Michael Vega and Keith Gaspari are dedicated to their careers and to each other. As with most artists, they have to work in other fields to pay the bills. Gaspari is a fine artist and illustrator and works as a bartender in the Castro. Vega is lucky at the moment to be acting in a play, The Other Side of the Closet, which teaches high schoolers about diversity and tolerance. It’s part of New Conservatory’s Youth Aware program. He’s happy to be working as an actor rather than a bartender.
   

The couple rent a three-bedroom home in Pacifica. They’ve been together for nine years.
   

Vega’s heritage is Puerto Rican, from a long line of military people, and he grew up in southern New Jersey. The handsome 38-year-old says that he never had any hurdles to jump being gay. Growing up, he had an aunt that was a lesbian, and when he was 10, his mother came out as well.
   

Here is Vega on how he got serious about cooking: “Like many kids, I watched my mom cook when I was very young, but it wasn’t until I was 14 and my parents had separated that I caught the ‘bug.’ I would take it upon myself to make meals for my mom, sister and I. Because there wasn’t much money, I would find ways to make whatever was in the fridge and cabinets work. Give me a can of soup, a frozen vegetable, and some breadcrumbs and voila!”
   

As an adult, his cooking became more sophisticated, “However,” he says, “the day-to-day stuff is not always as involved and time-consuming. As a working actor who has to maintain a second job to support his career, I have little time to plan, shop and prepare. So, I tend to do what I call ‘grab and go.’ After work, I stop by the grocery and grab a few ingredients, sometimes without knowing exactly what it’s going to be. Combined with what’s already at home, I can always come up with something that looks and tastes like something from a restaurant, at a fraction of the price.”
   

Although Gaspari can also cook, Vega does most of the cooking.
 “I find it relaxing and I like the challenge of making something out of nothing,” he says. They both work long days, but Vega says he thinks nothing of whipping up dinner at 10 o’clock. Sounds like love. Michael Vega’s pork chops (written in his inimitable style)    

The dish I want to share with you is one of Keith’s favorites. It started with just two ingredients — thin, center [cut] pork chops without the bone and some grape tomatoes — most of the other ingredients are optional depending on what you have on hand.

    1    package grape tomatoes (Sweet
        100’s will also work)
    2-3 tablespoons olive oil
    5    or so cloves of garlic, thinly             sliced or chopped
    ½    cup white wine or stock (wine
        is better)
    3    tablespoons capers (optional)
    3    tablespoons cold butter
        (or, yuck!, margarine)
    A few sprigs of a fresh herb like         oregano, marjoram, or thyme or         whatever is on hand in the way of
    dried herbs (but not so tasty)
    Salt and pepper
    4-6    thin, center pork chops
    1    cup Italian breadcrumbs             (breadcrumbs from any other             nation will do)
    2    eggs
    ¼    cup olive oil
    ¼    cup Parmesan cheese
        (optional)

   

Rinse tomatoes and place on paper towels to dry. Heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. When pan is hot, add the tomatoes. When tomatoes begin to burst, add the garlic. Sauté for a couple of minutes to cook garlic, but don’t let it burn. (Burnt garlic is not our friend.) Add white wine and allow to reduce for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and add capers. Add butter and stir until butter emulsifies with wine and liquid from tomatoes. Add herbs, salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
   

Place breadcrumbs on a plate. Whisk eggs in a shallow bowl.  Dip pork chops in egg, then breadcrumbs to coat completely. Heat ¼ cup of oil. When pan is hot, add pork chops and cook on each side until golden brown. (Don’t crowd the pan because that would be bad for everyone involved.) When chops are done, place on a paper towel to blot excess oil. Reheat sauce briefly. Top chops with sauce and serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
   

I like to serve this with mashed potatoes, but any side dish will do.

   

Both artists have websites:
www.michaelvega.com and www.keithgaspari.com

Know someone who can wail in the kitchen? E-mail GraceAnn at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it