Family Food

To say that I eat well when I'm with my family would be an understatement.

For the Knifics, eating is something of a sport. We constantly talk about food, have opinions regarding what we've consumed, compare dishes, plan meals and rank restaurants. When I'm visiting my parents in Ohio, our time together typically centers around food. Whether it's learning a family recipe from my mom or enjoying a meal by chef Michael Symon, our preferred activity is pretty obvious.

I arrived back in New York earlier today after a weekend with my mom, dad and brother (sadly, sans Ryan). I booked a last-minute flight to spend time with my mom, who recently underwent surgery. My hope was to cook a couple dinners for her so she could relax and get back to her full strength.

Although we didn't head to any restaurants, we definitely did our fair share of eating. With the help of my brother, Christopher, I spent the weekend cooking up a storm. From osso buco with saffron risotto (one of my mom's favorites) to coffee-crusted pork tenderloin with bourbon cream sauce and polenta, we ate like it was going out of style. Christopher even made his grilled artichokes, which is one of my personal favorites. And my dad, the official family mixologist, poured a few cocktails and selected some wines to pair perfectly with the food.

Being who she is, my mom still managed to find her way into the kitchen. ("Mom, please rest! It's good for you!") She showed me how to make her mom's Polish Sweet Bread, which I plan to dedicate an entire post to soon.

Even with my mom not feeling up to par, we unsurprisingly found a way to make food the main event. My mom, of course, was the star guest.

Hog Heaven

Day 18

For some reason, I always veer away from pork whenever I'm conjuring up dinner.

I'm not sure what it is. Maybe I associate The Other White Meat with a super-dried out chop that has virtually no flavor. Or perhaps it's just the opposite—falling-off-the-bone St. Louis-style ribs—which are delicious but ultra-time consuming.

What about bacon, you ask? It's a no-brainer the fatty slabs of meat are amazing. I cook with bacon frequently (I even put it on ice cream, as you may have seen in my "Getting Corny" post), but I just have trouble aligning its awesomness with the same animal as a pork chop.

When I eat pork, someone else is usually preparing it. A few of my favorites off-hand are Michael Symon's smoked Berkshire pork chop at Lola, a good rack of ribs from anywhere that does it right, carnitas tacos, and my mom's bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin.

Today proved that a little something extra, such as a sauce, can take a familiar (and awfully boring) piece of meat to the next level.

For the first recipe, we made cotes de porc charcutiere (pork chops with sauce charcutiere). The pork was seared and placed in the oven to finish cooking. Then we turned a bland dish upside-down with a sauce made of demi-glace, wine, onions, mustard and cornichons. The second recipe—rosettes de porc au gingembre, sauce aigre-doux (ginger-marinated pork fillet with sweet and sour sauce)—was also a hit. I took an entire portion home so I don't have to cook Wednesday night.

Despite a long day, which included test No. 4, I came home only to study for our Level 1 final on Thursday. It features a comprehensive written exam as well as a practical, where we're judged on knife skills and basic cooking techniques. I'm worried about the cocottes; apparently we have to turn a potato into eight of them in 15 minutes.

Yeah, when pigs fly.

Getting Corny

Michael Symon is the man.

For those of you who only know him from "Iron Chef America," it should be made clear that the Cleveland chef was cooking amazing food long before his Food Network days. I grew up in Cleveland myself—proudly, I might add—and I can truly say I have eaten some of the best food of my life at his restaurants. When I go back to visit my parents, I (easily) convince them to hit up one of his places for some beef cheek pierogis, cheesy polenta or a double-cut pork chop.

So when I turned on the Cooking Channel (Scripps Networks' newest venture) and discovered Symon making sweet corn ice cream with caramel-candied bacon and popcorn, I had to give it a go. (Side note: Those close to me know that I'll typically try any food once. They also know that for some reason, I'm not a huge fan of two things: watermelon and creamed corn. I'll eat them, but I'd rather not.) Sweet corn ice cream sounded closely related to creamed corn, but I was willing to give it a try since it was one of Symon's recipes.

I'm so glad I went for it. I omitted the popcorn, but I didn't lose the bacon. Everything is better with bacon. It could make an old shoe taste good.

That has me thinking: What about watermelon and bacon?