Category Archives: Sauces

Marinated Pork Chops with Fresh Plum Sauce

On my grandparents farm on Long Island, they had a full orchard of fruits trees. I would help my grandfather with tending the orchard from pruning to netting the trees to hanging little wooden snakes to scare off the birds. One of our favorite crops were the italian plums. We would gather the plums and my grandmother would made her close friend Mitzi’s plum cake. This recipe is a wonderful yellow cake that envelopes the plums. It’s easy to make and delicious to eat. We would just feast on those tiny jewel like fruit! I’m also including one of my favorite barbecued pork chops recipes served with a wonderful plum sauce. Hope you enjoy this food as much as we all do here by the bay!
From by the bay wishing you the plummiest of food memories!
Maryann

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Marinated Pork Chops with Fresh Plum Sauce

Serves 4

4 boneless ¾ inch think center cut pork chops

Marinade

¼ cup honey

¼ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

Directions

Place pork chops and all marinade ingredients into a sealed plastic bag and mix well. Place in refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours up to overnight. Remove from marinade and grill pork chops on a hot grill for approximately 8 minutes per side to be well done.

Fresh Plum and Merlot Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons shallots, chopped

6 Italian plums, stoned and chopped

2 tablespoons honey

½ cup merlot wine

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

½ teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil and add shallots, sauté for 2 minutes until soft. Add the plums and simmer for 15 minutes, add honey, wine,  balsamic vinegar and ground ginger and continue to simmer until the liquid is reduced in ½ and thickened. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Serve warm fresh plum sauce on top of the grilled pork chops.

Merlot Turkey Gravy

Here is the prefect gravy recipe. It’s base is an enhanced chicken stock, which has the flavor punched up with merlot wine and turkey pan drippings. The result is so delicious that you will have a hard time not putting this on top of everything on your Thanksgiving plate. Remember gravy is imperative to a successful Thanksgiving meal! Hot gravy can make up for any missteps in timing with your meal, where a dish might have gotten cold.

From by the bay, wishing you hot gravy food memories!

Maryann

 

blog merlot gravy

 

Merlot Turkey Gravy

Gravy Base

6 cups chicken stock, if store bought preferably organic low sodium

Giblets and neck from turkey

1 sprig rosemary

1 spring thyme

1 onion, peeled and quartered

1 celery stick, chopped

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

Gravy

1 1/3 cup merlot

6 tablespoons flour

6 cups gravy base

4 tablespoons butter

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

1 tablespoons fine grey sea salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions for gravy base

Combine into a soup pot chicken stock, rosemary, thyme, onion, celery, peppercorns, giblets and neck from turkey. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 1 hour. Cool and strain broth and keep refrigerated until ready to make gravy. This can be done one day in advance.

Directions for gravy

Place seasoned broth into a saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Melt butter in a bowl and then add flour. Whisk until it is a smooth paste. Take one cup of hot broth and whisk into flour mixture until smooth. Pour this back into the broth and whisk to blend. Add bay leaves, molasses, salt and pepper and whisk again. You can have this prepared as the turkey is roasting. Once the turkey is done and removed from the roasting pan pour pan juices into a measuring cup. Spoon off fat and discard. Add remaining juices into broth in the saucepan. Place roasting pan back on heat and deglaze with the merlot. Scrap pan to get all brown bits, let reduce to half, about 2 minutes. Add to the gravy. Whisk together and let simmer until reduced to a sauce consistency. Remove bay leaves, mix adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve with turkey.