After-Work Gourmet by Lisa Messinger

As the new year blossoms, most people don't want their hips and waists to follow suit: Weight loss goals are as ever popular as cracking open new calendars.

If you cruise the Internet, you know that remedies made with apple cider and apple cider vinegar (including drinking it straight at recommended levels) are a current craze — dating back centuries, note advocates — for possibly sparking metabolism and losing unwanted weight. Every place from the famed Mayo Clinic, to Internet health giant WebMd, has also weighed in on their blogs as to the effectiveness of such advice, especially stating that pure scientific evidence may not rule out the theories.

What isn't theory, though, is that apple cider and apple cider vinegar, parsed out among multiple servings in a gourmet recipe, taste good and therefore, may also help lift the weight-loss load. A tasty example is ancho cider-glazed hens from Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift of public radio's award-winning show "The Splendid Table." In a yield of four to six servings, the recipe includes both a quart of apple cider and one-third cup of apple cider vinegar in the tasty spread that also features brown sugar, soy sauce and four large garlic cloves.

Similarly, a recipe included in "The Food 52 Cookbook," from the popular and similarly named blog uses apple cider to brine thick, center-cut pork chops. Then, it uses additional cider, as well as the apple brandy Calvados, in the pan gravy, which easily can also be given a little shot of apple cider vinegar before it boils.

Kasper and Swift rave in their book, "The Splendid Table's How to Eat Weekends: New Recipes, Stories & Opinions from Public Radio's Award-Winning Food Show," that vinegars, like those made from apple cider, are "the secret sweetener." They continue, "Vinegar is a powerhouse seasoning when you add a little heat. For instance, cook off the acid and vinegar becomes sweet. Reducing it is also a great way to bring new flavor to inexpensive vinegars and to get bonuses out of spendy ones. Cook it with a little fat and it becomes syrupy, which makes it an ideal glaze for anything from savories to sweets."

Of course, not cooking apple cider vinegar also always has added powerful pizzazz. A tremendously tasty — and easy — example is "The Splendid Table's" pomegranate-apple cider vinaigrette that also follows.

 

CIDER-BRINED PORK WITH CALVADOS

Cider brine:

2 cups apple cider

1 / 4 cup kosher salt

1 / 4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds

3 fresh thyme sprigs

Chops and pan sauce:

2 (1-inch-thick), bone-in, center-cut pork chops

Canola oil, as needed

Table salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 / 4 cup Calvados

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 shallot, minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme

1 / 2 cup heavy cream

1 / 3 cup apple cider

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 / 3 cup apple cider

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Yields 2 servings.

Place all of the brine ingredients and 1 1 / 2 cups water in a medium saucepan, and stir over low heat until salt and sugar have dissolved.

Remove from heat and let cool.

Place chops in a single layer in a shallow pan, cover fully with brine, cover and refrigerate overnight. When ready to cook, remove chops from brine, rinse well under cold water and dry with paper towels before continuing.

Heat 1 to 2 tablespoons canola oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Season the pork with a little salt and freshly ground pepper. Add pork to the skillet and saute until just cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate; cover with aluminum foil and keep warm.

Pour off the excess oil and, over medium heat, carefully deglaze the pan with the Calvados, scraping the bottom of the pan well and letting the Calvados (the brandy) reduce to a glaze. Add butter, shallot and thyme and saute for 2 minutes. Stir in cream, cider and apple cider vinegar; boil until mixture thickens to sauce consistency, about 3 minutes. Stir in the mustard, and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and serve with the pork.

 

POMEGRANATE-APPLE CIDER VINEGAR VINAIGRETTE

1 large shallot, halved and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 / 2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 / 4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 / 3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Yields 6 servings.

In a small bowl, combine shallot, pomegranate molasses, vinegar, salt and pepper. Whisk until salt is dissolved. Whisk in olive oil. Prepare a salad and use vinaigrette immediately in it or if not serving immediately, cover tightly and store in refrigerator for up to 1 day.

-Recipes from "The Food 52 Cookbook: 140 Winning Recipes from Exceptional Home Cooks" by Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs.

Photo courtesy of "The Food 52 Cookbook."

Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the author of seven food books, including "Mrs. Cubbison's Best Stuffing Cookbook" and "The Sourdough Bread Bowl Cookbook." She also writes the Creators News Service "Cooks' Books" column. To find out more about Lisa Messinger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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