Week 5 - Rasperry/Mustard glazed porkchops over a bed of sauteed spinach

So, my now 7 year old Peanut chef claimed this was the end all be all of our main dishes - I did not serve enough...



It is every chef's desire to take on a recipe and make it their own - but one who can start from scratch, make it 100% fresh and home made, is in a realm not traditionally created by a home cook - today I bring you a recipe that can reside on a plate in a working persons home and yet also on a working gourmet kitchen...



this all starts with picking rasperries 2 weekends past - we picked much more than we could eat raw so I learned how to make jam - Once the Jam was prepared I followed a recipe, yet not really - I have posted my rendition on All Recipes - I pan seared the pork chops until they were golden brown on each side, then simmered them in a Rasperry/mustard sauce that was to die for - served over a bed of tender yet crisp sauteed spinach. this was one of my favorites, thus far!!!

Happy Cooking!

~Jeff

Here is the recipe:

Week Day Porkchops (Modified)


Ingredients 4 bone-in pork loin chops
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup Rasperry Jam (preferably home made!)
4 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons Colemans Mustard Powder
2 tablespoons Cold Water


Step-by-step:
1.In a large skillet, brown pork chops in oil over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes on each side.
2.Meanwhile, In a med microwave-safe bowl, combine the jam, vinegar and mustard. Cover and microwave on high for 25-35 seconds or until heated through, this will render a thinner sauce and will tame the mustard a bit. (Taste it before and after, it's a pretty big difference)
3.Reserve some of the sauce (about 1/4 to 1/3).
4.Reduce heat of the pan to medium; baste on sauce and flip chop, baste other side and cook, uncovered, for 5-7 minutes flip chop again and continue for another 5-7 min or until juices run clear.
5.Drizzle some of the reserved sauce over the chops, serve and enjoy!

Week 4: Beets and Apples??? Oh My....

So after the labor day holiday I realized I ate wayyyy more than normal, I'm pretty sure I'm still full from Monday's dinner so I wanted to go a little lighter on my trial dish today... I went over to my local market and right in front of me were bunch atop of bunch of raw, fresh Beets... I knew I could consume all of the beet and figured I'd give it a go, $2 later i was on my way home...

the bunch I chose had 3 good sized bulbs and some crisp greens... I trimmed some off to let Shawn and Chef Bailey try some, Brycen was having no part of it... There went one bulb as the 3 of us loved the flavor of the raw beet... Now, I said I was gonna make each dish, "my own" - but just like "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" has help, I should get some too, so I "Polled the Audience" - in this case the Internet, as you are my audience...

I found what sounded like a fun recipe for Beets with Green Apples so I made a go at it...

First off, my beets were fresh, not in a can with a liquid so there was no sauce to reserve... I realized I had 2 Apples and 2 Beet bulbs left, coincidence?!? So I pull out the juicer and toss in the spare green apple and the beet bulb - I love to taste everything but probably could have passed on the Beet/Green Apple juice - I peeled and cored the remaining apple and sliced it into triangles, I did the same with the remaining beet, yet made the slices a little thinner as I figured they'd take longer to soften...

In my pan I mixed the ingredients the recipe called for (Brown Sugar, Corn Starch, Salt and Lemon juice) with my beet and apple juice blend (1/2 a cup)I knew the sauce would thicken up quickly so I added my apples and beets just when it started to simmer, I kept it on med heat and realized quickly the sauce was going to be too thick so I lowered the heat and covered my pan with a clear lid - while that was very gently simmering I took the Beet Greens and tossed them in a pan that had 1 TBSP olive oil, 1/2 tsp minced garlic and 1tsp lemon juice, I sauteed the greens until they wilted and were tender and quickly removed them from the heat, seasoned to taste w/ salt and pepper and laid them out as a base for the apple/beet mixture.

At this point I tasted the beet/apple sauce and found it a little bitter still so I stirred in a tsp of confectioner sugar - the next taste made me smile...

So, I tried this plate 3 different ways, warm, room temp and cold, in my opinion,
warm is the absolute way to go!!!

I could see this being served as an appetizer, not as a desert, though the sauce might lend itself to a protein well, I may experiment further, but for now, this was a fun dish to make...

Happy Eating,

~Jeff