Recipe: Lemon, Garlic, Rosemary Pork with Asparugus and Sauteed Polenta

Pork:
-1 butterfly porkchop
-1 clove garlic
-1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
-1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice x2
-Olive oil
-1 tablespoon butter
-2 tablespoons chicken stock
-Salt and Pepper


Chop garlic finely.  Pour olive oil over the garlic and add rosemary and salt.  Mash into a paste.  Rub paste onto pork along with lemon juice.  Add olive oil as needed so the quick marinade sticks.  Saute in pan until cooked (poke test FTW!!!).  Remove from pan once cooked through.  Pour chicken stock into the pan and scrape up any bits of tasty goodness.  Add butter, lemon juice, salt and pepper.   Let the pan sauce simmer for a bit and then pour onto pork.

Asaparagus:
-Some asparagus (some being the technical culinary term)
-Montreal Spicy Steak Seasoning (McCormick's: good for some quick flavor)
-Olive oil

Mix it together, throw it over medium high heat with some additional oil in the pan, and cook it until tender but not too flimsy.  Easy enough?  Catfish?  (Name The Simpsons reference.)

Sauteed Polenta:
-Pre-cooked, packaged polenta
-Horseradish cheddar cheese 
-Smoked Paprika
-Olive oil

Cook in the same pan as the asparagus.  Cut polenta into manageable pieces (1/2 inch or so).  Saute in pan with olive oil and sprinkle smoked paprika onto each side.  Once flipped (5 minutes or so), place cheddar cheese on top to melt.

Beverage:
-Guinness

250 years.  Congrats, Arthur.  Something about this beer has grown on me very recently.  It may not stack up against some of the highest regarded stouts (Dark Lord, KBS), but there is still some solid flavor in this beer and it is highly drinkable.

The Verdict

Overall, the meal turned out well for something I put together very quickly.  Would've liked to have marinated the pork for a longer time while substituting lemon zest for lemon juice, but the flavor from the garlic and rosemary was pleasantly stronger than I expected.  The pan sauce also helped with a nice kick of lemon and it actually worked well poured over the asparagus.  Polenta was something that I had for the first time recently, and I am really looking forward to working this into many more meals in the future.  The precooked stuff is very easy to manage and cook and it brings a lot of flavor.  Next step:  polenta from scratch!