October 30, 2012 Braised pork steaks with apples, pear, Calvados and Cognac and a roasted vegetable medley

Suzette was out with the girls and I was working on a legal project and did not have a lot of time to cook, but I had thawed out two pork steaks.  So while watching the news, I peeled two carrots and a potato and diced them into bite sized pieces and trimmed and added 1 cup of Brussels sprouts and diced an onion and a small handful of chopped garlic greens and sage and put them into a ceramic baking dish and tossed them with olive oil and laid slices of butter on top and covered them with aluminum foil and put them in a 350˚ oven for an hour.  The aluminum cover helped cook and steam and release the juices of the vegetables, so that their juices accumulated in the bottom of the dish rather than gas off.

I also peeled, cored and sliced one apple and one pear.  After about 40 minutes, I added butter to a skillet and raised the heat and braised the two boneless pork sirloin steaks on both sides without letting the butter brown and then reduced the heat a bit and added the apple and pear slices. I cooked the pork and fruit for abut twenty minute or until the juices started running clear from the meat.  I then added a splash of calvados and a few drops of cognac.  The pork was slightly pink when I cut into it and very juicy.

I drank a glass of Toad Hollow Rosé of Pinot Noir from Toad Hollow Vineyards of Sonoma, CA.  The chilled dry fruity pinot noir wine complemented the hot buttery flavor of the meat perfectly.

A simple and great meal.     

Bon Appètit