Pork chops with cherry sauce

Every year we get dry cherries from Door County, Wisconsin from a place called Country Ovens .
I usually use them in a banana bread or eat them straight out of the bag.  I had one bag left and decided to try to make a sauce for our pork chops.


Ingredients
4 pork chops
2/3 cup dry sherry
1/2 cup dried tart cherries
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
4 tbs butter
1 small onion finely diced
1 tsp minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste


Heat grill

While chopping onions, soak cherries in in dry sherry.
In a saute pan melt 4 tbs butter, add onions cook until translucent.  Add garlic and let cook an additional minute.  Slowly, add cherries, dry sherry, and balsamic vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste.    Bring to a simmer and let simmer on low until pork chops are ready.

Salt and pepper pork chops and place on grill for about 10 minutes each side or internal temperature 145 degrees.

Spoon cherry sauce over pork chops before serving.

Stuffed Dove Breasts wrapped in Bacon

A few weekends ago Tim went on his annual Dove hunting trip with his buddies.  Normally I am not too excited about him bring home Dove, however I finally have a recipe that I like, thanks to the Riley Brothers.  Ok, so they said to use sharp cheddar; we used goat cheese instead.

Ingredients
14 Dove Breasts
7 slices of thick cut bacon
1 oz goat cheese
1 large serrano


Preheat Grill Medium

Take one dove breast, place a little bit of goat cheese, a slice of serrano, and top with the an additional breast.  Wrap in bacon and use toothpicks to hold in place.

Place on grill and cook until bacon begins to get crisp.  Remove and let cool before enjoying.

Chicken Stew with Chorizo

This reminds me of some good old days I used to have with my friend Jen.  She would come over on Sunday afternoon and we would make this and eat it watching a show called Alias.   Yes, we were and still are wild and crazy gals.

On a side note this is another good fall recipe.


Ingredients
1/4 cup essence of Emeril's Spice Mix
1 tbs olive oil
4 chicken thighs (bone in-skin on)
1 medium red onion diced
1 tbs minced garlic
1 lb ground chorizo or hot Italian sausage
1 small red bell pepper cut into matchsticks
1 small yellow bell pepper cut into matchsticks
1 small green bell pepper cut into matchsticks
4 small potatoes cubed
1 14 oz can diced tomato
6 oz large pitted black olives whole
6 oz of chardonnay
parmesan cheese (optional)
chopped cilantro (optional)


 In a large bowl combine chicken and essence of Emeril's Spice Mix.  Make sure chicken is well coated and set aside.  In a 14 in skillet heat olive oil and place chicken in pan browning both sides (about 1 to 2 minutes each side).  Remove chicken from pan and set aside.  Cook ground sausage until cooked completely through.  Remove all but 1 tbs of excess oil.

Add onions and minced garlic cook until onions soften.  Stir in bell peppers, potatoes and tomatoes. Nestle the chicken back into the pan and pour chardonnay over entire dish and black olives.  Allow to come to a boil.  Cover and lower heat to allow a slow simmer for at least 45 minutes.  I find the more time you let it cook the better it tastes.

Serve over rice or couscous and garnish with parmesan cheese and cilantro.

Pumpkin Oatmeal dog treats

What to do on the first rainy fall Saturday?  Make pumpkin oatmeal cookies for my old ladies, meaning the dogs.  My house now smells like pumpkin pie and has that warm cozy feeling that a house should have during the fall months.

Ingredients
1 15 oz can of pumpkin
1 cup water
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup oatmeal
4 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon


Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Combine pumpkin, water, oil and cinnamon in a bowl.  Stir well and gradually add the oatmeal and flour.  Form a dough and roll to 1/4 inch thickness.  Cut with cookie cutters.  Bake on ungreased cookie sheets for 30 minutes.

Chicken Quesadillas

Last weekend I had dinner with friends, and they made Chicken Quesadillas.   I liked them so much I wanted to make them again for Tim.

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts (butterflied)
1 large green bell pepper
1 medium onion
4 cups shredded cheese ( Sargento Mexican Cheese works well)
onion powder
garlic powder
toasted cumin powder
salt
pepper
chipotle pepper
chopped cilantro.
diced jalapeños  (optional)
4 large tortillas


Preheat Grill
Sprinkle onion powder, garlic powder, cumin powder, salt, pepper and chipotle powder on all sides of the chicken.  Grill for 3 minutes each side or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Set aside and dice when cooled.

Cut bell pepper in half and remove seeds.  Flatten the bell pepper and place on grill for about 1 to 2 minutes.    Slice Onion into large rounds and place on grill for 1 to 2 minutes.   Let cool and then dice.

Preheat oven to  425 degrees
On a large baking sheet, place 1 tortilla top with 1 cup of cheese, veggies, chicken, and cilantro.  Top with an additional cup of cheese and 1 tortilla.  Bake for 10 minutes, until cheese is melted.

Serve with favorite salsa, sour cream and guacamole.

Spiced Indian eggplant with potato (Baingan Aloo)

My coworker brought in Japanese eggplant from her garden.  They needed to be used right away so I volunteered to make Baingan Aloo (Spiced Indian eggplant with potato) and bring the dish into the office for my new coworkers to try.  I did not make this as spicy as I normally would so feel free to add some red chili pepper or the entire jalapeño to give it a little more kick.


Ingredients
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs cumin seeds
1 medium onion diced
1/2 a jalapeno diced (optional)
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 a large tomato diced or 1/2 a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 medium potato diced
3 Japanese Eggplant (cut in 1 inch rounds)
1/4 tsp tumeric
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp red chili pepper (optional)
1 tbs garam masala
cilantro (optional)


In a large skillet heat oil and cumin seeds.  When cumin seeds begin to crackle add onions and cook until slightly browned.  Add jalpaneo, garlic and tomato and cook until combined about 1 minute.  Add, potato, eggplant, turmeric and salt.  Reduce heat to medium/low and cover.  Let cook until potato and eggplant begins to soften, about 10 to 15 minutes.  Stir in garam masala and cilantro.  Cook additional 1 minute.

Serve with Roti or Naan.

Adobo Chicken

This is a really simple and light recipe. I was not sure what to expect with the adobo sauce, but I really loved the results.  It gives the chicken a smokey, spicy flavor that plays well with a Southwest Quinoa Salad.

Ingredients
1 7oz can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (pureed) (reserve 1/2 cup)
1 lb chicken breasts
1/4 cup orange marmalade
1 orange
black pepper to taste


In a gallon size Ziplock bag place chicken and pureed chipotle peppers with adobe sauce (reserving about 1/2 cup or puree) and marinate over night.

Preheat grill and grill chicken for  about 7 minutes each side until internal temperature reaches 160.  Remove and tent with foil while you make the glaze.

To make the glaze combine 1/4 cup marmalade, 1/2 cup of the reserved pureed chipotle in adobe sauce, the zest and juice of one orange.  Bring to a boil and let reduce about 1/2.  Due to the high sugar content continue to stir otherwise the glaze will burn.

Serve chicken over salad and top with glaze.