WARNING. I started this post on June 10th. Any references to days or dates below may leave you confused. I am, and I was there. I was going to re-write it, but then I decided it was too hard to figure it all out in another tense or anything complicated like that. You can scold me later.
- Sunshine!
- Big Breakfast Adventure with the fabulous EJ this morning. PS. This was last Sunday.
- SO. MUCH. TO. DO.
- Laundry. Check.
- Everyone loved the Milk Chocolate and Cocoa Nib Ice Cream. Yay! Oh. That means there’s not much left. Darn.
- I owe you
twoone recipe post from Friday. This is it. - The Delphiniums in my front yard are about to burst into bloom. Update: they burst.
- I’ve slept on a pillow the last 3 nights. This must change. Update: it did. No more pillow.
- Sunflower milk.
- Blue sky. BLUE SKY!!
- Life is awesome.
In other news, I quietly opened the doors to my online Gallery last week. And just like that I sold my first print. And it was a big one. 12″ x 18″ big. It was exciting. It was humbling. It made me giggle. And I wanted to clap my hands like a seal. Thinking back, I think I actually did. Then, after all the merriment, I was just grateful. Very grateful. That people want to hang my stuff on their walls and gaze at it.
Then it was Friday and time for the Friday Night Dinner. If you read about the Hot and Fruity Red Cabbage the other day, you’ll know that dinner involved much hemming and hawing and indecision. I finally determined that it was a pork chop kind of day. I wanted something that I could pop in the oven alongside the Hot and Fruity Red Cabbage and forget until it was time to eat. Enter Creamy Pork Chop Parcels. A flash dance in the pan for the chops, and a yummy, creamy topping spooned over them, then wrapped up in foil and into the oven they go with the cabbage. Yay!
You know the old adage, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”? Apply liberally here. Like you would have to if you saw me first thing in the morning. Not incredibly attractive. The flavor? Divine. Tender, juicy, oh-so-tasty.
One of the things that I did, which I hope you won’t do, is add the fresh rosemary on top of the chops before you put them in the oven. The rosemary discolored the sour cream, and since you don’t want that, I highly recommend sprinkling the rosemary on once the chops come out of the oven. Otherwise, your chops will taste delicious but look like mine. We don’t want that. We want yours to look delicious as well. All round fabulous is what we’re after.
Easy to prepare and with most of the cooking done all by themselves in the oven, you’ll have all the dishes done before you even have to set the table. Perfect for one of those cooler days, especially served with some big spoonfuls of Hot and Fruity Red Cabbage. I added a 20 second Caesar Salad to the table for some fresh, crunchy greenery and our *SANE™ meal was complete.
Enjoy! Mini-Me and The Hubs sure did. Just ask ’em.
- 4 large pork chops, trimmed of all fat
- 1 TBSP coconut oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 8 oz / 225g mushrooms, sliced
- 6 TBSP (hard) cider
- 2 TBSP lemon juice
- ¾ cup / 6 fl oz. non-fat soured cream**
- Sea salt and ground pepper
- 1 TBSP fresh rosemary, not chopped
- Melt the coconut oil in a pan and brown the chops well on one side
- Remove the chops from the pan and place each, browned side up, in the center of a 12” square of foil
- Add the mushrooms and onions to the pan and cook for 5 minutes
- Stir in the lemon juice and cider
- Bring pan to the boil and then simmer until liquid is reduced by half
- Remove from heat and stir in the soured cream
- Season with salt and pepper
- Divide the mushroom mixture across the 4 chops
- Wrap each chop into a sealed parcel and place in an overproof baking dish
- Bake the chops at 325 F for 50 minutes
- Remove from oven and side each chop with its sauce and juices onto a plate to serve
- Sprinkle with fresh rosemary
Mini-MeMushrooms & porkchops. Oh how I love pork chops. I must admit, I’ve not had porkchops like this ever before. The mushroom topping was a very nice and flavorful touch! Cannot wait to make this at home!
carrieDon’t forget to leave off the rosemary until you open the parcels at the end!
WrenWhat brand of cider do you use? Is this the same as apple cider vinegar?
carrieHi Wren – no, not Apple cider vinegar…I used Strongbow hard cider. Hope that helps!