Chard Wrapped Pork with Apples and Cherries

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Someone turned on the air conditioning outside and I for one am none-too-pleased. I mean, its totally freezing out there! Isn't this supposed to be a sunny clime? Pout. (And why does this come as a shock to me every single year.)

All this blustery business makes a girl want to stay indoors. Prefferably under the covers with a good book. No reason to venture.

Tragically, along with not having air conditioning, it has come to my attention that my beautiful maison is also lacking in a working heater. Wassup with that? Yikers!

Well, that being the case, I had no choice but to start using my oven. I mean, any ol' hot appliance does the trick, right? And the bonus here is that unlike a single-task heater, the oven takes the bite right out of the air and into my mouth, where it belongs.

This recipe, which takes only a second to create, still involves that tried and true chef trick of searing on the stove top then fininshing in the oven. Warming up your world.

It is a perfect winter dish. Juicy pork, tart apples, spicy cherries and deep green chard. You will swoon. Serve with wild rice and mashed sweet potatoes and have a feast.

4 large cutlets of pork or chicken breast pounded thin
6-8 large chard leaves, stemmed removed
1 tart apple, peeled, cored and sliced thin
Salt and pepper
Tiny pinch of nutmeg
1 tablespoon butter
½ cup spiced cherries*, pitted and halved
3/4 cup pomegranate juice
½ teaspoon red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 350F

Top each cutlet of pork with a few slices of apple. Add a tiny pinch of nutmeg then, season generously with salt and pepper.

Wrap the pork up in a chard leaf, creating a packet. Set aside, seam side down. Do not worry if some of the pork shows through, it wont matter.

Heat a large skillet over a medium flame. Add the butter and the pork packets (again, seam side down) and saute for about 3 minutes. Turn the pork over then place the pan into the oven for 12 minutes or until the pork reads 145F at the thickest part, on an instant read thermometer. Remove from the oven and cover with foil while you make the sauce. Remember, even after cooked pork is removed from the oven, it will continue to cook about 10 degrees as it rests.

Carefully place the hot pan back on the stove top. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until reduced by half, about six minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

During this time, the pork is resting and the internal temperature should raise to 155F. When it does, and the sauce is done, slice each pork packet in half and serve with the cherry-pomegranate reduction.

* You can also used frozen, canned, or re-hydrated cherries. Cranberries work too.

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The USDA recommends that pork prepared at home be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 to 165 degrees. 155 to 160 degrees is considered medium; 170 to 180 degrees is considered well-done.

Minnesota and North Carolina are the leading turkey producing states, with each producing about 44 million annually

The pomegranate is native from Iran to the Himalayas in northern India and was cultivated and naturalized over the whole Mediterranean region since ancient times.