Pork Chops That Would Have Johnny Appleseed Smiling

Sitting on my kitchen counter is a huge bag of apples, they are the apples from Noel and my great day apple picking. Now it is time to figure out what to do with the apples. In past years I have stuffed pork chops, made countless pies, made apple hash, apple stuffing and more that I can't even remember. Today as I drove around I started thinking about what to do with the pork chops we bought and some apples. I decided since the pork chops we bought were not thick enough to stuff, I would make a sauce to put on top of them. Now I had to figure out how to make the sauce. First I wanted to use my favorite white wine, Gewurztraminer, but after bouncing a few ideas with my foodie friend Rebecca from Beacon Hill Wine and Gourmet in Melrose, we came up with using hard apple cider. She showed me Julian Hard Cider and we came up with a way to make a sauce.

What You Need

24 oz bottle Hard Cider

2 Large apple peeled and cut into pieces

2 tablespoons honey

2 pork chops 

salt

In a sauce pan add the the Hard Cider, apples and honey and reduce by half. You know its done when it looks like chunky apple sauce. Takes about 20 minutes. Salt each side of the pork chops and broil them until they reach 160 F. Let the pork chops rest five minutes. When plating the pork chops cover them in the apple sauce. I served them with roasted brussel sprouts that I halved, and a pasta side that you can find at any grocery shop.     

Noel is a huge fan of apple sauce and really loved this one. I finally did something right! The pork and apple sauce went together excellently and the honey really came through to give the meat a beautiful sweetness. The brussel sprouts were a great add to the meal. I only picked the pasta side because I forgot to make the rice, but it still went well with the meal. All in all, this is one of my favorite apple dishes that I have made so far.

The Cider

I bought two bottles of the cider so I had one to cook with and one to drink with the meal. Rebecca was right, this is a great cider and I'm not usually a fan of cider, I rather drink beer. But this cider has a wonderful tartness and a great balance of fruit and acid. They use only fresh apples and you can tell from the taste, it is better than any cider I have ever had. This cider's recipe comes from a recipe made in 1670 colonial America. I was unaware of the history of Hard Cider in American society, but it goes back to the beginning of our history. Until prohibition Cider was the original drinking man's beverage. The Julian website has a great history that everyone should read it! 

Local Pork Chops, Fruit Vinegar, and Rose Make Me Happy

A few weeks ago when I was at Russos in Watertown it was slow so I actually got the chance to see some of the oils and vinegar they sell. I found a few from Al'Olivier, they are a French company that makes flavored oils and vinegars. I picked the Framboise, a raspberry based vinegar. I knew I wanted to use it a a topping to a meat. First I tried it with steak tips and came out good, but a tad to sweet. Today I decided to try it with pork chops. While I was in Cambridge I noticed the Framers Market in Central Square was open and I remembered there is a farm that raises animals for food, Austin-Brothers Valley Farm. I had seen their booth before but had never bought meat from them. Today was the day to change that. Their pork chops were a little pricey but then again they are local and treat these animals better than Noel treats her Doodles aka Max our seven year old Chihuahua.

The pork chops were nice and thick with just the right amount of fat on them. I almost wanted to eat them raw. Noel and I grow thyme and rosemary in our window, so I picked a sprig off each plant. I cut up the rosemary and picked the leafs off the thyme and added sea salt and my own pepper blend to the pork chops. First I started the rice, for tonights meal I picked Near East Wild Grain Rice. I love all their products!!! After the long grain rice was well on it's way I put the pork chops in the broiler. For my veggie I decided to roast zucchini so I cut it into long slices, brushed it with olive oil, salted them with sea salt, placed them on a cookie sheet and stuck them in the oven while the pork chops where in the broiler. I've done this before and I've noticed it helps you cook two things at once, the broiler does help make the oven really hot so you have to make sure you are paying attention to what you are cooking. About eight minutes later I flipped the pork chops and let them cook another eight minutes. I took them out to rest but let the zucchini cook for another three minutes. After plating the food I liberally poured the Framboise over the pork chops. The sweetness of the raspberry went awesome with the pork chops. I made sure to drag some of the rice through the vinegar and it changed my life for ever.

Tonight's wine is a wine that I took out with me today to show some of my accounts, LaLANDe Rose. This is a wine that I have had the chance to enjoy before. It is imported by Robert Kacher; Bobby is guy that has more passion about wine than GOD has for the world!! He has many great relationships with smaller growers in mostly France and helps bring them to the USA. My company started carrying some of his portfolio about a year ago. The LaLANDe is great bottle of rose, it is Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tannat, and Merlot. It has a beautiful noise and palate of light berry (strawberry, raspberry), rhubarb, with nice acidity and creamy body. This is the kind of rose that I dream of! Not only does it taste great but also is priced right!!