Apple Gorgonzola Pork Chops Food

APPLE GORGONZOLA PORK CHOPS

Steps:

• Heat oil in heavy bottom pan. Add garlic, shallots, onion if using. Saute until softened and fragrant. Add pork chops. Brown for 5-7 minutes per side. While they are browning, melt butter in second pan and saute chopped apple. If you like sweet apples, add brown sugar. When chops are browned, and cooked through, turn off heat, and allow to rest for 5 minutes in pan. When apples are softened, and starting to brown, remove from heat. Add gorgonzola and stir to melt in residual heat. Serve pork chops with apple gorgonzola sauce over the top.

PAN-SEARED PORK CHOPS WITH CARAMELIZED APPLES

Steps:

• Pat dry pork chops with paper towels.
• Brush pork chops with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and Italian seasoning.
• Allow the pork chops to rest while you prepare the apples as follows below. This brings pork chops closer to room temperature which will help them sear better.
• I used 2 apples (1 red Gala apple and 1 green Granny Smith apple, for presentation purposes). Core the apples and slice each one length-wise.
• Place sliced apples into a large bowl, add brown sugar, cinnamon, and mix. Let apples sit for about 10 minutes to release juices.
• In a large pan (I used a large stainless steel skillet), heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil on high heat. Add sliced apples (without juice at the bottom of the pan) and cook on high heat for about 3 minutes on one side, checking periodically. After 3 or 5 minutes, flip sliced apples to the other side, reduce heat to medium and cook the apples for another 3 or 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Cook the apples in a single layer, without overcrowding to get a slightly "roasted" appearance. That means you might have to cook apples in 2 batches. Use the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter for the second batch.
• Depending on how hot your stove gets, it might take you less or more time to cook apples, the key is to brown them or even get a slightly "burned" effect. But don't overdo it, remove the cooked apples from the skillet once the apples have this "roasted" appearance.
• Right after you remove the pan with roasted sliced apples from the heat, immediately add honey to the hot skillet - it will make apples sizzle and will caramelize them beautifully, off the heat.
• For best searing results, use a cast-iron skillet. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes to heat it through.
• Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil - the oil should shimmer. Add the pork chops, and cook them on one side for 5 minutes, without moving.
• Reduce the heat to medium, flip the pork chops over to the other side, and cook them on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Cook longer (depending on the thickness of your pork chops) until the pork chops are cooked through.
• Spoon the cooked apples, together with the sauce from cooking the apples, over the pork chops. Top with fresh thyme.

BAKED PORK CHOPS AND APPLES

Steps:

• Peel, core, and slice the apples.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Melt the butter in a skillet.
• Brown the pork chops on both sides in the butter.
• Grease (or spray) a large baking dish.
• Put the apple slices in the bottom of the dish.
• Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon.
• Sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar over the apples.
• Place the pork chops on top of the apples.
• Cover with foil and bake for 1 and 1/2 hours.

PORK CHOPS WITH APPLES AND ONIONS

Steps:

• Trim the chops of excess fat. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat a 14-inch cast-iron skillet (if you have a smaller one, you'll need to work in batches) over high heat, and then swirl in the olive oil. Lay in the pork chops and don't move them for a few minutes, to assure a good golden sear forms. Turn and brown well on the second side for a total of about 10 minutes. Transfer the chops to a warm plate.
• Swirl the butter into the pan. Add the onion and apples. Saute until the onion slices are lightly caramelized and the apples have begun to soften, about 8 minutes. Stir in the beer or other liquid. Return chops to the pan.
• Cook until the pork is tender, about 15 more minutes (depending on the size of the chops), turning halfway through and covering the chops with the apple mixture. If the apple mixture needs a little thickening, transfer the chops to the warm plate again and simmer the mixture on high for a few minutes to reduce. Serve the chops over rice or mashed potatoes with a large spoonful of the apple-onion mixture over the top.