Easy sweet mustard and balsamic glaze recipes...perfect for pork/last forever!

I've been pestering my mom to give up some of her "Secret" recipes for the greater good, and she has at long last relented with two excellent recipes to compliment pork. The glaze and mustard go well with pork in almost any form, and will compliment grilled pork chops very nicely, but where they really shine, I think, is during the warm and comforting roasted pork meals of autumn and winter.

The recipes are dead easy, and both the glaze and the mustard will last for ages stored in the fridge, and both are miles better than anything you can buy as substitutes; and the balsamic glaze transforms what can be a very humble and inexpensive balsamic into a sauce reminiscent of the very aged, and very expensive true Modenna balsamics of Italy.

With thanks and credit to my mom, Barbara Lee, here are two excellent recipes to compliment and enrich the taste of grilled, sautéed or roasted pork (the mustard does pretty well on a leftover pork sandwich as well).

Sweet Mustard

Combine in a saucepan

1 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup dry mustard powder

2 eggs lightly beaten

1/3 cup cider vinegar

Mix together and stir over medium heat until thickened. Remove from heat and add 2 tablespoons of butter. Keep refrigerated.

Sort of like Russian mustard, but to my taste different, unique and better.

Balsamic Glaze

2 cups inexpensive balsamic vinegar

2 cups red wine

1 cinnamon stick

1 vanilla bean

1 clove

Mix ingredients in a sauce pan. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer for 40 minutes or until it thickens to a thin pancake syrup stage.

Add 1/2 cup of sugar and cook to dissolve.

Cool and store in the refrigerator. Use as a glaze for pork.

The only caveat with the glaze is to use caution if applying under high heat, as the sugar embodied within risks darkening and lending a bitter burnt taste to the meat. The glaze works best if added as a last minute addition, at the end of roasting, or quickly to coat, after sautéing pork chops of fillets.

I really like this inexpensive balsamic reproduction as it appeals to my inner cheapskate. Real cask aged balsamics are great, but so expensive that I find myself unwilling to part with more than a few garnishing drizzles per dish. With this homemade sauce, you can splash it one with wild abandon, thoughtless of the costs!

As late sweltering summer days continue unabated, I'm longing for the first real cool days of fall, and already dream of roasted meats, harvest apples and warm and homey soups. Time to make a new batch of mustard I think!