1. Sprinkle both sides of meat evenly with the 1/2 teaspoon of the seasoned salt. In a very large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat. Cook chops in hot oil for 3 minutes. Turn chops. Cook for 3 minutes more or until brown. Remove chops from skillet.
2. Carefully add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to skillet. Add onion and sweet pepper; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add potatoes, peas and carrots, thyme, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt; mix well. Cook for 6 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Place chops on top of potato mixture in skillet; cover. Reduce heat to medium. Cook for 7 to 9 minutes more or until pork chops are no longer pink and potatoes are brown. Makes 4 servings.
2 pints fresh blackberries
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 cup sugar
5 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Add blackberries to a medium saucepan with 1/4 cup sugar and lemon juice. Cook over low heat, covered, for 20 to 25 minutes. Drain using a fine mesh strainer, pressing berries to extract as much juice/puree as possible. Set aside.
Heat half-and-half and 1 cup sugar in a separate saucepan over low heat. Turn off heat when mixture is totally heated.
Add heavy cream to a separate bowl.
Beat egg yolks by hand or with an electric mixer until yolks are pale yellow and slightly thick.
Temper the egg yolks by slowly drizzling in 1 1/2 cups of hot half-and-half mixture, whisking constantly. After that, pour the egg yolk/half-and-half mixture into the pan containing the rest of the half-and-half mixture. Cook over low to medium-low heat (depending on how hot your stove gets) until quite thick, stirring constantly. Drain custard using a fine mesh strainer, then pour into the bowl with the cream. Stir to combine.
Add blackberry juice/puree to the cream/custard mixture and stir. Chill mixture completely, then freeze in an ice cream maker until thick. Place container in freezer to harden for an additional two hours.
Evil Variation: Stir in semi-sweet chocolate chunks before freezing. Delicious!
Make dough:
Stir together yeast, 1/4 cup warm water, and sugar in a large bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.)
Stir flours, salt, and remaining scant 3/4 cup water into yeast mixture with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms.
Turn out dough onto a well-floured surface and knead with lightly floured hands until dough is elastic and smooth but still supple and slightly sticky, 6 to 8 minutes. Form dough into a ball.
Put dough in an oiled large bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let rise in a draft- free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 to 2 hours.
Make rolls:
Punch down dough (do not knead). Remove from bowl and fold into thirds like a letter. Divide into 16 pieces and roll each piece into a ball, transferring to a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet and loosely covering with plastic wrap (or towel). Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Lightly brush each ball of dough with some of egg white. Gently lay a round of rye-crisp dough, egg-wash side up, on top of each roll. Bake rolls until golden-brown, about 20 minutes. Cool to warm or room temperature.
Make rye-crisp tops while rolls rise:
Stir together flours and salt, then stir in water and oil until a dough forms. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times. Divide into 16 very small pieces. Roll out each piece on lightly floured surface to a thin round (about 2 inches; shape need not be perfectly round) and arrange in 1 layer on a sheet of parchment.
Beat egg white with a pinch of salt and lightly brush some of it onto rounds. Let stand, uncovered, to dry slightly while rolls rise.
Assemble and bake rolls:
Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle.
Lightly brush each ball of dough with some of egg white. Gently lay a round of rye-crisp dough, egg-wash side up, on top of each roll. Bake rolls until golden-brown, about 20 minutes. Cool to warm or room temperature.
Cooks' notes: •Dough can be formed into balls and allowed to rise slowly, covered well with plastic wrap and chilled, 8 to 16 hours. Bring to room temperature while making rye-crisp tops.
•Rolls are best the day they are baked but can be frozen (first cool completely, then wrap well) 1 month. Thaw, then reheat on a baking sheet in a 350°F oven until warmed through, 5 to 10 minutes.
