Happy New Year!

The holiday season is coming to a close.  It’s been an exhausting, complicated, emotional and rewarding year.  But as it’s the first of January, it’s time to put 2010 behind us, and in my family that means upholding a very special tradition: Roast Pork and Sauerkraut.  As far back as I can remember, my mother has cooked this dish on New Year’s Day.  The dish is very German, so it’s no surprise that it ended up a part of Pennsylvania Deutch tradition.  Families all over Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia carry on the tradition today, the same way that cooks across the South make black-eyed peas to ring in the New Year.

The dish itself is said to be symbolic.  The pork of course honors the pig, who forages forward and never looks back, reminding us to look forward into the new year and not dwell in our past.  The sauerkraut represents prosperity (cabbage being an old slang word for cash) and longevity (the long, thin strips of kraut remind us of a long life line).  Historically, the first kraut of the season made from the late fall harvest of cabbages would have been ready to eat around early January, making it fitting with this time of year.  But most importantly its completely delicious.  Like most peasant dishes, this recipe is open to wide adaptation.  Most families cook this dish in a crockpot, but I think they’re missing out on the beautiful caramelization and varieties of textures that oven roasting provides.  I’m fairly certain my family’s original recipe had just 4 ingredients: pork, kraut, jelly, and caraway seeds.  Over the past few years mine has evolved a little bit to soften the acridness of the kraut and elevate the flavors of the dish.  Ok, enough chatter, let’s get to it already!

Roast Pork Shoulder with Sauerkraut
Serves 6

3-4lb pork shoulder roast **
2 lbs sauerkraut, well drained
1 onion, sliced
1 golden delicious apple, peeled cored and sliced
1 asian pear, peeled cored and sliced (or swap in 2 more apples)
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsps caraway seeds
2 tbsp dijon mustard
2/3 cup apricot or currant jelly (or a mix of leftover jams, ideally no sweet berries)
1/3 cup apple butter (or 1/2 cup apple sauce)
1/2 cup white wine or sparkling apple cider
1 cup chicken broth (or water, or kraut juice if you just can’t get enough of it)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Generously season your pork roast with kosher salt and pepper.  Set aside on the counter for about 30 minutes to take some of the chill off it.

In a large skillet, saute the onions over medium-high heat.  When the onions start to soften, add in the asian pear and apple slices and sprinkle over brown sugar and a big pinch of salt.  Reduce heat to medium and cook until lightly caramelized all over.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dijon, jam, and apple butter.  Today I used a mix of mostly apricot jam, with some cranberry jam and pepper jelly that I had left to kill on the fridge door.

In a large dutch oven (or a tall sided roasting pan), combine the sauteed onion mixture with the sauerkraut.  Make sure the bottom of the pan is completely covered and heap the rest of the mixture along the outside to create a nest.  Sprinkle the outside rim with caraway seeds, then nestle the pork roast into the center.  Spread on the jam mixture, dotting some around the kraut.  Pour in the wine or sparkling cider and place it uncovered into the hot oven for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes the pork should have a nice caramelized crust.

Reduce heat to 325 degrees, add in the broth just to keep the bottom of the pan from getting too dry.  Place the cover on the pan, or seal off the top with a double layer of aluminum foil and return to the oven for 2-3 hours, until the pork is tender and pulls apart easily.

Allow the pork to rest for 15 minutes before slicing into 1/2 inch thick pieces.  This is a very fatty cut of pork and despite the long cooking time it will not all render out.  You’ll have to eat around some of this excess fat, but this is what makes the meat so succulent and tender.  Serve overtop the kraut with mashed potatoes and peas on the side.

Here’s to a wonderful, healthful, prosperous and delicious New Year!

** As a leaner alternative, you can use a pork loin roast.  Brown in a hot oven per the recipe, but then once covered only cook until the pork reaches 145 degrees internally, which will take about 1 hour.  I’ve also made a scaled down variation of the dish using pork chops to serve 2-3 people.  You’ll want to halve the entire recipe for this version.  Quickly sear the porkchops in the pan before proceeding with the onions.  Glaze the chops and roast them over the kraut, uncovered, in a 375 degree oven for about 20-30 minutes until the pork hits an internal temp of 145 degrees.

Here’s another flavorful and comforting recipe for a fall evening.  This makes for a great weeknight meal — a one skillet dish that’s on the table in 30 minutes.  Tonight I paired it with roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli, but if you’re feeling extra decadent, up the gravy ingredients to 1 1/2 cup broth and 2/3 cup cream and serve over mashed potatoes.  I guarantee some delighted dining companions.

Smothered Pork Chops

Serves 4

4 pork chops, 3/4 inch thick, bone in
2-3 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cayenne
1/2 cup AP flour for dusting plus 1 tbsp for roux
1/8 cup olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 onion, sliced
2 sprigs fresh thyme, left whole
3 fresh sage leaves
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup cream
1 tsp PX vinegar (substitute sherry, apple cider, or balsamic)
Chopped fresh parsley

Start by seasoning the meat on both sides with garlic powder, cayenne, black pepper, and a generous amount of salt. Then dip in flour and shake off excess. In a large skillet, preferably stainless or cast iron, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, drop in the pork chops and brown well before flipping, about 4 minutes.  Try not to move the meat after placing it in the pan to allow it time to caramelize.  Flip over and cook the other side to brown. The meat will not be fully cooked through, but that’s what you’re looking for.  Pull the chops out and set aside.

Add the butter to the pan and drop in the onions, thyme and sage.  Saute over medium heat until onions are soft and slightly golden and herbs are fragrant, about 8 minutes.

Remove the herbs (don’t worry if the small leaves have fallen off the thyme stem) and sprinkle in additional tbsp of flour and saute for a minute to cook off the raw flour taste. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a simmer, scraping up all the browned bits at the bottom of the pan. Allow to simmer 3-5 minutes until thickened, then add in vinegar and cream, stirring to combine.  Return chops to pan along with any juices and simmer 5 minutes more or until pork is cooked through (look for about 140 internal temp for medium).  Right before serving drop in parsley.  Serve with roasted sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli for a well-rounded and delicious meal.

Once again!  HORRIBLE picture!  I apologize internet food blogging posh world.

Nonetheless!   This is a quick and easy dinner option.   I personally love the taste of pork.  It has it’s own complex flavors that I enjoy more than chicken but is definitely not as intense as beef.  I’ve made versions of this recipe a few times and no matter what, it has always tasted amazing.  You can add more sugar to the sauce to make it a little more sweet, add red wine, slice up some crunchy Asian/Korean pears or a crisp apple in with the onions.  I love this recipe and so does Sean.  Whenever we are feeling like an Americanski-riceless-not-so-Asian dinner, grilled pork with a balsamic sauce is the awesome.

Grilled Pork with an Onion Balsamic Reduction Sauce
Serves 4

4 Pork Chops
1 medium sweet onion, sliced
1/4th cup of balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon of sherry
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of honey
salt and pepper

Heat up a hot griddle/grill or skillet on medium.  While the grill is getting hot, lightly coat the pork chops with olive oil and salt and pepper.  Throw those chops on the grill for about 5 or 6 minutes on each side.  These chops are a medium thickness.

In a small pan, add a little olive oil to coat the bottom and add the sliced onions. Lower the intensity of the fore to low.  Once they start to get soft and brown, add the balsamic, sugar, honey, and sherry.   I let it cook/reduce for about 8 minutes.

Plop the grilled pork on a plate and spoon the onion and balsamic ontop.  Eat!

You know, I always have great intentions for a fabulous, involved Sunday supper.   But let’s face it:  I typically don’t wander into the kitchen on the weekend until  I’m actually starting to get hungry.  So when we bought this rack of ribs for the weekend, I’m sure we pictured firing up the charcoal grill and recreating some 3-hour Bobby Flay masterpiece.  This did not come to pass.  Instead, I went for the easy option in half the time.  And gosh darnit, they was gooood.

Lazy Oven Baby Back Ribs
Serves 2

1 rack of pork baby back ribs
2 tbsp bbq rub (I recommend the California BBQ Seasoning from Surfa’s, but most anything will work here.  You can also put together your own my mixing some chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, granulated garlic and onion etc)
2 tbsp brown sugar
Salt and Pepper
1 1/2 cups of your favorite bbq sauce

Set your oven to a toasty 400°F.  While its coming to temp, wash and trim  your rack of ribs.  It’s good to have a thin layer of fat on the meaty side, but not too much as it won’t have time to fully render in the oven.  Pat it dry and then thoroughly rub in the bbq rub, brown sugar, and salt and pepper into both sides.  You want a nice even coat of seasoning, just like in the pic below.

Now wrap the whole rack up burrito style in two layers of heavy duty aluminum foil.  You’re looking for a very tight seal to trap in all the meat’s juices during cooking.  Toss that onto a baking sheet, bones down and meaty side up, set the timer for an hour and they’re ready for the oven.

Alright, so the hour has passed and these ribs are ready for some tasty bbq sauce.  Tonight I just doctored up a generic bottled sauce with some honey, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and a tasty chipotle hotsauce.  You wanna whip up something homemade?  Knock yourself out.  Open up the foil (and keep it open from this point on), give the ribs a flip, and baste about 1/3 of the sauce onto the bone side of the rib rack.  You’ll notice that the meat has started to pull away from the bone at this point. Return that to the 400° oven for about 15 minutes.

Flip the ribs again and baste the meaty side, and return to the oven for another 15 minutes.  Finally, give them one last baste then slide them under your oven’s broiler for 2-5 minutes, and keep a close eye on them.  This will help caramelize and set the bbq sauce which sorta replicates how the grill would treat them.

And there you have it!  I probably should have let them go a few more minutes in the broiler, but my tummy won the battle.  Slice them up and EAT.  What I really liked about this recipe is that they produced the perfect rib tenderness.  Not so tender that they fall off the bone before they reach your mouth, but just tender enough to very easily pull away when you’re eating.  And yeah, ok, I know it sounds like a lot of work to call them lazy.  But all in all, although it took about 1hr 40 minutes from start to finish, less than 20 minutes was actual hands-on cooking time.  And that suits me just fine.  ENJOY!

Currrrrry! I’ve been having a craving for curry lately. The weather has been a little cooler so I thought it would be the perfect time for the yummies.

Ingredients:
Boneless Port Cutlets (1 per person)
Eggs
Chicken Broth (or water)
Chopped Onions (or mushrooms! in melissa’s case)
Garlic Paste
Panko (or bread crumbs)
Golden Curry Bricks
Sesame Seed Oil
Veggie or Canola Oil

I chopped the onions before I found the camera. Basically it’s one large Sweet Mayan Onion . I like the sweet ones more than regular. They don’t taste so strong and are actually sweet! They also don’t break my heart and make me cry. Waaaah. hehe.

Here’s what I did!

Take the chopped onions, about two tablespoons of sesame seed oil, and a tablespoon or two of garlic paste.
Cook for 3-5 minutes on a medium heat until clear.

Add the chicken broth and/or water. Basically I add enough until the onions are covered.
I put the the whole box of chicken broth in there and a cup of water.
Cover and leave it at a medium heat.
Leave it until it starts boiling.

While the broth is going, work on the porks!

I took regular boneless cutlets and cut off the fat and butterflied the cutlets so that they’re thinner. If you buy the “wafer thin” ones, you won’t need to cut them in half.

Next, pound those guys down until they’re nice and flat and tender and thin and yum!

Put the Panko on a plate.
Mix up some eggs!

Dip the tenderized cutlet into the egg.
Make sure that it’s coated nicely on all sides.

Lay the pork onto the crumbs and get those covered all flakey!

I double dip it into the egg mixture again!

Then back to the Panko!
The double coating makes sure that the cutlet is nicely covered and also makes it crispier when cooked!

On a medium heat, let the pan heat up a bit.
Add enough Canola or Veggie Oil to nicely coat the bottom of the pan.

Place the cutlet into the firrreeee!

Press down on the cutlet gently to keep it nice and flat and yummy!
It takes a good while to brown on a medium heat, but it will keep it from burning! It takes about 5-10 minutes on each side.

While the cutlet is cooking, attend to the curry!

Add the Golden Curry bricks!
Make sure to stir frequently so that it dissolves nicely.
Cover with a lid and let it stay warm on a low heat.

Back to the cutlet!

When it’s brown, flip that shite!

When the cutlet is done, put it on a cooling rack (not your boobs), with a paper towel on top to collect some of the excess oil.
Let it cool for a few minutes until it’s warm to the touch but touchable and not burninating the countryside.


Slice that shit!

EATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!