Quick visit to the Experimental Food Corner.

[rivka]

I usually cook pork chops with broth and quartered red potatoes and roasted red peppers, but today I didn't have any of those ingredients. Nor did I have the usual things I would use to make a pan sauce for sauteed pork chops. Clearly, this called for a trip to the Experimental Food Corner.

After browning the chops and then cooking them in a covered pan over low heat, I removed them to a plate, leaving the drippings. I turned up the heat, deglazed the pan with fresh cranberry-apple cider, and added plenty of dijon mustard as well as some basil, oregano, and black pepper. I whisked it all smooth and let it boil for a minute or two, and then - with some trepidation - served it.

It was really good: sweet and tangy, with a notable cranberry undertone. It worked well with the pork chops, and I think it would also make a good poultry sauce. If only we got cranberry-apple cider in the stores year-round.

Comments

mmmm.

[nex0s.livejournal.com]

pork.

i wanna come over for dinner now :D

"n"
is for "mmmm. pork."

Re: mmmm.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

pork.

i wanna come over for dinner now :D

Too late! You should have come over for dinner around eight. curiousangel ate your pork chop.

[kightp.livejournal.com]

Sounds wonderful!

If only we got cranberry-apple cider in the stores year-round.

Try frozen apple juice mixed with straight cranberry juice. It's a pretty close substitute, and should be just fine for cooking.

Re:

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Sounds wonderful!

You're welcome to come over for dinner anytime.

Try frozen apple juice mixed with straight cranberry juice. It's a pretty close substitute, and should be just fine for cooking.

But then I'd have apple juice in the house, and I wouldn't know what to do with the rest of it. No, wait - curiousangel says he drinks apple juice. Maybe.

[kightp.livejournal.com]

You can open the can of apple juice, scoop out a couple of spoonsful, reseal it with plastic wrap (or transfer it into a freezer container and keep it in the freezer. Frozen apple juice is pretty useful stuff - you can use it as a sweetener in quick breads and stuff by adjusting the liquid the way you would if you were using honey. Or stir a spoonful or two into pureed squash or sweet potatoes. Or ...

[rmjwell.livejournal.com]

Just to be helpful, I'd be willing to drink the apple juice.

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

Sounds absolutely nummy.
Isn't the Experimental Food Corner fun? :)

[lcohen]

wow. that sounds Way Too Delicious.

[kiya]

If you want other thoughts about pork chops, my family always cooked them in a sauce made from a can of cream of mushroom soup and some water, add Worcestershire sauce to taste. I've done that with carmelised onions and garlic, too. And other plausible-sounding seasonings. (Not that I eat pork chops much, but I use the cream of mushroom soup, Worcestershire sauce to taste as the base for a variety of meals I call "stoup".)

[elusis.livejournal.com]

Mmm, sounds terrific! I have some cranberry-apple chutney at home that I picked up in Whole Foods deli case a while back, intending to put it on chicken; if it survives my week's absence (it should do; it's cooked), I may take the rare step of buying porkchops so I can make your sauce and then add the chutney on top. Or I imagine it would work with lamb as well, and I already have that...˙

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I don't know how well it would work with lamb - I'll be interested to hear how it goes, though. I also think it would work well with chicken, as you originally intended to have the chutney.

Mmm, cranberry-apple chutney. That sounds so good.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

In the absence of cranberry-apple juice, I do a think with scallopini or chops that's done just like that except with freshly squeezed limes in place of the juice, no mustard because I don't like it, similar seasonings, and then finished with just a little cream. I think the original recipe said "blood oranges" and I have definitely done it a time or two with oranges, but limes are better.

Isn't it wonderful when intuitive cooking works out right!

Re:

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Wow. I love limes, but I never in a million years would have thought of matching them to pork chops. What an interesting idea - I'll make a note for the future.

[cattitude.livejournal.com]

I love it when a plan comes together.

That sounds very tasty; I may have to try something like it now while cranberry stuff's available.

Were the spices right? Anything you'd add or subtract?

[rivka.livejournal.com]

That sounds very tasty; I may have to try something like it now while cranberry stuff's available.

If fresh cranberries are part of your Thanksgiving plans, it might be a good idea to set a few aside, and later use them in this sauce. I'm guessing that three or four cranberries per person would be ample.

Do you have fresh cranberry-apple cider available? I'm not sure how it would taste with bottled cranberry-apple juice.

Were the spices right? Anything you'd add or subtract?

I might add garlic next time. Not a large amount, but a touch. I'm also intrigued by papersky's idea about adding a bit of cream, but that would obviously turn it into a completely different sauce.

If you try it, let me know! Especially if you fiddle with the recipe to good effect.

[bcholmes.livejournal.com]

Mmmmm.... I'm salivating. Wait, are the bells ringing again?