Pork Chops ’n’ Pierogi -- The Meal Mom Joked About from Her Hospital Bed

Linda's lumpectomy. Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center. Tom, Megan, and I sat in the surgical waiting room for three hours. Tom read a newspaper he'd already read. I stared at my phone without seeing it. Megan graded papers because she brought papers to grade to a hospital because she is a teacher and teachers are always grading papers, even during a family medical crisis.

The surgeon came out and said the words we needed: clean margins. They got it. The cancer was contained. The lumpectomy was successful. Six weeks of radiation ahead, but the hard part was done.

Tom shook the surgeon's hand and said, "Thank you." Two words. But his voice cracked on "thank" and I have never heard Tom's voice crack in my entire life and I will never forget it. Megan put her hand on my arm. I exhaled for what felt like the first time in two weeks.

We saw Linda in recovery. She was groggy, pale, smaller in the hospital bed than she's ever been in real life. She saw the three of us standing in the doorway and said, "Did someone bring me pierogi?" She was joking. She was in a hospital bed after cancer surgery and she was joking about pierogi. This is Linda Kowalski. This is my mother. She is unbreakable.

I took the week off from the brewery. Tom couldn't — he used his sick days for the surgery day — so I stayed with Linda during the day while Tom was at work. I made her soup. I drove her to her follow-up appointment. I sat in the living room of the Cape Cod where I grew up and watched her sleep on the couch and felt the cold, breathless terror of imagining life without her, and then she woke up and asked for soup and the terror retreated, not gone, just retreated, and I made soup.

She asked for pierogi from a hospital bed six hours after cancer surgery, and if that’s not the most Linda Kowalski thing that has ever happened, I don’t know what is. I didn’t make her wait long — the week I spent at the Cape Cod, cooking for her while Tom was at work, this was the dish I came back to most. Warm, filling, the kind of food that says I’m here, you’re safe, eat something without having to say any of that out loud. Pork chops and pierogi is what I make when I love someone and I don’t have the words for it.

Pork Chops ’n’ Pierogi

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 bone-in pork chops (about 3/4 inch thick)
• 1 package (16 oz) frozen potato-and-cheese pierogi
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup sour cream, plus more for serving
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Fresh chives or parsley, chopped, for garnish

Instructions

1. Season the chops. Pat pork chops dry with paper towels. Season both sides generously with salt, pepper, paprika, and onion powder.
2. Sear the pork. Heat olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops and sear 3—4 minutes per side until golden brown. Transfer to a plate and tent loosely with foil.
3. Cook the onions. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining butter and the sliced onion to the same skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10—12 minutes until softened and lightly caramelized. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
4. Boil the pierogi. While onions cook, bring a separate pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pierogi according to package directions until they float, about 3—4 minutes. Drain and set aside.
5. Build the pan sauce. Pour chicken broth into the skillet with the onions and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom. Stir in sour cream and reduce heat to low. Return pork chops to the skillet, nestle in the sauce, and simmer 5 minutes until cooked through (internal temperature 145°F).
6. Add pierogi and finish. Add drained pierogi to the skillet, gently turning to coat in the pan sauce. Cook 2—3 minutes until pierogi are heated through and beginning to crisp at the edges.
7. Serve. Plate pork chops alongside pierogi and spoon onion sauce over the top. Garnish with chives or parsley and a dollop of sour cream.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 530 | Protein: 38g | Fat: 23g | Carbs: 44g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 670mg