Asian Pork Chops and hasselback potatoes

Man, supper was so good tonight.  We had pork chops and potatoes and side veggies.

I also made a batch of my "famous" brownies with a graham wafer base, holy, decadent!  I'm going to bring the remaining brownies to playgroup tomorrow otherwise it will be up to me to finish the pan off eventually by myself.  And by eventually I mean in the next couple of weeks.  And by that I mean before this weekend is out.

My kids go crazy for these pork chops, actually we all love them!

Asian Pork Chops
from Canadian Living Make It Tonight
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp lime juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp gingerroot, minced (or 1/4 tsp ground ginger)
1/4 tsp pepper
4 pork loin centre chops
- mix all ingredients (except pork) in a small bowl
- coat meat in marinade and let stand for 30 minutes (up to 24 hours in the fridge)
- line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and set a grill on top, arrange chops in single layer.
- bake at 375F for 18-20 minutes until juices run clear and just a hint of pink remains inside.

Hasselback potatoes.

The hasselback potatoes were a huge hit and will be made again.  Perhaps with a cheesy or "fully loaded" variation someday.  drool!

Cut as thinly as you can for more crispy results.

To cut my potatoes in this style, I laid two wooden spoons down on the counter and placed my washed potato between them.  Then, with a very sharp knife, I cut all the way down until the spoons stopped me.  I moved over and sliced them again.  I never even had to think about cutting all the way through (which you don't want as you want them to fan out and be pretty).  You want the slices to be as thin as you can get them, you can't go too thin on these cuts.

Hasselback Potatoes
inspired by What's Cooking America
4-6 potatoes (I uesed organic russets)
2 tsp butter
2 tsp bacon fat (or oil or more butter)
salt and pepper
- scrub potatoes well and dry completely
- carefully slice potatoes as thin as you can and leaving about 1/4" intact at the bottom to hold it together.
- line a small baking dish (8x8" or a pie plate) with tin foil and arrange potatoes, cut side up.
- melt butter and fat together and brush over the potatoes trying to get into the cracks, be sure to roll the potatoes around to coat the potatoes.  Salt to taste (hahahaha, you can't taste it yet, just throw some salt on it, darn it)
- bake at 450F for 30-45 minutes, you may choose to broil it a few minutes to crisp them up at the end.

I forgot to take the "after" photos until after I had served supper.  My Man said "did you take the pictures already?"  I rushed back to the pan to capture what was left.  Here is your after shot!  They were works of ART!

Here's a meal a fellow blogger friend put together using hasselback potatoes, maple ginger carrots with meatloaf.  Miam, Mmmommy!!!!!

And yes, these are wonderful if you choose to peel your potatoes too.  It all depends on what potatoes you have available and your taste preference.