When I moved into my new place last July I swore I was going to have friends and family over for dinner all the time -- it hasn't exactly happened that way. For starters it took months for my furniture to be delivered (hard to host a dinner without a table and chairs), and secondly I've had a difficult time conquering my fear of kitchen multi-tasking while hosting.
When you're in a relationship entertaining is fairly simple. One person can be chit-chatting with guests in the living room, pouring wine, etc, while the other is busy in the kitchen chopping herbs or prepping appetizers. When you're a single girl it's all on you to be a good host while at the same time not burning the garlic or forgetting about the walnuts you put in the oven to toast.
Tonight my friends Cathy and Jason came over for dinner and I was determined to make something nice for them. Coming up with a menu is fun, but also overwhelming when you have as many cookbooks as I do. I finally settled on roast pork with apricot and shallot stuffing, roasted winter vegetables, buttered green beans, and a warm apple compote to serve alongside the pork. For dessert, a maple sugar pie (Cathy loves the flavour of maple) with whipped cream.
The menu determined, I headed to St. Lawrence Market this morning to pick up everything I needed. In the early afternoon, I baked the maple sugar pie. It was my first attempt outside cooking class at pie pastry, and it rolled out nicely. Tricky thing, that pie pastry. In retrospect the pie was creamy and sweet, the crust crisp and golden. For a flakier crust I hear using half vegetable shortening and half butter is the way to go and I might try that next time. I used all butter and the crust was a bit on the firm side for my liking.
With a couple of hours to spare I started cooking the apple compote, using Fuji apples (a recommendation from Chef Marty). I'm proud to say it turned out just as well as it did in class last week, and Cathy and Jason raved about it. It goes so nicely with roast pork, I'm definitely adding it to my repertoire. I've included the recipe below.
The pork turned out well. I don't know what cooks did before meat thermometers. It's impossible to tell otherwise whether the pork is cooked all the way through. I tested it once and it wasn't quite done enough in the center so it went back in the oven for another 10 minutes. That finished it off and it was cooked just right. As for the stuffing, it tasted great when I cooked it in the pan but I'm not sure it benefited from being inside the pork roast. I think next time I'd make a double batch -- one for stuffing the pork roast to keep it moist, and more to serve on the side on its own.
The winter vegetables were tasty although it's hard to screw those up. I went for a selection of red-skinned baby potatoes, parsnips, onion, and purple-hued carrots that looked and tasted a bit like beets. Very cool, and really added some visual oomph to what can otherwise be a dull-looking dish.
(By the way, I didn't take any pics of the meal -- you'll have to believe me when I say it all looked fantastic.)
All in all, the evening was a great success and I managed to enjoy my friends' company without being a slave to the meal (as I was worried I might be). Next time I have Cathy and Jason over though I'm making things simpler: macaroni and cheese. I never need an excuse to cook that and Jason told me tonight it's one of his favourite dishes. Say no more!
Good luck to all those single guys or gals cooking for friends. It's a challenge, but you'll definitely be satisfied when you're through. And hey, if you feel overwhelmed, they're your friends, put them to work!
Warm Apple Compote*
Serve with pork, or enjoy it on its own.
4 Fuji apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1 inch pieces (If you can't find Fuji, Braeburn, Spy or Ida Red will also work)
1-2 oz water
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon, or to taste
1 tsp nutmeg, or to taste
1/3 cup chicken stock
1/3 cup red wine
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter
Rind and juice of one lemon
*Note: The measurements here are to be used as a guide only. Taste the compote as it's cooking and use your judgement on whether the compote needs more sugar, more acidity, more butter or stock to round out the flavour.
Put half of chopped apples, along with water and brown sugar, in a medium sized sauce pot and stir to combine over low to medium heat. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest and lemon juice and salt. Stir and let the apples begin to break down, adding chicken stock or water if the liquid at the bottom evaporates. You don't want the apples to stick to the pan and burn.
When the apples have softened and broken down substantially, add the rest of the chopped apples along with more spices as needed. Add the red wine and stir. Keep the mixture simmering and let the second batch of apples soften somewhat. Once those apples are softer, though still holding their shape, add a bit more chicken stock and some butter. Stir well. Once you're happy with the consistency -- ideally the first apples will have become a chunky sauce and the second ones will be more or less intact -- take it off the heat and either keep it warm if you're planning to serve right away, or cool down and then refrigerate.
Makes approximately 4 to 6 servings.
Salut!
Suzanne
Comments? Email suzannekathrynellis@gmail.com
Showing posts with label apple compote. Show all posts
Showing posts with label apple compote. Show all posts
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Baked pork chop with date and bacon stuffing
Tonight was our last night of actual cooking in my George Brown cooking class (sniff!). I've absolutely loved this 12-week course, and I know for a fact I'll be taking more classes from GBCS. It's just a matter of where to go from here - Italian? French? Asian? Sauces? Knife Skills?
But anyway, back to class. On Tuesday we made a baked pork chop with date and bacon stuffing, and a warm apple compote to go alongside. Chef Marty gave us more incredible tips on how to ensure the finished dish is exactly how it should be. The pork chops had the bone still attached, which definitely makes for better presentation.
We started off by making the apple compote, comprised of 4 Spy apples peeled and cut into a one-inch dice (so quite large), ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, grated ginger, some white wine, about a third of a cup of white sugar (although you could use brown), a teaspoon of sea salt, the zest and juice from a lemon, a tablespoon or two of butter and 1/4 cup or so of chicken stock just to round out the flavour. If you were making apple compote for dessert, you could omit the stock.
I've avoided putting precise measurements in my description because really this is one of those "make it to taste" dishes. We were adding ingredients as we went, more cinnamon if needed, more butter or stock if the flavours were too acidic or harsh. More lemon juice if more tartness was required. It's one of those recipes that really makes you feel like a chef, because you're constantly tasting, and trying to improve on, what you've done. One thing to note though is that Chef Marty added half of the apples at the start with the spices and other ingredients (except for the stock and butter), cooked them down until they were quite soft, and then added the rest of the apples. What happens is you end up having a variety of textures -- the apples added in first will soften to the point where they're breaking down, while the late additions will still have a welcome bit of bite to them.
Once the compote was all but done we were able to start on the pork dish. First we started with the stuffing, which was essentially sauteed bacon , onions, and celery. Add some chopped dates that have been soaking in Riesling or another white wine. Season with salt and pepper, as always, and cook the mixture down, deglazing with white wine or water as needed. When there's still a bit of liquid left in the pan, but not much, add some bread cubes from a stale loaf (1 or 2 slices' worth). You should be able to stir it all together by this point and the bread will soak up the extra moisture.
It's important to cool down the stuffing before you shove it into the pork chop cavity, so let it rest for a few minutes. Use your boning knife to cut into the chop and use it to make a sizeable pocket in the chops. Once the stuffing has cooled slightly spoon it into the waiting chops.
Heat up some oil and butter a large skillet, on high heat. Rub the chops with oil, salt, and pepper, and when the pan is hot, put the chops in to sear. Shake the pan to ensure the chop isn't sticking. Turn down the oven temperature. After a couple of minutes turn the chop to cook the other side. Then put the pan in the oven so that the chop can finish cooking. Use a meat thermometer to test for doneness -- if the internal temperature reaches 150C you're in business.
This was all in all a delicious meal. Everything went together and it was that perfect balance of savoury and sweet. Can't wait to try it again at home.
Salut!
Suzanne
Email comments to suzannekathrynellis@gmail.com.
But anyway, back to class. On Tuesday we made a baked pork chop with date and bacon stuffing, and a warm apple compote to go alongside. Chef Marty gave us more incredible tips on how to ensure the finished dish is exactly how it should be. The pork chops had the bone still attached, which definitely makes for better presentation.
We started off by making the apple compote, comprised of 4 Spy apples peeled and cut into a one-inch dice (so quite large), ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, grated ginger, some white wine, about a third of a cup of white sugar (although you could use brown), a teaspoon of sea salt, the zest and juice from a lemon, a tablespoon or two of butter and 1/4 cup or so of chicken stock just to round out the flavour. If you were making apple compote for dessert, you could omit the stock.
I've avoided putting precise measurements in my description because really this is one of those "make it to taste" dishes. We were adding ingredients as we went, more cinnamon if needed, more butter or stock if the flavours were too acidic or harsh. More lemon juice if more tartness was required. It's one of those recipes that really makes you feel like a chef, because you're constantly tasting, and trying to improve on, what you've done. One thing to note though is that Chef Marty added half of the apples at the start with the spices and other ingredients (except for the stock and butter), cooked them down until they were quite soft, and then added the rest of the apples. What happens is you end up having a variety of textures -- the apples added in first will soften to the point where they're breaking down, while the late additions will still have a welcome bit of bite to them.
Once the compote was all but done we were able to start on the pork dish. First we started with the stuffing, which was essentially sauteed bacon , onions, and celery. Add some chopped dates that have been soaking in Riesling or another white wine. Season with salt and pepper, as always, and cook the mixture down, deglazing with white wine or water as needed. When there's still a bit of liquid left in the pan, but not much, add some bread cubes from a stale loaf (1 or 2 slices' worth). You should be able to stir it all together by this point and the bread will soak up the extra moisture.
It's important to cool down the stuffing before you shove it into the pork chop cavity, so let it rest for a few minutes. Use your boning knife to cut into the chop and use it to make a sizeable pocket in the chops. Once the stuffing has cooled slightly spoon it into the waiting chops.
Heat up some oil and butter a large skillet, on high heat. Rub the chops with oil, salt, and pepper, and when the pan is hot, put the chops in to sear. Shake the pan to ensure the chop isn't sticking. Turn down the oven temperature. After a couple of minutes turn the chop to cook the other side. Then put the pan in the oven so that the chop can finish cooking. Use a meat thermometer to test for doneness -- if the internal temperature reaches 150C you're in business.
This was all in all a delicious meal. Everything went together and it was that perfect balance of savoury and sweet. Can't wait to try it again at home.
Salut!
Suzanne
Email comments to suzannekathrynellis@gmail.com.
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