What’s for dinner? It is a question I have asked myself daily for the past 400 days. Yes, I have cooked every meal since mid-March 2020 at home. No restaurants, no take out, nothing. But, if you know me, you know I rather enjoyed it.
In the spirit of transparency, Markipedia did cook a few meals along the way and it was really appreciated on busy work days. However, while cooking for him can be pure torture, it’s pure therapy for me. It starts with the question (what’s for dinner?) and continues with the fun research. This period was the perfect time for me to play and experiment.
While many things stopped in the past year, one thing that kept going was the influx of new recipes — from cookbooks, blogs, and a variety of other online sources. I made many new recipes to keep myself sane; cooking is infinitely more fun and flavorful than actual therapy.
Now that we are beginning to see friends again, and I can, once again, cook for them, I have a slew of new recipes I want to share. That includes today’s recipe which was from The New York Times. Naturally, I made a few changes — the biggest was that I substituted carrots for the original Brussels sprouts. While I do love Brussels sprouts, I wanted to pair this dish with a wine for the Provence WineZine (you can read more HERE), and cruciferous vegetables are not great for wine pairings. Carrots were perfect.
These pork chops are super easy, and incredibly flavorful. If you like pork, you should make this soon — the veggie on the side can be changed as you please. Next time I will roast some potatoes on the side.
~ David
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Provençal Pairings: Wine with FoodBaby, It’s Cold Outside - Provence WineZine
May 1, 2021 at 7:54 am[…] Considering the high percentage of Grenache in this particular wine, I opted to go for a bit of sweet spice with my food pairing. I find that cumin goes really well with Grenache and, as I have been playing with a recipe for Cumin-Roasted Pork Chops, I decide to put them to the test. For the recipe, please visit Cocoa & Lavender. […]
Gerlinde
May 1, 2021 at 7:58 amIts so much fun going out to restaurants again and cooking for friends. My husband loves pork chops and I have a good recipe using ginger and orange juice but your recipe intrigues me. I love cumin and baking the chops instead of frying them. Lecker!
Cocoa & Lavender
May 2, 2021 at 2:49 pmDanke sehr, Gerlinde! And it is so wonderful to see friends again, and to cook for them. I hope you like these pork chops… I think they’re very special.
John / Kitchen Riffs
May 1, 2021 at 9:17 am“What do you want for dinner?” Is a questions Mrs KR and I ask each other every single day, week after week, month after month, year after year. It’s a pleasure to contemplate the possibilities! Having groceries delivered doing COVID times meant I had to do meal planning — something I’ve never really done, and don’t much like. Mainly because I like the new day surprise me with with the answer, “What’s for dinner?” We’re back to shopping in grocery stores again, so now the produce department — well, the inspiration we take from it — gives us the dinner answer. Anyway, this looks wonderful! I don’t make pork chops nearly enough. I usually start them on the stove, finish in the oven. I’ll have to try roasting them from the get-go. And potatoes for me, please. Such a nice meal — thanks.
Cocoa & Lavender
May 2, 2021 at 2:49 pmIt was a little challenging during quarantine, I must admit. But we did well, and learned not to waste any food! I definitely think the potatoes will be the best for our next making of this, John.
gloria Roa Baker
May 1, 2021 at 12:05 pmThese pok chops look absolutely delicious David!!
Have a nice weekend you both dear!
Cocoa & Lavender
May 2, 2021 at 2:50 pmThank you, sweet Gloria! I hope you’ve had a good weekend, too.
Jill Becker
May 1, 2021 at 12:40 pmLooks delicious and we love pork. Just about my speed. Am cooking more, not just assembling. xoxo
Cocoa & Lavender
May 2, 2021 at 2:50 pmThis is super easy, Jill. I know you will love them, and will make them often because they are so easy. It was great to see you yesterday… XO
Eha Carr
May 1, 2021 at 6:21 pmDavid – this looks absolutely fabulous – love both pork and your use of cumin and cannot wait to try ! Especially since I usually have a tendency to prepare such stove-top all the way. I have largely food-shopped on line all the time I have lived here . . . and that with great success. During the Covid-lockdowns I almost accidentally took another path: unable to have long, moreish restaurant dinners I subscribed to a Sydney ready-meals service for lunch and dinner. Brought weekly beautifully packed. They have received their kudos since 1994 for ‘healthy’, ‘weight-loss’ meals to now have 80% of their clients there for the convenience !!! I Besides Western-style meals i have a choice of over 50 pretty accurate Asian meals from Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Burma and India plus the Middle East !! To be honest: it is not good for my pocketbook but oh so hard to give up . . . all the many interesting sides alone . . . OK: pork chops next week 🙁 !
Cocoa & Lavender
May 2, 2021 at 2:51 pmI have a lot of friends who did the meal packages during Covid. It seem to work well for them, but I had fun doing my version… I hope you like these pork chops. They are super easy, and the cumin is fantastic.
John
May 2, 2021 at 2:48 amI seldom ask what Dean wants for dinner, though he does ask me occasionally when he’s feeling uninspired and can’t be bothered cooking. I just jump in and knock something together. Looking at that hefty pork chop, I’m thinking I need to pick some up when I’m next at the supermarket!
Cocoa & Lavender
May 2, 2021 at 2:52 pm“Knocking something together“ is exactly what we did most of the time this past year. Not only was it fun, but it worked out incredibly well. You should definitely try these pork chops, John. You and Dean will love them!
sherry
May 2, 2021 at 3:34 amwow that’s dedication david, cooking every night! we have had a fair bit of takeaway, but we excuse that by saying we are just supporting local business during tough covid times! 🙂
Cocoa & Lavender
May 2, 2021 at 2:53 pmWith all the horror stories about restaurant kitchens forcing workers to come in while they were sick, we just decided to take the safest route and make everything ourselves. Probably overkill, but it is no fun to say that we did it all ourselves the entire year!
Frank Fariello
May 2, 2021 at 4:32 amThose chops looks delicious. Pork chops can be really tricky as you know. Too often they can dry out in the cooking or just come out bland—although not with that tasty marinade, I bet.
Kudos for making every meal (or nearly) since the pandemic began! I’ve cooked most but not all. Especially weekday lunches, I can be hard to find the time. And some night I’ve just been too tired to cook. And even I just don’t feel inspired some days. Anyway it is great to be socializing again. We’re having friends over today for a midday cookout. Yesterday we went out to a restaurant and enjoyed a walk in the park afterwards. After a year of isolation, things used to be an ordinary experiences now feel really special!
Cocoa & Lavender
May 2, 2021 at 2:54 pmIs the new amazing how the smallest things feel so special now? I hope you had a fun time with your friends today, Frank. we are seeing people here in there, as long as everyone is vaccinated. It’s very nice to see how much we took for granted before.
And, by the way, I don’t know if it’s the marinade or the heat, but these pork chops have never been dry!
Melissa
May 2, 2021 at 8:29 amYes, I’ll take cooking over therapy any day too, although I admit to times, especially during the pandemic, when imagination failed me and we just got takeout–an easy thing to do since we have three local spots less than 2 blocks away and we’ve been trying to support them. We don’t eat pork chops often but I’ll have to try these.
Cocoa & Lavender
May 2, 2021 at 2:56 pmI admire all the people who did takeout to help keep the restaurants alive during Covid. Since we didn’t go out all that much before Covid , I don’t think anyone missed us much in that realm. It’s definitely worth getting a couple of chops and trying this, Missy.
Christina Conte
May 2, 2021 at 9:41 amPork is the one reason I could never be vegetarian. I could easily give up beef, first, and chicken would be a bit harder (especially when I think of fried chicken in Italy!), but pork is my favorite by far for both cooked and cured recipes. Your chops look delightful and yes, I agree with potatoes for next time. Just don’t forget to invite me over! 🙂
Cocoa & Lavender
May 2, 2021 at 2:58 pmI think I am in the same boat as you, Christina. I can’t imagine my life without pancetta, guanciale, or bacon. Or a pork butt. Or porchetta!
Marian Jensen
May 2, 2021 at 12:48 pmThis looks delicious. I often season chops with a smoked paprika seasoning mix, but I’ve never let it sit in the fridge all day and I’ve never used grated shallots. I will try your recipe soon. :>)
Do you put the rub on both sides of the chop?
Cocoa & Lavender
May 2, 2021 at 2:59 pmHi Marian. Yes, I put the marinade on top and bottom of the chops and even on the sides. There isn’t much marinade, but it’s enough to keep things moist. Letting it sit all day is sort of like a dry brine. It really helps infuse the meat with flavor, and keep it moist.
Ron
May 3, 2021 at 9:45 amA brilliant idea for a pork dry brine rub David and a wonderful way to prepare a good pork chop. I will be giving this a try.
We’re still having to order our groceries online but really look forward to being able to go to our local markets. Before this Covid mess, I loved to go to the square in Lund and get inspired for a dinner, especially if it was for friends. But, this too will return, as come July, I shall get my parole from this COVID prison (second shot). Take care…
Cocoa & Lavender
May 5, 2021 at 8:53 amI am so glad ot hear you will be getting the vaccine – it really reduced our anxiety so much, though we are still being very cautious.
This is a great dry rub – though somewhat wet from the shallot – and the flavor is incredible. Hope you , Eva, and Choloë are doing well.
Fran @ G'day Souffle
May 3, 2021 at 5:57 pmI can’t believe you cooked dinner 400 nights in a row! On top of that, you were probably working full-time? Even during the pandemic, we sometimes ordered take-out or just had left-overs (except, once we actually ate INSIDE a restaurant in Sedona when it was quite hot outside). Your recipe looks so simple, but I bet, so delicious! (BTW, I hear that the NY Times has great recipes- I must try them)!
Cocoa & Lavender
May 5, 2021 at 8:55 amYes, indeed – working full time (sometimes fuller!) and really enjoyed the extra half hour I saved in not commuting so that I could use it in the kitchen! Yes, the NYTimes has good recipes – all depending on the author!
Inger @ Art of Natural Living
May 4, 2021 at 3:41 pmWow, no takeout. I’m impressed. But I do feel I got better at cooking over the pandemic, especially coming up with really nice dishes that weren’t back breakers. Your pork chops (again) look lovely. And I stand by succulent.
Cocoa & Lavender
May 5, 2021 at 8:56 amNot a morsel – not even food from friends. We took lockdown and quarantine very seriously. I agree – it was a great time to experiment and I found so many new things I hadn’t tried before – thanks to the likes of you and my other blogging friends.
Valentina
May 4, 2021 at 5:52 pmI’m so impressed! While I adore cooking and find it very therapeutic also, I admit that we’ve ordered takeout from our favorite local restaurants quit a bit in the past year. And I now have my boys each cooking once or twice every other week. (One loves it and I’m afraid it makes the other stressed out.) Anyway, these pork chops sound amazing — I tend to use more cumin than almost any other spice. 🙂 ~Valentina
(P.S. Did I miss what those great wooden sculptures are int he middle image? I really like them!)
Cocoa & Lavender
May 5, 2021 at 8:58 amI think the biggest change for us was no entertaining or being entertained. We rarely went out to dinner so we didn’t have a ton of restaurants to support. But we also knew there were COVID issues in the restaurants so we just decided to steer clear for a year…
The pigs were Mark’s mother’s – toys from her childhood. She kept them through all the moves they made as a family, and that – to me – means they were quite meaningful to her.
Jeff the Chef
May 5, 2021 at 9:04 amI love pork chops, and am always looking for a great way to prepare them. Yours look fantastic!
Cocoa & Lavender
May 7, 2021 at 6:45 amThis is definitely worth a try, Jeff!
Raymund
May 5, 2021 at 2:00 pmWhat’s for dinner? That’s what I have been asking I guess since I was 14 years old apart from weekends and special days off course. That question is what made us food bloggers, our love and passion in making our food. Hope you can share that amazing pork chops you made to me 😜
Cocoa & Lavender
May 7, 2021 at 6:46 amYou are absolutely right, Raymund – it IS what made us food bloggers! Wish we could sit down to dinner together – it would be fun.
The-FoodTrotter
May 6, 2021 at 2:48 pmIt looks as good as it is simple! Very nice choice of spices! I wanna try definitely 🙂
Cocoa & Lavender
May 7, 2021 at 6:47 amSometimes, Romain, the simplest foods are the best! (To me, there is nothing like the rotisserie chickens I would get at the markets in Provence… exquisite!)
2pots2cook
May 7, 2021 at 4:27 amSimple is the best ! And, since the restaurants are still closed over here, we don’t have much of choice. This is irresistible week dinner indeed ! Will do ! Thank you and I wish you enjoy your week end, both of you ! 🙂
Cocoa & Lavender
May 7, 2021 at 6:48 amWow – with everything opening up for travel, I am surprised restaurants are still closed. It is a good thing, I think – so much better to be safe. Happy weekend to you two, as well.
sippitysup
May 9, 2021 at 1:02 pmthis is a delicious looking culmination of those 400 days! GREG
Cocoa & Lavender
May 9, 2021 at 5:43 pmThanks, Greg — I wish it *were* the culmination! But we keep on going…
Karen (Back Road Journal)
May 23, 2021 at 12:34 pmI’ve got two big bone in pork chops in the freezer and this recipe sounds like a terrific one. I’ve pinned and can’t wait to it try soon.
David Scott Allen
June 6, 2021 at 9:39 amI hope you enjoy it, Karen – we had it yet again last night. We just love it!