Cranberry Mustard-Maple Pork Chops

This recipe was born because I made an impulse purchase, and then realized I didn't quite know what to do with that impulse purchase. The purchase in question was Cranberry Mustard. I know, sounds intriguing, right? I thought so, too. It came in one of those little round, fancy-looking jars, and it was such a pretty, mauve/maroon color. I just could not resist it. Plus, I didn't know if/when I'd ever see it again, so I wanted to grab it while I could!

The mustard is delicious, by the way. It has a distinctly fruity flavor, while still having that tang that mustard has. It did not look like grainy mustard upon my initial inspection, but as soon as I started to spoon it out of the jar, I could see the little grains inside. So, so good! I found a place online to purchase it, too, so when I run out I can still find it there.

So, back to the chops. I bought some boneless, country-style ribs recently, and I wanted to cook them low and slow in the oven. I also have been wanting to try a maple-mustard combination on meat, so I took a chance and did a little bit of experimentation.

I checked out how to bake boneless ribs online, and then I played with a couple different things I'd seen or read about, and came up with this recipe. And guess what? It was good! The glaze on the ribs was so sticky-sweet, tart, and yummy, and it really paired well with the pork. By roasting the ribs with some onions, I was able to retain their moisture and also add extra flavor. I definitely recommend giving this a try, with your own favorite spices or mustard. Oh, and note that the side dish you can just barely see in the background will be blogged about tomorrow, when I tell you about this week's CEIMB!

Cranberry Mustard-Maple Pork Chops
recipe by Bri
makes about 5 boneless ribs

Ingredients
1 1/4 lbs. boneless, country-style ribs (or boneless pork chops)
1 Tbsp. cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp. cumin
3 Tbsp. cranberry mustard
2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
1 Tbsp. agave nectar (you can also just use 3 Tbsp. maple syrup and omit the agave)
1/2 red or yellow onion, sliced into half-moons

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Combine the cajun seasoning and cumin in a small bowl. Rinse and pat the ribs dry, and them rub the seasonings all over each. Place the ribs on a baking sheet with sides, or in a shallow baking dish lined with foil.

2. Gently place the onion slices on top of the ribs, then cover the sheet or pan with foil. Bake, covered, for an hour and fifteen minutes. During the last fifteen minutes, combine the mustard, syrup, and agave in a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil, then remove from heat.

3. Remove the foil from the pan and baste the ribs with the mustard/syrup glaze. Switch the oven to broil, and put the ribs back in the oven for about 3-5 minutes, until the glaze has bubbled slightly. Allow to rest for several minutes before serving.

Chipotle Maple Peanut Brittle

I hope you will excuse the presentation in the pictures here. I photographed my Chipotle Maple Peanut Brittle in my little Santa Claus bowl, because I made this stuff for the holidays and the Santa theme was totally relevant then. However, the Christmsa season took over quickly on me and I never got around to posting about the brittle until now. Believe me, it deserved a mention, late or not, so here is my blog entry on it, albeit a little late.



This beautiful, complex, amazing candy is one of my new favorite things. I'm serious; this is majorly addictive, sweet, salty, spicy goodness in brittle form. It was simple to make with the use of my handy dandy candy thermometer, contained ingredients that you wouldn't necessarily think would work together so well (so it makes a great conversation piece!), and it keeps for a couple of weeks. The maple syrup gives the brittle a great edge of sweetness that makes it different from the standard candy. The chipotle powder is this fantastic stealth ingredient that doesn't instantly present itself. Instead, it hits you just after the second or third bite, out of nowhere. It's this great smoky heat that pairs so amazingly well with the nuts and the sugary goodness. It's something you just have to try for yourself if you like trying new and interesting foods. As far as different goes, this one is a doozy!

Chipotle Maple Peanut Brittle

from Culinary in the Desert (adapted from Cooking Light)

makes about 1 3/4 lbs. of brittle

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1 Tbsp. butter

2 1/2 cups (about 320 grams) roasted salted peanuts

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. chipotle chile powder

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, maple syrup, and butter. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until a candy thermometer registers 275 degrees. Add peanuts and cook, stirring constantly, until a candy thermometers registers 295 degrees. Remove pan from the heat and stir in baking soda and chile powder.

2. Working quickly, but carefully, pour the mixture out onto a large baking sheet (preferably one that has open sides) lined with parchment paper and coated with cooking spray. Cover candy with another sheet of parchment paper and use a rolling pin to quickly roll mixture to an even thickness. Leave parchment paper on top for 5 minutes, then remove top sheet and set baking sheet onto a wire rack to let candy cool completely. Break into pieces; store in an airtight container, for up to 2 weeks.

Maple Pecan Shortbread

It's rare that I bake something multiple times, if only because I'm always so excited to move on to the next big thing! So many of the things I've baked are worth revisiting, though, so I thought I would share with you a cookie recipe that I actually do revisit, every Christmas season. Much to my surprise, these Maple Pecan Shortbread Cookies are among my five year-old son's very favorites. He requests them every Christmas, and I even get a few gentle suggestions throughout the rest of the year that I make them again. I agree with him, course; these cookies are a fresh, original take on the same old shortbread.




The rich, buttery dough is embellished with chopped pecans, as well as a healthy dose of pure maple syrup and maple extract. After chilling the dough, you shape your cookies and then top with an egg wash, then a pecan half, and then some turbinado sugar (otherwise known as raw sugar). The egg wash/sugar combo really give the finished cookies a great shine, as well as lending a slight crunch that works so well texturally. The cookie itself is nice and crumbly and buttery, like any self-respecting shortbread cookie should be. That pecan on top is the perfect counterpoint to all the sweetness from the maple flavor. In short, these cookies are pretty genius; they just work on every level. Plus, they seem sophisticated, and I just love being able to tell people that my kindergartner has a sophisticated palate! He can definitely tell a good cookie from a leaden, storebought one, as well he should!






Maple Pecan Shortbread
from Martha Stewart's Cookies
makes 24 cookies

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1/2 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup pecan halves (about 2 1/4 oz.), finely chopped, plus 24 whole pecan halves, for decorating
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup, preferably Grade B
1 large egg yolk
1/4 tsp. pure maple extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

Directions
1. Sift flours and salt into a bowl. Whisk in chopped pecans. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until smooth and light, about 1 minute. Add maple syrup, egg yolk, and extract; beat on medium speed until well combined. On low speed, gradually add flour mixture, beating until just combined. Dough should be smooth and pliable. Flatten into a disk (I opt to roll the dough into a log, because I use a different method of portioning out my dough; see Step 2). Wrap in plastic; refrigerate until firm, 1 1/2 hours or overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out rounds using a 2-inch cookie cutter; place 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheet (At this point, I just sliced 24 rounds from my dough log, which I thought was so much easier than rolling it out!).

3. Brush tops of cookies with beaten egg; place a pecan half in the center of each cookie. Sprinkle the entire surface with turbinado sugar.

4. Bake cookies, rotating sheet halfway through, until golden around the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 4 days.

Maple-Glazed Pork Chops

Sometimes, entire meals can be built around one single ingredient. For example, if you're craving something really cheesy, you might decide to make macaroni and cheese. My kids love cinnamon toast, but let's face it: the toast is merely a vehicle for the cinnamon-y, sugary topping they so crave. And of course, there are times when you look in your pantry, see something that strikes your fancy, and decide to plan your meal based on using that something. This pork chop meal was born in a similar fashion.

I have had this little jar of coarse, grainy mustard sitting around in my cabinet for a little while now. I never wanted to open it until I had a really great use for it. Finally, I found this recipe for Maple-Glazed Pork Chops, and I decided that this would be the recipe that would finally have me cracking open that little mustard jar.

Here's the kicker: the original recipe didn't even call for grainy mustard! It's a simple maple glaze recipe, with pure maple syrup, ketchup, prepared mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. To me, though, it was screaming out for this grainy mustard. I know I've seen maple mustard pork chop recipes elsewhere, but I loved the method of preparation (oven-baking) in this particular recipe, so I decided to go with this one and modify it.



I pan-seared the chops on both sides for a few minutes, then transferred them to a baking dish. The glaze, which had been boiled to slightly thicken, was brushed on and then the pork chops were put into the oven to bake. Every 8 minutes or so, I removed them from the oven and basted them with the glaze. After a half hour or so, they were ready to eat! I put together a side dish of veggies with rice, and made some dinner rolls with the aid of my bread machine. Voila, dinner!

The pork chops turned out absolutely delicious! The glaze, in particular, really was the star of the whole shebang. I will say, though, that it is quite dominantly a maple flavor that you get, more so than a mustard flavor. It's sweet, it's tangy, and it's got a saltiness from the Worcestershire. Make sure you use a really good quality maple syrup for this, since it's so noticeable in the finished product. Good ol' Aunt Jemima will not do here!

Maple-Glazed Pork Chops

adapted from Food.com

makes 4 pork chops

Ingredients

4 pork chops, 3/4-inch thick

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper

3/4 cup maple syrup

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. ketchup

2 Tbsp. grainy mustard

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Rub pork all over with the salt and pepper. In a small saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients; mix well. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Set aside.

2. While the sauce comes up to a boil, heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the pork chops on both sides, about 4 minutes per side, then remove to a baking dish lined with aluminum foil.

3. Brush the chops with the glaze. Bake the pork chops for 30 minutes, basting with the glaze every 8 to 10 minutes. When finished basting, bring any remaining glaze to a boil and serve with the pork chops. Rest chops for at least 5 minutes before serving.