Here I am, three weeks into my personal adventure eating challenge (three new recipes/week and one new restaurant/month) and can proudly say, I am meeting the challenge! Here's a recap:

Week 1:

• Roasted Chickpea Bruschetta
• Mini Spinach and Tomato Fritattas
• Grilled Asian Pork Chops

Week 2:

• Roasted Tomato Linguine
• 101 "Whaler" Fish Sandwich
• Asian Slaw
• El Sombrero Restaurant

What I am finding difficult is finding the time to write about it. How do all those food bloggers and mommy bloggers do it? How do they find time to blog, twitter, attend conferences and events, work a full-time job, and mother little ones? I want in on your secret!

Until then, posts on week 2 are in development. A visual sneak peek...

Yup. That's the legendary Stevie Wonder with my folks after dining at the family restaurant in Hartford, Connecticut. He was a a big fan of my dad's cooking naturally! My love for food has everything to do with my Dad. As executive chef of my family's restaurant for 40+ years, I have clear images of my dad on the line in the kitchen, testing different sauces, tasting a bit of this and a little of that. He worked tirelessly in the cavernous, often steamy kitchen, 7 days a week, 364 days a year. But I think it was on that one day off, my 'pop' was happiest being the family man, grilling up some meat in the backyard for the family.

So in honor of my dad and all you wonderful dads out there, we threw some meat on the open flame Asian-style with this simple recipe.


Grilled Asian Pork Chops
Adapted from Bon Appetit 

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 cup black bean garlic sauce
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons oriental sesame oil
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
2-3 scallions, thinly sliced
4 bone-in pork chops
DIRECTIONS:

The Good: Easy and quick to prepare. Delicious flavors that went well with pork. The kids loved it (but then again, the boys love all Asian cuisine)

The Bad: Leaves a bit of a mess on the grill. Could cut back on the black bean sauce a bit as it could be salty for some.

Grade: A-. This will be a weeknight staple, especially in the summer!