Gentiles Eat Pork Chops.

Thankfully.

In honor of a visit from our good friend and missionary, Peter, coming to visit us in Greenwood, we planned a tasty dinner. (Incidentally, he does great work with college students in Mexico City, Mexico, and if you are interested in supporting a missionary, please visit his website.) It was so good, I thought I should share the recipes here. We had two sides: baked sweet potatoes (easy recipe- just place on baking sheet and bake at 375 or 400 until completely mushy), strawberry salad (a summer favorite), and our main course was grilled pork loin with peach barbecue sauce. Here are the recipes:

Strawberry Salad.

• 1 bunch spinach, rinsed
• 10 large strawberries, sliced
• nuts (if desired)
  
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, mix the spinach and strawberries and nuts (pecans or almonds are both good.)
   
2. In a blender, place the sugar, salt, vinegar, and oil, and blend until smooth. Stir in the poppy seeds. Pour over the spinach and strawberries, and toss to coat.

Grilled Pork Loin (The recipe calls for pork chops, but I used a pork loin and it worked out great.)

For spice rub:
3 tablespoons ground coriander
3 tablespoons ground paprika
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon brown sugar

4 rib or loin pork chops, about 1 1/2-inch thick (12 to 14 ounces each)

For the sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small red onion, peeled, sliced thin
3 peaches, pitted, cut into medium sized cubes
2 tablespoons peeled and minced fresh ginger
2 medium ripe tomatoes, cut into medium sized cubes
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup orange juice
1/3 cup light or dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground allspice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Make spice rub: Combine the ingredients for the spice rub in a small bowl and mix well. Rub the pork chops generously on both sides with the mixture and set aside while making the sauce.

Make the sauce: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until hot, but not smoking. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 11 to 13 minutes. Add the peaches, ginger, and tomatoes and cook, stirring frequently for 2 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, orange juice, sugar, allspice, and salt and pepper, to taste. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the mixture is reduced by about 1/2 and thickened slightly, about 20 minutes. Taste and adjust for the seasoning, then transfer the sauce to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth (be careful with hot liquids). Reserve 1/4 cup sauce for basting the chops, then pour the remaining sauce into a small serving bowl.

Put the chops on the grill over the coals and cook, turning once, until desired doneness; 8 to 10 minutes per side for medium. During the last 30 seconds of cooking on each side, baste the chops generously with the sauce. Check for doneness.

Serve the chops hot with extra barbecue sauce on the side.

This was seriously good. If you have any peaches this would be a good use.

Oh yeah...dessert was a peach blackberry cobbler.

This is another easy recipe that is my favorite for any flavor cobbler:
Melt 1 stick butter or margarine in 9X13 pan.
Fill with slightly sweetened fruit.
Mix together 1 c. self-rising flour, 1 c. sugar, and 1 c. milk.
Pour over fruit and butter in pan.

Cook at 375 for 45 minutes or so, or until golden brown on top. Serve with vanilla bean ice cream.

It doesn't get much better than that.

The best part about cooking good food is that now I have some very tasty leftovers Jeff can bring me while I'm on call. So no five-star restaurant tonight.