Pork Potpourri

I went to a casino a couple of months ago (last year, in 2009!) and I had THE MOST DELICIOUS pork chops in my entire life.

They were labeled as an unassuming "Pork Chops with Fruit Chutney", but after I took my first bite, I was in a gluttonous heaven. The pork was coated with bread crumbs and herbs, and the fruit chutney was a very wintry mix of cranberries and apples laced with cinnamon. The pork was juicy; the fruit chutney was flavorful. I kept cramming pork and fruit into my mouth to bask in the deliciousness. If no one else were at the restaurant, and the floor were cleaner, I would have rolled around, twitching in frenzied delight.

I got three servings. It was that good.

This recipe isn't exactly the same thing, but it helps stave off cravings until I get back to the buffet. It's from a recipe I found on Recipezaar while I frantically searched the Internet for the original. It does have the benefit of smelling really good while it's cooking, hence the "potpourri" title. Also, I needed a "p" word to keep up with the alliteration.

Pork, onions, and apples, marinating in their own juices. Is that kosher?

Browning some onions. They smell delicious, especially if you're starving.

Maillard-reactioning the pork.

Pork buried under a monochromatic layer of onions and apples. It's like a pretentious painting title.

Cranberries, courtesy of the school's cafeteria.

I think rice is a delicious accompaniment to pork and fruits. But I think rice is delicious with almost anything.

Pork Chops with Apples and Cranberries
(from Recipezaar)
Serves 4

• 1 large onion, halved, sliced
  
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  
• 4-6 boneless pork chops, about 3/4-inch thickness
  
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1/4 cup flour
  
• 2 cups coarsely chopped apples (about 2 small apples or 1 medium apple. I've used Fuji and Granny Smiths/generic red apples from the school cafeteria. Both were delicious.)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  
• 1/2 cup apple cider or apple juice (I have apple juice on hand so that's what I always use.)
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  
• 1 dash ground allspice
  
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries (Craisins!)
  

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Melt the butter and saute the onions until they are lightly browned.
While the onions are cooking, salt and pepper the pork chops, and then dredge them in flour.
Once the onions are done, move them to a plate. Add the vegetable oil to the skillet and cook the pork chops, about 2 minutes on each side. Each side should be golden brown. If there's not enough space in the skillet for all of them at once, cook the pork in batches.
While the pork is cooking mix the apples, lemon juice, apple cider, brown sugar, cinnamon, and allspice in a bowl or something.
Once all the pork is cooked, add the onions on top. Be sure to wedge all the pork chops back if they were cooked in batches. Add the apple 'n' apple juice mixture to the skillet.
Bring the juices to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook uncovered for 5 minutes.
Cover the skillet and cook for 20 minutes. (I like to read food blogs and drool while I wait. The dish smells really fragrant and delicious.)
Uncover the skillet and add the cranberries. Stir and cook for 2 more minutes.
Alternatively, cook covered for 19 minutes, then add the cranberries and cook for 3 more minutes. I like my cranberries to be fully hydrated and soft.
Add salt to taste. I think a good sprinkling of salt enhances this dish, but I like salt.

So luscious....

Commencement Chops

I'm excited to finally have my own food blog. I am a big follower of other people's food blogs, but until now, I've never documented the things I cook and eat, mainly because:
1) I infrequently cooked,
2) I usually don't document when I cook things,
both signs of a bad food blogger.

I still won't call myself a "food blogger" or "foodie," but I will officially start sharing what I've eaten with strangers on the Internet, starting with these pork chops my roommates and I made tonight following our disappointment with our school's cafeteria food.

The original recipe is from Everyday Food, a Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia production(!). We kind of changed the cooking style because we didn't know how to use the broiler on our oven, but we did know how to cook stuff in a pan on the stove. The amount of pork you want to add to the pan each time is up to you. I originally started to cook the meat in batches to get a sear on each piece, but then I got hungry and just started dumping it in and letting it cook.

The finished dish.

There always has to be a close-up shot, right?

Asian-Style Pork
Adapted from this Martha Stewart recipe.
Served 3.

• 5 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 3 boneless pork loin sirloin chops
• Oil, for cooking
  

Cut up the pork in 1/4 inch slices.
Add the rest of the ingredients except the oil in a bowl or some sort of container, mix, and add pork.
Marinate the pork (the original recipe calls for at least 1 hour, but we ended up leaving it in its plastic box for about 45 minutes while our rice cooked).
In a pan over medium-high heat, add some oil (we used about a tablespoon), and add the pork. Cook for about 1-1.5 minutes per side.

Serve with rice for a nice, collegiate 11 o'clock dinner.