Cranberry and Onion Porkchops

From cranberry and onion porkchops

 
Uuuggghhh, I had written something really nice to accompany this blog. I forgot to save it and Blogger for some reason did not auto save it, so now I am back to the drawing board. I have been here many times. Note to self again; always, always save!

Well, since my wonderful hubby works rotation overseas, we do not see him for weeks at a time. When he is home, workfree,  I really want to cook him wonderful meals, so I play around in the kitchen even more than usual. The other night,  I managed to create a dish that was inspired by a Cranberry and Pork Chop recipe I came across that used onion soup mix and French dressing, along with cranberries, to marinade and cook pork chops in.  However, I omitted the onion soup mix and dressing and opted instead for chopped onions and citric juices.  I also used fresh cranberry sauce, instead of canned, which the recipe called for.

First, I marinated 2.5 lbs of mixed pork chops in a marinade made up of 1 cup of fresh cranberry sauce, 1 cup of chopped onions, 1/4 cup of orange juice, 1/4 cup of pineapple juice, 1/4 cup of chicken stock, 2 tsp of minced garlic, and 1/4 cup of pineapple chunks. This is on the fly marinade, so you can make it using any type combination of the above that suits your taste buds. I marinated the pork chops for about 3 hours. The longer the better, but one hour would probably work. Next, I placed the pork chops on the George Foreman and let them sear for a few minutes on each side. Finally I spooned some of the marinade over the chops, adding more and more of the marinade and fruit chunks while I continued to flip the chops intermittently until they were done.  I plated the chops with warm cranberry sauce on top and served with rice pilaf and steamed green beans.  My hubby, who is not a big fan of pork chops, absolutely loved this dish.  The chops were juicy and tangy. What I liked about this dish is that you could serve it with a nice light red wine or white wine and it would still bring out the flavors. It also made the kitchen smell wonderful and just like the holidays.

I also tried Honey B's newfound recipe for Eggnog Thumbprints. Let me tell you, they were easy to make and delivered a little taste of eggnog in each bite!  My hubby also loved these, too, and he normally is not a fan of thumbprint cookies. I think it is the special taste of eggnog that makes these cookies such a treat.  It took everything in us not to eat them all and save some for my book club.  The ladies there also gave them two thumbs up. No pun intended! Okay, maybe it was a little bit intended. Anyway, if you are looking for a cookie that is easy to make and special to serve and get the office nod of approval that makes you swell up with pride with holiday glory and accomplishment, this may be your cookie. The only modification I made, beside adjusting the time and temperature for my Dino Oven as always, was adding a touch of eggnog to the filling to boost up the flavor.  I also piped my filling using a number 32 star tip, but just a simple piping bag with a smal hole cut out would do just as well.

From eggnog thumbprints

By the way, my wonderful friend and dearest, sweetest, neighbor, Dragana, has finally started her blog. She has an amazing culinary talent, so if you have time, please go and visit her very ethnic and genuine blog.

Gotta go. The baby summons me.