Food ADD (Attention Defi... ohh look a pizza)

Food ADD

Sometimes I get strange ideas about food. I think about strange combinations of flavors and textures, or mixing things together that don’t seem to be a match (i.e. black bean brownies). I am not saying I am original, I’m just saying that I have foodie ‘ADD’. I hear about someone’s favorites dish and my mind goes crazy thinking of ways to make it different, or better, or whatever. Some people look at this as an insult to their recipe and therefore I keep my mouth shut, but my head goes nuts, or bananas, or fruit loops… I think you get the picture. 

I am not an extreme food kind of guy, I like interesting stuff, but I cannot get behind some of the nasty things people eat to be different. I can eat Rocky Mountain Oysters, but I cannot eat horse semen, even if it tastes like custard (google “Hoihoi tatea”). I can eat some interesting things like pork rinds, but I cannot stomach the idea of pickled pigs feet or chitlins. I think that we will all eventually be eating some form of insect on a daily basis, but I am not starting until I have to, so no grubs, fried ants, or cockroaches for me, yet. 

What does all this mean? It means that we can always be a little daring and try new things without turning into Andrew Zimmern. Well unless you want to shave your head and look like a relative of Uncle Fester…

My strange concoction this month is a blend sweet and tangy. I made Apple Butter BBQ sauce for pork chops. It was very delicious with seasoned roasted vegetables and pureed cannellini beans. 

1 lbs pork loin chops

½ cup bottles bbq sauce divided

½ cup apple butter divided

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

½ Liquid smoke sauce

¾  cup Chicken stock

1 tbsp Butter

Salt/pepper

Season pork chops with salt and pepper and set aside. Combine ¼ cup bbq sauce with ¼ cup apple butter, mix in Worcestershire and smoke sauce with about ½ cup of water. Stir to combine. Add pork chops to ziptop bag and pour in marinade. Let rest in refrigerator for 1 hour.

Prepare pan for broiler, when meat has been marinated, drain and discard marinade. Place pork chops on broiler pan and broil for approximately 5 minutes per side (depending on thickness). In a sauce pan combine remaining ingredients and heat to a gentle boil until thickened. Serve pork chops sliced thinly with additional apple butter bbq sauce.

Let me know what you think of the recipe by emailing me at cookingwithtrace@gmail.com or visit my website at www.cookingwithtrace.com. Now go cook something.