Winter’s last blast … hopefully!

I woke up this morning to winter — again.  What’s up with that groundhog? Really? Last night I made a recipe that is perfect for a winter’s night.  It not only fills your kitchen with an amazing aroma, but also fills your loved ones with good food.

I’ve been making this recipe since 2010.  It’s a Cook’s Illustrated Magazine recipe.

6 bone-in blade-cut pork chops (at least 1 inch thick), Table salt and ground black pepper, 2 tbls. vegetable oil, 1 onion chopped, 2 medium cloves garlic, minced, 2 tbls. unbleached all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup apple butter (1/4 cup extra),1 cup apple cider, 1 tsp. thyme, 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar.

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Pat chops dry and season with salt and pepper.  Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking.  Brown chops in two batches, about 4 minutes per side; transfer to plate.  2. In same Dutch over, cook onion until softened.  Stir in garlic, flour and 1/4 cup apple butter, cook for 1 minute.  Stir in cider and thyme, scraping up any browned bits with wooden spoon, and bring to boil.  Add browned chops and any accumulated juice to pot, cover, and transfer to oven.  Braise until chops are completely tender, about 1 1/2 hours. 3.  Transfer chops to serving platter.Whisk vinegar, and remaining 1/4 cup apple butter into sauce.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I made polenta to go with this — it was delicious with the sauce on top. Yum!

Hopefully there won’t be too many more winter days that warrant such a dinner — grilling outside would be nice. It might not feel like it today, but spring is knocking!  This might be your last chance to make Cider-Braised Pork Chops this winter of 2013.