Pan-Roasted Pork Chops with Cranberries and Red Swiss Chard

This  was dinner for my brother Mike's birthday. I served the pork chops and chard alongside the Sehr gute Kartoffeln (roasted potatoes) which are my current obsession. The chard, thyme and potatoes came in my Farm Share, and I had some chicken stock that needed to be used, so this meal worked out beautifully for using things up and being delicious at the same time. I got the recipe from epicurious.com

For Swiss chard
1/3 cup minced shallots (2 medium)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 lb red Swiss chard, stems and center ribs cut out and chopped together, leaves coarsely chopped separately. (I think the color on these stems is just gorgeous!)

 For pork chops
4 (1 1/4-inch-thick) rib pork chops
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

For sauce
1/3 cup minced shallots (2 medium)
1/2 cup dry red wine

1 cup fresh or thawed frozen cranberries (4 1/2 oz)
3/4 cup chicken stock or broth
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried, crumbled
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

 

(As usual I was running about an hour behind on getting dinner on the table, so these are the only pictures I took. Nothing of the final product... I remembered as soon as we were done eating.)

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Prepare Swiss chard:
Cook shallots and garlic in butter in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add chard stems and center ribs and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes.

(I made this again and remembered to take some pictures, so here they are)

Add leaves and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6 to 7 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper, then transfer chard to a heavy saucepan and wipe out skillet.

Cook pork chops:
Pat chops dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chops, about 3 minutes per side.

Transfer skillet to oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally 2 inches into meat registers 155°F, 7 to 9 minutes. Transfer chops with tongs to a platter, leaving fat in skillet, and cover chops loosely with foil to keep warm.

Make sauce:
Sauté shallots in fat remaining in skillet over moderately high heat, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add wine and deglaze by boiling over high heat, scraping up brown bits, until reduced by half. Add cranberries and stock and simmer, stirring occasionally, until cranberries begin to burst, about 2 minutes.

Stir in brown sugar and thyme and simmer, stirring, until berries are collapsed, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter until incorporated, then season with salt and pepper.
Assemble dish:
While sauce is cooking, reheat chard over moderate heat, stirring. Divide among 4 plates and top with chops, then spoon sauce over.

Pan Roasted Pork Chops with Creamy Cabbage and Apples

This recipe was in the December 2009 issue of Food & Wine Magazine

1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp olive oil
4 Thyme Sprigs (I used Rosemary because I have a ton of it)
1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
4 12oz bone in pork loin chops
3 thick slices of applewood-smoked bacon cut into 1/2" dice (I used unsmoked, cured pork belly because that's where it was in the process)
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 head Savoy cabbage thinly sliced crosswise
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2" dice
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
3/4 cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. In a large, shallow dish combine 1/4 cup olive oil with thyme (or rosemary) sprigs and garlic. Add the pork chops and turn to coat with the marinade. Refrigerate overnight. (I didn't read this ahead of time - so they marinated for almost 2 hours)
2. In a large skillet, cook the bacon over moderate heat, stirring a few times, until browned, about 4 minutes; pour off the fat. Add the butter and cabbage to the skillet, cover and cook over moderate heat, stirring occaisionally, until the cabbage is tender, about 7 minutes. Add the apple and vinegar, cover and cook, stirring occaisionally, until the apple is tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mustard and cream and simmer uncovered until the cream has thickened, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, cover and keep warm. (This can be made ahead of time and refrigerated overnight. Gently reheat)
3. Preheat the oven to 325º. In a large, ovenproof skillet, heat the remaining 1 Tbsp of olive oil until shimmering. Remove the pork chops from the marinade; discard the thyme sprigs and scrape off the garlic. Season the chops with salt and pepper and add to the skillet. Cook over moderately high heat until richly browned, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast the chops for about 12 minutes, turning once halfway through, until just pink in the center. Transfer the pork chops to plates and serve with the cabbage.