Skillet Boneless Pork Chops with Rosemary Peaches

I have always associated peaches with July and August. That is until a few years ago when I discovered the most succulent peaches I ever tasted -- in September.

Peach season in California is long and abundant; it runs from May to October and peaks from July through September. In general, peaches are picked early to withstand shipping and to have a longer shelf life. The problem is when you take home many of these peaches, they are as hard as a rock (and taste like one too). That's why buying locally grown peaches is a better option when possible.

A couple of years ago at a local farmers' market I discovered Summerset peaches, which peak in September. Like a California sunset, these fruits are a dazzling blend brilliant reds, warm oranges, and golden yellows. In addition to being visually beautiful, they emit a delicate floral aroma and are amazingly juicy and succulent, as if warmed by the sun.

Of course, you don't need Summerset peaches to enjoy this recipe; there are plenty of late summer varieties from which to choose. And though peaches are delightful eaten out of hand or in desserts, they are surprisingly delicious in savory dishes. They pair brilliantly with arugula and prosciutto and are wonderful grilled and filled with savory cheeses and herbs.

My favorite way to enjoy them though is by sauteeing them on the stove with some tangy honey and woodsy rosemary. The sweet, acidic, and earthy flavors blend harmoniously to make a remarkable companion to pork for an easy yet stylish weeknight dinner.



Skillet Boneless Pork Chops with Rosemary Peaches
Serves 4
Print recipe only here.

Pork:
4 boneless pork chops (about 4-6 ounces each)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons butter

Rosemary Peaches:
4 teaspoons butter
4 ripe yet still firm yellow peaches, sliced with the skins on
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Trim any fat off of the pork chops. Season well with salt and black pepper and let rest for 5 minutes.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm 2 teaspoons olive oil and butter. Add pork chops. Cook 4-5 minutes, then flip once, and cook another 4-5 minutes, or until the outside is browned and crisp and the inside is cooked through yet still tender.

Meanwhile, to make the peaches, heat 4 teaspoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the peach slices and cook 2-3 minutes, until lightly browned. Add the vinegar, brown sugar, rosemary, and salt and pepper, and stir. Lower heat to medium-low, and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the sauce begins to bubble up and thicken. Spoon peaches and sauce atop hot pork chops, garnish with additional chopped rosemary, if desired, and serve immediately.

You might also like:

Pork Tenderloin with Strawberry-Mango Salsa





Boneless Pork Chops with Persimmon and Pomegranate Salsa






Grilled Steak Tacos with Watermelon-Mango-Jicama Salsa





Dhanggit's Lemon, Rosemary and Honey Roast Pork
Lydia's Pork Tenderloin with Lavender Grilled Peaches
Rachel's Island Pineapple Pulled Pork

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Baking Fresh Cherry and Peach Upside-Down Cake on a Rainy Day

Last Thursday I was driving home on the freeway at 3:45 pm when the local traffic report came on:

Well, the 163 in both directions is heavy. So is the 5 North and South and the 805. Looks like everybody is leaving work early to avoid the rain that San Diegans are expecting tonight.

Yup. It's true. Southern Californians leave work early when rain is expected. OK bloggers from Seattle, go ahead and laugh. We deserve it.

For the record, I have never left early because of rain. I mean what kind of a New Englander would I be? And what would my dad think of me?

I guess Southern Californians don't really know any better. Why should they? It hardly ever rains here, and when it does, it wreaks havoc. No, I'm not talking about flooding and mudslides. I'm talking about traffic. You can see a half dozen accidents on one commute and get stuck in a traffic jam that lasts hours. Seriously, it was easier to get home after the blizzard of '78 than it is to get home after a "heavy rain shower" here in SoCal.

So I avoided the madness by doing what any good blogger would do: I went home and baked a cake. Isn't there something so comforting about the aroma of baking wafting through the house as the rain patters gently against the windows?



One of my favorites is my mom's Upside-Down Pineapple Cake, which was her mother's original recipe that is close to 70 years old! I will post the original in the fall, but today I wanted something that celebrated spring. With a gorgeous bowl of tart cherries and some sweet fresh peaches smiling at me, I found my inspiration. I added some freshly squeezed orange juice and zest which compliments the fruit and adds another dimension of flavor.



This is an amazingly light, moist cake that is only made more irresistible by a thick, sugary crust that holds the plump cherries and peaches firmly in place. After one mouthful, you'll wish it rained every day.



Fresh Cherry and Peach Upside-Down Cake
Makes 8 servings
Print recipe only here.

1/2 cup butter (8 tablespoons)
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup fresh cherries, pitted and halved
3-4 small, ripe peaches, pitted and halved
1 cup flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, separated
1 cup granulated sugar
5 tablespoons orange juice
2 teaspoons orange zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Place butter in a 9-inch-round baking pan, and place inside of a warm oven until melted, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven, and sprinkle brown sugar evenly over the butter. Add the peach halves, cut side down, then add the cherry halves, filling in all of the nooks and crannies.

In a medium bowl, combine sifted flour, baking powder and salt, and stir.

Using a hand mixer, in a metal or glass bowl, beat egg whites at high speed until fluffy. Set aside.

In a separate bowl beat egg yolks with sugar at medium speed until creamy. Add orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla extract, and beat well. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, and beat until well combined. Fold in the egg whites with a rubber spatula. Pour cake mixture evenly over the fruit, and smooth with the spatula.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Run a blunt knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake. Invert carefully onto a plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

You might also like these spring-time desserts:

Quick Chocolate-Cinnamon Mousse with Cherries





Mini Custards with Limoncello-Spiked Raspberry Sauce





Strawberry-Rhubarb Sponge Pudding





PS--Witty Nuria just reminded me of that great 1974 song "It Never Rains in Southern California." It's an ideal match for my post, so I'm sending it to Elly for her fun Eat to the Beat event that runs through June. Make sure you watch this Albert Hammond You Tube video--it's worth it just to see his bell-bottoms and Bee-Gee's permed hair. Yikes.

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Ricotta Hotcakes or Tom Brady

I am one of those people who needs 8 hours of sleep to be a functioning member of society. So I boarded my first red-eye from LA to Boston with trepidation. The flight was full but fortunately it seemed everyone had loaded up on melatonin and martinis beforehand; 30 minutes into the peaceful flight, Jeff turned and said, “See, I told you this wouldn’t be so bad.” Then it started.

“So whadda ya think about A-Rod and that new hitting coach for the Yankees?” a voice bellowed behind me.

“It ain’t the new coach that’s helping his hittin'. It’s that new 'hawt' blonde he’s got on the side,” a voice from across the aisle boomed back, followed by a deep guttural laugh that shook my whole seat.

I lifted my cute little JetBlue sleepy-time-eye-mask and peered around to see my neighbors -- exactly as I feared. Two guys sitting across from each other, one with a Red Sox hat too small for his huge head and the other with a Patriots t-shirt. This was the beginning of a 5-1/2 hour deep bonding session between them and the end of my chances to get any sleep.

Fortunately, this being JetBlue, I had a distraction (my sleeping Jeff was no help); I slipped on my free headset and started flipping channels on the mini TV. Of course, I landed on the Food Network and started watching Nigella Lawson. I had never seen her before and was smitten by her tart speech and easy demeanor, which was comforting at 2 AM. Not to mention, her food looked fabulous.

When we returned from our trip, I checked out her book Forever Summer and found her recipes were easy and amazingly delicious. One of my favorites was for ricotta hotcakes.

Ricotta hotcakes look like American pancakes but are substantially different. They're made with whisked egg whites which create a pillowy texture and with ricotta cheese which gives a subtle richness reminiscent of cheesecake. Apparently they are a staple in Australia where the hip Australian chef Bill Granger has almost single-handedly made them de rigeur for brunch.

Though scrumptious plain, they are even better with fresh fruit. Since it’s peak season for stone fruit, I decided to dress mine with some luscious honeyed peaches and nectarines and a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg.

At least the next time we fly a red-eye, it will be football season. Unless Nigella is on, I might just lean across the aisle and start my own conversation: "So whadda ya think about Tom Brady being the best dressed man alive?" Almost better than hotcakes. Almost.

I am submitting this recipe to Glenna of A Fridge Full of Food, this month’s host for Weekend Breakfast Blogging. She has chosen an excellent theme: ethnic dishes with a twist. This recipe is adapted from Nigella Lawson’s cookbook Forever Summer.

Ricotta Hotcakes
Print recipe only here.

Nigella says this recipe makes about 25 hotcakes. That's if you like miniature ones. I made about 12 "American sized" hotcakes.

9 ounces (1 cup plus 2 Tbsp ricotta cheese)
½ cup low fat milk
2 large eggs, separated
¾-1 cup all-purpose flour (add more to make batter thicker if necessary)
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch salt
Canola oil for the cooking the cakes o the griddle

Add ricotta, milk, and egg yolks into a bowl and mix well to combine. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt, and gently whisk to make a smooth batter.

In a glass or metal bowl, whisk egg whites until they become foamy, then fold them into the ricotta mixture.

Heat the oil on a griddle or large frying pan. Pour batter onto the griddle. Cook for about 1 minute until golden, then flip and cook another minute. Keep the cooked hotcakes warm by tenting them with foil on a large warmed plate, while you make the rest.

Serve with honeyed peaches and nectarines below, or with a topping of your choice, such as maple syrup, fresh berries, or wild honey.

Peaches and Nectarines in a Honey Syrup

¾ cup water
1/8 cup good honey
2 Tbsp sugar
A few dashes each of ground cinnamon and nutmeg
¼ tsp pure vanilla extract
1 large ripe peach, sliced
1 large rip nectarine, sliced

Combine the water, honey , and sugar in a pot. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Continue to simmer for 3-5 minutes. Add the peaches and nectarines, lower heat to a simmer, and cook for about 6-8 minutes, until fruit is soft but not mushy. The syrup should start to reduce and thicken a bit. Allow to cool slightly before adding to the hotcakes.

When ready, place hotcakes on a plate, layering with cooking fruit and drizzling with more of the honey syrup. Garnish with a couple of slices of ripe but uncooked fruit slices, if desired.

You might also like:
Heuvos Rancheros with Salsa Verde
Nan's Potato, Pepper, and Onion Frittata
Strawberry Rhubarb Sponge Pudding
Olive Oil Cake with Rosemary and Lemon


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