What about this?

Every now and then it’s nice to go out for a good dinner. A couple of weeks ago I was served a flavorful and juicy rack of pork smothered with sweet, caramelized, maple onions. It was cooked to perfection – just a little pink in the center. The name of the restaurant? Well, truthfully, this delicious dish was served to me at my son’s home. He and his girlfriend treated me and my husband to a wonderful home-cooked meal. I love that all my children enjoy cooking and that for a change I can ask them for a recipe! My husband and I purchased an eight-rib rack of pork, which is a relatively inexpensive cut of meat, at Costco and doubled the recipe. We were delighted that the results were just as tasty as the one our son and his girlfriend prepared for us. The moral of the story: Teach your kids to cook!

Rack of Pork with Caramelized Onions
Recipe by Wolfgang Puck

Ingredients:
1 (2-pound) pork rack with 4 bones attached
Salt and pepper
2 ounces olive oil
3 yellow onions, sliced
1-inch fresh ginger, crushed
1/2 stick cinnamon
1 star anise
3 tablespoons sweet butter
4 tablespoons maple sugar
3-1/3 cups apple cider

Directions:
Season both sides of rack with salt and pepper 20 minutes before cooking. Sear in heavy saute pan with olive oil until rack is well caramelized. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In same pan, add sliced onions, ginger, cinnamon, star anise and butter. Slowly cook until onions are well caramelized. Add maple sugar and cook for 2 minutes.

Deglaze with cider, adjust salt and pepper to taste and reduce until glaze forms. Completely cover rack with half of onion compote. Transfer to roasting pan and place in oven. Cook at 20 minutes per pound or until internal temperature is 150 degrees F. Halfway through cooking time, pour over remaining half of onion compote. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Discard the cinnamon stick and star anise.

Serves 4.

Linnell’s Notes:
1. I didn’t have maple sugar, so I used maple syrup instead.
2. Make sure you don’t overcook the pork, unless you like the texture of shoe leather! Is it safe to eat pork that is slightly pink in the middle? According to Wisconsin River Meats: Yes. The bacteria trichina is destroyed at 137 F. Pork cooked to a temperature of 150 F to 155 F will often have a slightly pink middle.

Enjoy!