Pork Chops w/Scratched Potatoes AND my 2 Month Blog Anniversary :o)

Pork Chops & Scratched Potatoes

You know what they say, "Time flies when you are having fun...", well today is my 2 months anniversary since I started my blog.  It's hard to believe how fast the time has gone, it's seems like I've been doing this much longer!  It could be because I did start posting my food photos about a year and a half ago on Facebook.  I had registered on Blogger about 5 months ago, but never did anything with the blog. Then 2 months ago I couldn't sleep and was tossing and turning and thinking that maybe I really should start the blog.  I got up at 3 am and went on my Facebook account and I saw that one of my friends "liked" about 20 of my food photos at once and that is why I made my final decision to start the blog (thanks Blair!!).

I think I've improved my blog tons since I first started.  Especially my photos!  The first person I showed my blog to was my brother since he likes my food and is into photography.  His comment was "You need better photos and don't do a half assed job!"...lol..I was very offended then, but now I completely I understand what he was talking about. Criticism is hard to receive most times, but it can be helpful at times:o)  You really do need a thick skin when writing a food blog since there is so much competition out there.  My thorn is Tastespotting & Foodgawker, they are such great sites, but I have such a love/hate relationship with them.  I think the people that have submitted know exactly what I'm talking about;o)  I'm so happy when I get accepted, but so miffed when I get rejected.  After the rejections I start mumbling and yelling at the computer and Hubby thinks I'm bonkers.  He just nods his head and smiles and acts like he agrees with me...lol  He's been the best with supporting me and my blog.  He still helps me a lot with taking photos and is not peeved even when the food is half cold by the time we sit down to eat it some nights!  

The upside of the foodie blogging world is that there are so many nice people out there!  I've already made some good friends from all over the world.  Everyone is so supportive of each other.  I've heard that their are some catty people out there, but fortunately, I  have not run across anybody like that yet.  Thank you, to all the super sweet people I've met so far!!

Pork Chops

I mentioned in my Roast Chicken post that I've been "dry brining" lately and is what I did with these pork chops.  I think with pork I need to stick with the wet brine.  They tasted good, but I think they would have been more tender if I had brined them in salt water.  I scored the fat, so the chops wouldn't curl up during the cooking process.

Scratching Yukon Gold Potatoes...

My hairdresser loves eating and cooking ALMOST as much as I do.  I think we spend half the time discussing dishes that we've made.  He is really great at baking which I am not and makes the best cookies during Christmas time.  I got the idea of "scratching" the potatoes from him.  He said that he learned this from an English friend of his.  I don't remember exactly how he said it was done, so I improvised...thanks, Mark!!  

I boiled the potatoes with the skin on for about 20 mins until I could easily poke a chopstick in it.  I didn't want to cook it too much because I'd be roasting them too.  After taking them out of the water I peeled them, cut them in half and then scratched them with a fork.  I then seasoned them and rubbed with olive oil and then roasted them for about 40 mins @400 degees in the toaster oven.  The scratching helps them to get crisper and more flavorful.  This is even better when you roast them with a chicken and you get all the luscious flavors from that!

Searing in Cast Iron Skillet...

I seared the pork chops in a hot skillet for a few minutes on each side...

Nicely Browned...

After turning the chops over, I seared the other side until it was browned then put the whole skillet in a 450 degree oven until the chops reached 135 degrees.  I then covered with foil and let it rest.

Scratched Potatoes

Ready!