Business Time

I am sitting here with nothing to say so I am just going to get right down to business. The menu this week has a couple of old favorites and a couple of new things. All in all it was a good week of eatin'!

Enjoy...

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This is a combination of two different recipes for pork with apples. I like the pork from one and the apple slaw from the other. Cutting the apples into matchstick size pieces is made a lot easier if you have a mandolin slicer. If not it can take quite a while.

1. Pork Chops with Apple Slaw

modified from Real Simple

makes 4 servings

For the apple slaw: (I like to make this before I start the pork and keep it in the refrigerator while the pork is cooking.)

1/3 cup pine nuts

2 Granny Smith apples, cut into matchstick-size strips

1 T fresh lemon juice

2 celery stalks, chopped

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

1/2 t kosher salt

1/8 t black pepper

Toast the pine nuts in a small skillet over medium heat, be careful not to let them burn, it can happen very quickly. Remove from heat and set aside. Place the apples in a large bowl and top with the lemon juice to keep them from turning brown. Stir in the celery, sour cream, parsley, salt, pepper and pine nuts. Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the pork:

2 T all-purpose flour

1 t ground cumin

1 t kosher salt

1 t black pepper

4 medium size boneless pork chops OR one 1 1/2 - 2 lb. pork tenderloin cut into 1/2" thick slices

1 T vegetable oil

1 T butter

1/4 cup fresh parsley, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 T white wine vinegar

2 T grainy mustard (optional, but delicious)

Mix together the flour, cumin, salt and pepper on a large plate. Lightly coat each piece of pork with the flour mixture and set aside. Heat the vegetable oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the pork in the skillet, sprinkle with the parsley, and cook until golden brown and crispy, about 4-5 minutes per side.

Meanwhile, mix together the broth and vinegar. When the pork is done remove it from the skillet and set aside. Pour the broth mixture into the skillet, stirring and scraping up any bits from the bottom. Bring to a boil and cook until slightly thickened.

Serve each piece of pork with a drizzle of pan sauce a dab of mustard and a side of the apple slaw.

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I saw these on foodgawker a while back and put them in my favorites. I didn't get around to making them but did recommend them to a friend/co-worker and they loved them. That gave me the kick in the pants I needed to give them a try. Next time I would use fresh ginger in the sauce instead of ground but other than that they were delish!

2. Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

modified slightly from Our Best Bites

makes 4 servings

For the Teriyaki Sauce:

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

1 1/4 t fresh ginger, grated (or 1/2 t ground ginger)

1/4 t black pepper

1 T cornstarch

1 T cold water

Combine the first six ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Combine the cornstarch and water, set aside. When the sauce comes to a boil (it will happen pretty quickly) add the cornstarch mixture and stir until the sauce is thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the skewers:

1 package chicken tenders, cut into bite sized pieces

1 package bacon (not thick-sliced), cut into thirds lengthwise

1 fresh pineapple, cut into chunks about the same size as the chicken pieces

If using bamboo skewers soak them in water before using so the don't burn on the grill. Wrap each piece of chicken with a piece of bacon and slide onto a skewer, follow with a piece of pineapple. Repeat three more times per skewer. place in a 9x13 baking dish

When all of the ingredients have been used up pour the Teriyaki sauce over them , reserving about 1/4 cup. Let them marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, no longer than 8.

Heat grill to medium-high heat. Place the skewers on the grill and baste with some of the reserved sauce. Cook about 7 minutes, flip, baste again and cook another 7 minutes.

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I usually make these burgers with turkey but they didn't have any at my market this week so I went with the chicken instead. I could not even tell the difference. I love these once they are cooked but I am always a little doubtful while I am making them because the texture of ground poultry kind of grosses me out.

3. Chicken Burgers

modified from Real Simple

makes 4 servings

Recipe is here. Just swap out the turkey for the chicken.

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When I made the calzones last week I had a lot of leftover ingredients, including half a package of yeast so I threw these together pretty quickly before I had even done my shopping for the week. They were dangerously close to being burned but luckily they I caught them just in time.

4. Personal Pizzas

There isn't really a recipe for these except for the dough which you can fine here. They were pretty typical: red sauce, pepperoni, black olives, green olives, onions and mozzarella cheese.