Tasty Pork Chops

We had a pretty tasty dinner tonight. It's not the prettiest to look at, but it's yummy, and pretty easy to make on a weeknight. Here's the recipe from our copy of "The Cook's Encyclopedia of French Cooking," which is one of those cheap Barnes and Noble cookbooks, and some pictures:


Pork Chops with Tomato Sauce (Cotes de Porc Sauce Nenette)

1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp vegetable oil
4 large center loin pork chops, about 1 inch thick
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tbsp white wine or chicken stock
1 tsp dried thyme
1 cup whipping cream (we sometimes go half cream, half milk)
1 tsp tomato puree (we occasionally skip this)
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped (we use diced canned tomatoes)
1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon (we use dried), chervil or parsley


1. Melt the butter with the oil in a pan over high heat until sizzling. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper, then add to the pan and reduce the heat to medium-high. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until browned. (Adjust cooking time for thinner pork chops.) Transfer the pork chops to a plate and pour off all the fat.

2. Add the wine or stock and the thyme to the pan and bring to a boil. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the wine has almost evaporated.

3. Add the cream and the tomato puree and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, then return the pork chops to the sauce and cook for 4-5 minutes over a medium-low heat until just firm to the touch. Take care not to overcook.

4. Add the mustard, chopped tomato and herbs, stirring and shaking the pan to distribute them, and cook for 1 minute to heat through. Serve the chops with the sauce.

We added some leftover brown rice from takeout Chinese to soak up the sauce and had some veg on the side (Jeff had broccoli, because he HATES peas and I LOVE them, LOL!). It made for a nice, quick and easy dinner.