Can you Handle one Last Morsel of Fall Food?

…and then I promise I’ll stop.  I promise I will return to the land of inspirational Jesus writing and stuff but seriously, this recipe is so, so good that it would be criminal of me to not share.  I would hate for my spotless record to become besmirched (see? I’ve read Jane Austen) by a failure-to-share conviction.

So, here’s the thing: back in the dark ages, before I was married,  I worked in a seedy little company on 82nd Street in Portland.  It was a miserable job working for a miserable little tax-evading man but that’s a story for another time.  One dreary day in that office, a lovely woman came in and she was – you’ll never guess – selling cookbooks door-to-door!  Because back in the 80’s I guess that’s how we did business.  Weird.  Anyway, I was so happy to see someone other than my coworkers that I promptly bought a couple of cookbooks for me and my family. This one made the rounds back in the day, so maybe you’ve seen it:

It’s a funny cookbook because it varies between crazy, complicated french cooking and recipes involving Velveeta Cheese and Cream of Mushroom soup.  I can’t figure out the editing process at all, but I’ve found a few winners in it.  I especially love it for basic sauces and soups.  But that’s also not what we’re talking about.  What we’re talking about is fall food and this fun little recipe here:

Pork with Cider

• 1 & 1/2 pounds lean boneless pork, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil (confession: we had bacon for breakfast and I browned the meat in olive oil and bacon fat.  Don’t judge. )
• 1 & 1/2 cups apple cider
• 2 carrots sliced
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 1/2 tsp rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
  

Thoroughly dredge pork with flour (which I also seasoned with salt and pepper because I think failure to season meat is also criminal).  Heat bacon fat oil  in beautiful orange dutch oven until hot.  Carefully add pork (it sizzles!)  Cook until browned on all sides.   Remove pork, drain on paper towels.    Drain oil from pan, pour in cider; heat and stir to remove browned bits from pan.  Add carrots, onion, rosemary, bay leaf, salt & pepper and meat to casserole.  Cover.  Bake in 325 oven 2 hours until meat is tender.  Remove bay leaf.  Serve over yummy mashed potatoes.

Now, I have been passing by this recipe for years, viewing it with a sniff of disdain because “pork with cider”?  Who came up with that compelling name?  And it sounds awful.  And I don’t like apple juice.  Anyway, last week I had one of those huge packages of pork chops from Costco and so I cut up three of them and made this little recipe in the new love of my life:

It was truly wonderful.  It makes it’s own delicious sweet/savory gravy and so we served it over mashed potatoes (which my family would honestly eat in sandwiches if it was okay with society).  It was also very easy – though browning cubes of meat is not my favorite part of cooking…it’s always worth it.

So now is when I promise again:  no more fall food.  I will cease and desist.  I will read my Bible more and cooking web sites less.  I will.  I will.  Try.

Happy Eating,

Bo