---

It’s about pork today. I have just a few pork tips to share with you before I do recipes.

If you are buying pork chops to stuff, buy chops that are 1-inch thick. It’s much easier to slit them, making room for the stuffing. Most ground meat dishes like meatballs or meatloaf taste much better if some ground pork is included. To test pork chops for doneness, prick them with a sharp tined fork (not a dinner fork). If the juice which rises is clear and un-tinged with pink, they’re done. A 3-4 lb. fresh pork roast should be baked at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes per pound. A meat thermometer is the most reliable guide for determining the inner temperature of a roast, which should be about 185 degrees. You’ll find a pork roast juicier and much more tender if you brown it on top of the stove and then cook it in the oven in a covered heavy pot instead of roasting it uncovered.

+++++

HAM BALLS WITH MUSTARD SAUCE
1-1/4 lbs. ground ham
2/3 lb. each, ground fresh pork (not pork sausage) and ground beef
2 eggs
1/2 c. tomato juice
2 T. minced onion
1 c. saltine crackers crumbs

Sauce:                        
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. each, vinegar and water
2 t. dry mustard

Combine first seven ingredients in a large bowl; mixing well. Let sit about 10 minutes.  Shape into golf-ball size balls; place in a 9x13-inch baking pan.  Combine sauce ingredients in a saucepan; heat to dissolve sugar, whisking with a wire whisk to incorporate the mustard.  Pour syrup over ham balls.  Bake uncovered at 325 degrees for 1 hour, basting with sauce every 15 minutes. Serve with sauce on the side. Makes seven to eight servings.  Note: If you don’t have a food processor or a meat grinder to grind the ham, you can mince ham very, very small to resemble ground ham.

+++++

SIZZLE SPICY 
PORK CHOPS
6 pork loin chops, 3/4  to 1-inch thick
Seasoned salt to taste
Pepper and garlic powder to taste
1 T. butter

Sizzle Sauce:
3/4 c. apple juice or apple cider
1/4 c. cider vinegar
2 T. brown sugar
1-1/2 t. each, molasses, dry mustard and ginger
1/2 t. cloves
Applesauce, optional

Season chops lightly with salt, pepper and garlic powder. In a large frying pan, brown chops in butter on both sides, three at a time  over medium-high heat. In a saucepan, combine all sauce ingredients; warm, stirring to dissolve sugar. Put all chops in frying pan. Pour sauce over. Simmer, covered for 20 minutes; change chops from bottom to top half way through cooking. Remove cover; simmer until sauce thickens slightly. Don’t let the sauce burn….it’s touchy. Serve applesauce as a condiment if you wish.  Makes  four to six servings.

+++++

BARBECUED
CHINESE-STYLE SPARERIB
2 lbs. pork spareribs

Marinade:
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T. regular or low-sodium soy sauce
1 T. sherry (NOT cooking sherry) or 1 T. apple or chicken broth
3 – 5 T. hoisin sauce (available in Oriental section of your supermarket)
1 T. each, honey, chicken broth and canola or vegetable oil

Cut spareribs between the bones in serving size pieces (3 bones). Trim off excess fat. In a small bowl, combine all marinade ingredients, mixing well.  Place ribs in a large container (or use a cake pan) and pour marinade over ribs.  Marinate in fridge, covered, about 3 hours, turning every hour.  Roast ribs on a foil-covered rack in a large pan at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Baste occasionally with any leftover marinade.  Makes four servings.

Note: This is how I prepare the ribs before pouring the marinade over them. Put the rib sections in a Dutch oven; pour enough hot water over them, just to cover. Bring to a boil; lower heat and simmer 15 minutes. Drain off liquid;  place ribs in prepared pan and continue with instructions. Also, I use non-stick foil which keeps the ribs from sticking to the regular foil.

+++++

I think you might like this very easy, nutritious, yummy dessert….. for anytime.

BANANA/NUT/CHERRY DESSERT
2 large ripe (not over ripe) bananas, peeled
Whipped cream (from a spray can, whipped topping or freshly whipped cream)
12 walnut halves, previously chopped, about 1/2 to 2/3 cup
4 whole, maraschino cherries cut in small pieces or 4 large cherries with stems

Just before serving, dice bananas, dividing equally between four sauce or sherbet dishes.  Top with whipped cream, sprinkle with nuts and top with cherries or one cherry.  Makes four servings.

Thought for the Day: The optimist…In winter when the trees are bare, and frost flies in the biting air, he hears the echoes far away, of songs the birds will sing in May; to him is borne, in wintery hours,  reminiscence of sleeping flowers.

---