Stumble It!
A few nights ago the mister was working late and I had some place to be, so I left his dinner in the pan on the stove, with the burner on low. I came home two hours later, peeked into the kitchen and saw the dishes in the sink...he was home and had eaten. So I went upstairs, put on my pj's and crawled into bed to watch TV...he had already claimed the remote and so we watched Man vs. Wild...when the man went to cut off a mangrove snakes' head for his dinner I protested, and so the mister changed the channel to ESPN...those are usually my choices - decapitated snakes or ESPN. The Wonder Dog needed to go potty...so he pestered the mister until he took him downstairs and outside...and when the mister came back upstairs he reported that the gas stove had been left on...for 3 hours...burning away. He blamed ME for this. Now, he was the one who removed his dinner from the pan, and he was the one who removed the pan from the stove...yet the burner being left on was MY FAULT. I laughed - because what else could I do? I mean, how stupid does one have to be before pity replaces laughter? He quickly pointed out that the lights in the family room had been left on all night the night before and that I was the last one to leave that room...light bulbs vs. gas flames...and then he turned up the volume so he didn't miss a word of the Bud Light commercial. Bet you wish you were me.
Well you might just wish you were me when you read this recipe - because it's dang good...I'd have to say it's 5 dangs worth, too...but only if you LOVE tarragon as much as I do. If you don't like tarragon you might as well head on to your next blog stop because this dish is as much about tarragon as it is about pork. This time of year when pork is served with apples in every conceivable way, it's nice to have another choice...and you really should choose this, really.
Pork Chops With Tarragon Mustard Sauce - Adapted From Real Simple, September 2009
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
4 1-inch thick boneless pork chops (about 1 1/2 lbs.)
kosher salt and black pepper
2 shallots, finely chopped
3/4 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
10 crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the pork with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper and brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a baking sheet and roast until cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, add the shallots and mushrooms to the skillet with the remaining tablespoon of oil, plus 1 tablespoon of butter and cook, stirring often, until soft, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half. Add the cream and simmer until the sauce just thickens. Stir in the mustard and tarragon. Add the pork chops back into the sauce, cover and let simmer for 5 minutes. Remove and serve, spooning sauce over chops. Serves 4.
"So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and...soon they become inevitable." ~ Christopher Reeve
****************************************************************************************************************************
One year ago today: Minestrone Soup
Two years ago today: Pepperoni Pizza Quiche
Uhhh...You fixed a wonderful dinner even though you weren't going to be home. He enjoyed it, didn't wash the dishes AND then complained about the burner being left on!? I believe it. Wish I didn't but I do. Looks like a delicious dinner.
Posted by: MarieSews | November 01, 2009 at 09:11 AM