The Fall Harvest

This year promises to yield a bumper crop of apples and pears for our annual Cider pressing. The trees around our house are heavy with fruit, as are all the other orchards across the island. Sometime in the next week or two, our friends will start showing up with boxes of fruit ready to be crushed and turned into Scrumpy. On top of all this, it is also Chanterelle season. I can't hold back the excitement I feel when the first rain of Autumn falls and I don my old clothes and head off into the woods. Some years are poor, but this year I have already found a  shit load baskets full of the little beauties.
There is nothing better than combining the fruits of this season into a delicious meal, but first you have to go and find the main ingredients.

A tell tale sign

A bit more clearing reveals the subject of the hunt

OK, now for the rest. I know you are in there somewhere......

After a few hours of crawling around in the undergrowth, my legs look as if I have indulged in a bout of foreplay with a Bengal tiger (female of course) and my face has collected enough spider webs to knit me a small hammock.

Still, the rewards are plentiful. Enough to make a delicious Dinner.....Pork Chops a la Normande

Now for the rest of the recipe. This one feeds two.

You will need Bone in Pork Chops, (1 per person)
1 Cup Hard Cider,
A good slosh of Calvados if you have it or Brandy if not.
1 Apple, peeled, cored and sliced
6 Chanterelles
1 medium Shallot diced
3/4 cup of heavy cream
Sprig of Rosemary
S&P to taste.


Some garden greens to steam as a side dish. These are Collard greens

Season and brown the chops on both sides in Olive Oil for about 2 minutes each side. Remove from the pan and keep warm.

 Add the shallots and some of the Rosemary and stir until the onion is translucent, but not too brown.

No, the kettle did not catch fire.

  Add the Calvados and then add the Cider. No Calvados? Use Brandy.

I did taste the Cider to make sure it was OK, hence the glass.

 Add the sliced Chanterelles and apples and combine into the shallots. Reduce the liquid before adding the cream.

Put the Pork back into the pan, together with any juices and bring to a lovely thick consistency, then serve (here with steamed collard greens.)

I put both chops on the plate for this photo, as I was by myself, but I didn't eat them all....Honest.

Bon Appetite