Napa Farmhouse 1885™: Pork Stew in Port Wine Sauce with Grilled Cheese Croutons

I love the way this dish turned out. A delicious pork stew in a port wine sauce slow cooked in the oven then topped with grilled ham & cheese sandwiches cut into croutons. The stew combines pork meat with onions, leeks, garlic, carrots & red bell pepper with seasonings and a fruity port wine sauce. The croutons are made with the best quality extra sharp white cheddar and...to keep the pork theme going...ham, then grilled to an oozy melty goodness.

This is Grilled Cheese Week at Food Network's Comfort Food Feast. I have posted some of my favorite grilled cheese sandwiches over the past few years...apple, fennel & cheddar cheese panini tops the list...so I wanted to try something different. Grilled cheese makes terrific sandwiches of course, but I also like to cut them into smaller pieces and serve as appetizers or floating on top of soup (tomato of course). So tonight I thought the grilled cheese croutons would be the perfect accompaniment to the stew...better than potatoes or pasta and...according to my dinner guests...I was correct! Enjoy and please tell me what you think.

Pork Stew in Port Wine Sauce with Grilled Cheese Croutons
(serves 4-6)

2 lbs pork stew meat, cut in 2 inch cubes
2 tbsp unbleached flour
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 large leek,(white and light green parts) cut into 1 inch slices
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp herbs de provence
2 cups fruity port wine
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
3 large carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, large chop
grilled ham & cheese croutons (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Season pork with 2 tsp each salt and pepper. Sprinkle flour over meat and toss to evenly coat. Heat a large oven proof skillet over medium high heat. When hot, add olive oil and pork to pan. Cook for 5 minutes without turning. Flip and cook another 3-4 minutes until golden brown on both sides. Remove from pan and add to rimmed plate (like a pie plate).

Add onion and leek to pan. Saute for 5 minutes until beginning to soften and caramelize (stirring frequently . Stir in garlic and saute for 1 minute longer. Add herbs de provence, port and chicken broth. Return pork to skillet adding any liquid from pie plate. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and stir in carrots and bell pepper. Turn off heat, cover pan and place in preheated oven.

Cook stew for 1 1/2 hours. Turn off oven and let stew remain in oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed. Serve topped with two or three grilled cheese & ham croutons.

Grilled Ham & Cheese Croutons
(makes 2 sandwiches or 12 croutons)

2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tsp Dijon mustard
softened butter
2 slices sourdough bread
1 cup coarsely grated cheddar cheese
2-3 ham slices, thinly sliced

Heat skillet or grill pan(my preference) over medium high heat. In a small bowl, combine mayo and mustard. Set aside. Spread 1 side of each slice of bread with butter. Spread the mayo mixture on the other side of each slice. Place 2 slices of bread , butter side down, in the skillet. Mound the cheese on top of the mayo side. Top the cheese with the ham slices. Top with a second slice, mayo side down. Grill for 3- 4 minutes, or until bread is nicely toasted with deep grill marks (if using grill pan) and cheese is melted. Flip sandwiches and grill second side until golden brown. Remove from heat, Cut each sandwich in half diagonally, the cut each half into three triangles.

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