little red in summer

Little Red, my cast iron Dutch oven, is pretty much shelved for the summer months except for pulled pork.  Rub a pork shoulder with your favorite blend of spices (I use cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and freshly ground pepper) pop in a cast iron with a lid, and cook extra slow, about 18 hours at 175 degrees.  The pork will seriously melt in your mouth.  Top with your favorite BBQ sauce; quintessential American yum.

java chops

Molasses and Coffee Pork Chops

Teri posted this fabulous recipe on her blog Working the Earth a week or two ago. The intriguing coffee- molasses combo was just begging me to give it a whirl. The dark, robust flavor is peaked with the ginger and thyme. Hurry and make this before grilling season is over and the season of woolly-socks-and-crock-pots moves in!

1 cup strong brewed coffee, cooled
6 oz. molasses (about 1/2 cup)
2 Tbsp apple cidar vinegar
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 tsp ground ginger
6-8 sprigs fresh thyme
4 6-8 oz. bone-in pork chops

Marinate at least 2 hours or overnight. Preheat grill to medium. Pour marinade into saucepan, boil gently until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 12-15 min. Remove thyme stems. Grill chops 4-6 minutes per side (internal temperature 145). Rest for 5 min. Serve with glaze. Heaven.

Thanks, Teri, this one is going to be a regular at the manor.

a little woolly socks supper

I'm not usually big on using cans of cream of mushroom soup in

my recipes, but this one is an exception. In these cold, winter

months, I love to throw something in the oven and let it bake all

afternoon. This recipe is delicious paired with rice or mashed

potatoes. Yup, you took the words right out of my mouth. It's a

woolly socks supper.

Willow's Saucy Mushroom Pork Chops

(4) 3/4 to 1 inch thick pork chops

1 onion, sliced

1 can cream of mushroom soup

3/4 cup apple juice or cider

1/4 cup white white (optional)

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp snipped fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms

In large skillet, with a bit of oil, brown chops over medium high

heat. In separate bowl, combine soup, juice, wine, Worcestershire,

thyme, garlic. Mix well. Fold in mushrooms. In oven proof pot,

place onions on bottom, then layer chops and pour soup mixture

over. Cover and bake 300 degrees for about three hours or until

sauce has cooked down, is thick and chops are tender.

Yummity-yum.

(And hey, I got a new set of white dishes for Christmas, since they
look especially nice in the bloggy food pics. Love 'em.)

You might have noticed the mention of this wonderful peppercorn
roasted pork on my sidebar. Oh. My. Gosh. It was so delicious!
We've been enjoying the benefits of leftovers all week. The savory
synchronicity of the vermouth sauce and the aromatic pink
peppercorns is fabulous. I served it with sugar snap peas and
potatoes with parsley pesto.

Peppercorn Roasted Pork with Vermouth Pan Sauce

6 Tbsp pink peppercorns divided
2 Tbsp black peppercorns
1 1/2 Tbsp fennel seeds
7 cloves garlic minced
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 five pound pork shoulder roast, butt end (as you see, I didn't have
shoulder roast on hand, and used a leaner loin roast instead)
1/2 cup dry vermouth
2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp unsalted butter softened
1 Tbsp flour

Grind 1/4 cup pink peppercorns with black peppercorns and fennel
seeds in electric coffee or spice grinder, then stir together with garlic,
oil and 1 Tbsp salt.

Pat pork dry and use a paring knife to make 1 inch deep slits all over
the roast. Stuff slits with all but 1 Tbsp of the paste, then rub
remaining all over the roast. Marinate chilled 8 to 24 hours.

Let pork stand at room temperature 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350.
Roast pork, fat side up until meat registers 150 F, about 1 1/2 to 2
hours. Transfer to cutting board and let rest for 30 minutes.


Meanwhile, pour off all but about 1 Tbsp fat from roasting pan. Add
vermouth to pan and boil, scraping up the brown bits, 2 minutes. Stir
in broth, any juice from cutting board and boil until reduced to about
1 1/2 cups, about 5 minutes. Knead together butter and flour, then
whisk into sauce and boil, whisking constantly until just thickened.
Serve pork with sauce and prepare for mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm!!

(Notice the Blue Willow? Julia Child would approve.)

.

recipe from September 2009 issue of Gourmet