Contribution by Olivia Leadbetter

OL: One dish that comes to mind when considering my childhood in Altadena is pork chops & applesauce. It’s a simple meal. For better or worse, there’s not a vegetable in sight. It’s a combo I’ve seen get hate for being low brow, and it’s a combo I’ve seen on fancy restaurant menus where the applesauce is chutney or gastrique. It’s comfort food. Growing up, my dad made this because I loved it and because he loved it and because it took <30 min to make on a weeknight after work and school. He’d serve it up beside basmati rice cooked with beef bouillon and butter. He’d always cut my meat into bite sized pieces. Now that I am grown I could make it for him I suppose, but would it really ever be as good? I make this dish as an adult when I need a nostalgic, sensory reminder of my childhood. So… twice this week.

Ingredients: (serves 2)

• 2 boneless pork chops (1-1.5in thick)
• 1/2 cup Basmati rice
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 2-3 Tbs unsalted butter
• 2 cups applesauce
• 1 Tbs neutral oil (I use vegetable oil)
• salt & pepper

Instructions:

• In a pot, bring 1/2 cup rice to a boil with 3/4 cup water. Add bouillon cube.
• Using a paper towel, blot the pork chops dry to remove excess moisture. Coat generously with salt & pepper.
• When the rice reaches a boil, reduce to low heat and cover. Cook for ~ 20 min. Remove from heat and keep covered.
• Add 1 Tbs neutral oil to a cast iron pan (or whatever pan) and heat until an added water droplet sizzles.
• Add pork chops to pan and cook for ~ 4 min. Flip and repeat. You are looking for a good sear on either side.
• Add 2 Tbs butter and baste the chops. Cover and let cook ~4 more min. or until a temp. reader reads ~160. Remove from heat and let the meat rest for ~5min.
• Add excess pork butter from the pan to the rice. Or, add the last 1 Tbs of butter to the rice. Or both.
• Plate the pork and rice alongside the applesauce.