Roasted Pork Chops With Caramelized Pears And Thyme
This recipe is adapted from Anyone Can Cook, by Kitchen Stories, will be published by Prestel on March 16th ($30.00).
Pork is one of the most versatile foods when it comes to wine pairing. It’s rich but can be very light, and is generally not as fatty as steak. The best wine for pork will be something mediumbodied with ripe tannins and earthiness like Couvent des Thorins, Moulin-à-Vent 2017 ($25), a Gamay wine from Beaujolais, France. This wine is now available at Whole Foods.
2 pears
3 shallots
2 pork chops, thickcut and bone-in 1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
8 sprigs thyme ¼ cup (50 ml)
orange liqueur Salt
Pepper
Olive oil for frying
Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Quarter and core pears lengthwise, then slice the quarters in half again. Peel and halve shallots. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat and add some oil. Season both sides of pork chops with salt and grill in the hot pan on each side until brown grill marks appear or there is a nice sear, approx. 10 min. in total. Remove and set aside.
Heat butter and olive oil in the same pan and add sliced pears, shallots, and thyme sprigs. Sauté for approx. 5 min. and season with salt and pepper. Add orange liqueur and let simmer for approx. 30 sec. more.
Transfer pear mixture to a baking dish and place pork chops on top. Bake for approx. 20 minutes Let pork chops rest for approx. 5 minutes before serving.
Extra Tip: If you don’t have or don’t want to use orange liqueur, replace it with a 1:1 mixture of orange juice and water.
Yield: Serves 2
SUNDAY (Family) — Enjoy ONE-POT CHICKEN PARMESAN PASTA that’s bursting with flavor (see recipe). Serve it with GREEN BEANS and MULTIGRAIN ROLLS. For dessert, make it a light one with a scoop of LEMON SHERBET.
MONDAY (Meatless)
— Skip meat tonight and enjoy SOUTHWESTERN BEAN SKILLET
(see recipe). Serve the easy one-dish meal with a ROMAINE SALAD and WHOLE-WHEAT ROLLS. Leftover SHERBET makes a perfect dessert.
TUESDAY (Kids) — BEEF ROTINI has kid-delicious written all over it. Cook 3/4 pound 95% lean ground beef in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high 4 minutes or until browned, stirring often. Stir in 1 3/4 cup low-sodium beef broth, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder and 1 cup canned diced tomatoes. Stir in 1 1/2 cups rotini (corkscrew) pasta. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 10 minutes, stirring often. Uncover; cook 5 more minutes or until pasta is tender. Serve with CARROT SALAD and SOFT ROLLS. For a light dessert, try PEARS.
WEDNESDAY (Family)
— Whether you’re Irish or not, anyone can enjoy CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE. In a 4-quart or larger slow cooker, place 1 (3- to 4-pound) beef brisket. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons brown sugar. Cover with water. Add 6 cloves garlic, 2 bay leaves, 12 whole allspice, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 5 halved red potatoes, 1 cup baby carrots and 2 onions, cut into wedges. Cover and cook on low 8 hours. Uncover, add 1/2 medium cabbage, cut into wedges. Cover; cook on high 30 minutes or until cabbage is tender. Serve with PICKLED BEETS and RYE BREAD. For dessert, CHUNKY APPLESAUCE is all you need.
THURSDAY (Budget)
— SAUSAGE WITH POLENTA is a budget-friendly dish. Slice a 16- or 17-ounce tube of polenta (look in the produce section) into 12 (1/2-inch) slices. Coat both sides with cooking spray. Heat a large nonstick skillet. Cook 2 minutes on each side until slightly browned and hot. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add 1 pound sweet Italian sausage (casings removed) and 1 small chopped onion. Cook 3 minutes, breaking up sausage with a spoon, until no longer pink.
Stir in 1 (15-ounce) can rinsed cannellini beans, 1 (14.5-ounce) can no-saltadded diced tomatoes and 2 teaspoons dried basil; cook 2 minutes or until sausage is cooked and mixture is hot. For each serving, spoon one quarter of the sausage mixture over 3 slices polenta. (Adapted from Woman’s Day magazine.) Serve with COLESLAW and ITALIAN BREAD. Enjoy PINEAPPLE CHUNKS for dessert.
FRIDAY (Heat and Eat)
— Use those brisket leftovers for CORNED BEEF SANDWICHES on rye bread. Slather grainy MUSTARD on the bread, layer with the corned beef and top with prepared HORSERADISH SAUCE. Serve with leftover PICKLED BEETS and deli GERMAN POTATO SALAD. How about sliced KIWIFRUIT for dessert?
SATURDAY (Entertaining the Family) — Draw the family near for a casual (and economical) meal of LINGUINE AND SPINACH WITH GORGONZOLA SAUCE (see recipe).
Serve with a packaged CAESAR SALAD and CRUSTY BREAD. Spoon fresh BLUEBERRIES (or frozen and thawed) over CHEESECAKE for dessert.