First Experiment....Chili Pork Chops with Caramelized Pineapple Salsa

 

So, I decided to use the pineapple as my first participant in the adventures of my organic produce box.  First, we started with the salsa:

I diced half of the pineapple (the other half is for breakfast tomorrow). Then I heated olive oil in a saute pan:

Heat the oil until it's just starting to smoke, then add the pineapple and brown - takes about 5 to 7 minutes:

While the pineapple browns, chop half a medium sweet onion fine, a quarter cup of fresh basil and cut a red pepper into strips and then dice.  Note - this time, I didn't have a fresh red pepper and used a jarred roasted pepper, it was just as good, just a different taste.  Toss them into a bowl and squeeze the juice of a lime over top:

Preheated the oven to 400. Then I made a quick rub with some garlic powder, chili powder and smoked paprika:

I rubbed that over 1 1/2" thick pork chops, then dusted a little searing flour over top.  Heat a couple of glugs of olive oil and a pat of butter in the pan (used the same pan that I used for the pineapple).  Sear the chops:

Sear for about three minutes on each side:

Pop into the oven for about seven minutes to finish (the are just between med. rare to medium - after they sit for a few minutes they will be medium).  I poured a little white wine and veggie stock into the pan to scrape the brown bits then whisked in another small pat of butter - maybe a tsp. I strained the sauce because as you can see the pan had lots of brown bits.  Here's the finished product:

My mom had to be restrained from licking the plate!