365 in 365 - #25 - Sweet-n-Savory Pork Chops

Have you eve looked at a piece of meat and said...."what do I do with you now?"  This seems to happen frequently for chicken, and sometimes in my kitchen.  Most of the time, I am able to come up with something.  Well, several weeks ago, my husband asked for pork chops so that he didn't have to have another piece of chicken that week.  I'm not sure why, but this is a cut of meat that I don't use that often and probably should.  I really prefer pork tenderloin.  Now, with that being said, I have always (until now) served pork chops breaded and fried...boring, I know.  So there it was....that package of pork chops sitting on the counter....staring at me, taunting me, so pale and perfectly pink, just daring me to do something different.  It was an odd moment...having a "stare-down" with pork, but I did it and, after a long, hard battle, I prevailed.   

I find pork chops a bit dry, unless breaded and fried.  While I was contemplating asking my husband if he wanted to treat me to dinner, a thought occurred to me...I had just bought a bag of dried apricots for a really great appetizer that I make (coming soon, I promise) and I had an open bottle of wine in the fridge.  So, I got to thinking...savory and sweet.  I started gathering common ingredients (olive oil, onion, garlic) and then raided the pantry for the sweet elements.  The following recipe is what began to take shape in the pan and ended up being a great dinner.   

This recipe changed my mind about serving pork chops more frequently.

Sensational Sweet-n-Savoy Pork Chops

4 center cut pork chops (thin or thick)

¼ cup olive oil

1 ½ cups semi-sweet white wine, such as a Pino Grigio or a Peisporter

½ cup diced dried apricots

½ medium onion, diced

2 tbsps honey

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp garlic

½ tsp cinnamon

Pinch of red pepper flakes

Pinch of salt and pepper

Saute pork chops in the olive oil until cooked and browned, remove from the pan and set aside

Add the butter and onion to the pan and sauté until translucent, 

Add the garlic and cook for 1 - 2 minutes more

Add the white wine, the apricots, cinnamon, red pepper flakes, pinch of salt and pepper and cook until slightly reduced

Add the honey and cook on low for 5 minutes

Add the pork chops back to the pan and warm through in the sauce

This makes 2 servings.  

Enjoy,

S.