Recipes by Zola - Cornbread Stuffing-Topped Pork Chops

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Cornbread Stuffing-Topped Pork Chops

Zola Gorgon

Who's Tour Would YOU rather take? Gilligan's or Zola's?

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale. A tale of a fateful trip. It started from this tropic port, aboard this tiny ship....a three hour tour. A three hour tour.

I loved Gilligan's Island as a kid. My brother and I would race home from school to watch the now-classic TV show. We memorized the theme song. It's seared indelibly in my mind. If you're not familiar with all of the words, check out this site which has a YouTube version. http://www.mahalo.com/Gilligan%27s_Island It's part of public domain now....and for all times part of TV history.

At one point in my life I traveled to New York City fairly often. I'd say it was about once a quarter. Many times I'd have someone "in tow"; someone who'd never been to New York City. My trips there weren't long in duration so when I had someone new with me, I decided I had to give them a flavor of that fabulous city, but I had to do it in short order. I also had personal stories to tell that I wanted to incorporate into the tour. I decided to call it my Gilligan's Island Tour. Manhattan is an island. And my tour was three hours long.

Much of my time in New York was spent in meetings, having cocktails or over dinner. My tour started at the King Cole Bar in the St. Regis Hotel. The tour usually started just after lunchtime. The King Cole Bar is famous for a couple of things. The Bloody Mary was invented there. Now you know. There's also a famous mural smack dab in the middle of the small, intimate bar. It's by Maxwell Parish and is known as the King Cole. Hence the name of the bar. Classy place. And you can always remember the address. It's 52 East 52nd Street.

We'd leave the bar and turn north on Fifth Avenue. Next stop another hotel. The Plaza. Once owned by Donald Trump, he let his earlier wife (Ivana Trump) redecorate the place, and it has since gone through a $400 million renovation. The place will take your breath away. It's memorable for me for two reasons:

1. My father always stayed there when he did business in NYC. I heard many a story of his business dealings in the hotel bar. The Oak Room and Oak Bar are on the first floor.
2. I have my own Oak Bar story. It was the first time I paid over $40 for 4 drinks...and that was in 1980! I was shocked when I got the bill. The Oak Room is a magical place to watch a snow storm in full swing at sunset.

Cross back over 5th Avenue and head for FAO Schwartz. Behold a toy store of grand proportion. No time to actually shop in the three hour tour, but a trip up the escalator with a view back to the first floor is a must. The gigantic toy displays takes even the eldest back to childhood.

Cross back over 5th Avenue one more time and hire a hansom cab. You want a 30 minute tour of Central Park. Hansom cabs are horse-drawn carriages. Cuddle up under a quilt offered by your driver on a crisp fall day and head off. Be sure to ask your driver to tell you about the architectural significance of the buildings you'll be passing. Ask that one of the buildings you see is The Dakota, where John Lennon was living on that fateful day, December 8, 1980, when he was shot. Hansom cabs are an institution in New York City. You really have to experience the ride to appreciate the history and wonderful planning of the city.

Time is getting tight, so catch a cab. Ask this driver to take you past Macy's, the Waldorf Hotel, The Empire State Building, Grand Central Station and down toward Wall Street. (You might say I'm a tad obsessed with NYC architecture). Here you'll get out to walk around. You can walk through the Financial District, Soho, Little Italy or some of the newer developments. I worked at Merrill Lynch long ago, so this area held particular importance to me.

Sadly, you'll have to find a new way to end your tour. My traditional way was to take my guests to the Top of the World. That's the restaurant/bar that was at the top of the World Trade Center. There we'd order a Manhattan cocktail and watch the sunset and marvel at the glistening river with the majestic Statue of Liberty just below.

I've never found a substitute for that part of my tour but one option might be to catch the Staten Island Ferry. I rode it once forth and back just (to pass the Statue of Liberty up close - twice.

So Gilligan and the Skipper planned a three hour tour. Theirs went all wrong. In New York City you can follow my tour or plan your own. It's a city that certainly, takes more than three hours to absorb but this gives you a pretty good taste test. You can't go wrong.

Today's recipe is perfect for a crisp evening.

Cornbread Stuffing-Topped Pork Chops

4 half-inch thick pork chops
1 Tbl of Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp of dried thyme
3 Tbl of butter
1/2 cup of chopped onion
1 cup of chopped apple. Washed, but you don't have to peel it.
1/4 cup of water
3/4 cup of cornbread stuffing mix

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Season your pork chops with salt, pepper and the thyme. Put the olive oil in a saute pan and heat. Cook your pork chops to brown them on one side. This should take about 3 minutes. Then transfer them to an oven proof pan and roast them in the oven for 10 minutes.

While the roasting takes place go back to your saute pan and add the butter. Melt. Add the onion and apple and saute until they both begin to soften. Then add a quarter cup of water and the stuffing mix. Stir until the water gets absorbed by the stuffing and the onion and apple are mixed in.

After the 10 minutes of roasting has ended for the pork chops,take them out and mound the stuffing on top of the chops. Put them back in the oven and continue to roast 10 minutes more. The stuffing should begin to brown and you're ready to serve.

You can be traditional and serve them with mashed potatoes and a green veggie. I also love the idea of serving them with mashed sweet potatoes for an updated, more healthy version.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola

Send email to Zola at zolacooks@gmail.com.

This news arrived on: 10/13/2008

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