New "in" spot's pork chops for cool fall days

As the weather gets cooler, people look for hearty, warmer dishes.

And "Early Show" contributor Katie Lee found a perfect pairing of spicy and sweet at, olf all places, one of hottest new restaurants in -- Miami Beach -- 15-hundred degrees, in the famed Eden Roc Hotel, where Katie was shown around by chef and owner Paula DaSilva.

There is, Paula noted, lots of history at the Eden Roc. It was "the place to be seen, and the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Joey Bishop) used to hang out here."

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Also, some episodes of "I Love Lucy" were shot there.

"It's quite the iconic place with a lot of history," Paula observed.

And now it's a hot spot again, with 1500 Degrees there.

Paula is living the American dream. She came to the U.S. with her family in 1986 from Brazil speaking no English. Her parents opened a restaurant in Massachusetts, and now, she's at the helm of one of 1500 Degrees.

"We are going to be doing some roasted pork chops, with a special hickory rub that I have, roasted root vegetables, a creamy polenta, and a pear chutney," Paula said.

"We're going to go ahead and start with beautiful root vegetables. ... We have radishes, we have beets, we have turnips, we have carrots.

"Toss these with a little bit of olive oil, little dash of salt, little bit of fresh black pepper ... and these are going to go into the oven at 350 degrees for ten, twelve minutes or so."

The spice rub is made in a coffee bean grinder with some smoked sea salt, paprika, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, garlic, all kinds of good stuff.

"This rub," Paula said, "you want to apply it pretty liberally, we'll do a little bit of salt as well, little bit of black pepper, and here we go right into our broiler."

Next, she said, "Move ahead to the polenta and pear chutney.

"Pears are what are in-season right now, they're beautiful. They're very sweat on their own. ... So (I sue them) to bring something sweet to the pork. ... It balances it out really nicely."

The chutney is made out of pear, cinnamon sticks, a little bit of cayenne pepper for some Miami spice, and some chardonnay vinegar.

"Get it on the stove and move on to our polenta," Paula says. "Check on the pork. Pull out the veggies."

It comes out of the oven sizzling and juicy.

Pork chops get kind of a bad reputation for being dry, but not this one. It was so juicy, and it had that hickory spice taste from the rub with that creamy polenta and that sweet pear chutney. It hit every sensory tastebud in my mouth.

Paula was more than pleased with Katie's reaction.

"Awesome!" Paula exclaimed.

For Paula's recipe, go to Page 2.

RECIPE: Hickory Rubbed Palmetto Creek Farms Pork Loin Chop, Root Vegetables, Creamy Polenta, Pear Chutney

Yield: 4 Servings

4 Each 10oz. Pork Chops

Rub:

• 1/2 tsp. Cumin Seeds
• 1/2 tsp. Coriander Seeds
• 1/2 tsp. Sweet Paprika
• 1/2 tsp. Smoked Paprika
• 1/2 tsp. smoked salt
• 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
• 1/2 tsp. caraway seeds
• 1/2 tsp. Oregano dry
• 1/2 tsp Yellow mustard Seeds
• 1/2 tsp. pink peppercorns
• 1/2 Garlic powder

Lightly toast all the seeds and spices. Let them cool and then grind them in a coffee grinder until fine. Rub liberally on the pork chops. Grill the pork chops for 3 minutes on each side. You can also start them in a hot sauté pan and finish it in the oven if you do not have a grill.

Polenta:

• 2 shallots (diced)
• 3 Tbs. Butter
• 1 bag Italian polenta (not pre cooked)
• 6 cups boiling salted water
• 1/2 cup cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup soft cows milk cheese
• 1/2 cup herbs (parsley, chives both chopped)

Saute the shallots in the butter and add the polenta. Pour the boiling water over the polenta and whisk together. Let the polenta cook on a medium high heat while frequently stirring. Cook the polenta for about 30 minutes. You can add more hot water if the mixture becomes too thick. When the polenta has a creamy consistency and is soft to the bite, add the cottage cheese, and cows milk cheese. Cook the cheese until it has completely incorporated. Finish with the herbs, salt, and pepper. Keep warm until needed.

For the Root Vegetables:

• 2 ea. Parsnips
• 2 ea. Large beets
• 3 ea. Large carrots
• 6 ea. Baby onions
• 3 ea. Baby radishes

Clean and wash the vegetables really well. You may leave the skin on if you wish or peel the. Cut them, season with olive oil, salt and pepper and put them in the oven to roast for about 12 minutes or until brown and tender.

Pear Chutney:

• 1 Pear diced
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• 1 Tsp. sugar
• 1/2 cup champagne vinegar

Dice the pears and put everything into a pot. Gently cook it for about 40 minutes until the pears are very tender. Add water to it while cooking if the vinegar dries up and the pears are not tender yet.