Greek Style Pork Chops with Balsamic Caramelized Pears

The recipe transforms thin supermarket pork chops into an unforgettable-juicy-tender-flavor-packed-lip-smacking pork experience. A combination of brining, marinating, and saucing. All can be prepared ahead except for the last 5 minutes of grilling.

Ingredients

Ingredient Checklist

• 1 ½ quarts water
• 5 tablespoons  salt
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 6 pork loin chops, 1/2 inch thick
• ½ cup olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
• ½ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 Vidalia onions, each cut into 8 wedges
• 2 pears, cored and each cut into 8 wedges
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

Step 1

In a large bowl, stir together the water,  salt, and sugar. Add pork chops to this brine, and let them soak for no more than one hour. Drain and discard the brine. Pat pork chops dry with paper towels.

Step 2

In a shallow dish, stir together the olive oil, garlic, and rosemary. Place pork chops in the dish, and turn to coat. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 or 2 hours.

Step 3

Pour the balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and cook until reduced by 1/2, about 10 minutes. When the vinegar cools, it should be the consistency of syrup.

Step 4

Melt butter with olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high or high heat. Add the onions and pears, and quickly brown being careful to keep the wedges intact. Once the onions and pears are browned, reduce heat to low, and cook for about 7 minutes, or until tender. Stir in the reduced vinegar and salt. The recipe can be prepared up to this point several hours before grilling.

Step 5

Preheat the grill for medium-high heat.

Step 6

Warm pears on a cool section of the grill (in the skillet), while placing the pork chops over the hot part. Cook pork for about 3 minutes per side, or to desired doneness. Remove to a serving plate, cover with aluminum foil and let rest for a few minutes. Uncover, top with the pear onion sauce, and serve.

Greek Style Apple Fritters

PREP TIME:

15 Minutes

DIFFICULTY:

Easy

COOK TIME:

10 Minutes

SERVINGS:

8 Servings

INGREDIENTS

• FRITTERS
• 2 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 3 Tablespoons Sugar
• 2-1/4 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1-1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
• 2 whole Large Eggs
• 3/4 cups Whole Milk
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 2 Tablespoons Melted Butter
• 2 whole Granny Smith Apples, Peeled And Diced
• Powdered Sugar (optional, For Dusting)
• GLAZE (optional)
• 1-1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1/4 cup Milk

INSTRUCTIONS

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with a fork, then add milk, melted butter, and vanilla.

Gently fold dry and wet ingredients together until just combined (do not overmix.) Fold in apples. Add enough apples to make a very chunky batter. You want the apples to shine though!

Heat a couple of inches of canola oil over medium to medium-low heat. When it gets hot, drop a little drop of batter into the oil. If it sizzles immediately and rises to the top, the oil is ready; if it burns quickly, turn down the heat.

Drop teaspoons of batter into the hot oil, six or eight at a time. Sometimes they'll flip over by themselves; sometimes you have to flip them. Just watch them and make sure they don't get too brown, but cook them long enough to make sure the batter's cooked through, about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes total.

Remove and drain on a paper towel. Dust very generously with powdered sugar, or dip fritters in a light doughnut glaze (mix all glaze ingredients together, then dunk warm fritters).

Serve warm!

**May be heated up the next day in a 350 degree oven for 8 minutes.

___________________________________

Step by Step Instructions 

Here’s what you need: apples, flour, cinnamon, sugar, whole milk, butter, baking powder, salt, vanilla, and eggs.

Before you begin, add a couple of inches of canola oil to a pot or dutch oven, and heat it over medium to medium-low heat.

 
In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

 
 
Whisk them together to combine.

 
 
Peel two or three apples…

 
 
Then slice them…

 
 
And dice them. Keep the chunks on the small side so the apples have a chance to cook.

 
 
In a separate bowl, crack two eggs…

 
 
Beat them with a fork…

 
 
Add the vanilla…

 
 
And mix it together.

 
 
Pour the egg mixture and the milk into the dry ingredients…

 
 
And fold it together gently, until it’s not quite combined.

 
 
Next, add 2 to 3 tablespoons melted butter…

 
 
And the apples…

 
 
And fold together gently. It’s ready to go! If the batter doesn’t look chunky enough, by all means add more apples. You want the apples to shine through!

 
 
Now, to test the oil, I drop a tiny bit of batter into the oil. If it sizzles and rises to the top immediately, the oil is ready. If it immediately browns and starts to burn, however, you need to decrease the heat a bit!

 
 
Aww. What a cute little test fritter.

I wonder…does the test fritter even know that it’s just a test fritter?

I know I’m not going to be the one to tell him after all he’s gone through.

 
To make neat, round fritters, I use this little number.

I love these scoops, and they come in pretty much every size under the sun. They’re handy for so many different things!

 
Scoop…

 
 
Drop…

 
 
And it rises to the top and immediately begins browning. But not violently browning…just slow and steady.

 
 
This one actually flipped over on its own. It happens sometimes.

 
 
And a little under two minutes later, I took it out. You have to watch the fritters the whole time, just to make sure they don’t burn.

Now, the round shape above is cute and neat and all, but if the balls are too big, the batter in the very center will still be runny by the time you have to remove them from the oil. So make sure you don’t scoop too much batter at a time. Keep them small!

 
 
Another option is to use a regular teaspoon…

 
 
And drop them in.

 
 
Or, if you like more wacky shapes and more surface area, drag the spoon as you’re dropping the batter into the oil. This results in a flatter fritter.

Flatter fritter. Say that ten times.

 
 
Remove the fritters from the oil and let them drain on a paper towel.

 
 
They should be crispy, crispy, crispy!

 
 
My favorite thing to do is immediately dunk the fritters, coating them thoroughly, in the simple glaze I use to coat my Homemade Glazed Doughnuts. I think it somehow anchors in the wonderful flavor and texture of the fritters, and gives them more of a doughnut quality.

 
 
But an easier/quicker approach, of course…

 
 
Is a very generous dusting of powdered sugar. Yum!

 
 

 
 
Mmmm. Perfect! The fritter is done all the way through, and there’s plenty of apple in there to make it extra delicious.

Do NOT skeemp on zee apples!

 
 
And don’t skimp on the fritters! Make a ton—you can heat them up the next morning in a 350-degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes, and they’re totally delicious…maybe even more so.

Enjoy!