indigo pears

A good day for comfort foods.....this cooler fall weather makes me want to cook!!! Also, we are assembling some favorite family recipes for a bride-to-be.

This pork chop recipe comes from "Fine Cooking" (Tauton Press) September 2008

Pork Chops with Mustard Sauce by Jennifer McLagan
A fast, creamy pan sauce dresses up these simple seared pork chops; serve them with rice or noodles to soak up the sauce.Serves four.
Ingredients:
Eight 1/2-inch-thick boneless pork chops (about 3 oz. each)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil; more as needed
1/2 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup lower-salt chicken broth
1/4 cup stoneground or country-style mustard

Season the chops lightly with salt and pepper and dredge in the flour, shaking off the excess.
Put the butter and oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. When hot, add 4 of the pork chops and cook, turning once, until golden on both sides and just cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes total. Transfer the pork to a serving platter and tent with foil. Repeat with the remaining chops, adding another tablespoon of oil to the pan if necessary.
Pour off any fat in the pan, add the wine, and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Increase the heat to medium high and boil until the wine is reduced to about 2 Tbs., 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the cream, chicken broth, and mustard and boil until reduced to a saucy consistency, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Return the pork and any juices to the pan, turn to coat with the sauce, and then transfer back to the serving platter. Drizzle any sauce remaining in the skillet over the chops and serve.
From Fine Cooking 95, pp. 94a
September 1, 2008
photo: Scott Phillips
FineCooking.com© The Taunton Press 2008, All rights reserved

***************************************************************************

A wonderful Summer Squash and Cornbread casserole!

This cornbread uses a jalapeno cornbread mix, cooked summer squash, butter, onion, and cream style corn.
Ingredients:
1 stick butter
1 large onion, chopped
3/4 cup cooked squash (yellow or zucchini)
1 can cream-style corn
1 pkg. jalepeno cornbread mix(mixed according to pkg. directions)
Preparation:Sauté onion until tender, but not brown. Mix all together and pour into a greased 13 x 9 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees, 20-30 minutes.
Notes: I like to make my own cornbread because I have stone-ground cornmeal.USE recipe for homemade cornbread (omit sugar) and add 1 can (7oz) chopped green chiles. Use more squash & only 1/2 stick of butter. May need to add salt. Top with grated cheddar cheese.






Read more wonderful recipes here....My Blog (The Southern Cooking Blog by Diane)



******************************************************************************


I love all things pumpkin this time of year!



Starbucks has their "Pumpkin Spice Latte" [I have found that sometimes adding cardamon and pumpkin pie spice to the coffee in my coffee maker makes a wonderful seasonal treat!]



Here is a "cookie" recipe. The cook who created it says that it is very much like a muffin top....which is perfect for me as a favorite treat has been a local bakery's Pumpkin Muffin Top!

[For a wonderful Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin recipe, see my post from September 10th!]




Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking oat
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
2 cups raisins (or nuts and chocolate chips)
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350°F Combine the flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; set aside.
2.In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla then stir in the pumpkin puree. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients until well blended. Mix in raisins. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3.Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
*************************************************************************

We are making a loose-leaf notebook for the bride, Natalie. Each recipe page will be in a plastic page protector. Hopefully it will be a real treasure for her! I'll post photos as we get it "pulled together!

[Note: I am writing this away from my home computer so have used images from the internet which go with the recipes!]