Newsletter Archives Winner of two James Beard Awards for food writing. SPONSOR LINKS Fresh Seafood from Boston Totally Cooked Will you run out of money in retirement? Babin Kitchen & Bath Discount Restaurant Gift Certificates FAVORITE SITES Dad Cooks Dinner King Arthur Flour Penzeys Spices Rare Seeds Sushi Katsu USDA Nutrient Database Del Mio Pick Your Own Farms Caranos Cucina Exploring Food My Way Mimi Vanderhaven CONTACT JANE Email Jane Jane's Personal Appearances Subscribe To This Newsletter  Subscription Form: * Your email address: * First Name: * Last Name:    Street Address:    Zip Code:    Country: * Enter the security code shown: (No Spaces)   Dear Foodie friends: Faced with a package of five pork chops and five people to feed – three of them teen-age boys and one of them my husband, whose dinner-time nickname is “the anaconda” – I prayed for a loaves and fishes miracle. When I bought the chops, I didn’t know our teen-ager would invite friends over. Then I remembered what country French women do on wash days. They carry big pans of food to the local baker, who cooks the food in his commercial oven after all of his loaves have been baked. Each pan contains a whole meal – usually a roast and vegetables. I would make a rustic meal-in-one, too. You’re probably thinking, “Duh. That’s a casserole.” Well, yes. But my inspiration was Beaune, not Barberton, so allow me my delusions of grandeur. I seasoned and browned the chops in a skillet and arranged them in the bottom of a roasting pan. I used a deep commercial baking pan from Tony’s restaurant, but a standard roasting pan – about 11-by-14-inches and 3 to 4 inches deep – would work fine. The pan should be large enough to hold the chops in a single layer. Tony had lugged home a big bag of thin-skinned white potatoes, so I washed some, sliced them thin, and layered them over the chops, filling the pan to the brim. I scattered sliced onions between the layers and sprinkled them with thyme, crumbled feta, grated lemon zest and bits of butter. As the casserole – uh, meal-in-one – baked, it began to smell amazing – thyme, lemon, pork and potatoes all contributing to the aroma. At 9 p.m. the potatoes were fork-tender and I was starving. Tony wasn’t home from work yet and the teen-agers had gone to a haunted house, so I dished myself up a chop and some potatoes and curled up on the sofa to enjoy a solitary feast. After dinner, sated and drowsy, I tucked myself in bed to read and immediately fell asleep. I half-woke when Tony came to bed at midnight. “Did you like your dinner?” I asked. “What dinner?” “The giant pan I left on the stove,” I said, now fully awake. “Pork chops baked with potatoes, lemon, feta and herbs.” “I thought they were just potatoes,” he said. “Weren’t the boys hungry?” I asked. “Starving,” Tony said. “I made them some ramen noodles.”

ABOUT JANE SNOW
Jane Snow is the former food editor of the Akron Beacon Journal. Her work has appeared in newspapers nationwide. She has won two James Beard Awards for food writing and has been nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize. She lives in Akron, Ohio, with her husband, Tony, a sushi chef and owner of Sushi Katsu, an Akron sushi bar.

A portion of the proceeds generated through sponsorships of this newsletter go to the Jane Snow Fund For Hunger at Akron Community Foundation.

Jane Snow's eNewsletter is copyrighted and distributed by Mimi Vanderhaven