The Vidalias Are Here! The Vidalias Are Here!

When I'm in the mood to cook I sometimes know what I want to make. But a lot of the time I just throw some things together. This dish was inspired by the first Vidalia onions of the season and a jar of sun dried tomatoes.

Here is the mis en place:

@ 1 1/2 lbs boneless country style pork ribs
one small Vidalia sweet onion, sliced thinly
one small jar marinated sun dried tomatoes, chopped
one red bell pepper, chopped
one bunch asparagus, sliced diagonally
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs fresh thyme and oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp coriander
sherry
Olive oil
@ 1/2 lb cavatappi
and a glass of red wine for the cook*grin*

I cut my favorite stand-by meat, boneless country style pork ribs, into chunks and dusted them with the ground coriander and then sauteed in olive oil until golden. I got the pasta going because I knew I'd use some of the pasta water. I used cavatappi which is a corkscrew hollow pasta--one of my favorite shapes.

Once the meat is seared remove it and set aside. Add the onions and deglaze the pan with some sherry---again if you use 'cooking' wine don't use salt until the end. After the onions are translucent add the remaining ingredients to the pan, the asparagus last to keep it from over cooking.

I used about a cup of cooking sherry plus about a cup of the pasta water (this makes a great 'thickening' agent for a light sauce) and reduced until it was enough to lightly coat the pasta.

Once you have the sauce reduced add the meat back in with the well drained pasta and toss until covered. Drizzle a little EVOO over to finish.

Into the bowl and topped off with freshly grated parmigiano- reggiano , fresh ground peppercorn blend and freshly ground sea salt. And of course a nice glass of red or sauvignon blanc;-)

This turned out very yummy and will definitely go in the book. If anybody wants a more specific recipe email me. You could easily substitute chicken breasts/thighs and or shrimp in this.