Mushroom Pork Scallopini

Packing. I did not expect the weight of this. Every box is a decision. I have been organizing into four groups: keep, donate, throw away, his.

"His" is the hardest. I have Sean's things in two boxes in the closet, the clothes I could not let go in 2023. This week I went through them. I kept five of his sweaters, two of his shirts, the Red Sox hat with the pine tar on the brim, one of his ties (the navy with red stars), his wedding ring, and his Boston Latin faculty ID. The rest I am donating. I laid them on the bed in one pile and I cried for ten minutes and then I put them in bags and I drove them to Savers Monday on my lunch break.

The notebook will come with me. The locket will come with me (I wear it). The Red Sox jersey that is on my hallway wall will come with me and hang on a wall in the new house. Sean's mounted 2004 pennant from Fenway will come with me. His reading glasses I put in the box with his wedding ring. I do not know yet what I will do with them.

Meghan came Wednesday night to help. We packed the kitchen. Ma came Thursday and Friday, a full day each, and packed the rest of the upstairs. She was efficient and quiet. She did not make conversation. She knew.

Clinic was a blur. I took Thursday and Friday off. Dr. Rashid approved. Shanice carried my panel.

Group Tuesday. I was late. I came in at 7:10. Bernadette said glad you are here. I sat down. I did not talk much. The older widow looked at me and said you look tired Katie. I said I am.

Saturday pancakes, in the middle of moving boxes. Burned the first one. Ate at the kitchen table surrounded by cardboard. Liam said the blue plate survives. I said yes it does.

Sunday dinner at Southie. Ma made a freezer-friendly lasagna and packed me three smaller containers to put in my new house freezer as survival food for the first two weeks. She said you will not want to cook for a while. She was right.

Food of the week: Ma's freezer lasagna. Meat, cheese, sauce, noodles, wrap, freeze. The gift of a mother.

Ma packed me three containers of her lasagna, but she only had so many hands—and I knew I’d need more than three meals to get through those first weeks in the new house. This mushroom pork scallopini is my version of the same idea: real food, made with care, that you can wrap up and freeze and pull out on the nights when you have nothing left. It’s the kind of thing Sean would have eaten two plates of without looking up from his book. I make it for him, and I make it for me, and I make extra.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs pork tenderloin, sliced into 1/2-inch medallions and pounded thin
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small shallot, finely diced
10 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine (or low-sodium chicken broth)
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (or 1/4 tsp dried)
2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 tsp lemon juice

Instructions

Pound and season the pork. Place pork medallions between sheets of plastic wrap and pound to about 1/4-inch thickness. Mix flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. Dredge each cutlet lightly in the flour mixture, shaking off the excess.
Sear the cutlets. Heat olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, sear the pork cutlets 2—3 minutes per side until golden brown. Transfer to a plate and tent loosely with foil.
Build the mushroom sauce. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining 1 tbsp butter to the pan. Add shallot and cook 1 minute until softened. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add mushrooms and cook 5—6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they release their liquid and begin to brown.
Deglaze and simmer. Pour in the white wine and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add chicken broth and thyme. Simmer 4—5 minutes until the sauce reduces by about a third.
Finish and serve. Return the pork cutlets to the pan and nestle into the sauce. Simmer 2—3 minutes to heat through. Stir in lemon juice and parsley. Taste and adjust seasoning.
To freeze. Cool completely, then transfer pork and sauce into airtight freezer-safe containers. Freeze up to 3 months. Reheat gently in a covered skillet over low heat with a splash of broth, or microwave covered at 50% power until warmed through.

Nutrition (per serving)

Mushroom Pork Scallopini — Survival Food You Actually Want to Eat