It is getting HOT in here

I buy most of my peppers at an Asian Market near my house. This is the only place I can get serranos, but they sell them by the pound. I have no clue what to do with a pound of peppers when all I need is one, so I tend to give them to neighbors or throw them away. Well this time I tried something new, serrano slices, this was an daring experiment on my part since I have never pickled anything before. Once again the wonderful people on the web helped me find a way to do this. I spent about an hour looking at the various recipes for pickling hot peppers and wound up making my own. If you are stuck buying your hot peppers in bulk or you find that store bought jalapeno slices are just too mild for you, this is the recipe for you....

Pickled Serranos

2 1/2 cups of vinegar (I used white distilled)

2 1/2 cup of water

2 Tablespoons of Kosher salt

4 cloves of garlic

1 pound of serranos, cleaned and sliced

2 tablespoons of black peppercorns

In a medium sauce pan add water, vinegar, salt, garlic, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil. While brine is coming to a boil add serranos to a sterilized canning jar. When brine has reached a boil, pour over serranos making sure to cover all with liquid. When jar cools place in fridge and DO NOT OPEN for 1 week. Serve and enjoy, slices can be kept refrigerated for up to 6 months.

Grilled Pork Chops with Apricot Orange Glaze

So we eat a lot of pork here. I get bored with just cooking it in the typical ways so I am always experimenting with it. I had really wanted to do something with apricots and pork so I came up with this recipe. I served the chops with some stuffing and a salad with red onion, yellow bell pepper, and feta. If I wasn't having to feed John too I would have added some red pepper flakes to glaze to add some more flavor and a touch of heat.

Pork Loin Chops

Salt and Pepper to season

1/2 cup of Apricot Preserves

1/4 cup of Orange Juice

1 teaspoon of whole black peppercorns

In a small saucepan add apricot preserves, orange juice, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil and then simmer until glaze becomes thick and is reduced by almost half. While glaze is reduce preheat grill on high. Season pork chops and set aside. When glaze is done place chops on grill, cover and cook for about 3 minutes on each side. Using a silicone brush paint glaze on both sides of pork chops and cook for about 3-5 minutes more on each side. Remove from grill and serve.