orange juice, garlic and thyme mixture while the beets were dressed in balsamic, garlic, and rosemary. I think Jamie did this so both would achieve similar levels of sweetness. And the sweetness was just enough to balance the natural saltiness of the pork loin.

Overall, this dish was good, but maybe it lacked a little oomph for a Monday night. Back to the drawing board, I guess.



Here I am, chopping off my thumb, as usual.


Segregating my root vegetables.


I always cook my pork under the guise of the yin-yang symbol.


The directions said to deglaze the pan with lemon juice, giving me delicious
citrusy crispy pork bits to spoon over my dish. Perhaps, my favorite component of the dish.