Pork chop with port and fig sauce and butternut squash with sage,walnut and sage

The inspiration for this dish came from the ravioli dish in enoteca, an Austin Italian bistro. It's homemade ravioli with butternut squash in a sage butter sauce garnished with candid walnuts and browned pancetta bits. I have made this same dish at home with my Italian pasta maker, but since we are not eating pasta now, I though why not change the form but still keep to flavor profile since they go so well together. It worked out great!

Butternut squash mash

1) I had to feed 6 people at dinner so I used 2 packets of the precut organic butternut squash from Costco. I really like this product because cutting butternut squash or any winter squash is not an easy task. If you must do it make sure you wear gloves because it can make your hands really sticky. I roasted two trays of butternut @ 400 degree convection for 30 - 45 minutes. Brush them with some olive oil and salt and pepper? I  think 1 pack is plenty for 4 people

2) the butternut squash is very watery so even after roasting if you mash all of it, it will be soggy. I recommend only mashing 1/2 of the butternut and let the other half be in its cube format. It will give the dish more texture.

3)in a dry pan at medium heat toast 1/2 cup of walnuts for 5 min. Shaking the pan occasionally and make sure it doesn't burm the walnuts. Take out the walnut and let it cool the, chop it.

3)  wash the sage leaves, and dry the, well between paper towels. Heat up about 3 tablespoons of butter at low heat in the same pan you toasted the walnuts. When the butter start bubbling carefully put in the sage. Flip them carefully so they are toasted but not burnt. Take out the sage and turned off the heat immediately. Make sure butter is not burned. Add the butter to the butternut and fold it in gentle and evenly.

4) to serve, add a cup of the butternut and garnish with 2 sage leaves, 1-2 tablespoons of walnut, a teaspoon or 1/2 teaspoon of maple syrup. This is a dynamite combination of flavor.

Pork chop with port and fig reduction

This recipe will yield about 2 and 1/4 cup of sauce. Obviously you don't need that much, you can freeze each 1/2 a cup or 3/4 cup  in plastic sandwich ziplock and defrost it next time you cook any kind of pork. I think it should go well with turkey as well.

1) put in a sauce pan 2&1/2 cup of port wine(a sweet desser wine) and 1&1/4 cup of low sodium organic chicken broth. Add to it, 8 dry figs roughly chopped, 2 springs of rosemary, 2 stick of cinnamon 1 tablespoon of honey. Bring to boil and keep in medium high heat for 30 minutes until it reduces by half. Take out the rosemary and cinnamon and blend it in the blender adding 2 tablespoon of butter to it.