This recipe reminds me so much of how far I've come with cooking. From simple meals of rice and chicken with no vegetable to be found, to a pork loin chop on a bed of butternut squash with onions, golden raisins, and sage. I mean, really. After a childhood filled with Shake and Bake pork chops, this dish is even more special!
Here's the recipe with my comments in brackets:
Apple Juice Pork with Squash and Golden Raisins
Susan H. Gordon
From Every Day with Rachael Ray
October 2008
SERVES 4
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 35 min
Four 1-inch-thick boneless pork loin chops (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 cup apple juice
1/2 butternut squash—peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces [They sell small servings of butternut squash already peeled and cut into cubes, so if you are making half, this might be the way to go. I used the other half of mine for Darcy!]
1/2 cup golden raisins
3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1. Preheat the oven to 250°. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. In a large, heavy skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, add the pork chops and 1 more tablespoon olive oil between batches. Cook until browned, about 5 minutes on each side. Transfer to an ovenproof dish and tent with foil; place in the oven.
2. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes, scraping up any browned bits. [Seriously, scrape up those bits, they are little nuggets of flavor.] Stir in the apple juice, squash, raisins and sage; season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until the squash is tender, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the squash mixture to a bowl. Cook the remaining liquid until syrupy, about 5 minutes. [Took more like 10 for mine to get syrupy.] Serve the pork with the squash and pan sauce.
The pork looks like it has a nice crispy crust - yum!
ReplyDeleteWow - This looks scrumptious. The pork looks perfectly cooked!
ReplyDeleteIve been thinking about making this one, now I am going to after your review. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI am liking the sound of the squash mixture! Another interesting & tasty combination :) I added raisins to mashed broccoli this week and topped it with olives and it was a surprisingly tasty mix.
ReplyDelete~ emily.