The Dark Lord of Cooking

Hell has opened its gates and spewed forth yet another season with the inimitable Gordon, ‘You, donkey!’, Ramsay. Yes, my friends, Hell’s Kitchen is back on TV for another season, and I am thrilled. I’m not sure what it says about me that I am fascinated by such a rude, insensitive person who has almost every other word bleeped off TV, but I really do like Chef Ramsay.

I wrote about Gordon last summer, and yes, I am pretending that he told me I could call him Gordon. Nothing has changed – I would still love to be on the show even if it meant he would yell at me. At least I would know that by the end of the season, I would be able to cook a kick-ass risotto.

One of the first things the contestants have to do is cook their signature dish for His Chefness. My oldest son asked me during the show this week what my signature dish would be. So, I’ve been thinking about it and have come up with the recipe below. Thing is, I don’t know what to call it. So, we will have a contest. The person who comes up with the best name for my signature dish wins the secret recipe for my apple pie that won first place at our State Fair many years ago - really.


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Ingredients
• 4 slices peppered bacon, cut in 1 inch pieces
• 12 oz. trimmed fresh young green beans
• 1Tbsp. soy sauce
• 4 pork chops. ½ inch thick
• 1/3 cup apple butter
• ¼ cup water
• 1 cup red or yellow cherry or grape tomatoes

Preparation
• In a 12-inch skillet, cook bacon over medium high heat until crisp; remove. Reserve 1 tablespoon drippings in skillet. Drain bacon on paper towels.
• Meanwhile, in a 2-quart microwave-safe dish, cook beans in 2 tablespoons water, covered, on high for 4 minutes. Stir once. Drain, set aside.
• Brush chops with soy sauce. In skillet, brown chops on both sides. Add apple butter and the ¼ cup water; reduce heat. Simmer, covered for 5 minutes.
• Add beans, tomatoes and bacon; cook uncovered 3-5 minutes, until sauce thickens.

Serves 4.