Apple Cinnamon Pork Chops

Halloween in a landscape that has been practicing for it since September. The aspens are bare now, the grass is gold and brown, and when I drive the county road in the evenings the jack-o-lanterns on the farmhouse porches glow in a way that looks genuinely ancient — orange flame in a gray dusk, the oldest human light. I don't decorate, but I bought a bag of candy in case any of the neighboring families bring their kids by, which happens maybe every other year. Nobody came this year. I ate the candy myself over three days, which seemed appropriate.

Two chapters finished this week: the harvest chapter and the first-snow chapter. The harvest chapter is about the chest freezer and the canning shelves and the root cellar, about what it means to maintain a larder in the twenty-first century not out of necessity but out of choice. The first-snow chapter is about the morning you wake up and the world is different, not changed by you but changed by itself, and what that teaches about the things you can and can't control.

I sent both to Sarah at midnight on Friday and woke up Saturday to her response: "These are it. This is the book." She said the harvest chapter in particular had the quality of the book she'd hoped for when she read the proposal — specific enough to be particular, open enough to be anyone's. I sat with that for a while. It's a strange feeling to have written something that's both yours and not yours, something that came from your specific life and hands and year and also belongs to anyone who reads it.

Patrick is having a good stretch. The new medication adjustment seems to have found its effect; the tremor is more contained, his energy is better in the mornings. He helped me carry firewood from the stack to the porch on Thursday, which he hasn't been able to do in eight months. Slowly and carefully, with me watching from a distance that I hope looked like I wasn't watching. He didn't ask for help. I didn't offer it.

Butternut squash soup with sage brown butter this week — the first of the winter squash from the garden, roasted and blended with stock and ginger. A pot of it lasts three days. I am fully in November mode even though the calendar says October.

The butternut squash soup was already spoken for — three days’ worth of lunches lined up on the counter in mason jars — but the week felt like it deserved a proper dinner too, something that used the skillet and filled the kitchen with the smell of apple and warm spice. Apple Cinnamon Pork Chops are what I made on Thursday, the same evening Patrick helped carry firewood, and there’s something right about a meal that takes less than thirty minutes when the day has already given you everything it had.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 bone-in pork chops (about 3/4 inch thick, roughly 6 oz each)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium apples (Honeycrisp or Fuji), cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup apple cider (not vinegar)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)

Instructions

Season the chops. Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, mix together the salt, pepper, cinnamon, and smoked paprika. Rub the spice mixture evenly over both sides of each chop.
Sear the pork. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy skillet (cast iron works well) over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the pork chops in a single layer and sear without moving for 4—5 minutes per side, until a deep golden crust forms. Transfer to a plate and tent loosely with foil.
Build the apple base. Reduce heat to medium. Add the butter to the same skillet. Once melted, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds more until fragrant.
Add apples and deglaze. Add the apple slices and stir to coat in the butter and onion. Pour in the apple cider and apple cider vinegar, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the brown sugar, nutmeg, and thyme.
Finish the sauce. Bring the cider mixture to a gentle simmer and cook for 3—4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples begin to soften and the sauce reduces slightly and coats a spoon.
Return the pork and glaze. Nestle the seared pork chops back into the skillet among the apples. Spoon the sauce over the chops. Cook over medium-low heat for 3—5 more minutes, until the pork registers 145°F at the thickest point and the sauce clings to the meat. Rest 3 minutes before serving.
Serve. Plate the chops with apple slices spooned over the top and the pan sauce drizzled around. Good alongside roasted root vegetables, mashed potatoes, or a simple green salad.

Nutrition (per serving)

Apple Cinnamon Pork Chops — A Fall Harvest Dinner for Slow, Good Evenings