Brian MacMenamin and Jim Caulley, from MacMenamin's Grill and Chef Works came by to show me some alternative uses for construction equipment and made a delicious meal while doing it.

The menu for the evening was:

-Pesto grilled pork chops with apple/pear pork reduction
-Mashed potatoes
-Asparagus with Gorgonzola

Meat can be butchered at home with an unused hand or reciprocating saw with a new blade. Our pork chops were cut that way. You can grill pork chops on a book leaf grill like the George Forman, over cedar shavings right off the shakes left over from shingling your home, to infuse them with woodsy flavor. Put the shavings on your grill (Fig.1), and then cover them with a metal rack. Char them with a blowtorch for a smoky touch (Fig. 2). Ours were seasoned with pesto sauce and cooked with asparagus. Potatoes can be mashed with an electric drill fitted with a new unused paint stirrer attachment. A new carpet knife is perfect for peeling apples (Fig. 3), but be careful, its sharp hooked blade is very dangerous! The finishing touch on the asparagus was Gorgonzola melted with a blowtorch.

The apple/pear sauce for the pork was just delicious. Here's how:

You'll need:

-1 cup each of peeled, diced apples and pears
-2tsp cinnamon
-1/2 tsp. nutmeg
-Pork au jus reduction

Season the apples and pears with the cinnamon and nutmeg and sauté for a few minutes until they start to release their aroma. Then add to your pork reduction and stir for about 5 minutes.

Being creative in the kitchen doesn't have to be limited to selection of ingredients. Experiment with alternative utensils and tools and you may find your cooking time cut in half!

Episode 212 Main Page