Pork Chops with Dijon Sauce, Grilled Polenta & Brocollini

*Post by Angela.

You guys! I've been gone for so long, and I apologize. We've been in Los Angeles for almost 2 weeks, and so far, I'm not hating it, but MAN. I miss you so much, D.C.!! Anyway, I finally broke in my new kitchen this past week (my favorite part of L.A. so far), making a meal for our very first dinner guests. I decided to seek guidance from the Simply Recipes lady and zeroed in on this simple but tasty recipe for pork chops with Dijon sauce, and paired it with some grilled polenta rounds and broccolini. While it wasn't the most breathtaking meal ever, it was better than my previous mustard sauce try (which was still pretty good), our guests enjoyed it, and it was a nice way to ease back into the cooking saddle.

 List of ingredients:

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4 bone-in, 1" thick pork chops
• Kosher salt
• Ground white pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped white onion
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tube of premade polenta from Trader Joe's
• 1 large bunch broccolini

First, I patted the chops dry with a paper towel and seasoned them generously with salt and pepper. I heated the butter and oil together in a large pan over medium heat, then threw in the chops, searing them until nicely browned on both sides (about 3-4 minutes a side).

I removed the chops and covered them, then tossed the onions in the pan and sauteed about 5 minutes, until they were softened. I added 1/2 cup of the wine and brought it to a boil, making sure to scrape the tasty brown bits off the bottom of the pan into the mix. I poured in the chicken stock, and put the chops back into the pan (along with all the accumulated juices, yum), covered and simmered about 10-12 minutes, until just barely cooked through. I may or may not have slightly overcooked the chops this time around, but it's only because I didn't want to run the risk of giving my very first dinner guests food poisoning - word gets around in this town, I hear.

I removed the chops from the pan again and covered with foil to keep them warm, then added the remaining wine and brought it back up to a boil to reduce for about 5 minutes. I added the cream and reduced for about 5 minutes more until the sauce had thickened slightly, then removed the pan from heat and whisked in the mustard.

I wanted to serve our guests a complete meal, so I asked Mark to pick up a tube of polenta. Then he insisted (as he always does) that we include some sort of green, and picked up some broccolini, which he was in charge of preparing (a.k.a. boiling a pot of water and cooking the greens for about 5 minutes, until tender-crisp). For my part, I sliced the polenta into 1/2" rounds, brushed both sides of each round with olive oil, then cooked them over medium heat on my grill pan, about 5-8 minutes a side (until light grill marks had formed).

Mark was in charge of plating the final products, and he finished the presentation with a dash of kosher salt for the broccolini.

The mustard sauce, though not quite as thick as I'd like (I wanted to throw a little cornstarch in there, but alas! No cornstarch in our big, practically empty cabinets!), saved the just slightly overcooked chops with its great creaminess and tang, and tasted pretty darned good spooned over the polenta rounds and broccolini as well. While I'm looking forward to making more elaborate meals in my new, twice-as-big kitchen in the near future (once I get everything set up exactly the way I want it and replenish my pantry staples), I feel like my L.A. cooking adventures have gotten off to a relatively nice start.

Comments

[Evan]

I love the TJ's polenta. I have never tried grilling it, but now we have a nice grill pan...now I know what to do with it.

[Debb]

YAY you're back!

J and I are cornmeal fans. We're had a lot of grits lately but not polenta cakes. This makes me want to get to Italian store to pan fry polenta cakes too. J likes to smear goat cheese, garlic and pepper on the cakes. Try it, it's so good.

[Angela]

Evan and Debb-
I have never tried grilling it before either, but it turned out really well! I'm going to do this more (and possibly try frying the polenta, too), and am excited about all the stuff I can pair with it. Mmmm, goat cheese and garlic...

[nessy]

Nice site try it here.replica hermes|