Pork Chops and Applesauce

By day, Janice James runs the Human Resources department at a Washington, DC law firm. But late at night as she’s falling asleep, her mind turns to food. Janice imagines recipes. Thinking about eating healthy, she substitutes sugars and fats for more wholesome ingredients. ‘Autumn ApplePork Chops’ is an example of a perfect Janice dish–mostly healthy, definitely delicious and very comforting. Yes, the dish has the name Autumn in it and sure, it’s the middle of summer, but when someone makes me a sweet and savory combination of pork, fruit and rice, my mouth is usually too full to discuss naming conventions.

When she was a little girl, Janice’s mother cooked and they didn’t eat out a lot (see ‘latkes for lunch’ entry to learn more about Janice’s mom, Gram Elayne). When Janice was a working mom, she mastered quick meals and cooked every night for her husband and 3 sons. As her sons grew up and moved out on their own, she stopped cooking. “When the kids were gone, I went through a phase of not cooking at all. For a while, everything came out of a bag because I would think, ‘I don’t have to do this–I don’t have to cook.’ We could eat. Not eat. Go out,” Janice said.
That lasted about 6 months. One day, she realized she wasn’t on a time frame and didn’t have to get anyone to hockey practice. She could make meals during the week that were not mac and cheese out of a box. This is when her food really began to evolve. The ‘Autumn Apple Pork Chops’ recipe is an example of that evolution. Janice made the dish because everyone loves it and “combining apples and pork is not something you would think to do,” she said. “Every time I make this for somebody they ask for the recipe.”

Standing at the kitchen sink, Janice removes the apple skins with a peeler. She prefers gala apples because they are sweeter but she said it’s really up to the person cooking as to which apples they choose. If they want something more tart, use granny smith. Cooking apples without their skins makes them heat up faster so they are ready at the same time as the meat, without being too hard or too mushy. She cored the apples and then cut them into full circles as opposed to pieces. Doing this makes the final presentation look better and helps prevent the apples from turning into mush as they cook. If you are in a rush, Janice recommends using other fruit instead of apples. You can use cranberries, pears, peaches, etc. There is less prep time involved with these fruits.

Janice explained that she used to make this dish with only pork and has recently included chicken as well because her son Mike, his wife (my younger sister) Julie, and Gram Elayne don’t eat pork. One sauce is created and then split into two different pans (one for chicken and one for pork).

Cooking with Janice is like spending time in a Whole Foods commercial. She is passionate about pure, clean food. No hormones, no antibiotics, no pesticides. Most of her food is free of chemicals and antibiotics. She admits this is something that would be impossible to do if she were feeding a family but can afford it now that she’s only cooking for two. Janice said, “Another important thing when cooking, use good ingredients. When you use good ingredients, things will come out good.”

After peeling, coring and slicing the apples, Janice gets started on the sauce. Mixing together applesauce, cornstarch and apple cider, she reveals that she began using applesauce in this dish because one time while she was cooking it, she was looking around in the fridge and found little applesauce cups that she would normally take with her to work. Just to see what would happen, she dumped them in and they made the recipe even more enjoyable. She recommends apple cider instead of apple juice because the cider adds a bit of acidity to the taste.

Not only does Janice select nutritious ingredients, but she also makes healthy food choices as well. She will not eat anything really deep fried in oil. (Her mom’s latkes are an exception to the rule because they eat them only once a year and they are only lightly fried). She avoids fast food of any kind and also tries not to eat things that have lots of sugar. Right after saying this, she incorporated the brown sugar to the sauce. I kept quiet because I have to admit, even her small amount of brown sugar is much, much healthier than the mountain of sweet goodness I would have added.
Upon noticing that the sauce was a bit too thick, Janice stirred in some more apple cider. She said when following the recipe, use as much or less cornstarch as you want to thicken or thin the sauce. Her family prefers the sauce thin because they eat it over rice.

With the sauce ready to go, Janice turned her attention to the rice. She used two varieties of rice which produced different textures. Janice suggests rice with this dish instead of pasta because pasta doesn’t absorb the sauce really well. Adding a few tablespoons of oil to the rice to prevent it from getting too sticky, she then poured in chicken broth. She would rather use the broth instead of water because it adds more flavor to the rice.

Chopping up the shallots and garlic to give extra flavor to the rice, Janice talked about her plans for retirement. Similar to her mother, Gram Elayne, when Janice says ‘retirement,’ what she really means is ’continuing to work.’
In the near future, she plans to go back to community college and take nutrition and/or personal training classes. As a certified sports trainer with a specialization in nutrition and geriatrics, Janice will work with older populations teaching them about a healthy lifestyle.

Setting the rice to cook for approximately 1 hour, Janice unwraps the meat and seasons it with salt, pepper and thyme. She presses the spices into the meat and then lets it rest for 20 minutes. While it rests, we talk about her thoughts on life. Janice encourages others to enjoy life and “don’t always wish for what you don’t have. You’re always wishing for the next step and then you look back and think, ‘where did the years go?’ Really cherish your family because at the end of the day, that’s who is going to be there.” 
As of this coming November, she and her husband Gary will have been married 33 years. They met during her senior year of high school, through a friend of a friend while she was in Daytona Beach on Spring Break.
She misses not having all three of her sons close by. Brian, 31, lives in California and Jon, 25 lives in Oregon. Living in Catonsville, MD, Mike, 28, is the closest to Janice’s house located in the suburbs of Annapolis.

If Janice were an ingredient, she would be pasta. “I am the peace maker,” she said “so I would probably choose something that had a neutral base that everyone liked because I try to make everyone happy.
Like pasta, I’m firm with a soft side and hopefully a food that everyone likes — a comfort food. It goes with everything.” We agreed to ask the rest of the family during dinner, to see what ingredient they would be. Janice guessed that Gary might be a chili pepper, but I never got confirmation on it. I’ll be back there for Thanksgiving and will keep you posted . . .
If anyone who knows Janice and Gary is reading this, what do you think? Are they a pasta and chili pepper combination? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

To cook this recipe, Janice uses a white corningware frying pan, a le cruset cast iron pan, and tight-fitting lids for both. These lids are important because, “you want condensation to form which adds to the sauce and keeps the meat more tender,” said Janice. “You don’t want anything to evaporate. You want all of the juices to stay in the pan.”
The meat is browned in oil on both sides and then the apples are piled on top. Following this, the sauce is poured on. Be careful adding in the sauce. Cool the pan down a bit, put the apples on top and then pour the sauce in very slowly to avoid spattering the hot oil. At this point, look at the sauce. If it seems to thick, add some extra apple cider.

Janice put the lids on tight and turned the heat back up. The meat cooked for approximately 15 minutes while we discussed her philosophy of food: “Eat what you like but eat in moderation. Feed your cravings. If you deny them, you will eat 29 other things and still want what you wanted.” Really? This incredibly healthy woman has food cravings? Yep. She loves chocolate. Not just any chocolate. She likes it as pure as possible. Dark without a lot of sugar and dairy. “I like it in any form,” said Janice. “I don’t crave sugar, like I wouldn’t touch a jujube, but I do crave chocolate. I like cookies with chocolate, like oatmeal chocolate chip. I eat non dairy ice cream with chocolate syrup.” Hearing her admit this makes me feel much better about my own chocolate addiction.

After 15 minutes, Janice carefully lifts the lids, making sure any extra liquid drips back into the pot. Then, she reverses the meat and the apples. Now the apples are on the bottom of the pan and the meat is on top. Once again, check the consistency of your sauce at this point. Janice added a little bit more cider to thin hers out.
She put the lids back on and the meat continued to cook for around 15 more minutes. We set the table, selected the wine, made a salad and put out cheese and olive for hor’dourves. One of the best things about this dish is that you really can’t over cook it. Once it’s finished cooking, turn down the heat and you can let it sit for a while. The longer it sits, the more it will absorb the juice and the more tender it will get.

Dinner was excellent. Everything was cooked perfectly. Gary paired the dish with a 2008 Red Alamos Malbec. ‘Autumn Apple Pork Chops’ was scrumptious comfort food. Julie said eating it made her feel good–like Janice was giving her a big hug. I agree with Julie. This meal is a lot like spending time with Janice–eating it made me feel nourished and loved.                                                

Ingredients:
(serves 7 people)

For Rice:
-2 (rice cooker size*) cups white arborio rice
-1 (rice cooker size*) cup black japonita rice
-chicken broth (enough to fill up rice cooker per specifications)
-1 shallot
-3 tablespoons olive oil
-4 cloves of garlic

For Sauce:
-20 ounces unsweetened applesauce
-1 1/2 cup apple cider
-3 tablespoons brown sugar
-3 tablespoons cornstarch (add more if you want a thicker sauce)

For Main Dish:
-5 gala apples
-1 cup apple cider
-3 boneless pork chops
-4 boneless chicken breasts
-1-2 tablespoons of thyme
-1-2 tablespoons of McCormick’s salt & pepper mix
-2-3 tablespoons of olive oil (for frying the meat)

*note: these are not normal cup sizes but are instead the size of the cup that comes with the rice cooker

Recipe:
-Peel the apples and then coring them.
-Cut the apples into round slices and then set them aside.
-Cook rice in rice cooker (approx 1 hour depending on the amount of rice and the cooker specifications).
 -Rinse the rice off first.
 -Roughly chop up the shallot and add it to the rice.
 -Add 4 whole cloves of garlic to the rice–no need to chop them up.
 -Add olive oil (helps keep rice separate).
 -Cook it in chicken broth instead of water. Janice uses all chicken broth–no water.

-Make sauce for the dish.
 -In bowl combine applesauce, cornstarch brown sugar and apple cider.
 -Make sure to get the lumps out of the cornstarch.

-Sprinkle the salt/pepper and thyme over the meat and pat it down. Then let the meat sit for 20 minutes to absorb the seasonings.
-Pan fry it in olive oil, just until it browns on both sides.
-Turn the heat down a bit to cool the oil down to medium/low.
-Lay the apples on top of the meat.
-Pour the sauce over the apples.
-Add 1 cup of apple cider over the sauce.
-Turn the heat back up until the sauce has a light boil.
-Put the lid on tightly and let cook for 10-15 minutes.
-After 10-15 minutes, reverse the ingredient order, the apples go to the bottom of the pan and the meat goes on top.
-Close the lid and let cook for another 5-10 minutes until meat is done.

If using unsweetened cranberry sauce instead of apples, mix it with the cornstarch and brown sugar and whatever juice you have on hand. Then put it all in the pan on top of the meat. No need to reverse the ingredient order when cooking it with cranberries.

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