Ginger Pork

Today's experiment is Ginger Pork. I'm expecting company at an unknown time, so I wanted to make something I could keep warm in the oven (with a loaf of homemade bread, of course.)

So in the Le Creuset skillet, I put three large pork chops, about 1" thick each. I put:
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- about 3/4 teaspoon four color pepper
- about 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground garlic salt
- about 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
- about 1 tablespoon grated candied ginger
- one tablespoon white grape juice.

I cooked over medium about five minutes each side. When I flipped them, I drizzled
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil

Then I made a sauce of
- one tablespoon white sugar
- one cup white grape juice
- one tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

I poured that into the skillet and put the whole thing in an oven preheated to 300 degrees.

The recipe is inspired by Venir Dîner, C'est Prêt, a French cookbook. I plan to serve with a Dole Spring Fling Salad and my bread. I'm debating whether or not to add cooked baby carrots. I'm thinking yes.

Pineapple Pork with Apples

So, tonight I decided to make pork with apples because I needed to make something in my Le Creuset skillet and this is a good winter dish.

Here are all my pork recipes:
http://angelfoodcooking.blogspot.com/search/label/pork

Here is my original post on pork with apples:
http://angelfoodcooking.blogspot.com/2008/12/pork-with-apples.html
(It doesn't look good because that was early in my food styling career)

Tonight I started with two one-inch boneless pork chops and had my husband slice them into stir-fry stips. I browned them in butter and added about 3/4 teaspoon rosemary from my freezer. I added about 1/2 cup sweetened pineapple sauce I had in the freezer after my last poire tartin. Then I added about 1/2 teaspoon organic four color pepper and one cup white grape juice and a handful of brown sugar and 1/2 cup mustard-- in my case about 1/3 cup plain yellow mustard and the rest brown horseradish mustard. Boil then return to a simmer. Finally, add one large green apple sliced. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until sauce thickens.

Tonight I'm serving over chow mein noodles.

When I tasted the sauce in the pan, I wasn't very keen on the lingering flavor of the juice. But with the meat, the apples and the chow mein noodles it was yummy. The chow mein noodles are definitely the perfect texture to serve with this meal.

Baked chicken with lemon basil sauce

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1939,148187-237202,00.html BAKED CHICKEN IN LEMON SAUCE

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Makes 6 servings. 4 whole, boneless chicken breasts (about 12 oz. each) 1 tsp. onion powder 1/2 tsp. garlic powder 1/2 tsp. leaf basil, crumbled 1/2 tsp. leaf tarragon, crumbled 1/4 tsp. lemon pepper 1/4 c. (1/2 stick) butter 1/2 c. chopped shallots or green onion 1 1/2 c. heavy cream 1 c. dry white wine 1/2 c. lemon juice 2 tsp. lemon rind 1 tbsp. sugar 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. white pepper 3 tbsp. cornstarch Lemon slices Cooked French green beans (optional) Preheat oven to moderate (375 degrees). Pour oil into large casserole or baking dish. Turn chicken in oil to coat, rubbing all sides; arrange skin-side up. Sprinkle with onion powder, garlic powder, basil, tarragon, and lemon pepper. Bake in preheated moderate oven (375 degrees) for 30 minutes or until chicken is tender and browned on top. Meanwhile, melt butter in medium-size heavy saucepan. Saute shallots in butter 1 minute or until softened. Pour in heavy cream, 1/2 cup of the wine, the lemon juice, lemon rind, sugar, and salt and pepper. Bring to boiling; boil for 15 minutes or until reduced by half. Dissolve cornstarch in the remaining 1/2 cup wine in small cup. Stir into sauce. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes or until sauce thickens. Keep warm. Overlap chicken breasts on warmed serving platter. Place lemon slices between chicken breasts. Pour some of the sauce over the chicken; pass the remainder. Serve with cooked French green beans, if you wish or browned mushrooms. I promised my family I'd make chicken for dinner so I started with this basic recipe. I used chives instead of shallots and herbs from my garden instead of tarragon. I used white grape juice instead of wine, and soymilk instead of heavy cream. (Which meant I reduced the amount of soymilk used from 1.5 cups of cream to less than 1 cup milk.) It smells fabulous. My husband made his famous vegetable-heaped baked potatoes with sour cream, cheese and broccoli. (Which after I ate all the goodies off mine, I then topped it with the incredible sauce from the chicken. Tomorrow we'll each be taking chicken with some leftover mac and cheese with peas and probably Thursday I'll use the sauce leftover to make some sort of pasta dish.