It Smells Like Autumn

Squash roasting in the oven, onion sizzling on the stove - soon it will be stuffed turkey and pumpkin pie scents wafting through the house. Ah, autumn.

Tonight's dinner was pork chops with a fig-heirloom tomato relish, roasted acorn squash and Brussels sprouts. The recipes are below. Please note that when I came up with this fig-relish, I orignally added pomegranate seeds - you will notice I did not list that ingredient in the recipe. It's not that the flavor didn't go well, it was the "surprise" texture - almost unsure if you were crunching bits of porkchop bones. If you want to add the pomegranate seeds to this dish, I would advise you did so by sprinkling the seeds atop the relish just prior to serving. I was very pleased with the flavor of the fig-heirloom tomato relish - very interesting blend of flavors. I hope you try it!

Pork Chops with Fig and Heirloom Tomato Relish

3 pork chops, bone-in
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 large heirloom tomato
10-12 small fresh figs
2 shallots, minced
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 c. white wine
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cumin

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Toss in heirloom tomato and figs to blanch for 30 seconds, remove to a rack to cool slightly. Peel and coarsely chop tomato and figs. Set aside.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over high heat. Sprinkle both sides of pork chops with salt and pepper. Place chops into hot skillet and sear for approximately 3-5 minutes, on each side, until nicely browned. Remove chops to a plate and set aside.

Return skillet to the burner and turn heat to medium. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Add diced shallots and cook just until translucent. Add chopped figs and tomato mixture. Stir in maple syrup, cumin, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Cook for approximately 5 minutes or until relish starts to thicken slightly, then add chops back into skillet and cook with relish for approximately 20-25 minutes longer, turning chops once halfway through.

Simply Roasted Acorn Squash
2, acorn squash
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup honey
Salt and pepper

Halve the squash and remove seeds. Cut a small sliver off the rounded edge of each half so that when set upright like a bowl, it does not wobble. Sprinkle each half with salt and pepper. Place center cut side down in a shallow baking dish with 1/2 inch of water. Microwave the same time you would two baked potatoes on Auto Cook (approximately 10 minutes-high heat). You should be able to pierce the flesh of the acorn easily with a fork but it should not be mushy.

Remove from microwave and set upright (like a bowl) on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and honey - add 1/2 tablespoon of butter to center of each half. Bake in a 350-degree oven for approximately 30 minutes, until slightly browned.

 
Basic Brussels sprouts:


Bring a pot full of salted water to a rolling boil. Wash the sprouts and peel off any shoddy looking outer leaves. Cut the very end of the stem off and – to insure even cooking – cut an “X” into the stem end of each sprout, taking care not to cut all the way through the sprout.

Put the prepped sprouts into the boiling, salted water and continue to cook, boiling, until sprouts are firm but easily pierced with a fork (approximately 8-10 minutes).

Strain, add butter, salt and pepper as desired.