Many titles to this post have crossed my mind tonight, like…

I’ve never seen such a thing before
Tonight was a hit
Eating silently
Empty plates
Totally unplanned
Kids ate all
and, Sweet and smoky, among many many others… it’s because I am so excited.
 I bought a few pork chops - which we don’t eat frequently - but felt totally uninspired about what to do with them. So I turned to a few of my cookbooks, however most recipes had sweet ingredients in them and I didn’t feel like making a sweet entree tonight, or ingredients I didn’t have at home.

So I thought: “OK, let’s start with salt, pepper, and olive oil… hmmm… maybe a splash of balsamic vinegar?”, and then I recalled the “Grilling in the Rain” episode and thought of giving it a try with the chops. And what do you know? It worked GREAT! Actually, too good to be true, I might add.

Out of 5 chops, consumed by 2 adults, 1 kindergartner, and 1 baby, this lonely guy in the photo was the last survivor. And here you see us fighting for the Jus.

I really don’t remember having such success with dinner in a long long time. Everyone was licking their fingers and chewing on the bones… Wow. And you know that eat very well in this house, right?! (Check out the recipe page.) But with the kids, dinner usually looks likes this.

And if that doesn’t sell this recipe and make you rush to the grocery store as we speak to get some of your own chops, then I don’t know what will. Maybe this photo on my little boy chewing on the bone and going to hide under the table before I take a photo of him?

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Sweet and Smokey pork chops

Makes 4-5 servings

4-5 pork chops, boneless, 1/2-inch thick
salt, black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar
chili powder (I like Spice Island which is smoky but not hot)
cumin
paprika

I did not measure the ingredients. This wasn’t planned, remember?! My method is to lay the chops on a plate and then sprinkle as much or as little of each seasoning that I want on them, then drizzle oil and splash with vinegar, rub everything well, let it rest a couple of minutes (about 15), which also takes out some of the chill and gets the meat to cook nicely for perfect doneness.

These were served with mashed sweet potatoes with some butter and a little bit of heavy cream.

Enjoy.
Nurit 

Categories : Pork, Recipes