Cook Along Thursday - Scallopini, or Possibly Pork Piccata

Want a laugh? Here's the recipe Nick originally sent me to post:

4 T wine
5 T lemon
5 T cream
1 cup butter
4 oz bacon
6 oz artichokes
2 t capers

Wine and lemon over medium until reduced by 1/3
Stir in cream and simmer until thickens
Add butter 1 T at a time
Keep warm
Cook protein

That's right. That's it. Luckily, we know each other (and our cooking styles) well. But given the fact that most people wouldn't know what exactly Nick was going for here, I had him beef it up a bit:

Lemon Butter Sauce:

1/4 cup white wine

5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

5 tablespoons heavy cream

1 cup butter, chilled

salt and pepper to taste

Pork and Pasta:

1/2 pound dry farfalle pasta (cook the whole pound and add however much you want)

4 pork chops - cut off the bone and pounded to 1/4 inch thickness

1½  cups vegetable oil

2 tablespoon butter

1/8 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 eggs – lightly beaten

Extra flour set aside

salt and pepper to taste

4 ounces bacon

6 ounces artichoke hearts, drained and halved

2 teaspoons capers, drained

Directions:

To make the sauce, pour the wine and lemon juice into a saucepan over medium heat. Cook at a low boil until the liquid is reduced by 1/3. Stir in cream, and simmer until it thickens. Gradually add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time to the sauce, stirring until completely incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and keep warm.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and set aside.

To make the pork, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. In a bowl, stir together flour, panko, cayenne, salt, and pepper. In a separate bowl, coat the pork in the extra flour then dip the chops in the beaten eggs. Lightly coat the dredged pork with the panko and flour mixture. Without crowding, carefully place pork in hot oil. (If necessary, cook in batches.) Fry until cooked through and golden brown on both sides, turning once. Remove the pork to paper towels. In a separate skillet, heat the butter over medium heat.  Stir the bacon, artichokes, and capers into the butter and cook until the bacon is done.

To serve, place pasta in a large bowl. Stir the bacon mixture into the pasta. Taste, and adjust seasonings. Stir in additional lemon butter sauce as desired. Toss well, add pork chop on top of pasta and enjoy.