Pork with Apples

Tonight I was hankering for something from my youth. And really, how perfect, given that it’s a Sunday and I’ve started this tradition of “Sunday Dinner” right? I know. When I was a kid, my Dad would make pork and apples. Sometimes he made a pork roast and baked apples (they were like apple sauce, but still in slices sorta like you’d get in a pie) and sometimes he would simmer pork chops in apple cider. We always preferred the baked apple sauce thingy… what can I say? It was tasty!

Tonight, I had some pork chops thawing and so here’s what I did to try and re-create the dinners of my youth:

Ingredients
1 tbsp unsalted butter
2 apples (tart ones would be best, but I used Royal Gala, and they too were lovely) chopped into chunks
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp maple syrup
4 pork chops

Method

1. Put the butter into a large frying pan and melt over med-low heat.
2. Add the apples and stir to coat with melted butter.  Add in the nutmeg, lemon juice and maple syrup and stir again.
3. Lay the pork chops over the apple mixture, cover the pan and let cook for 10 minutes
4. After the 10 minutes are up, turn the pork chops over and place them onto the pan itself, scooping the apple mixture on top of the pork.  This will infuse the pork with the apple flavour, making it oh-so yummy.
5. Cook for another 5 minutes or so, until the pork is cooked through.  Serve with roasted potatoes and vegetables.

YUM!!!  I will do this again for sure.  And, while I do not pretend to be any kind of a wine expert, I can tell you that we paired this meal with a delicious Inniskillin bottle, called “Brae Blanc” and it was perfect.  It’s a blend of Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay and Riesling.  It was great with the pork.

 

Mom’s World Famous Ham

Well, today is Sunday again, and so I am going to post another, all-time favourtie, Sunday Dinner menu item.

I have told you before that my Mom is an amazing cook.  It is so true you guys.  And she calls every one of her best recipes, “World Famous”.  Because, if the whole world hasn’t tried it, they need to know that they should.  And I must say, she’s actually right.  So if you haven’t tried her ham, here’s your chance:

Ingredients

1 pork picnic shoulder (She took me once to show me how to choose one.  All that I really gleaned from the experience was that you look for one that’s not too fatty… so there you go.  )
1/4 cup dry mustard
1 tsp cloves
1 3/4 cups brown sugar
1/3 – 1/2 cup warm water (warm enough to melt the sugar and make a syrup)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Put the spices in a small bowl.  Mix well.
3. Slowly add the warm water, stirring to ensure there are no clumps.  The goal is to make a very thick – but poreable – syrup/paste thing.  I affectionately call this “goop”.  Set aside.
4. When you get your pork shoulder, it will be wrapped in plastic (where the brand name of the meat is stamped, and the price will be there too).  Obviously, you remove this packaging.  Once that’s gone however, there will be a fine mesh-like covering on the meat.  Remove this as well, and place the meat – bone side down, with the fatg piece up – in a baking dish or roasting pan.
5. Pierce the fat to make little slits and then pour the goop over them.  The goal is to cover the whole top of the han evenly.
6. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes/pound, removing from oven to baste every 20 minutes or so.

This is a great dinner you guys.  GREAT.  Especially if you serve it with scalloped potatoes!  And of course, steamed veggies to round it all out. 

Enjoy!