It’s been awhile since I shared a recipe, so this week’s blog will be about a dish I made recently—a classic Italian-American dish—of pork chops with vinegar peppers. I was inspired to make this by actor/cook “Frankie the Butcher,” who prepared it in one of his mouth-watering cooking videos for I.A.N. - Italian-American Network.

Like Frankie says, “make your dish authentic to you,” so here’s Johnny Meatball's take...

"Johnny (Vinegar Pepper) Pork Chops"
Get yourself four nice size pork chops (boneless or bone-in, your choice.) For mine, I used the boneless. Season them with Johnny’s Special 10-Spice Blend (sea salt, cracked pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, parsley, thyme, rosemary, basil, red chili flakes) and trim off any excess fat. You can also pound them out a bit if they are extremely thick, but you want them to have some thickness.

In an olive oil heated skillet, toss in some chunks of onions with a few garlic cloves. I like to leave the onions a little bigger than say if you were using them in a tomato sauce. I don’t recommend chopping or dicing them, just leave them in about two-inch square pieces. Let the onions and garlic sauté on the stove until they begin to soften and then add in the chops. You should hear a sizzle. Let them cook on each side until a crust starts to form, and in the meantime your onions and garlic should be getting slightly brown.

Flip the chops just once and then deglaze the pan with about half a cup of white wine. I only had champagne in the house and believe it or not, it worked great! Then, add in a few splashes of a tangy vinaigrette like a mojo (Frankie recommends Goya). Something with a little bit of a citrusy twist is real nice. Cover the pan with the lid and leave the gas on medium flame for a few minutes to let everything steam…Finally, open the lid and pour in a jar of LaFede brand antipasto pepper strips which are packed in vinegar, stir one last time and serve.

That’s pretty much it, lots of flavors going on, but real simple to put together. A great dipping at the end is just a drizzle of balsamic glaze. Serve with a crispy iceberg salad and you got yourself a sweet summer meal!


Farmers Market season is underway here in North Jersey, and we will be set-up at the Englewood Farmers Market in downtown Englewood (North Van Brunt Street) this Friday from 11-6. Fresh Garden State fruit and vegetables and other vendors will be featured, including yours truly...I'll be serving hot meatballs and also frozen six-packs to take home for an easy gourmet dinner!

Unless we have another event scheduled, we will be a weekly fixture at this market (as well as three others--full schedule to be posted soon) beginning in the next few weeks. Come mangia!