Hard Apple Cider Pork Chops

 

Pork chops were buy-one-get-one-free at Winn Dixie this week, so we’ve got more than we know what to do with now.  Last night I tried out a new recipe.  I’ve had pork with apples before, but this one also used a bottle of hard apple cider to infuse it with even more apple flavor.  It only took a few minutes to throw together.   

The alcohol cooks away, but if you could use just plain apple cider or juice if you’d like too (I didn’t want a whole 6-pack of cider, so I just picked up one bottle from ABC…they probably thought it was weird that I only bought that…)

Hard Apple Cider Pork Chops (adapted from Aggie’s Kitchen)

Ingredients:

·        Thin boneless pork loin chops (we cooked 5)

·        1 t salt

·        1 t pepper

·        1½ t fresh rosemary

·        1 t garlic powder

·        2 Golden Delicious apples, chopped into large chunks

·        1 red onion, chopped

·        1 yellow onion (or we used 2 small ones), chopped

·        1 12-oz bottle apple cider

·        Drizzle of olive oil

Directions:

1.  Mix together salt, pepper, rosemary and garlic powder together in a small bowl.  Season both sides of the pork chops generously. 

 

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Place the pork chops on the pan and cook for 4 minutes, or until chops are golden brown.  Cook on the other side for an additional 4 minutes.  Set aside on a plate. 

3. Put the sliced onions and apples in the skillet and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Pour in part of the hard cider (about ¼ cup) and deglaze pan while tossing the apples and onions. 

 

4. Add rest of the cider and let simmer for 5 minutes uncovered until the liquid starts to reduce.  Add the pork chops back to the skillet and cover.  Turn off heat and let sit 1-2 minutes. 

 

 

5. Serve pork chops and top with the apple and onion mixture.  We enjoyed ours with a simple salad (we had lots of veggies in our fridge we had to use up!) 

Egg Curry

Tonight we had our neighbor, Vimmi, over for dinner and made egg curry.  I learned about this dish from my college roommate, Amy, whose family is originally from Kerala, India.  Whenever her parents came to visit, Amy’s mom would bring a cooler full of her homemade Indian food. 

While I’m not an expert in Indian cooking at all, I’ve attempted to make this dish on my own about half a dozen times now.  Here is the recipe I follow:

Egg Curry (adapted from Unfussy Epicure)

Ingredients:

·        8-10 eggs (the original recipe only calls for 4, but trust me, you’ll want more)

·        4 T vegetable oil

·        2 tsp black mustard seeds (available at any Indian grocery store)

·        2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced

·        3-4 garlic cloves, sliced

·        1½” piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced

·        ½ jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced.  (My version isn’t nearly as spicy as the authentic Indian version…the original recipe calls for 3 Serrano peppers instead.  Use your own judgment depending on the spice level you’d like)

·        4 tsp Aachi brand Egg Curry Masala mix  (I purchased this from an Indian grocery store – it is a blend of coriander, chilli, cumin seed, pepper, turmeric, clove, and salt)  If you don’t have this, you can substitute 2 tsp ground turmeric, 2 tsp cumin seeds, and a dash of salt & pepper instead. 

·        3 T dried coconut

·        1 cup plain yogurt

·        1 cup uncooked jasmine rice

·        Naan (I bought the Stonefire brand Tandoor baked garlic Naan)

Directions:

1. Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water.  Place on the stovetop on high heat, then when the water comes to a rolling boil, turn stove off.  Let sit, covered, for 10 minutes, then drain and cover in ice water.  When eggs are cold, peel and cut them in half lengthwise.

2. While you prepare the remaining curry, cook the rice according to instructions. 

3. Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat.  When the oil starts simmering, add the mustard seeds. 

4. When the seeds start to pop, turn the heat down to medium and slowly add the onions (careful – the popping mustard seeds can hit you with hot oil!)  Cook the onions until soft and golden, around 5-10 minutes. 

5. Add the garlic, ginger, pepper, masala, and coconut.  Continue cooking until fragrant, about 2-3 more minutes. 

6. Add the eggs and cook until hot.  Remove from heat. 

7.  Gently stir in yogurt and let stand about 2 minutes. 

8. Serve the curry over rice with a side of naan. 

Vimmi brought gelato for dessert, so we finished the meal with Breyers Vanilla Caramel and Häagen-Dazs Stracciatella.  Yum!  

Roast Beef Sandwiches with Caramelized Onions

This post could really be an advertisement for how much we love Trader Joe’s…we really do.  Although it was just thrown together with random ingredients we found in our fridge, it turned out to be an excellent meal. 

Roast Beef Sandwiches with Caramelized Onions

  

Ingredients:

·         Whole wheat bread

·         Sliced roast beef (ours was Applegate brand from Trader Joe’s)

·         Smoked Gouda cheese, sliced (also from Trader Joe’s)

·         ½ onion, sliced

·         Handful of kale, stems removed

·         Pesto

·         2 T butter

·         1 T extra virgin olive oil

·         1 tsp brown sugar

·         Salt

·         Pepper

Directions:

1. In a small skillet, melt the olive oil and 1 T butter over medium-high heat.  Add onions and a dash of salt & pepper.  Stir constantly until onions begin to brown (about 5 minutes). 

2. Stir in the brown sugar and continue to cook, stirring constantly until onions are golden brown, about 20 minutes (we probably only did it for 10 so ours were only slightly caramelized...) In the last few minutes, add the kale to wilt. Remove from heat.

3. In a larger skillet, melt the remaining butter on medium heat.  Add slices of bread. 

4. When one side of the bread is toasted, flip to the other side and rub the toasted sides with pesto.  Add the cheese, roast beef, and the onion/kale mixture, and then cover with a lid.

5. Continue cooking until cheese has melted and the other side of the bread is toasted.  Put together your two halve of the sandwich & serve! 

We enjoyed ours with Charles Shaw Blend Shiraz from Trader Joe’s (aka “Two Buck Chuck).  We aren’t wine experts, but this $2 wine is actually very good in my opinion.  In this blind taste test, a sommelier tried several wines from Trader Joe’s and said a comparable wine could easily be sold for $9 to $11 dollars.  We usually grab a bottle or two whenever we shop there.