PORK CHOPS WITH PEACH SALSA

and

PEACH COBBLER

Brining and spice rubbing the pork chops makes a difference. The peach salsa with its raw red onions balances the delicious pork fatty greasiness. This meal is decadent, especially when it ends with peach cobbler and a glass of whole milk so rich it has a cream colored tinge to it. If you have time to prep and own multiple frying pans, this dinner would work for a large party because the actual cooking part is really simple.

Pork Chops almost worthy of those in the Greek restaurant in Chevy Chase and made because Sebastian likes pork chops and I wanted to impress him:

Hours ahead of time, soak the pork chops in water flavored with enough brown sugar and salt so it's like tastes like a strong tea. Pat dry. Rub with a mixture of 3 parts brown sugar to 1 part paprika, 1 part old bay, 1 part cayenne pepper, and a generous amount of fresh ground salt and pepper. Have just enough olive oil to cover the pan. Throw on the pork chops on medium heat. Let sizzle for at least 5 minutes. You want the pan down side to be well browned before turning. After turning, let the other side brown for about 5 minutes. Take pork chops out of the pan and let rest on a plate. Throw sliced sweet onion into the pork fat. Salt a little. Let brown and almost caramelize. Throw a splash of water into the pan to deglaze. Let the water boil off. Throw the meat back in the pan and mix all together. Let sit a few minutes on the plate and then serve with peach salsa.

Peach Salsa should go on everything when peaches are in season:

It's important to keep the taste bright, fresh, and light. This means going very easy on the dressing part.

Chop two ripe yellow peaches, 1/2 of a smallish red onion, lots of mint. In a small bowl mix the juice of 1 and 1/2 key limes (the tiny sort), sugar, splash of balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Mix everything together. Let sit at least an hour.

Peach Crisp inspired by Alex's:

Alex forever changed my opinion of crisps. She learned how to make hers as an assistant pastry cook at Chez Pannise. An Alex crisp is a nutty, deeply fruit tasting, slightly buttery experience that tastes like I imagine everything delicious described in the Red Walls series. The secret is using nuts in the topping and not too much sugar on the fruit. I remember her's was nectarines and blackberries. I'm using peaches and nectarines there were piles and piles of them at the farmer's market. I think I like a combination of yellow peaches and nectarines best. The nectarines have more fruit flavor and the peaches have sweet sugary juiciness.

For the fruit, start by briefly submerging 6 peaches (nectarines okay too) in boiling water then transferring to ice water. The skins should easily peel off. Pit and slice. Toss with enough sugar to just sweeten (it should be sweet, but not too sweet) and a small amount of flour.

For the topping (based on an Alice Waters recipe), toast 1 cup of sliced raw almonds for about 6 minutes or until they smell good and are just starting to brown. Chop. Mix with 1/2 flour, 1/4 brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of white sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Chop up about 6 tablespoons of butter. Rub butter and dry ingredients between your fingers until crumbly.

Lay peaches in a dish, cover in topping, let cook at 400 until the fruit are bubbling. Let cool completely before serving. Can be reheated.