A Cookable Feast

This recipe came out of a fail. I wanted to make a gravy for the pork chops with the drippings, but they were surprisingly scant. So then I tried to make a gravy-like concoction using coconut oil, but that did NOT work out. So I came up with this garlic-thyme-olive oil dressing-type sauce. It’s good! I think it would work great as a marinade, but since I’d already cooked the chops by the time I came up with this, I had to use it as a finisher. But that’s cooking for ya, right? Total trial and error and experimentation sometimes. But I love that about it.

I was so excited for these mashed potatoes, because I recently bought some fresh dill, and I love dill! I can’t believe I ever made mashed potatoes without it. It just add this lovely little zesty freshness. This potato recipe makes much more than needed to go with three to four pork chops. But I always like to make a lot of mashed potatoes so I have lots of leftovers.

Also worth noting: if you are using the dressing as a marinade, I’d increase the recipe by at least double. And one last thing: don’t trim the fat from the pork chops! It gives them excellent flavor. You can always remove the fat before eating if it’s not your thing.

Potatoes:

-3 lbs. white potatoes (about eight medium-sized ones), peeled and chopped into quarters

-1 cup milk, plus more as needed

-3 tbs. butter, melted

-1 tbs. minced fresh dill

-1/2 tsp. salt

-1/2 tsp. pepper

Pork chops:

-1-1 1/2 lb. boneless end-cut pork chops (equates to 3 to 4 chops)

-1 tbs. grapeseed oil

Dressing/marinade:

-3 tbs. olive oil

-Leaves from three sprigs fresh thyme

-1 tsp. lemon juice

-1/2 tsp. minced garlic

-1/4 tsp. salt

-1/4 tsp. black pepper

Mix together dressing ingredients, whisking well with a fork. Marinate chops in dressing for a few hours or overnight if you are going that route.

Add chopped potatoes to a large pot of boiling water. Boil for about 20 minutes, or until soft when pierced with a fork. Drain water from potatoes, then add back to the pot and mash with a potato masher or hand mixer, adding milk, melted butter, dill, salt, and pepper during the process. Add more milk as needed. Keep on low heat, mixing occasionally, while pork chops are cooking.

Over medium heat, add one tablespoon of grapeseed oil to a pan with the chops and cook for five to seven minutes on each side, until a meat thermometer registers about 145 degrees. They should still be pink, but the juices should run clear when you pierce them with a knife. Let rest for a few minutes, then serve drizzled with the dressing if you did not already use it as a marinade. Serve with a nice salad or green vegetable. Enjoy!