A Monk's Kettle Inspiration

Main Course

This dinner was inspired by "Unique Eats," a TV show on the Food Network. The menu comes from Monk's Kettle in San Francisco. This is the first time I cooked without recipes, and I wasn't very impressed with my abilities. The pork chops were brined in beer and apple cider then grilled. The sauce consisted of beer, mustard, and chicken stock, and simmered for the day. Potato cakes were just homemade mashed potatoes with chives and cheddar cheese, coated with panko, then fried in a little oil. The Brussels sprouts were steamed for a few minutes then sauteed with butter, bacon, and shallots.

Appetizer
I wanted to make fried green tomatoes, however local stores do not offer green tomatoes. I went with zucchini instead, and it turned out all right. The sauce was another story. I was unsuccessful in getting it to thicken and ended up just using ranch.







and Finally...
Dessert was a homemade peach ice cream with a praline sauce courtesy of the Neely's (Food Network). The peach ice cream wasn't very sweet. I did like the praline; of course, praline is just pecans and Karo.







My Thoughts
I was disappointed in the overall taste and presentation of the meal. Some items were good individually but when brought together it lack greatness. I was really looking forward to a delicious dinner. It felt like it was coming together wonderfully while I was cooking, but at the end it all started falling apart. To much was going on; I forgot to make the dipping sauce, I was trying to cook 3 different things in one pan, and the ice cream maker was malfunctioning. Anything higher than a 6 is overrating because it tasted like any other weeknight dinner.