Every bad thing you’ve probably heard about it is true. Every good thing is probably also true. In the end, I thought the technical brilliance was completely eclipsed by the predictable, and yet still boring, story.
This year’s New Year’s dinner.
* 1 onion, chopped
* 4 smoked pork chops (I used rib cuts, about 3/4″ thick)
* 1 jar of good sauerkraut (I drain mine)
* 1 largish sweet potato, peeled and sliced into 1/4″ slices
* scant 1/2 cup chicken broth (not needed if you don’t drain the ’kraut)
* ~1/4 cup flour
* salt & pepper (be generous)
Preheat oven to 375°F
Put some flour, salt and pepper in a large ziploc bag, and shake each pork chop, one at a time, so they’re lightly coated. Set aside.
In a Dutch oven (or other very large skillet with a lid — this amount filled my 6qt Dutch oven about half way), sauté the onions in your favorite fat over medium high heat. I used schmaltz, but bacon fat or vegetable oil would work too. I wouldn’t use olive oil, it’s not the right flavor.
When the onions are starting to brown, brown the pork chops for about a minute or so each side. You might have to do them in batches — if so, just set the partly done ones aside until you finish the rest.
When the chops are browned, place them back in the pot, overlapping as little as possible. Dump the sauerkraut on top, and spread it out evenly (or as close to even as you can). Arrange the sweet potato slices on top of the sauerkraut, again, avoiding overlapping if possible.
At this point I added about 1/2 cup chicken broth, poured in carefully along the side of the pot, because I wasn’t sure if there was enough liquid left in the ’kraut.
Put the lid on (it should fit tightly), and place in the preheated oven for about an hour. It’ll probably take at least 40 minutes, but I wanted to be certain the potatoes were cooked through. DON’T check the progress until you’re 99% certain that it is done. You don’t want the steam escaping — it’s what cooks the food.
I served it right out of the pot. You could take each layer out and put them in separate serving dishes, or put the potatoes in one dish (maybe even mashed?), and the ’kraut on a plate with the chops and onions on top.
Next time I might brown the sweet potatoes a little first. But all in all, it was faboo.
Despite my bit of melancholy, I had a good first day to the new year. I don’t make resolutions, but I am attempting to modify how I react to stuff that happens during the day.
I think it helps that I have a project in a completely new (for me) area, with people who come from a completely different background. It’s like going on a cultural anthropology trip in my own back yard.
If the rest of the year works out like the first day, I think it could be a very good year.
That’s the last thing I ever said to my father, four years ago today. I think I’ve finally gotten beyond resenting him in his final illness to just missing him. I prefer it, this missing, but I wish I wasn’t crying.
Less than 2 weeks before Christmas, and I haven’t made a single cookie. I did make a batch of fudge, though.
I’d better get crackin’!