rediculously delicious pan seared pork cutlet wrapped pineapple

days like today remind me of how lucky i am to live with a chef. a recipe i would never think of myself, and that is so spontaneous and creative, that it blatantly reminds me once again that i am definitely not a chef, i am just some one who likes to cook.
only someone who really and truthfully has a real understanding of food would whip this up on a whim. but luckily for you, (but especially me cuz i get to eat it), i am here to tell you the recipe. give it a try, because i am telling you right now, this is what i would call a keeper (kinda like my man).

like every good chef or at home cook, it is very important to understand that experimentation is the mother of perfection. with every dish you will more than likely have something you want to change about it. here at qsk (oh yeah, that's right, i threw out the abbreviated version of our site, and so early on in the game!), we really want to tell you what we did, and let you know what we would do to change it. the recipes we give will always be the ones that we wish we did, if there was anything we would have liked to change about them. but we really want to let you know why we are telling you to do it differently. we just want you to learn with us in this c-c-crazy world of food.

this recipe, although truthfully delicious, there were a few things that could have been changed. for instance, the pork cutlet wasn't pounded out, which should have been done. pounding out the cutlet would have made it easier to wrap, and could have also ultimately changed the texture of the meat to something a little less tough. to pound down the meat you can pound it with a mallet on a cutting board or if you don't have a mallet, leave it in the zip-lock you marinated it in and use any hard flat surface like a rolling pin. (i hope i don't have to tell you to make sure all the air is out of the zip-lock first...i can only assume the quality of intellect my readers posses is at par with mine. the expectation of which really isn't that high in this case).
also, we put it in the oven first, and then seared it, when it should have been the other way around. searing the pork first would have really sealed in those juices and fantastic flavors, and would have helped in keeping the pork a slightly more moist.
but i really have to say, despite it's very slight flaws, one of my favorite meals so far this year.

the following recipe is an original, but with a tweak or two for optimum enjoyment.

for the marinade (make this first)

you will need:

• 1 cup cilantro
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1 lime, juice and zest*
• 1 1/2 tbs ginger, finely chopped
• 1 stalk lemon grass
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tbs rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbs shallots, finely chopped
  
• 1/2 tbs sugar (white)
  
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• salt (pinch)
• pepper (pinch)

combine all of these ingredients in a zip-lock bag, add pork cutlets and marinade for 2-3 hours at most.
*it is very important that you don't marinate this longer that that because the acidity of lime juice actually cooks the meat. marinating for any longer than that can effect the texture and flavor of the meat. if you wanted the marinate the cutlets over night, you can use the same recipe, sans lime juice/zest and add it a couple hours before you cook.

for hot sauce (while the pork is marinating, make this hot sauce. i would recommend serving it cold anyway, so you can make it whenever and use it from the fridge. this hot sauce can go with any number of things and really has a fantastic depth in flavor. i am going to try and keep this on hand from now on.)

• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tbs ginger, finely chopped
• 2 tbs vegetable oil
• zest and juice of 2 limes
• 1 tbs sriracha chili sauce
  
• 1/2 tbs honey
• splash or two rice vinegar
• 2/3 cup ketchup
• splash beer

in a sauce pan at medium heat, cook the shallots, garlic and ginger in vegetable oil. cook until translucent. add a splash of the beer (that you should be enjoying while you cook, of course, i would recommend an ale like zywiec or becks, a couple of my personal favorites), simmer for a minute or two, allowing the beer to de-glaze the pan. de-glazing will take the really intense caramelized flavors that could be sitting on the bottom of the pan and infuses them into whatever else is in it. de-glazing makes things delicious.
add the lime juice, zest and vinegar vinegar, saute for a minute or even less, then add the ketchup, chili sauce. cook for around 5 minutes. use either an immersion blender, food processor or regular blender. blend until smooth. serve hot or cold.

for the pineapple glaze

• 1 inch thick sliced pineapple, halved
• 2 tbs honey
• cinnamon (pinch)
• salt (pinch)
• pepper (pinch)
• cayenne (pinch)

mix these ingredients in a bowl and brush the pineapple with the glaze. remove pork cutlets from marinade and place on flat surface. place glazed pineapple on one end of cutlet. roll. like a piggy in a blanket. if you want you can secure the blanket with a toothpick. sear in each side in a pan over medium heat. bake in oven at 350 (F) for 20 minutes.

for mango salad

• whole mango, julienne/match stick
• 1/2 red pepper, julienne/match stick
• whole large carrot, julienne/match stick
• 1/4 red onion, julienne/match stick
• equal parts arugula/mango and red pepper
• 1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts

mix all these ingredients, leaving out the peanuts, in a medium sized bowl. wait until ready to serve to add following dressing:

for mango salad dressing

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/8 cup rice win vinegar
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 1/8 of a cup mint
• 1 clove garlic
• salt (pinch)
• pepper (pinch)
• 1 lime, juice and zest
• 1/2 tsp sugar (white)
• 1/4 tsp fish sauce

add dressing to mango salad right before serving to ensure that the arugula doesn't wilt, and the mango doesn't go to soggy. also if you let a dressing sit on a salad for too long, the vinegars, being the strong flavor they are, can over power the more subtle flavors or the red pepper and mango. top with crushed honey roasted peanuts. serve next to pork cutlet rolled pineapple.
add hot sauce.
enjoy.
again.
and again.