Garret* was such a Jamaican JERK Pork Chops

*To protect the innocent I am leaving off Garret's last name. Okay so Garret wasn't really a jerk. But he was my first hardcore, fell for him big-time, thought I would be Mrs. Garret ______________ love. We dated for almost a year and you know how it goes, the bigger the relationship... the harder it falls. He really was a charming, fun guy to date, but he broke up with me and not in the most charming, fun way. So therefore he gets the honor of being named in a dish that has the word JERK in it. And by the way, he wasn't Jamaican in the least. In fact if I had become Mrs. Garret ___________ my kids would most likely be short and blonde. But these pork chops definitely have a Jamaican flare and they won't leave a bad taste in your mouth like my relationship with Garret did. They are pure, unadulterated tastiness from start to finish.

Garret was such a Jamaican Jerk Pork Chops

6 boneless pork chops

1 TBSP brown sugar

1/2 TBSP allspice

1 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

Wedges of lime

In a small bowl mix together all above ingredients, except pork chops and limes. Then rub the mixture onto both sides of the pork chops. Refrigerate for an hour or up to overnight. Then grill on medium high heat for 4-6 minutes on each side, depending on how thick your pork chops are. Let rest for a few minutes then squeeze lime juice over right before serving.

Now I don't care what other sides you have with this dish, but the following two sides MUST be served with this meal. If you didn't serve these two sides along with these pork chops it would be like Harry Potter without Ron and Hermione or Bella without Edward and Jacob. In other words these supporting characters are a must.

Grilled Bananas and Sweet Potatoes

3 large sweet potatoes- Cut into 3/4 inch rounds with the skin left on

3 firm yellow bananas- skin off, cut in half then in half lengthwise again

Salt

2 TBSP melted butter

4 TBSP brown sugar

Put the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and lightly salt them. Bake for 15 minutes at 400. Then spray partly cooked potatoes and sliced bananas with cooking spray on both sides. Grill both potatoes and bananas for about 2 minutes on each side until slightly golden in color. Mix butter and brown sugar and paint this over bananas and sweet potatoes. Serve with pork chops.

Ham It Up

I'm not a big fan of ham, unless it is made this way...

9 to 10 lb. butt portion ham
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 c. orange juice
1/2 c. honey

Score top of ham diagonally with a knife. Place in a turkey bag (follow instructions on box) and place in a roasting tray. Mix rest of ingredients and pour over the ham. Close bag and bake at 325 degrees for 4-5 hours. When it's done, I just pull it apart in big chunks with a fork like a roast. I made this with stuffing and fresh green beans tossed with feta cheese. "Phenomenal dinner" was how my dinner guest described the meal. Kari tells me the ham hock is good for lots of bean recipes, too, so keep that.

Xiau Long Bau

This dish was and is one of our favorite meals from Taiwan. We would eat these more than once every week with a side dish of cucumbers Chinese style. I got this recipe from a Chinese cookbook and I have made it my own. The best about this recipe is that you can purchase ALL ingredients at a regular grocery store. I encourage all of you to try this recipe out. It may be a little intimidating just because my bamboo steamer looks so ligit....well it is. But before I got the bamboo steamer (which you can buy online or at any specialty cooking store) I cooked these babies in my rice cooker using a tray in the top for steaming. Anyway....here is the recipe.

Xiau Long Bau

Meat Mixture

2 lb. ground pork

2 T. scallions

2 heaping t. fresh, diced (tiny) ginger

1 1/2 t. salt

3 t. soy sauce

3 t. sugar

3 T. Sesame oil

9 T. water

Mix together and let it sit while you make the dough. The flavors and smell will only get better and stronger as they gell together.

Dough

1 1/2 c. warm water

1 t. sugar

1 T. yeast

Stir together and let sit.

Then add

2 1/2 c. flour

Mix and let it rise.

Combine in a second bowl

1 c. flour

1 T. dry milk

1 T. shortening

3 T. sugar

1/2 t. salt

Add to risen dough. I made this in my bosch and it made it very simple.

On a flat and floured surface put these little pieces of heaven together. Grab a little ball of dough and put some flour on the palm of your hand. Flatten dough on your hand into a nice flat circle. Put a spoonful of pork mixture in the center and close up. Place finished balls on a circular cloth. (about the size of your steamer)

Steam for 15 minutes over boiling water.

Eat, by dipping into individual sauce.

Sauce may include soy sauce, red vinegar, red chili oil and strips of fresh ginger. Mix together according to taste.