Pork Chops with Pepper Jelly Sauce

One of my favorite comic strips in the daily paper is Arlo and Janis, because they are kind of like Alexis and me. I have done this several times:
And I know I'm not the only one with an arrangement like this:
I liked Richard's (aka Buffalo Dick) comment: "I cook like a tornado went through, wife is in charge of damage control."

I saw this recipe for Pork Chops with Pepper Jelly Sauce in the January issue of Southern Living and knew I had to try it.


Pork Chops with Pepper Jelly Sauce

4 (3/4-inch-thick) bone-in pork loin chops (about 2 1/4 lb.)
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons butter, divided
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 large jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup red pepper jelly

1. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter with oil in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops, and cook 8 minutes; turn and cook 10 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 150°. Remove from skillet, and keep warm.

2. Add flour and jalapeño to skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes or until flour is golden brown. Add wine, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of skillet; cook 1 minute or until almost completely reduced.

3. Add chicken broth, and cook 2 to 3 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken. Whisk in pepper jelly until melted and smooth. Cook 3 to 4 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining 2 Tbsp. butter. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Return pork to skillet; turn to coat. Serve pork with sauce.

Yield: Makes 6 servings

I substituted a mini sweet red pepper for the jalapeno (it's what I had on hand) and used my pork chop rub instead of just salt and pepper. I also used 1" thick boneless chops but the cooking times were still close.

The whole family liked this recipe. The sauce was to die for. As far as "heat", it really didn't have any since I used sweet red pepper but I don't think the jalapeno would have made anything but a mild difference. The recipe comments on the Southern Living site said the same. If you are looking for heat, I'd opt for a habanero pepper.

I threw together a "fiesta rice pilaf" to go with it. We were quite pleased with it too, especially since I just threw it together on the spot without any kind of recipe or plan.

Fiesta Rice Pilaf

2 oz mexican chorizo sausage, (1/2 link) casing removed
1/2 c sweet onion, chopped
1/4 c sweet red bell pepper, chopped fine
1/4 c corn kernals
1 c chicken broth
1 c water
1/4 c green onion, chopped

Brown crumbled chorizo. Remove with a slotted spoon, leaving up to 1 tablespoon of grease (not grease, it's "chorizo infused oil").

Saute onion, pepper, and corn in the same pan over medium high heat until the onion just starts to turn translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the dry rice and toss to coat. Saute for 2-3 minutes until the rice takes a slight golden brown tint. You'll know it's ready when it releases a mild "nutty" aroma.

Return the chorizo to the mixture. Pour in water and broth. Bring to a simmer, stir once, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, fold in the green onion quickly. Put the cover back on, remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes.

And before my good friends from the BBQ Brethren and Outdoor Cooking Guild start ribbing me for wimping out and cooking INSIDE, I did cook lunch on the grill.

Sriracha wings (the sweet heat version)!

with hot and sour noodles.

Have a great weekend everyone!