Feeding Umi

I don’t really have the time to cook up something elaborate… or take really appetizing beautiful photos. I spend too much time fixing other people’s online creative assets that when I get home, I want to quickly make, eat, and document… and call it a night. I usually don’t survive past watching a whole movie once I am done eating… and pass out. Meh.

I made some rice while the whole thing was cooking, but I would have opted to make rosemary potatoes if I had any potatoes in the apartment.

This is one of those, if you have balsamic vinegar, onions, garlic, and apples (or pears, or no fruit if that is what you desire), then you can make it less than an hour. Just cut up apples, toss with some olive oil and maybe a sprinkle of cinnamon, sear on the cast iron grill, and then bake for around 10 minutes depending on what apples you use on 350-400 degrees. I avoided using out macintoshes, since they are very soft and easily reduced to mush. I used some golden deliciouses.

While they bake, salt the pork chops. If you use the kind without a bone, less than an inch thick, it’s much quicker. I prefer the bone, but oftentimes I opt without. I let it stand with some salt while I mix the balsamic vinegar reduction/glaze. I use around half a cup of balsamic vinegar (depending on which kind you have – I like to use our good kind, and something without that much tang). I mix around a half to a full teaspoon (since I eye it to my taste) of honey, same amount of dijon mustard, half a teasponn of salt, and a generous amount of pepper and garlic powder. I put in a pinch of rayu sesame oil, too. Mix thoroughly so that the flavor distributes throughout the glaze.

Now, while you still wait for the apples, mince an onion and thickly slice several gloves of garlic. I use around 5-6, because I LOVE garlic. I don’t like to mince or use my garlic crusher, because the bigger the piece of garlic, the less likely is it going to burn, so don’t cut it too thin… think large chunks. At this point, pat down the pork chops with a paper towel to get rid of any moisture (you want to sear the thing, not steam it). Then add some more salt, if you’re like me, and generously rub pepper.

Put the apples and any juices in a bowl and wipe down the cast iron. On medium high heat, pour around 2 tablespoons of olive oil to heat without smoking and place the pork chops on the pan to sear. Where there is room on the side, pour in onions and garlic. Toss the onions so they don’t burn. Turn over the pork chops when one side is browned, the whole thing should take 1-3 minutes. Once both sides are seared, put the pork chops on the side on a plate. Toss the onions and garlic for some additional time until the onions are soft. (You don’t need to do this, if there are two batches of pork chops to sear, obviously.)

Pour in the balsamic mix and try to scrape off the browned pork bits on the pan. Heat the mixture until it’s bubbling for around a minute or two, while stirring before turning the heat down to medium/medium-low. Let the sauce reduce for another couple of minutes, be sure to stir so it doesn’t burn.

Place the pork chops back into the pan, with any juices on the plate that might have collected, allowing the pork chops to finish cooking. Turn around 3 times to coat entirely in the glaze. I would cook center cut pork chops without the bone that’s less than an inch thick for around 3 minutes. Cook it longer for thicker cuts and cuts with bones.

Once the pork chops are done, plate them, and then toss the apples in the glaze for a minute or two to heat up and coat. Plate them on the side and pour the rest of the glaze on top. The whole thing should take around 30 minutes. (Depending on the side.)