pork chops with portobellos & peppers

Easy: ****
Tasty: ****1/2

This is a fairly easy meal to make. The main thing is to make sure not to overcook the pork chops or burn the veggies - these aren't dishes you can walk away from while they're cooking. To make things easier, I did all the prep work first (cutting veggies/herbs, mixing vinaigrette, etc). It took about 30-40 mins in all to prepare.

Instead of grilling the vegetables on the outside grill, I used a cast-iron grill pan so I could do the pork chops and veggies at the same time. I served with sun-dried tomato couscous on the side.

Pan-Roasted Pork Chops With Sage and Garlic

four 5-6 oz. lean pork chops
10-15 fresh sage leaves
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1-2 lemons
1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
cracked black pepper
salt

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Drop sage leaves into oil and let sizzle for thirty seconds or so until they begin to curl and crisp. Do not burn! Remove sage with a slotted spoon or fork and set aside on a plate. Drop the sliced garlic into the oil and sauté until golden. Do not burn! Remove with a slotted spoon or fork and add to the plate with the sage.

Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. Add them to the pan with the olive oil, now infused with sage and garlic. Cook the pork chops mainly on one side until the surface has browned and caramelized, flip them, and then cook them on the other side for a few minutes until the meat is fully cooked. Remove the chops from the pan and keep warm.

Return the reserved sage and garlic to the pan, along with the juice of one lemon. If the juice evaporates immediately, add more. Swirl together the lemon, sage, garlic, and browned bits scraped from the bottom of the pan to form a sauce. Once it comes together, pour sauce over chops and serve immediately.

(adapted from Suzanne Dunaway via thefoodsection.com)


Grilled Portobello Mushrooms, Sweet Peppers and Onions

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 clove crushed/chopped garlic
6 4-inch portobello mushrooms, stemmed, gills cut out and discarded
2 large red bell peppers, halved, seeded
2 large yellow bell peppers, halved, seeded
2 large red onions, cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds

Prepare grill (medium-high heat). Whisk vinegar, oil, thyme, lemon peel and garlic in large bowl to blend well. Season vinaigrette to taste with salt and pepper.

Brush vinaigrette over vegetables. Grill until mushrooms are tender and juicy, and peppers and onions are crisp-tender, about 12 minutes per side.

Cut mushrooms and peppers into 1/2-inch-thick strips. Toss mushrooms, peppers and onions in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature.

(adapted from epicurious.com)

When I finished making these veggies, I saved the leftover vinaigrette to use as a salad dressing. Mmmmmm! Mmmmmmm!