I wanted to do something different for dinner tonight, both because I was getting bored with some of the "usual different" and because I was not able to celebrate the new year that a large portion of the world celebrates (and I desperately miss Eric's new year feasts at Monsoon in Seattle). So, I threw together a last-minute menu for this evening.

I, unfortunately, am directing this recipe at fairly established cooks/chefs since I am giving the bare-minium of measurements and cooking instructions. Drop a note in the comments if you would like more detail (I'll need the number of people you plan on serving).

5-spice, Panko-crusted Pork Chops

Miz ɑ̃n plas:

• bone-in pork chops (not too thick, not too thin)
• Chinese 5-spice powder
• Kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• flour
• buttermilk (we use Kate's)
• Panko
• vegetable oil + peanut oil

Rinse & dry the chops. Sprinkle 5-spice powder and then salt & pepper them. Dust with flour & shake off excess. Dip in buttermilk (let the excess drip off) then drip in Panko (make sure to add some salt to the Panko before dipping). Do this for all the chops.

Heat oil in a good pan on the stove and cook the pork chops like you would any breaded pork chop. Panko burns a bit easier than "regular" bread crumbs/cracker meal so watch the heat and pay attention to them. You can finish them in the oven if they brown before they cook through. You can cook them ahead of time and leave them in a 350°F oven or try to time it with the rest of the meal (the rest go quickly, so it should be very doable).

Bok choy & Chinese broccoli steam & fry

Miz ɑ̃n plas:

• Chinese broccoli, cut into thirds
• bok choy - the "white bits", cut cross-wise into 1" chunks
• powdered ginger
• Kosher salt
• sesame oil
• mirin
• water

Par-boil both the broccoli and bok choy then immerse in an ice-water bath to stop the cooking. Dust with ginger & salt. Heat a wok then add the oil. Wait until it just smokes then add the vegetables and stir fry quickly until heated through and a tad caramelized. Add mirin and water and steam through until fully cooked. Again, you can place it in the oven (in a dish with a lid) with the chops (or on their own if the chops are still cooking) while you make the noodles or time it right for all being done at the same time.

Buckwheat (soba) noodles with Ponzu sauce

Miz ɑ̃n plas:

• buckwheat noodles (duh)
• peanut oil & sesame oil
• Ponzu sauce
• mirin

Boil water (salt it!) and cook soba noodles for 3 minutes. In a wok, heat oil and ponzu sauce and mirin. Let that reduce just a bit and add the noodles. Vigorously stir fry until completely coating the noodles and (lightly) browning some of them.

Serve all three at the same time with some lovely, unfiltered, warm sake.