Baked Pork Chops with Onions, Rum, and Archibald's Sauce

I put this together last night and it came out nearly perfectly. I buy Archibald's sauce at Archibald's Barbecue in Northport, Alabama across the Black Warrior River from Tuscaloosa. They do not market their sauce except over the counter. I have a copy cat recipe that I am not ready to divulge so I recommend a vinegar/tomato sauce of your choosing. Let me know how it turns out.

Baked Pork Chops with Onions, Rum, and Archibald's Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients:

2 small onions, peeled and sliced

2 apples, sliced

4 loin chops, bone-in

3 T., dice fresh rosemary

3 T., oil
1-2 shots of dark rum
1 1/2 cups of Archibald's barbecue sauce

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Rub oil on each chop and liberally salt and pepper each one on both sides. You may add Cajun seasoning depending upon your tastes.

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium to medium high flame for 4-5 minutes. Add oil and swirl skillet to distribute the oil. Add the chops. If you do not hear a sizzle each time you add a chop, raise the temperature for the burner. You may have to do more than one batch depending on the size of the skillet.

After several minutes, lift the edge of one chop. If a nice golden brown crust has formed, you are ready to turn the chops over and go for the same crust.

When a golden crust has been obtained on both sides, place aside on a plate.

Add your sliced onions to the skillet being sure to scrape up the brown bits left over in the pan to blend with the onions. Cook until they just begin to soften. Add apples and diced rosemary and toss with onions, again scraping as you go. Cook for a few minutes until all is well cooked and fragrant. Remove from heat and add a jigger or two of dark rum and a pad of butter. Stir. Add about 1 ½ cups of Archibald's barbecue sauce or a tomato-y/mustard/vinegar sauce to substitute. Avoid sauce that is sticky, gooey and too sweet. Stir once

Spray a shallow rectangular casserole dish with cooking spray. Place chops in the casserole and cover with items from skillet. Place in oven and bake about 20-30 minutes until it is bubbly, fragrant and ready. Remove.

Note: You may just want to spoon the apples and onions over the chops and then place the skillet, covered, in the oven. Works just as well and less to wash later. 

Serve immediately with just about anything. I like rice or grits.

MY TOP 11 IN 2011

Cafe C
Ruby's

The Jones

East End Eatery

Satchel's

Mi Apa

La Tienda

Mac's Drive Thru

Pomodoro's

La Fortuna

Pearl's Country Store

Southwestern 15 Bean Soup from Cafe C published in Gainesville Magazine - 4 stars!

FRITTATA WITH COLLARD GREENS AND MEXICAN- BLEND CHEESE: REQUESTS FOR A RECIPE ARE ROLLING IN (OK, only one, but she wants it really badly)

FRITTATA WITH COLLARD GREENS AND MEXICAN-BLEND CHEESE

Left over cooked collard greens, about a cup or so
2 T, minced onions
1-2 t. of Cajun seasoning blend. Note: I make my own and reduce or eliminate the salt.
1 t, black pepper
Crystal Hot Sauce, apply liberally
Eggstirs, Publix's version of Egg Beaters or 4 real eggs
Mexican blend shredded cheese

Place 3/4 to one cup of greens on cutting board after draining. Slice up. Place greens in heated, oiled, oven-proof skillet. Cook for a few minutes between low and medium to evaporate some of the remnant liquid.

Add Eggstirs to skillet, stir once, turn heat to low and cook. As eggs begin to set or become firm on bottom, lift the edge of the eggs with a spatula so that the remaining liquid egg mixture flows under the set eggs. Leave the eggs cooking on low until just shy of being completely set.

Season with Cajun seasoning and black pepper. Add generous amount of Mexican blend cheese. Place skillet under the broiler. Cook until the egg mixture becomes golden brown. Remove and serve with generous splases of Crystal Hot Sauce.

PRODUCTS THAT ARE STAPLES IN MY KITCHEN

Crystal Hot Sauce - CHS is a Louisiana-style hot sauce. No day is complete without it. Period. Don't even think of Tabasco as a substitute.

Smart Balance Buttery Spread Made With Exta-Virgin Olive Oil - tastes great and is a great alternative to butter

Chobani Greek Yogurt - Vanilla, non-fat: spectacular, smooth flavor. Manufactured in upstate NY and is the current food sensation. Knock out flavors and "numbers" that compete with or do better than regular non-fat yogurts. We buy the large sized container. I do not like the fruit-on-the-bottom smaller cups of yogurt, though my wife does. The vanilla variety is sinfully delicious.

Emeril's Creaole seasoning blend made without salt or scant salt. I mix my own which enables me to use up my seasonings so that do not become stale and flavorless. His recipe is readily available on-line or in several of his cookbooks. I reduce or eliminate the salt. I also like most to all of Paul Prudhomme's blends which I make the same by eliminating the salt. He has a line of spice blends for specific uses.

Celestial Seasonings Teas: Try any with a fruit in the name.  Everything they make is delicious.

Three Crabs Fish Sauce: Lynn Rosetto Kaspar is right. Very small amounts enliven many dishes. Her ace in the hole and now mine.

SOIL SOLARIZATION OF RAISED BEDS WITH PLASTIC TARP TO COMBAT PESTS

This is a good article on using plastic tarps to solarize raised beds. I plan to do mine in the peak of the hot summer. It should bake away the "unwanted" effectively.

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74145.html

MUST-READ LINK TO INTERVIEW WITH DIANA KENNEDY, WORLD AUTHORITY ON MEXICAN CUISINES

AN ABSOLUTELY MUST-READ INTERVIEW WITH DIANA KENNEDY, THE WORLD AUTHORITY ON MEXICAN CUISINES: http://www.thecookbookblog.com/2011/12/05/author-interview-diana-kennedy/