after such a successful brunch–and more importantly: the amazing restorative power that cooking has on my week-weary self–i decided to cook pork chops for my husband on sunday night. mostly, this was driven by his desire to try out a local cider by red barn cider. i had planned to make pasta with almonds, home-made pesto from my mother, and chevre (left over from saturday brunch). when he suggested pairing a newly acquired bottle of fire barrel cider, i decided to switch the menu over to pork chops.
as per usual, i didn’t follow a recipe. we bought one fuji apple, and a walla walla sweet onion, pork chops, and fingerling potatoes:
cider pork chops
melt butter in an oven-proof skillet
slice onion and apple about an eighth of an inch
sauté onions, and add apples
add pork chops and brown on all sides
splash cider directly into the pan and reduce
put the whole skillet into the oven and bake at 450 degrees until done
(meanwhile, boil the potatoes then toss with butter, chives and coarse salt)
pull the skillet out (but don’t burn yourself like i did)
plate up the chops, onions, and apples, and the potatoes
add a tiny bit of flour and milk to the drippings and heat
pour the sauce over everything and enjoy with cider!
the cider did not taste as i expected it to. it was very dry, and very aromatic. but it was pretty perfect for the chops, and enjoying a hot meal together while watching cartoons while sheets of rain fell outside was a pretty perfect way to wrap up the weekend.
