Pepper Jelly Pork Chops and Citrus Spinach Salad

OK I'm back for real this time! I was so excited that Bobby moved home in November from his two months away, that I didn't really take into account that he still wasn't going to be here with any regularity because of all his travel for interviews. Which are FINALLY over! I can't tell you the extent to which, last Sunday evening I wrote down a full week of menus on my whiteboard and nearly cried tears of joy! I'm so happy to have Bobby back home with no planned impending travel, and a regular work schedule (Family Med til mid-Feb).

We have several health related goals for 2011, and in particular we're working to lower Bobby's cholesterol and reduce his sodium intake. So you may see some changes in the blog as a result. Also, in recent months, I've started eating more chicken! I make no promises that I'll be making chicken regularly...but I hope to have chicken in the menu plan at least once a week. This week we're having it in sweet and sour stir fry...as soon as I find a recipe for low-sodium sweet and sour sauce.

So the following is what I consider to be my first official new recipe of 2011. Both can be credited to my new Southern Living 2010 Annual Recipes cookbook that I got for Christmas. We really liked this pairing--spicy with citrus--and definitely plan to make it again...maybe with chicken!


Pepper Jelly Pork Chops

4 (3/4-inch-thick) bone-in pork loin chops (about 2 1/4 lb.) (We actually just made two)
3 tablespoons butter, divided
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 large jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup red pepper jelly

Melt butter with oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops and cook on one side until they look about half way cooked, then flip and do the other side. The timing on this will vary based on the size of your pork chop, since some are ridiculously thick. When finished, remove from skillet, and keep warm.

Add flour and jalapeño to skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes or until flour is golden brown. Add wine, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of skillet; cook 1 minute or until almost completely reduced. Add chicken broth, and cook 2 to 3 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken. Whisk in pepper jelly until melted and smooth. Lower the heat and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until thickened. Return pork to skillet; turn to coat. Serve pork with sauce.

It's spicy, but YUM! Then paired with a citrus salad (so great this time of year with all the fresh citrus). I made this salad dressing, and tossed with spinach leaves, toasted almonds, and chunks of a cara-cara navel orange (the pink ones). But you could do a regular orange or a grapefruit.

To toast your almonds, just add half a package of almond slivers to a small skillet and stir on med-low heat until a few begin to turn a golden color.

Citrus Vinaigrette

1 (1/2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped sweet onion
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 cup olive oil

Pulse first 6 ingredients in a blender or food processor until blended. With blender running, add olive oil in a slow, steady stream, processing until smooth.

My little food processor won't run unless the lid is on, so I added the EVOO after the first 6 ingredients were well blended, and it worked out fine! Serve with warm bread (my favorite these days is the Rosemary Olive Oil bread from Costco, and I make a little saucer of good olive oil with some dried basil flecks and Italian seasoning.)