First off, apologies to all for the lack of posts lately. We just moved house and do not have internet at home yet, so my blogging opportunities have been somewhat limited...
Since moving, we've been trying to switch over to buying organic food over conventionally-farmed food wherever possible, in an effort to avoid pesticides and other contaminants in our food (and of course there are environmental benefits too). The first thing we have discovered is that shopping organic is expensive, at least at the store (farmer's markets and CSAs are the exception - we did the former yesterday and are considering the latter for the summer). And organic meat, not just hard to find, is very pricy. We are thinking about cutting down on our meat consumption so that we can afford it, but I'm sure there will be exceptions... Anyway, we stopped by City Market in Burlington the other day and picked up some local, 'naturally raised' pork chops (not organic, but at least not factory-farmed). Here is what I did with them:
Season your pork chops by sprinkling them generously with salt and pepper. Get a pan hot and add some butter. Once it is melted, add your chops and moderate the heat so that the pork sizzles but the butter doesn't burn. Cook until the first side is nicely browned then flip and cook the second side the same way. Once both sides are browned, check to see if it is cooked to your desired doneness (yes, at least in the US, where there is no trichinosis in pigs, you can eat your pork below well-done; I prefer mine slightly pink (medium-well)). If you are not familiar with 'temping' meat, you can make a very fine slit in the chop and peek in at the center of the meat to see what color it is. Bear in mind that, as it rests, it will continue to cook slightly more. Once cooked, 'rest' the meat on a plate, covered with a foil 'tent' for at least 10 minutes. This is important, as it allows the juices to redistribute through the meat.
Take the pan that you used to cook the meat, and pour out and discard any fat. Put it back on the heat, and add some white wine (1/4 cup or so). As the wine boils away, scrape the browned bits on the bottom of the pan so that they dissolve into the liquid. This is called 'deglazing' the pan. Allow the wine to boil almost dry (careful - if it does get dry it will burn), then add a little water and a touch of cream. Bring to a boil, taste (it should not taste 'thin' - if it does, then allow it to reduce in volume a little), whisk in some cold butter, add up to a teaspoon of mustard, taste again and season if necessary.
While cooking, and then resting, the meat, you can prepare the sides:
Roasted apples - peel, core and slice an apple. Cook in a small oven-proof pan in butter over medium-high heat until the slices brown. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast until soft - at least 20 minutes at 350 F.
Sunchoke-Potato Puree - boil peeled sunchokes (also known as jerusalem artichokes) and potatoes separately; drain and combine with some hot cream, butter and salt and pepper and mash together.
Swiss Chard - chop the ribs of the chard and sweat (cook over very low heat so they don't color) in butter with a little garlic. Add the chopped leaves with a little water, and cook gently until wilted. Season.
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