Pacific Chops and Polynesian Rice

I have a confession.  Shh….. come closer.  Can you hear me whisper?  Are you sure?  Well, ahem, I have a bit of a confession . . . . I love cookbooks.  Not just any cookbook though:  I love old cookbooks.   I love the colors, the graphics, sometimes the foods/recipes . . .I find great pleasure in reading these old books.   And sometimes, I even make one of the recipes.  Like last night.   

I knew I wanted to make pork chops for dinner.  However, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with them.  It’s still winter-y here in MN and our outdoor grill is out of gas.  And I don’t have the patience for our little charcoal grill (don’t even ask).  So, what do?  I’ve got cabin fever, friends!  I didn’t want to bread and bake them.  I didn’t feel like just frying ‘em up any old way.  And then there it was – it was staring me down.  It was laying on the floor . . .likely a casualty of my toddler rummaging the book shelf and it was looking for a good time:  Patio Parties.  Published by Minnegasco circa 1959.

Hm.  Looks interesting enough with it’s bright neon green pages.  I wonder  . . .. 

Oh my.  This little gem “cookbook/pamphlet” has 7 dinner party ideas inside it.

1. Oriental Dinner &      2. Come For Brunch

3. Mid-West Wing Ding    &       4. Sportsman’s Luck

5. Children’s Frolic       6. Winter Cookout

7. Just for Fun

Each menu has 5 recipes in it . . .typically an appetizer, a salad, a protein, a side dish and a dessert.  Intriguing.  Each one has a “Set the Mood” area with table-scaping and decoration ideas.  

And what did I decide on?  Well, first things first – I’m not making a 5 dish meal tonight.  However, in the Oriental Dinner area – they had two recipes I was willing to try (and had ingredients on hand):  Pacific Lamb Chops and Polynesian Rice In Foil.   Granted, I did need to make a few adaptations to the recipes:  swapped out the lamb and used pork chops instead and I didn’t use a grill, I cooked them on the stovetop.  As well, for the rice dish – I didn’t make the individual serving packages and grill them.  Instead, I made it family style and placed it in a casserole dish and baked it.   That’s right baby – I  Minnesota-fied it!

Here are the recipes as they appear in the book.

Pacific Lamb Chops

¼ Cup Melted Margarine

½ Cup Soy Sauce

Pinch of Garlic Powder

6 Shoulder Lamb Chops, cut ¾ inch thick

Salt

Combine margarine, soy sauce and garlic powder.  Dip chops in mixture and place in shallow dish.  Pour remainder over the chops and marinate about an hour.  Remove chops from marinade and sprinkle lightly with salt.  Grill on preheated gas grill over medium to high flame for 8 to 10 minutes on each side.  (If drippings cause some flare-up, change position of chops on grill).  Serves 6.

Polynesian Rice in Foil

4 Cups Hot Cooked Rice

2 TB Butter or Margarine

1 Cup Think Strips of Green Pepper, about 1 inch long

1 Can (13-oz) Pineapple Chunks, drained

½ Cup Bottled Barbecue Sauce

Combine rice and butter;  toss lightly.  Add remaining ingredients.  Place individual servings (generous ¾ cup) of rice mixture on six 12x8inch pieces of aluminum foil.  Double fold seam on top and fold edges securely.  Place foil packages directly on preheated gas grill and heat over low to medium flame.  Turn once.  Allow 10 to 15 minutes per side.  Serves 6.

Okay . . . .  now here’s my version:

Pacific Lamb Pork Chops

¼ Cup Melted Margarine

½ Cup Lite Soy Sauce

Pinch ½ Teaspoon of Garlic Powder

6 Shoulder Lamb 4 Pork Chops, cut ¾ inch thick

Salt

Combine melted margarine, soy sauce and garlic powder.  Add to marinade-container with chops.   Dip chops in mixture and place in shallow dish.  Pour remainder over the chops and Marinate about an hour.  Remove chops from marinade and sprinkle lightly with salt.  Grill on preheated gas grill   and cook in frying pan over medium to high flame for 8 to 10 minutes on each side.  (If drippings cause some flare-up, change position of chops on grill).  Serves 6.

Gather up the ingredients and be sure to place a towel ontop of your stove because you don't want your viewers to see the nasty rings around the burners :)

Now, I have to say.  I love this marinade pan.  It's from Tupperware.  I feel like I've had it forever.  It's two pieces and is designed to have a tight seal and can be flipped upside down with ease.  Awesome.  No dripping, no spilt marinade.  For this recipe, place your oleo (margarine) in the top half of the marinade pan and microwave until melted.  Then add in the soy sauce (gawk at my pale and pasty hand) and a healthy amount of garlic powder.  Doesn't the swirl of the soy sauce look like some groovy art project?  And a word about soy sauce:  use lite or low-sodium soy sauce.  Once you try it, you will be addicted.  It is very flavorful and not salty!

Now that the marinade is ready, carefully pour it over your chops.  And if you have a handy-dandy pan like mine, seal the lid tight.  And if you don't, seal or cover whatever container you may be using.  And then for me and my container:  shake shake shake, shake shake shake.  

Let them sit for a while.  When ready to prepare, grill or pan fry them.  Don't they look delicious?  Aha.  And I'm glad you noticed:  there are only 3 of the 4 chops in the pan frying away.  That's because my pan was too small.

Polynesian Rice in Foil

4 Cups Hot Cooked Rice

2 TB Butter or Margarine

1 Cup Thin Strips of Green Pepper, about 1 inch long

1 Can (13-oz) Pineapple Chunks Tidbits, drained

½ Cup Bottled Barbecue Sauce

Combine rice and butter;  toss lightly.  Add remaining ingredients.  Place individual servings (generous ¾ cup) of rice mixture on six 12x8inch pieces of aluminum foil.  Double fold seam on top and fold edges securely.  Place foil packages directly on preheated gas grill and heat over low to medium flame.  Turn once.  Allow 10 to 15 minutes per side.  Place into buttered casserole dish (covered) and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-30 minutes or until heated through.  Serves 6.

Gather up those ingredients!  Do you have a rice cooker?  I absolutely love mine!  Go ahead and prepare your rice however you usually do it.  While it's cooking, prep the green pepper.

According to the recipe, you need to cut thin 1-inch strips of green pepper.  I'm such a rule follower.  Or am I?  haha.

And because I Minnesota-fied the recipe, I buttered a casserole dish and then placed my rice and remaining ingredients into it.  I love this casserole dish.  It was my granny's.  Rest in Peace Granny!  And rest assured Granny, I use this dish with lots of love :)  I miss my Granny.  She was freakin' awesome.

And stir it up to get all good and combined.  Most people will likely use a spoon or a rubber scraper.  Me?  I opt for gloved hands.  I'm just groovy like that.

And into the oven you tasty casserole you!  I'll see you in about a 1/2 hour after your all nice and warm and hopefully delicious. 

And voila!  A Polynesian delight circa 1959.  A big thanks to Minnegasco :)  And by the way.  It was delicious.  My hubby added a little wasabi to his chop, but other than that - the family voted to eat it again!