Honey Mustard Glazed Pork Chops with Sauteed Apple Slaw

For years and years, my husband has insisted that he doesn’t really like pork chops. Not that he HATES them, but that he doesn’t enjoy them – and so, I have avoided buying them for our dinners. But, due to the fact that he suffers from a raging case of Plate Envy (you know – we go to a restaurant, he spends 20 minutes deliberating the pros and cons of 4 items, finally picks one… and then spends half our meal drooling over whatever I ordered?), he has ended up trying quite a few delicious pork chops that I’ve ordered at various places. Since I am not a huge red meat eater, pork tends to be a go-to dinner choice for me, especially at steakhouses and the like; and after a few years of him stealing bites of my pork chop over dinner, I finally decided to take the plunge and make some pork chops at home!

(Spoiler alert: he loved them.)

Honey Mustard Glazed Pork Chops with Sauteed Apple Slaw
serves 2-4

4 boneless pork chops, about 1″ thick, and 6oz each
4 T honey, divided
3 T apple cider vinegar, divided
3 T whole grain mustard, divided
2 T dijon mustard, divided
2 T vegetable oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
one small, crisp apple (I like Honeycrisp, Jazz, or Pink Lady), cut into matchsticks

1.) About 45 minutes before you want to start cooking, mix up your marinade: add 2 tablespoons of honey, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons of whole grain mustard, 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, and the salt and pepper to a gallon-size ziploc bag. Mix it all up until well-combined, and then add your pork chops to the bag; squeeze all the air out of the bag, and seal. Allow the pork chops to marinate at room temp for about 45 minutes, flipping them around a few times.

2.) While the chops marinate, go ahead and julienne your apple, and make your glaze. For the glaze, whisk together 2 tablespoons of honey, 1 tablespoon of whole grain mustard, 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard, and 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Set aside.

3.) When you’re ready to cook the chops, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add about a tablespoon of vegetable oil or olive oil to the pan, and let that heat up. Add the pork chops to the pan, and let them cook for about 4 minutes on the first side before flipping.

4.) Once you’ve flipped the chops, brush the glaze over the top of them, and allow them to cook for another 4 minutes on the second side. After those 4 minutes, I like to flip them again, glaze them, let them sit for about 30 seconds, and then flip and glaze again. Remove the chops to a plate to rest for about 5 minutes.

5.) Turn the heat on the pan down to medium-low, and let it cool for a minute. Add the apples to the pan, and pour the remaining glaze over the top of them. Let them cook (tossing them often) for just a minute or two, until they’re slightly softened, but still have a bite to them (the cooking time will vary, depending on how finely you julienned them). Plate the pork chops, and top with the apples, and a spoonful of the glaze/juices from the pan.

These pork chops were absolutely delicious! The glaze and marinade have a bite from the apple cider vinegar, balanced by the sweetness of the honey, and sort of rounded out by the mustard. They stay nice and moist and juicy, too. (Side note: PLEASE do not overcook your pork! It is perfectly fine to eat pork medium or medium well, so there is no need to cook it until it’s stark white and dry as a bone; the inside should stay a bit pink, and that will help keep it moist.)

Served with some roasted tiny potatoes and some parmesan roasted green beans, this was a perfectly easy and delicious meal. Definitely worth a try, especially if you’re looking for an alternative to your usual weeknight chicken!

Pork chops are related to bacon, so they HAVE to be good,
Tina

Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Now that summer is FINALLY here (I don’t know about wherever you live, but winter hung around FAR TOO LONG here in the Mitten), berries are back in season! There are few things in this world more delicious than a perfectly ripe berry… except for possibly buttercream frosting made from those perfect berries!

Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
cupcake recipe from here
makes about 2 dozen

For the cupcakes:
1 3/4 cups cake flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 T baking powder
3/4 t salt
2 sticks butter, room temp, cut into cubes
4 large eggs
1 cup milk (2% or whole)
1 tsp vanilla

For the buttercream:
3 sticks salted butter
3 – 4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup strawberry puree

1.) Preheat your oven to 325°. In the bowl of a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment to combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

2.) Add the cubed, softened butter, and continue to mix until the butter is completely coated in the flour mixture and broken up into smaller pieces.

3.) In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, and vanilla together. Add the liquids to the flour/butter mixture in 3 additions, mixing until just combined after each addition (and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary). Be careful not to overmix!

4.) Line a muffin tin with paper liners, and fill each cup 2/3 of the way with batter.

5.) Bake for 18-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. These cupcakes really don’t brown, and the tops stay a bit shiny and wet-looking, so go ahead and start testing with a toothpick at 18 minutes, even if they really don’t look done.

6.) While the cupcakes bake, you can work on your frosting! Start by making your strawberry puree; clean, hull, and halve about 8 medium strawberries. Add them to a food processor (or blender), and process until you have a relatively smooth liquid.

7.) Press the puree through a fine mesh sieve and into a small bowl, to get rid of any lumps and the strawberry seeds.

8.) Use a stand mixer (or hand mixer) to cream together the butter, powdered sugar (start with 3 cups, and add more if needed), and 1/2 cup of the strawberry puree. Scrape down the bowl and continue mixing until everything is well-combined.

9.) When the cupcakes have fully cooled, pipe or spread the frosting on to them. These cupcakes are best served the same day they’re made.

I served these cupcakes at a baby shower for a dear friend of mine, and aside from being tasty (the cupcakes have just enough vanilla flavor, and the strawberries add a wonderful freshness to the buttercream), the frosting is a perfectly beautiful shade of pink – just right for celebrating the impending arrival of a baby girl!

So glad to put my boots away for a few months,
Tina

Maple Candied Bacon

Do you guys ever make your bacon in the oven? If you don’t, you should give it a shot. For one thing, it frees up space on your stove for the other parts of your breakfast or brunch – and for another, it eliminates the (messy) pain of being assaulted by grease splattering! I honestly can’t remember the last time I cooked bacon on the stovetop – the oven method is just so much better!

Candied bacon – accompanied by buttermilk pancakes, and strawberry butter!

While I’m sharing with you the very simple method of oven-cooked bacon, I figured I’d also show you how to dress your bacon up – as if bacon needs any help, right? But, if you’re ever feeling extra fancy (you’re having guests for brunch, or you just want some exceptionally tasty bacon), you can take an extra 30 seconds to CANDY your bacon with a little maple syrup and brown sugar. It’s still quick and easy, it adds a nice sweet edge to the salty, smokiness of the bacon, and it’s impressive!

Maple Candied Bacon
makes 8 slices (serving sizes vary, obviously)

8 slices bacon
1 T good maple syrup
1 T brown sugar

1.) Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil (I know I am forever telling you to line your baking sheets with foil – but DO NOT skip it for bacon-making!). Once the foil is secure, place a cooling/baking rack on to the sheet.

2.) Lay your bacon out on the baking rack, evenly spaced and in a single layer. Place the baking sheet into a COLD oven, and turn the oven on to 375°. Starting it in a cold oven prevents the bacon from being shocked, moving from room temperature to a HOT oven – that shock is what causes it to curl up and shrink a bunch, which no one wants.

3.) Once the oven hits 375°, give the bacon about 10 minutes of cooking – then pull it out, flip the slices, and brush lightly with the maple syrup. Add a very small sprinkle of brown sugar to each slice as well, and return the sheet to the oven.

4.) Continue baking for another 10 minutes or so, until the bacon is nice and evenly crisp!

5.) Make sure to remove the bacon from the baking rack within a minute or so of taking it out of the oven (use a fork, or some tongs – it’ll be hot!). If you wait too long to take it off the rack, the sugar and syrup will harden, and your bacon will have to be yanked off in pieces – still delicious, but not very pretty!

I can only handle a sweet breakfast every once in a great while – but some Sundays just call for a stack of fluffy pancakes, some delicious fruit butter, and candied bacon. A big, luxurious brunch is a nice way to ease yourself back into the reality that in a few short hours… it’ll be Monday again. SIGH.

(Obviously, you don’t HAVE to candy the bacon – you can just flip the slices at the 10 minute mark, and let them continue cooking, sans sugary deliciousness.)

Bacon is its own food group, right?
Tina

Roasted Garlic, Sausage, and Tomato Pizza

Pizza is basically the perfect food, right? There are a million and one ways to change it up; you can add any crazy combination of ingredients that pops into your head!

A great pizza joint recently opened up in our area, and they make these ridiculous wood-fired, thin crust pizzas. One of the topping options they offer is roasted garlic, which I love, but have never had on a pizza before. Some friends and I were ordering up some dinner one night, and after about 20 minutes of tossing topping ideas back and forth, we landed on this: sausage, roasted garlic, and tomato. And it might just be my favorite pizza topping combination ever!

Roasted Garlic, Sausage, and Tomato Pizza
makes one medium, thinner-crust pie

one batch pizza dough
pizza or marinara sauce of choice
1 head garlic, with the top 1/2″ cut off
olive oil
1/4 lb hot italian sausage (pork or turkey), cooked and crumbled
1 large tomato, sliced thin
8 oz mozzarella cheese, grated

1.) First, you need to roast your garlic. While your pizza dough rises, heat your oven to 400°. Place your head of garlic in the center of a square of foil, and drizzle it with a bit of olive oil. Close the foil tightly around the garlic, place it into a small baking dish, and roast for about 40 minutes until golden brown and soft. Allow the garlic to cool until you can handle it easily, and then gently squeeze the cloves out of their skins. Slice each clove into about 4 pieces.

2.) Preheat your oven to 475°. Lay your sliced tomatoes out on a paper towel to draw a bit of their moisture out; lightly season them with kosher salt. Mist your baking sheet with olive oil, and stretch your pizza dough out. Spread a thin layer of your sauce onto the dough.

3.) Evenly sprinkle the sausage and sliced, roasted garlic over the sauce. Cover the pizza with the grated cheese, and then lay the sliced tomatoes on top. Brush the exposed edges of the dough with a bit of olive oil.

4.) Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the cheese has browned nicely. Allow to cool and set for approximately 5 minutes before cutting into slices and serving.

Sweet, nutty garlic, spicy and salty sausage, and juicy, slightly acidic tomatoes. YES, PLEASE.

You’re going to want to make this REAL soon,
Tina