Fall weather is in the air, the cooler temperatures are wonderful.
Now time for relaxing by the fire and roasting marshmallows.
It also puts me in the mood for some cozy hearty foods.

For me breakfast is even better with any kind of sauce or gravy. 

I admit I do not make my own Hollandaise sauce.  I am just not comfortable with my abilities with raw eggs.  I will eventually give it a try, although for now it is a packet, and I add a little bit of lemon zest for some brightness to the sauce.

Bacon is always good any time of the day.  As a side to an omelet covered with cream gravy and fresh picked tomatoes from the garden.  Truly happy start to the day.

Chicken and Dumplings

The prep.

Chicken stock, chicken pieces, fresh herbs, onion, garlic.  For the dumplings: flour, herbs, baking powder, milk and oil.

The final product.

Once the chicken has cooked in the stock I drop about a tablespoon at a time of the dumpling mix.  Then cover and cook for a few minutes.  They puff up, and help to thicken the sauce.  Lovely comfort on a cool fall day. My recipe here

My Food Fun Finale for the Week – Pork Chops

With most meats it is good to make a marinade if you have time.  My pork marinade is simple, water, kosher salt, garlic, herbs, brown sugar and worcestershire sauce.  I generally just marinate for a couple hours.

What goes great with pork?  Fresh applesauce.  I have a Victorio Apple Peeler which is a big help when processing bushels of apples each fall.  It peels, cuts and cores all at the same time.  I save the scraps to make my apple stock to brine our Thanksgiving turkey.

Once the pork has marinated, pat it dry.  Heat the skillet up, I like to put a little lard in the pan along with some garlic.  Sear on both sides, this helps keep the pork moist and locks in flavor.

Deglazing the skillet.
This is a step sometimes skipped, although an important step in creating layers of flavor in the dish.  Take the seared meat out of the skillet, you will see almost burnt looking parts on the skillet, pour about half cup of wine (non-alcoholic is fine), stock or even water into the hot skillet then stir and scrape the pan.  All of those flavorful tidbits will loosen and add a deep flavor to the sauce.

Next, mix a can of cream soup in with all of those flavorful tidbits.  My favorite is cream of mushroom, add a little bit of milk or water so it isn’t so thick.  If you like mushrooms they are always a great addition at this point.

Put the pork chops back into the skillet and cover with a little bit of the sauce.  Bake at 350 degrees until done.  Usually about 30 minutes.  If you are unsure of when the pork chops are done you can check their temperature with a meat thermometer,  the recommended safe cooking temperature is 145 degrees.  Safe minimum cooking temperatures can be found here.

Enjoy the fun of food!