Gotta love Cookin'

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One of my favorite things to do is cook. Alone in the kitchen, music blasting, and me expressing myself through food always helps me when I'm feeling down. On this particular day, I was feeling homesick. Being 3,000 miles away from family and friends takes a toll. So I decided to cook up a nice little meal, drink some wine and have myself a movie night. 



I had some pork chops that I wanted to do something different with. I thought about it for a while and remembered that My boyfriend, at the time, and I took a trip to Buffalo Wild Wings one night and we fell in love with the Mango Habanero Wings. I decided that I would try and make my own Mango Habanero glaze for my chops. 



I went out a brought mango puree and some habanero peppers along with some other seasonings and spices for my venturous dinner. I seasoned my pork chops with a blend of adobo (Savory dry rub seasoning made with salt, granulated garlic, oregano, black pepper, turmeric, and onion powder) and a marinade made from cooked peppers, garlic, and herbs, particularly green onions, thyme, and parsley blended together. I let it sit for abt half an hour and focused my attention towards making the special sauce.



I sat there, R&B playing in the background with a glass of red wine wondering the best way to make this Mango Habanero sauce. . I realize that I would have to balance out the habanero pepper's heat with that of the mango puree. I finely diced the pepper making sure to remove the seeds. I took a sauce pan and placed it over medium heat with a little butter. Then I put the diced peppers into the pan with the butter and allowed the oils from the peppers to be released then i added the puree and made sure to lower the heat allowing the sweetness of the mango to blend with the habanero peppers as it reduced. 



I put my pork chops on a backing sheet and placed it into a preheated oven for about 30 to 45 mins. towards the end, I took my glaze and lighting coated each side making sure to keep it moist and juicy. While my chops began to gain their golden brown color, I sauteed some diced onions and garlic in butter and added some sweet corn. I gave it a pinch of salt, paprika  and cracked some black peppers.Then I roasted some garlic, and made garlic mashed potatoes. 



Dinner was done! I plated my creation and as I took the first bite I was proud of myself. Everything turned out the way I planned. So I cleaned the kitchen, grabbed my wine, my food and headed to the couched. My night ended on a great note!