Jerk Pineapple Pork Chops with Sauteed Cabbage

Are there any foods you look at and say, "Um, yeah, I may be smart but I have no clue how to attack this thing!"?

Maybe you're not sure how to get the most out of an avocado (answer's here). Or maybe you turned your hands bright red but still don't have a good serving of pomegranate seeds (check out this video):



When making Jerk Pineapple Pork Chops tonight, this was the dilemma.

Now we could just start hacking, but we wanted the picture perfect round rings that you see in all the cookbooks. Thankfully, our recipe (from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food) provided a handy tutorial.

1. Cut off the leafy top and base.

2. Stand the fruit on one end and slice the thick skin off in strips, from top to bottom.

3. Cut into rounds or quarter the pineapple and cut out the core. (our recipe calls for both)

So, the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2/3 of a whole (4 pound) pineapple, peeled
• 1 bunch scallions, sliced crosswise into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 small habanero or 1 large jalapeno chile, stemmed and seeded (We used sliced jalapenos from a jar)
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
• 1.5 teaspoons ground allspice (Don't have allspice on hand? Use these common ingredients to make your own)
• 4 bone-in pork chops (We used boneless. It's just easier.)
• coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Cut four 1/2-inch-thick rounds from pineapple; set aside. Cut remaining pineapple into large chunks, discarding core.

2. In a food processor, combine pineapple chunks, scallions, chile, thyme, garlic, and allspice and pulse until coarsely chopped.

(TIP: We couldn't get our food processor to process. It just whirred and whirred and whirred without really chopping up the mixture. So we added a little water to "get things moving".)

Reserve 3/4 cup pineapple marinade and refrigerate (TIP: Remember you set this aside. We forgot and now we have orphaned pineapple marinade sitting in the fridge.)

3. Season pork with S&P and place in a 9"x13" glass baking dish along with pineapple rounds. top pork and pineapple with remaining pineapple marinade and turn pork and pineapple to coat. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour (or up to 4 hours).

4. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Working in two batches, brush pineapple mixture off pork and cook chops until browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes (depending on thickness), flipping once.

5. Add 1 tablespoon oil to skillet. Brush pineapple marinade off pineapple rounds and cook until golden brown in spots, 5 to 7 minutes, flipping once.

Serve!

You'll notice that really big heap of whitish-greenish stuff in the foreground? It's Ina Garten's Sauteed Cabbage. So quick. So easy. So yummy!

Reviews:

Chef Tanya -- Loved it all, but my favorite is the cabbage. I'm a sucker for cabbage, even though I have to watch my intake because it's suspected to suppress the thyroid.

Jason -- It was pretty good. I always like the pork and pineapple combination. I thought the pork was a little dry, but if we'd remembered to serve the marinade that would have fixed that problem. (note: Tanya disagrees on the dry pork thing). The cabbage was a nice side dish.

Olivia -- Loved it all. I wanted seconds. Well, on everything but the pineapple. I hate pineapple.

Hannah -- The pork had some fat on it, which I'm not a fan of. But once I picked it off it was good. I didn't want to try the cabbage. But Mom convinced me. I think I waited too long, though, because it was cold when I ate it. It probably would be better if it was warm.

Miranda -- (still at the theatre)


P.S. Want to check out some other exotic fruits that might leave you a bit perplexed? Here ya go.