Enough About Me

The goal of this blog is to explore daily life with a food theme. I want to share recipes and more importantly to me, share family and personal food histories and stories. I don't want this to be just about me. I have many friends displaying their creative talents in diverse and different outlets.

I've mentioned Daphne's terrific shop The Willow Spring Mercantile. Visit her at http://www.shopthemercantile.com/. My dear friend Kaki's welcoming store The Greenhouse in St. Marys, WV and it's sister location in Teays Valley are nearest and dearest to my heart. I will feature them in upcoming posts during my November visit. You can check them out at http://www.thegreenhouseinc.com/. Larissa Moulin, my friend and one of my brides at the hotel this summer makes purses and accessories from military uniforms and can be found at www.HeroOnMyArm.com/larissa. My old friend Kama makes stunning jewelry from typewriter keys. She can be found at http://www.thevintagekey.com/. Speaking of jewelry, check out some of Steph Benton's beautiful work at http://www.ridgeroaddesigns.com/ or http://www.trishadphotography.com/. Keith himself creates amazing gardens every year and has recently began working with stained glass. He's made some beautiful pieces.

Think I lost my food theme with this one? I've mentioned Daphne's terrific food. Kaki and I have been on many a culinary adventure and her store carries a wide array of gourmet food items. I helped Larissa design her wedding menu. Kama and I were servers at Chili's many a moon ago. And Steph? She sent me an amazing pork chop recipe that was indeed as she called it, "a magic show in your mouth". Here it is...

Pork Chops with Granny Smith Apples

Ingredients

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

4 6 oz. boneless pork loin chops or 2-pound pork tenderloin cut into 8 1/2 thick slices

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon butter

2 small Granny Smith apples, halved

1/4 cup fresh parsley, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons champagne or white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons coarse-grain mustard

Directions

Mix together the flour, cumin,salt and pepper on a large plate. Lightly coat each piece of pork with the flour mixture; set aside. Heat the vegetable oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the apple halves with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook the apples cut side down about 5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from skillet, cover and set aside. Place the pork in the skillet, sprinkle with the parsley and cook until the meat is golden brown and crispy, 4-5 minutes each side. While the pork is cooking, whisk together the broth and vinegar. Remove the pork from the skillet and set aside. Pour the broth mixture into the skillet, stirring and scraping up any browned bits. Bring to a boil and cook until slightly thickened. Divide the pork and pour some pan sauce over each. Serve apple halves. Serious. Yum.