Pepsi Pork

My inspiration for today's dish came from a "Top Chef: Masters" episode. The one where the quick fire round involved vending machine finds only. Seemed like everyone ended up using Dr. Pepper as an ingredient, and I've been wanting to do that since. I figured pork was the best medium here, as it lends itself to a hot and sweet dish. I started out with some pork medallions and a half full bottle of Cherry Pepsi (Dr. Pepper was not on sale!) and basically ran with my idea of braised pork.

Cherry Pepsi braised Pork medallions

Pork medallions
Cherry Pepsi
Garlic
Ginger
Paprika
Salt
Pepper
Cinnamon (I almost regretted this ingredient later, feel free to leave it out)
Celery
Carrots

• Mix all except the pork and veggies in a mixing bowl.
• Place medallions in a slow cooker, add above concoction, add veggies. Let cook on medium for a few hours, until nice and tender.
• Pick out the medallions, and drain the veggies, reserving the cooking liquids.
• Add a bit of oil to a pan and sear the chops to get some color.
• Meanwhile, start reducing the cooking liquids in a small saucepan.
• As the sauce starts getting thicker and stickier, add a pat of butter and some thinly sliced scallions (optional) and take off the heat.
• Plate your braised pork with a spoonful of Cherry Pepsi reduction glaze and the veggies.

I served mine with an Orzo Salad and a simple Jicama Slaw:

Roasted Tomato and Spinach Orzo Salad

Orzo
Spinach
Grape tomatoes
Balsamic vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Fresh mozzarella

• Wash, pat dry tomatoes and dress with salt, pepper, garlic and a bit of oil.
• Place in a baking dish and roast the tomatoes at 400º for 45mins to and hour.
• Meanwhile, cook the orzo according to package instructions
• Chop the fresh spinach coarsely, and add to the pasta cooking water, just before take the pot off the heat.
• Run under cold water and drain.
• In a large enough mixing bowl add the orzo and spinach, diced fresh mozzarella, the roasted grape tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste and some balsamic vinegar.
• A dash of olive oil on top to seal the deal.
• Serve with your favorite entree, in this case Pepsi Pork. Works well as a summery salad as well.

Jicama Slaw

• Julianne jicama
• Add lemon juice and salt.
• Enjoy!