Chef Andrea Nicholson is one busy lady. Since she appeared on the inaugural season of Top Chef Canada in 2011, Andrea has been working hard, both with her artisan condiment line, Killer Condiments (available in specialty stores across Canada and online), and joining the cast of Restaurant Takeover.
On Restaurant Takeover, which airs weekly on Food Network Canada, you can watch Andrea impart her culinary wisdom to struggling restauranteurs and chefs.
When she’s not working, Nicholson can be found at home spending time with her family and, of course, whipping up some amazing pork dishes. I borrowed a few minutes of Andrea’s time this week to talk about the deliciousness that is pork.
What’s your go-to cut of pork when you’re cooking at home? I cook tons of pork at home, all sorts of cuts, but ribs are probably cooked the most. I have a huge cast iron smoker in my back yard and slow smoke them for hours. They are so deadly!
Everyone is crazy about bacon, what’s one bacon-accented dish that you can’t live without? I love hearty salads especially with bacon. My fav is a big wedge of iceberg, red onions, apple, lots of crispy bacon and home made blue cheese dressing. This salad has such great texture and lots of flavour.
What are some great side dish suggestions that compliment a simple pork roast? Well, pork and the flavors of cabbage work so great together. My two favourite side dishes are always: Roasted Brussels sprouts with hazelnuts and brown butter and Roasted Parsnip mashed potatoes with chives and butter.
What’s the craziest pork dish you’ve ever had? In New York at WD-50 I had Wylie Dufresne’s Root Beer Pork. It was such a well composed and visually appealing dish. The ribs were so tender with a balanced sweet and smokey flavor with a intense root beer sauce and rye spetzle balls. This was a dish completely out of the box.
Follow Andrea on twitter at @Andrea_N to stay up to date with all of her culinary adventures!
Check back here next week for an amazing pork chop recipe straight from Andrea’s kitchen featuring one of her favourite Killer Condiments!