Fresh Corn and Black Bean Salsa with Corn Chips Accompanying Grilled Pork Chops with Cherry Sauce;

Fresh summer fruit and vegetables are arriving daily in the market and we decide to use some of them with recipes we've recently run across, starting with a corn and black bean salsa accompanying grilled pork chops with cherry sauce.

At the market

For our salad, we prepare a dressing of lime juice, garlic, cumin, sugar, crushed red pepper, olive oil, salt, and pepper, whisking to combine.  We then add fresh corn kernels just sliced off the cob, black beans, and chopped cliantro.  Just before serving, we add diced avacado and lightly crushed corn chips.

For the dressing

Preparing the salad

Ready to serve

While preparing the salad, we treat ourselves to a little ahi poke snack.

Ahi poke

We rub the pork chops with a mixture of rosemary, salt, pepper, and garlic, cover and marinate for up to 2 hours at room temperature.  After marinating, we cook the pork over the hot side of a grill until well seared on both sides, then move them to a cooler side, cover, and cook until done (firm to the touch, juices slightly pink, and meat rosy in the center, around 135°F (57°C).  We then transfer the pork chops to a platter, cover loosely with aluminum foil, and let them rest while we make the sauce.

Marinating the pork

On the grill

We melt a tablespoon of butter in a skillet, then add minced shallot and cook until soft.  We then add a cup of fresh sweet cherries, pitted and halved, 1/2 cup of red wine (we use pinot noir), and any juices that have leaked from the pork chops.  We continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the liquid reduces to a thin syrup, slowly stir in two more tablespoons of butter, and season with salt and pepper.  The pork chops are served with the cherry sauce on top.

Ingredients

Preparing the sauce

Serving

Dinner is ready

We have a lot of leftover corn and black bean salsa and serve it again the next day, this time with grilled steelhead trout, for which it is also well matched.

Salsa and steelhead trout

More great sumer meals!

Passing Through Paris on Our Way Home

Since we spend a few days in Paris at the beginning of our journey, we fly Air France nonstop to Paris and schedule our return flight to the US from Paris, giving us another night in the city at the end of our trip.  We catch an early train from Monterosso al Mare to Milan and an afternoon flight from Milan to Paris, with our flight home scheduled for the next day.  It is a clear day and we have beautiful views of the Alps as we travel from Milan to Paris.

Leaving Monterosso al Mare as the sun rises

Crossing the Alps

We stay near the Île Saint-Louis in Paris and walk across the Seine to explore the Left Bank, crossing at Pont de Sully on the end of the island.

Crossing Pont de Sully

Walking along the Seine, we pass Notre Dame, just across the river on  Île de la Cité and also stroll past the famous restaurant La Tour d'Argent (which we'll have to experience some day) and the famous bookstore Shakespeare and Company.

Notre Dame

La Tour d'Argent

Shakespeare and Company

As evening arrives, we wander through the network of streets in the Latin Quarter, one of the oldest districts in Paris, just off Place Saint-Michel.

Latin Quarter at sunset

We stroll back to our hotel to arise and return the next morning to visit local shops and explore some more before our flight.

Returning along the Seine at night

After breakfast, we cross the Seine to the Left Bank again and wander over to the market Marché Maubert with a cheese shop (Fromager) recommended by a blog we enjoy: The Real Emily in Paris, written by an Australian author and chef who is currently living in Paris.

Crossing the Seine (again)

Marché Maubert

The cheese shop

We purchase several interesting-looking cheeses to take back to the US with us later today and wander back to the hotel to start our journey toward the airport and home.  But, on the way to the hotel, we stop at the small park (Square Barye) at the tip of  Île Saint-Louis for a last view of gardens, the Seine, and of Paris.

Barges on the Seine

Square Barye

We're heading home again, after a fabulous two weeks, and planning our next journeys to Europe and elsewhere.