Sharing Plate – Your Cooking Coach |

I had these pork chops in my freezer for a while, I had bought them from a local butcher air-packed and frozen. I wasn’t sure what to do with them until my daughter talked about the delicious applesauce her teacher made at school. Apples go so well with pork chops!! When I think of apples and pork chops, thyme comes to mind! So that is what I did. I took onions, garlic and cooked them with the apples. Adding the flour right into the skillet saves you a step (and cleaning a pan!). I decided to use cider for the pan gravy. The cider gives the dish a very deep apple flavor, and cooking the chops right in the gravy makes them tender and full of flavor. I did make creamed corn and fingerling potatoes (recipes to follow in the next few days!). After all of that, my daughter ate the pork chops but did not like the apples!! They were not the same as what her teacher made! I guess you can’t please everyone! Enjoy!

• 4 boneless center cup pork chops ½ to ¾ inch thick
• Salt
• Ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced thin
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
• 1 large Granny Smith apple or 2 small Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 3/8 inch wedges
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1½ cups apple cider

Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over high heat until smoking, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, dry pork chops with paper towel and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Brown chops in single layer until deep golden on first side, about 3 minutes. Flip chops and cook until browned on second side, another 3 minutes. Transfer chops to a large plate and set aside.
Reduce heat to medium and add the onions and apples. Using wooden spoon, scrape bits on pan bottom and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are softened and browned around edges, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme and rosemary and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the flour to the skillet and cook for about a minute mixing well. Next add the apple cider slowly whisking the entire mixture until it turns into a smooth sauce. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to medium. Add the chops, cover and reduce heat to low, and simmer until pork is tender and paring knife inserted into chops meets very little resistance, about 20 minutes.

So how do you eat your fruit? Everyone is trying to be healthy these days and one tasty way of achieving it is eating fruit. I love fruit, especially in the summer with abundant berries, nectarines, plums, etc. In the winter, it’s a different story, there are so many oranges and apples you can eat! A few times a week I have started eating fruit salad either for a snack or even a meal. I remembered the fruit salad (called fruit chaat in India) I used to have many years ago. The best way to describe the flavor would be similar to Thai food- hot, sour, sweet and salty. It essentially pushes your taste buds to the edge.
Most Indians eat their fruit with salt and pepper. A very popular snack on the streets of Delhi is a concoction of fruit, lemon juice and lots of cayenne pepper and a key ingredient called chaat masala.
The wikipedia definition of chaat masala is a spice mix, used in Indian cuisine. It typically consists of amchoor (dried mango powder), cumin, black salt, coriander, etc. The ingredients are combined and served on a small metal plate or a banana leaf, dried and formed into a bowl, at chaat carts (especially in Southern-India).

I love having my fruit this way!  I use turbinado sugar to give the dish a nice crunch but regular sugar is fine as well.  I had it for lunch today and will probably have it tomorrow as well!

• 1 cup fresh pineapple, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 navel orange or tangerine, peeled and sectioned (cut the slices into half)
• ½ cup red grapes, cut in half
• 1 banana, cut into ½ inch rounds
• ½ apple, cut into ½ inch squares
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 teaspoon sugar (turbinado)
• 1 teaspoon chaat masala

In case you can’t find the chaat masala, then use:

• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Toss the fruit in a bowl with the lemon juice, sugar and chaat masala (or salt, cumin and cayenne pepper).

I started with the basil chicken sausages I bought yesterday. I admit to be obsessed with chicken sausages! I find them to be a healthy protein and come in lots of flavors and meal possibilities. Anyway, I was in the mood to make a baked pasta dish but not necessarily with marinara sauce. I decided to go with a bechamel sauce (white sauce), which is typically used in a homemade macaroni and cheese. I added pecorino instead of parmesan because it has a stronger flavor and it is not used as often, but, you can definitely use parmesan. Not sure why I chose spinach, maybe because I didn’t have any other vegetables in my fridge except baby carrots and cucumbers. Overall it came out quite well. My daughter thought it was delicious. We ate it with some garlic bread I had left over in the freezer.
The other thing I bought with the sausage was a Portuguese white wine. It looked quite fascinating to me- it had little bubbles! While in Madrid this past summer, we had lots of rose wines with tiny bubbles in them. They weren’t bubbles like champagne, far less- made it a lot easier to drink. I have been looking for something similar until now! The wine is called Gazela and it’s quite tasty. I wouldn’t categorize it as a superb wine but definitely an everyday kind of wine you can have at home. It was around five dollars so you can’t really go wrong. Anyway, the bubbles worked quite well with the creamy white sauce in the pasta.

• 2 basil Chicken Sausages- sliced into 1-inch rounds
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, cut into one-inch pieces
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 10 ounces chopped frozen spinach, thawed with water squeezed out
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ pound penne pasta
• 8 ounces part skim mozzarella cheese, grated- divided into 1/3 cup and 2/3 cup

White Sauce

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk (1%, 2% or whole milk will do)
• ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ cup pecorino romano, grated

Preheat oven at 400 degrees
In a wide skillet, heat the olive oil and add the sausages on medium-high heat. Brown the sausages for about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the onions and garlic. Saute for a minute or so. Next, add the spinach and the salt. Mix well, making sure all the ingredients are warm and cooked through. Keep aside.
In a medium sized pot, bring water to a boil and cook the pasta until almost done ( the rest will bake in the oven). Add the pasta to sausage and onion mixture.
In the meantime, in a small pan, melt the butter and add the flour. Start to whisk the mixture over medium-high heat for a minute or two. Then add the milk slowly while whisking making sure no lumps form. Bring the liquid to a boil. Once it starts to thicken, take it off the heat. Add the nutmeg, salt, black pepper and the pecorino cheese. Add the sauce to the pasta and sausage mixture. Add 1/3 cup of the mozzarella cheese and mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning. Transfer the mixture into an ovenproof dish and top it with the remaining 2/3cup mozzarella cheese. Bake uncovered for 10 minutes. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for another 20 minutes.

This topic is very near and dear to my heart. My morning cup of coffee is something I think of all day- before I have it and also long after I have savored it. I use a stove top espresso maker which I discovered in Europe. I was visiting my aunt and discovered she didn’t have an electric coffee maker so I made my coffee in the espresso maker and realized that it made a fabulous cup ! Years later I found it in NYC and haven’t gone back since… I like my coffee extremely hot and I can get that from this contraption. Even the milk gets warmed and mixed with the freshly brewed coffee in the top compartment. I then pour my coffee into an insulated hand blown 10 oz cup that I absolutely love. I now travel with it where ever I go, I even take my ground coffee. I know it sounds a little nutty but you can’t diminish the satisfaction of a superbly brewed cup of coffee.
I would love to know what you use to make your morning cup of coffee and why you love it so much!

I am not sure if a lot of people are aware of savory French toast. I grew up with it, my Mom used to make it for dinner all the time. There was a street vendor near our house who sold the same thing but took it to a different level! He added onions, cilantro and lots of Serrano chili. Over the years it was my brother who replicated the dish at home. Recently I asked him how to make it. Today since it was snowing, my husband remembered the dish – it’s definitely a comfort food- and we made it.
The original dish is made with white bread, I wanted to be healthy and used whole-wheat instead. It also tastes great if you add grated cheese in the egg mixture.
Growing up we used to have the savory French toast with ketchup. Recently I have discovered a jar of tomato chutney sold at Trader Joes, which goes perfectly with this dish.
We really enjoyed the French toast with a hot cup of Masala Coffee – you wonder what that is? Well I will have to divulge that another day!

• 4 pieces sliced bread
• 4 eggs
• ½ cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 cup green onions, chopped
• 1 serrano chili, chopped
• 1½ teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons water
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

Egg Mixture

In a wide, shallow plate add the eggs, salt, cayenne pepper and the water. Beat until everything is mixed well. Add cilantro and mix. Keep aside.

Heat a large non-stick pan and add one teaspoon oil. Add half cup of the green onions, serrano chili and sauté on medium heat for about a minute. (Work with 2 slices at one time) Take each slice and dip in the egg mixture and place on top of the cooking green onions and serrano chili. Cook for at least 4-5 minutes on medium heat. Flip both the slices to cook the other sides for another 4-5 minutes. Once both sides are cooked well, place one slice on top of the other (like a grilled cheese sandwich). Cut in half and serve.
Follow the same steps with the other two slices with the left over green onion and egg mixture.