Hazelnut Cream Martini

After a day of pushing the sweetest cupcake I have ever made, I felt the need to make a sweet drink to end the night.  I never go off recipes but just open my cabinet, take out random bottles that might go together and shake.  Here's what tonight came up with.  The Hazelnut Cream Martini.  I know that calling this a "martini" is sacrilegious in the martini community because this is really a "cocktail" served in a martini glass.  But at 6:15pm being home from a long day, who's splitting hairs?  So let's drink.




Ingredients:
Pinnacle Whipped Cream Vodka
Hazelnut Bailey's
Disaronno
Kahlua
Milk/Cream











How to put it together:
In a shaker, toss in 3 pieces of ice.
After that, slosh in some vodka.  If I had to wager a guess, 1 shot
Then, splash of Kahlua, probably 1/2 shot
As you can see in the picture, I used a nip of Baileys.. this is 5mL (or roughly 1.25 shot)
Disaronno, 1/2 shot
Milk, until you think you've got enough liquid to fill whatever glass you're pouring this into.
Shake vigorously. (did you remember to put the lid on the shaker? 'Cause if not, you now have a big mess)

Pour into your glass, I chose a martini glass.
Gulp..errr sip.. and enjoy!

Nutella & Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

So, at some point yesterday afternoon, I got the inspiration to bake.  I'm not sure why, considering when it comes to baking my cakes for decorating, it's really a task I never look forward to.  I'd much rather spend my hours bent over the cake adding color and detail.  But, alas, I was in the mood to bake.  My coworkers will tell you that it was because of the new employee at work.  She bakes.  My coworkers will tell you that since I've been so used to being the one who bakes all the time, and that her cookies just happen to shine over mine 100%, that I felt the need to step it up and bake.  Perhaps I have.  But really.. I was just browsing Pinterest and got inspired.  It was also a Wednesday night and I didn't have to take the girls anywhere after work.  It was also a way to procrastinate cleaning up the tornado of toys in my house.  Besides, I'm glad there's someone else at work now who bakes.  It's a relief really.  That was a lot of pressure.  <smiley face>  And now there's none.  Though they seem to think that putting us against one another is a good thing.  Little do they know, we're starting to collaborate.

So, of course, when I'm in the MOOD to bake, I can't just whip out any old box mix and store bought icing and toss things in a bowl.  No.  That just simply won't do.  I have to go out, over the top, and push limits.

Like I said, I was browsing Pinterest.  There are thousands and thousands of links to all manner of food from the internet on here.  And I tend to pin those that interest me, not for the exact recipe, but for the thought of "what can I do better" with that recipe.  And last night I landed on a cupcake.  I had pinned this some time ago, and it's certainly over the top.  So indeed, I took it to the next level.  And... since I have a lot of coworkers, I doubled the recipe.  This will make just under 4 dozen cupcakes.  Here's how I played.

Cake Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
12 T unsalted butter, soft room temp
1 cup Nutella
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk
2 bags (12oz each) semi-sweet chocolate chips (set 1/2 bag aside)

Pre-heat your oven to 350degrees

1. Combine milk and vanilla in a bowl, set aside
2. Combine flour, powder, salt in a bowl, set aside
3. In your mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy
4. Add the eggs and blend until smooth
5. Mix in the Nutella and Peanut butter
6. Add 1/2 of the flour mixture and blend until combined
7. Add 1/2 of the milk and blend until combined
8. Add remaining flour, blend, add remaining milk, blend
9. Remove bowl from mixer and add 1.5 bags of of the chocolate chips and fold in by hand with a spatula

Scoop batter into lined cupcake tins until about 2/3 full
Bake for 20-22 minutes.
You will notice the cupcakes will get nice and puffy, but towards the 20 minute mark they will deflate and start to darken.  At this point they are just about done.  Toothpick the center and make sure it comes out clean (melted chocolate residue does not count)
Remove from the oven and let cool.

Now, it's time for frosting!
The recipe from the original pin was pretty weak and tasted like too much butter, so being a cake decorator I bumped up how much sugar was used in this recipe and not only naturally doubled it, but also made it taste less like butter and more like frosting.  And again, this is doubled from the original I found.
12 ouces unsalted butter, room temp (this is about 2 sticks of butter)
4 cups confectioner sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup creamy peanut butter (this I did NOT double, 'cause simply these things were getting far too sweet)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk

1. Beat the butter and peanut butter in a bowl.  Use your whisk beater so the butter can get whipped and not be clumpy, no one wants to get a lump of butter in their mouth when eating frosting.
2. Add the vanilla to your cup of milk
3. Add the salt into your sugar
4. Add 1 cup of sugar and beat on low until incorporated
5. Add a splash of milk and beat on high
6. Return mixer to low and add more sugar
7. Alternate sugar/milk until it's all incorporated
8. Beat on high to get a nice fluffy frosting.
9. If you want it thicker, add more sugar.

You can frost these with a knife, but I prefer a piping bag, make a nice circle, bring it in the middle and pull up to create a nice little "nipple" of frosting.

Now, decorate it.  Remember that remaining 1/2 bag of chocolate chips?  Put those in a microwave safe bowl and microwave at 30 seconds at a time, stirring between each until they have melted.
Using the same spoon you are stirring with, simply draw it through the chocolate and drizzle over the cupcakes in your desired pattern.

Serve with Milk.  You will need it.

Now... want to kick it up a notch?  Fellow baking coworker and I thought these would be AMAZING with some crispy fresh bacon bits on top.  Salty and sweet.  Oh yes.  Maybe next time.

White Lasagna

I adore lasagna.  Could eat it every day if I had to.  What's not to love?  Pasta, sauce, and cheese and cheese, and more cheese!  Growing up, my mom made the best lasagna and I of course carry on that same recipe, but seriously, no one ever makes it as good as mom does.  But I like to think I hold a small flame to her, she did teach me after all.  I don't get red-sauce dishes very much in my house.  Neither my oldest child or my husband likes tomato sauce.  Though, husband has been known to enjoy the family lasagna recipe.  I was so craving this a few weeks back however that I had to adapt the recipe.  I figured, if my daughter doesn't eat red sauce, then I'll make it with white sauce.

I have to say, it turned out pretty darn good!  Only change is that next time I will use MORE sauce, and perhaps if time allows, I will make my own white sauce.  But when you're a full time working mom of two, with a busy household, making your own Alfredo sauce is a luxury you can't always have time to afford.  So, this recipe is truly "semi-homemade" and so simple!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Ground beef (or turkey)
• 1 pkg mushrooms, sliced
• 2 jars Alfredo sauce (or homemade)
• 1 box lasagna noodles
• 1 pkg chopped spinach (defrosted and drained)
• Salt/Pepper
• 16oz Ricotta cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• 2 pkgs shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Boil your lasagna noodles according to directions on the box, to al dente
2. In a large skillet, cook up the ground beef and sliced mushrooms.  
3. Drain off any excess fat.
4. Pour in the Alfredo sauce and bring to light simmer.  Set aside.

 

1. In a large 13x9 lasagna pan, spread some of the sauce on the bottom, this prevents the noodles from sticking.
2. Then lay your noodles over the bottom of the pan, in one layer, covering the entire bottom of the pan, one layer of noodles only..
3. On top of the noodles, spread ricotta.  Honestly, just use your fingers to press it in and around, makes it much easier.  Just enough to cover the noodles, as shown.
4. On top of the ricotta, sprinkle on the chopped spinach.  Just a bit, maybe 1/3 of what you have in the package.
5. On top of the spinach, sprinkle on your mozzarella cheese, then on top of that, shake on the Parmesan cheese.
6. At this layer, you will now pour on more sauce/meat, get it wet, but dont' use it all, you need to have enough for at least one more layer.

Repeat steps 2 through 5 until you've reached the top of the pan.

The final layer should end with Mozzarella cheese and just a smattering of spinach for color.

Place dish into a 350 degree oven for 40-50 minutes until the tops are golden brown and sauce is bubbling.

Cut into squares, serve and enjoy!

Jenn's Beef Brisket a la N.E Boiled Dinner

New England Boiled Dinner.  Take an extra salty, briny piece of meat, toss it in a pot of water, boil the life out of it, toss in potatoes, root veggies and cabbage.  Serve.  With mustard and/or vinegar.  A meal that was foreign to me until I met my husband's family some odd years ago now.  The first time this was served to me, I naturally proceeded with caution.  It all looked like the same gray matter sitting on a plate in front of me.  But those around me couldn't shovel it into their mouths quickly enough, so I proceeded.  And yeah, well, the rest is history.  It wasn't long until I was making my own boiled dinner at home.  But this isn't an entry about New England Boiled dinner.... well, not quite.

Last year, I was in the mood for boiled dinner, but it was the wrong time of year to find corned beef brisket at the store.  At least, MB and S&S weren't carrying it and I wasn't going to S's.  So, I asked the butcher if he had brisket.  Stupid question Jenn.  I wasn't paying attention to what I was asking.  I had simply said "brisket" and not "corned beef brisket."  The butcher replied kindly and disappeared into the back room, returning with this enormous 5lb hunk of beef, which I HAD to take home, he had special cut it for me.  Thankfully, beef at the time wasn't outrageously priced so I didn't go bankrupt at checkout.  Went home with my potato, cabbage, parsnips, carrots and set to work boiling the water.  Only to realize that "the package" of spices was missing.  It was then that it finally dawned on me... this was not corned beef brisket... this was just simply beef brisket.  What the HECK do I do with this!?

A quick search on the internet produced several brines and methods to make your own pickling spice to produced the "corned" part of beef brisket... but that took 2-3 days to complete properly.  I wanted boiled dinner now, not three days from now.  Further searches produced results about others who had run into a similar scenario, no not where someone mistakenly got just beef and forgot the corned... but where the spice packet had been left out of their package of corned beef.  Reading several question and answer sites I finally came up with the spices I wanted to use.  Tossed them all into the pot, boiled this plain old beef brisket up for about 3 hours, tossed in the veggies and served.  It was "OK."  It was certainly edible.  Both Rob and Kass at it, and since the butcher had given me enough to feed a family of 8, I had plenty of leftovers and lived off this for more than a week for lunch.

Fast forward to last night.  I've improved my recipe and it was AMAZING.  So, why not share it with you? 

First thing we need to do here though is finally establish my measuring techniques, because you will surely need it this time.  I palm measure.  Here's what I mean.

Hold your hand out in front of you.  Cup it.
You'll notice that you've now created a small divot in the palm of your hand.  The lowest point, the orange circle in the picture is #1, typically about a teaspoon.  The next higher point, pour to the red line, and that can be a teaspoon to one tablespoon, depending on how cupped your hand is.  The next higher point over that is the green circle, easily 2 tablespoons, but again, depends on how cupped your hand is.  Imagine an orange just sitting in there nicely with your hand cupped around it.  That's about right.

Now that you know the approximate measurements, here are the ingredients to Jenn's Beef Brisket.

• 1 Beef Brisket, not too fatty, but not without fat
• Bay Leaves
• Coriander
• Whole cloves
• Whole all spice
• Mustard Powder
• 3 cloves garlic
• Onion powder
• Salt
• Whole Pepper
• Water
• Root Vegetables (Russet Potatoes, Carrots, Turnip, Parsnip - all or some, depends on how many people you're feeding)
• Head of Cabbage

Grab a pot big enough to hold the brisket and all your vegetables.  This is a one pot dish, everything is eventually going in, so make sure you have plenty of room!  Put the brisket in the bottom and fill with water to 2 inches from the top of the pot.  Get the pot on the stove and set to High to get it boiling. 

Add your spices. 
In the "Green Measurement" add the following: 

• Coriander
• Whole cloves
• Mustard Powder
• Salt
• Whole Pepper

In the "Red Measurement" add the following:

• Whole All spice
• Onion powder

Drop in 2 Bay leaves
Drop in 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped in half

1. Bring everything to a boil, turn back heat to Medium and let simmer/boil for 1.5 hours.
• Now... this is for a beef brisket that shreds but does not fall apart on its own.  If you want the brisket to fall apart on it's own, boil for 2.5 hours.  Otherwise, this makes a nice beef that's tender but may still want a knife to cut the shreds.  It WILL still shred, just not fall apart on its own.  Adjust to your taste.
2. Meanwhile, cut your root vegetables into big chunks.  Carrots should just be cut in half, potatoes quartered, parsnip sliced and quartered.
3. After 1.5 hours, you'll want to start progressively adding the vegetables for the last 30 minutes, the denser veggies first.  
• Add another "Red Measurement" of salt at this point
• Carrots, Parsnips, Turnips, Potatoes, Cabbage last.  Let the one veggie boil up for 5-10 minutes before adding the next.

Your house is going to smell AMAZING while this is happening.  :-)

After the 2 hours have completed, your meal is done.  Grab some serving trays to display it all in, or just serve right from the pot.  Minus the beef of course, you'll need to shred/cut that.

You will also be left with a super flavorful beef broth.  Make soup, or freeze for later.

Enjoy!!

Copious Cookies and Kahlua too!

I like to bake.  You know this.  Although, I'm not a fan of baking cakes (just decorating them).  But I am a fan of baking pastries, pies, and cookies.  Oh do I love to make cookies.  So anyone who knows me knows that come December, my kitchen is overflowing with copious counts of cookie dough.  You walk into the kitchen during one of my all day cooking marathons and you'll find me covered in flour, standing in sugar and licking a beater or spoon full of dough.

Now, I don't bake just one kind of cookie en masse.  No.  I do it up right.  I bake a minimum of 6 different kinds of cookies, 2 batches each.  A typical batch is 2 to 4 dozen.  You do the math.  Yes, cookies cover the counters, and my kitchen table, and my dining room table.  My husband loves it.

I have a book that I received from my husband several years ago for Christmas and it's 400+ pages or nothing but cookies.  So this cookie cookoff with myself is really his fault.  The first year I had it, I went through page by page and tagged several to try.  Starting off that year I baked 8 different kinds of cookies.  It was a 12 hour day in the kitchen, with one oven and 2 cookie sheets.  Took them all to work in Christmas tins and tupperware.  Huge hit, of course.  Did the same the following year, and again the next, now with more cookie sheets.  Had to take a year off due to pregnancy but came back the following years just as strong.  And here I was again this year with 2 ovens, 8 cookie sheets, 2 Kitchen Aids and one hand mixer.  It was "just" an 8 hour session this year, thanks to two kids at my legs... but followed with two more nights later that week to get to my 8 kinds of cookie.

I vary what I make from year to year.  I have my constants like chocolate chip, white chocolate chip and a peanut butter.  But I still like to try a new one every year.  This recipe is this year"s new one.  It's one I had marked a few years ago and added a post it on with notes.  The original recipe is a butterscotch base with a pecan on top.  I decided to change it up and play.  I have modified the recipe so that the cookie mimics a chocolate trifle.

Now in all fairness I had no idea what chocolate trifle was until I met my husband's family,  This was a dessert they had after holiday meals.  Chocolate cake, chocolate pudding, crushed heath bar, whipped cream...and... Kahlua, ever so lightly drizzled over the cake. A-mazing.  I have of course played with this recipe several times as well, one of my favorite versions include Oreos.  So when I read this cookie recipe that was a butterscotch pudding base, I noted that switch to chocolate and Kahlua drizzle.  This year was the year to do it, and they are stupidly easy!  They are my new go to dough for last minute cookies.

Chocolate Trifle Kahlua Pudding Cookies

Ingredients

• 3/4 c sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 margarine, melted
• 1 package of instant chocolate pudding
• 1 bag crushed heath bar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a bowl, mix at high speed sguar and eggs until thick and yellow pale.  Beat in the margarine until smooth.  Stir in the flour and pudding until blended.  Stir in 3/4 the bag of heath bar.  Drop the batter by 2-3 Tablespoons each on to a greased AND floured cookie sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Undercook slightly for more chewy cookie.  Remove from sheets and cool completely on wire rack with wax paper underneath the rack.

Drizzle/Dip on Top

• 1 cup confectioner sugar
• 2-3T of Kahlua

Keep in mind here, that this drizzle on top is really to taste. You want a thicker "frosting" use less Kahlua, more sugar.  You want a gooey feel to it, use more Kahlua.  I'm guessing at the measurement for the Kahula since I literally put 1 cup of sugar in and then poured the Kahlua in and turned on the mixer and adjusted until it was the consistency I wanted.

When your cookies are cool enough, use the drizzle by dipping in a spoon and zig-zagging across the cookie, or just dip the cookie in and put back on the wire racks to set.  While the drizzle is still is still wet, sprinkle just a touch of heath bar on top.

Serve this cookie with the following cocktail:
1 part vodka
1 part Kahlua
1 part Bailey's
2 parts milk or cream
ice into a shaker, shake well, pour into martini glass

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And in case you thought I was kidding about the massive amounts of cookies:

Leftover Lobster Risotto

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love lobster.  Offer it to me at boat price and I'm gonna eat three 2.5-pounders in one sitting.  I've once eaten a 4-pounder and a 1-pounder in one night.  I have also been seen to consume six 1.5-pounders over the course of a long afternoon.  I didn't grow up in New England.  I had never really had lobster until I was 12.  So of course, I'm not tired of it.  And how CAN you tire of it?  It's just SO naturally good.  The only seafood better than lobster just might be scallops.  It's a close call.  So, when I buy lobster, I buy it in mass quantities.  The last time I purchased lobster was to host a lobster meal for an out of town work guest, who was visiting from Boulder, CO for the week.  I served up lobster, fried potato slices, corn, an of course a pile of steamers.  I over buy.  You never know when said guest could want more than just one... and we know I do.  But alas, he did not, and neither did my boss who joined us for the evening.. so I had 2 lobster leftover and I had already had my 2, plus 1/2 of Kassidy's.  So, I shelled them and stuffed them into a freezer bag.  And I shelled them right down to nothing.  Not like my grand-mother-in-law (aka. Grammy) does... but I got pretty close!  Did you know there is meat in the antennae?  How about in the very bottom of the tail fins?  Yep, it's everywhere.  Think about that next time you order lobster.  It's not all about just the claw and tails. Go for the knuckles, legs and dig in.


So, I had this bag of lobster that's been calling my name from the freezer for quite some time.  And today I was home early since Karsyn had a fever.  This left me the ability to get on the internet and search for a variety of recipes for Lobster Risotto.  However, as usual, not finding a single recipe I liked in its entirety, I pulled down my reliable Joy of Cooking.  I can ALWAYS find a recipe in here, or at least something to get me started.  So, what do I come across?  A basic risotto recipe.  One I have used before.  (future blog on Italian Sausage Risotto, a recipe modified from sister-in-law)  Risotto is risky.  Not to make, since it's really a very easy recipe. But risky business when feeding the family.  You all read Busted Applesauce Pork, right?  This could go either way....

Well, the kids were asleep and I was done with work... so, really what's the risk, they get to make their own dinner or starve.  So, off I played.

Ingredients

• 2 lobsters, cooked and shelled (come on, get in there and get it ALL or you won't have enough if you use just claw and tail) - rough chop, nice big chunks
• 2c Aborio Rice
• 2T dried chives
• 3T olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, mashed and diced
• 1/4 cup white wine OR marsala wine OR sweet vermouth
• 8 cups stock
• Since my lobster was frozen, I poured 4 cups of water over it and boiled it to defrost, using that water as 1/2 my stock.  The rest of 4 cups was chicken stock.
• Peas (optional, feeding a family it's nice to have a veggie and make this a 1 pot meal)

Ok, Assemble!

1. 3T of oil into a nice solid pan (do not use non-stick) 
2. 2T chives into pan
3. garlic clove into pan
4. Saute on low-med heat until happy (which really means until you can start to smell them and the aromas in your kitchen are going crazy)
5. Don't let them sit, keep stirring
6. Add the rice to this and KEEP STIRRING, you're now sauteing the rice until it "pops" into a white color
7. Add the wine/marsala/vermouth to the pan slowly and keep stirring.  The rice will instantly absorb it.
8. Add 1 cup of stock and allow to light simmer, but never boil
9. Keep stirring.  Water will start to absorb into the rice.  When it's just about gone, add another 1 cup of stock.
10. Repeat step 9 until you have 1cup of stock left.
• This is the time consuming part.  Not hard...just boring.  1 cup, sit, stir, wait for absorb, repeat.... should take about 30-40 minutes if you do it right.
11. Toss in your lobster meat (and optional peas)
12. Keep stirring, turn heat to low.
13. Cook until all water is absorbed, which really shouldn't be much longer than 5-10 minutes.
14. Plate and Eat.

You're going to get enough here to feed 6 adults nice heavy portions.  I had enough for Me, Rob, the girls, and 2 bowls of leftovers for lunch this week.  I hope it reheats well.  I'll post back the results.

 

Safe to say... tonight, was a hit!  I already knew that Kassidy liked lobster, but this was a new medium in which to eat it.  Karsyn just digs right into anything.  But Kass took a little bit of coaxing.  Once we got her going though she ate just about her whole plate.  Even Rob didn't "hate it."







Change it Up!?

• Instead of lobster, at one point I thought this might go really well with sauteed mushrooms and shredded chicken.  A nice substitute to the lobster and peas.
• Also, I did find the recipe tonight a tad bland.  You may want to add salt, some cracked pepper.  Many recipes out there call for saffron, a VERY expensive and yummy addition and not something I stock.

Busted Applesauce Pork

Well, tonight I made a meal for the family that absolutely no one (other than me) liked.  It made the oldest daughter cry, the youngest daughter say "no no no" and my husband grimace at every bite.  But don't take that as meaning the meal was terrible because in fact it was really very very good.  The family just has bland, steak and potato, chicken nuggets, slather everything in ketchup, teriyaki and BBQ sauce taste buds.  And, usually I will cater my meals towards this bland culture.  But every once in a while, I just have to make a meal for ME.  And tonight I did.  And I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I was at least hopeful, someone other than myself would enjoy it.  Boy was I wrong.

It was about 3:00 today when I decided on what I was going to make.  I had fresh parsnips from our own garden, and I just happened to come across a recipe today in Parents magazine for roasted carrots and parsnips.  Now it was just a matter of what should go with it.  Well, if I'm roasting veggies, why not roast the meat.  So into the freezer I went and lo and behold I had two of the biggest boneless pork cutlets cuts you'd ever see.  Just perfect for a 45 minute roast.  So into the cabinets I went for spices.  A little of this, and a little of that, using inspiration from my Aunt in California from earlier this year based off a roast pork cutlets she did, with of course my own twists.  And.. since I was already playing with veggies and the pork, I just grabbed a box of Rice A Roni wild rice to whip up on the side.

Looks good, doesn't it?  You wouldn't have known by the sounds and looks on the faces at the dinner table tonight.  But hey, I come from a different background than hubby, he's not used to out of the ordinary spices from another part of the country, and the girls, well, what did I expect from an almost 5 year old and an 18 month old?  Regardless, the almost 5 did eat the rice, and the 18 month devoured the pork, so that was a bonus. You can't please everyone all the time, and although I was insanely hurt by reactions around the table, I take away with the pride of actually making a good meal, last minute, whether THEY liked it or not.  Oh yeah, and this pairs very well with a hearty red wine.  So, here's how I played.

Cider-Roasted Carrots and Parsnips
(from Parents Magazine, November 2012, page 178)
2/3 c apple cider
2T olive oil
2T apple-cider vinegar
2T grainy dijon mustard
2T honey
2tsp fresh thyme (I used dry)
Salt to taste
1lb carrots, peeled, cut into sticks or sliced (I sliced)
1lb parsnips, peeled, cut into sticks or sliced (I sliced)

Preheat oven to 400degrees.  Cooking spray a roasting pan.  In a large bowl big enough to hold the veggies, whisk together all the ingredients except the salt. (my version)  Add the veggies and toss around to coat.  Spread the veggies into the roasting pan, with all liquid.  Sprinkle on salt.  Roast uncovered for 35 minutes or until veggies are tender, stir once half way through.  Liquid will evaporate.

Rice A Roni
Wild & Long Grain Rice
Follow directions on the box.

Apple Sauce Pork
Carraway
Coriander
Garlic Salt
Fresh Chives
Apple Sauce (Cinnamon is what I used)
Salt
Pork (I used fat sliced cutlets, you can use loins or a roast, adjust your cooking time, watch the internal temp)

In a glass roasting pan, place your pork cutlets.  Remember I don't measure, so taste and smell these flavors prior to putting them onto your pork so you can add more of one than the other if you feel you like them.  So, on I put the caraway, coriander, garlic salt and salt.  All sides, just sprinkle it on.  I use more caraway than coriander.  Rub it in.  I only used a handful of chives, not enough to overpower, but enough to give some flavor and aroma to the dish.  Chop them up, sprinkle them on.  Then pour the applesauce over it all.  I used whatever I had left, but I would estimate it was about 1 and 1/2 cups.  Put that into a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes.  Use a meat thermometer and cook until just under 170 degree internal temp.  Let sit before slicing.

Place everything on the plates and serve.  Just don't expect everyone to love it.

I, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoyed it!