There’s a theme this weekend: using up apples! Pook an apples is a this pork chop recipe from Cook’s Illustrated does more than just have some applesauce on the side.

So we start with bacon & shallots.

The recipe is called ‘French-style’, and while it does have Calvados in it, it doesn’t have garlic. How can it be French if it’s not got garlic in it!?

Garlic was added.

Then Calvados flambé. Then homemade chicken broth, and thyme, butter… OK this is pretty French now. And the apples.

We’re having it with potato wedges and a butterbean and tomato mix with paprika, inspired by a dish that HelloFresh sent us. Soph’s got bored of her standard repertoire of weeknight meals, so when some pushy door-to-door guy came around trying to get us to sign up for this meal delivery service… I actually decided to give it a try. It works well for us they send the exact amount of food for a two-person meal, so while it’s more expensive than buying from scratch it’s pretty economical for us as we’re not having to buy huge amounts of stuff when we only need a little. And so far the recipes they’ve sent have all been really good!

Then finally it’s chop time!

Then chops on apple time.

Sauce gets strained. Hehe… pan sauces, flambé, so chef! And now straining.

Then the cast iron skillet goes in the oven… I feel like a real chef!

Anyway… food!

Mmmm delicious! And I feel like I properly cooked: flambé, fry then oven the meat – all very cool!