By Late November. The Sunday after Thanksgiving was the kind of Sunday that follows a long holiday Thursday and a sleeping-late Friday and a Saturday spent on a small grocery run to restock the apartment. Dustin and I had been at the apartment alone the whole weekend — no parents-driving-over, no Cody-driving-down, no Mama-on-the-phone-asking-when-we-were-coming. The marriage is twenty-six days away.
Sunday I made pork chops with blue cheese sauce because Dustin had been wanting them since Mama-and-Kathy had landed on the Hawaiian-pork-loin for the wedding-day dinner and the pork-chop variant was the small-scale version he wanted at home. The dish is the kind of weeknight pork chop with a quick blue cheese pan sauce that comes together in twenty-five minutes and reads as restaurant-quality at home.
The procedure: thick-cut bone-in pork chops salted aggressively, seared in a hot cast-iron skillet for three minutes a side, removed. Sliced shallot and garlic in the rendered pork fat for two minutes. Deglaze with a quarter-cup of white wine. Add a half-cup of heavy cream, simmer two minutes. Whisk in two ounces of crumbled blue cheese off the heat. Return the pork chops, baste with the sauce. Garnish with fresh thyme. Serve with mashed potatoes. Dustin had two chops. I had one. The sauce was the move.
Dustin had a short week at the shop. The small auto-shop rhythm continues to be the small steady-income-source the small family-of-three-soon-to-be-three has built around. Bobby is reasonable. The shifts are predictable. The work is the work.
Aunt Linda came over Tuesday for the small two-hour visit. She held Brayden (or in earlier weeks, sat with me while I prepped). She brought a small Aunt-Linda-thing — a small handmade card, a small jar of preserves from her late-summer-garden, a small pressed-flower bookmark. The visits have become the small Tuesday-rhythm that has held the year together.
Pork Chops with Blue Cheese Sauce
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in pork loin chops (about 3/4 inch thick)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3 oz crumbled blue cheese
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)
Instructions
- Season the chops. Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels. Season both sides evenly with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Sear the pork. Heat olive oil in a large heavy skillet (cast iron works best) over medium-high heat. Add the pork chops and sear for 4–5 minutes per side, until a deep golden crust forms and the internal temperature reaches 145°F. Transfer to a plate and tent loosely with foil to rest.
- Build the sauce base. Reduce heat to medium. Add butter to the same skillet, scraping up any browned bits. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Deglaze and simmer. Pour in the chicken broth, stirring to lift any remaining fond from the bottom of the pan. Let it reduce by half, about 2–3 minutes.
- Add the cream and cheese. Stir in the heavy cream and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the crumbled blue cheese and thyme, stirring until the cheese is mostly melted and the sauce is smooth and slightly thickened, about 3–4 minutes.
- Finish and serve. Return the pork chops to the pan, spooning sauce over the top. Heat through for 1–2 minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve immediately.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 480 | Protein: 38g | Fat: 34g | Carbs: 3g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 610mg