When Adam and I were first married I asked his mom, Nancy, for some recipes. She and I had been cooking together for a while and I knew that everything she made was pretty damn delicious, but more importantly, she does something I didn’t really do much of then: she cooks from recipes. And when I say that she cooks from recipes I mean that she follows them, and closely. I’ve always enjoyed a sort of free-wheeling “a little of this – a little of that” approach to cooking that was fun, but occasionally leads to having to order take out at the last minute. So, I started thinking to myself that this whole “recipe” thing might be why her food is always so consistently good instead of sometimes terrible as mine is.
So I asked for some of her recipes and we sat together at the kitchen table in her house and wrote out note cards for me to take home. And then I got home and didn’t really use them because I went back to my free-wheeling ways. But recently I busted out this recipe and I am kicking myself for not making it a lot sooner. Don’t make the same mistake I did. Make these soon.
The recipe calls for boneless pork chops, but I bought the biggest most beautiful bone in chops I found because they were so just so perfect. And I did something at the dinner table that I’ve not done for… well… maybe ever… I actually picked up the bone and gnawed on it. Then I dipped my finger into the gravy to get one more taste of it. (Adam’s never going to let me live that one down!) Of course, Adam volunteered that he would drink the gray straight from the bowl if he could. I know, you think we’re gross, but when you taste it, you’ll understand.
Of course, since Nancy actually follows recipes it’s entirely possible that this is actually some famous Julia Child recipe or something and I have no idea so, I apologize in advance for stealing someone else’s wonderfulness and not crediting it. Oh and I served it with roasted asparagus and scalloped potatoes. I think it was a little slice of heaven.
Nancy’s Pork Chops
2 lbs loin chops, each about 1 inch thick
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground sage
1/4 tsp. black pepper
4 tbsp. butter
1/2 onion sliced
2 cups beef broth
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp flour
1/4 cup water
Combine the salt, sage, and pepper in a bowl and mix. Then rub it into the chops.
Melt the butter into a wide flat heavy bottomed pan
If there is excessive fat that has rendered in the pan drain some of it out, but if you’ve gotten very lean chops this may not be necessary.
Place onion slices on the top of the pork chops and then add into the pan the broth and 1 tbsp of the vinegar. Heat to boiling and then lower the heat to medium low and cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Remove chops from the pan.
Add remaining vinegar to pan.
Combine the flour and water to make a paste and then stir into the pan juices to thicken. Strain sauce through a strainer and serve in a gravy bowl.
I’ve only tried pork chops twice and didn’t like them, but your description makes me want to give them one more shot (no offense to Chuck, but it occurs to me that maybe he didn’t make them all that exciting)!
Thanks for the recipe. I actually like pork chops a lot, and since I don’t eat beef these days. ( that will change in Sept.) we have pork frequently. A new preparation is always welcome.