Recipe: Pork au Poivre

I hope that everyone in Cleveland took advantage of the gorgeous weather this past weekend! This time last year, we had already experienced snow.

"R" and I did by getting some yard work done, and by fitting in a couple of bike rides.

We also cooked at home on Saturday and Sunday nights, which felt great. We've been super busy lately, and the next six weeks will be more of the same. We're wedding planning at warp speed, and trying to squeeze in time with friends as well.

On Saturday night, we were on a mission to use up a bunch of our Fresh Fork items. We're down to the last few weeks of the summer share, and we still have several items to use up. This recipe, adapted from the most recent issue of Cuisine at Home, took care of four, and it was quite tasty if you enjoy the flavor of peppercorns.

Pork au Poivre (servings = 2, total time = 30 minutes)

Coat:
Two boneless pork loin chops (8-10 oz each), seasoned with salt
1/4 cup peppercorn blend, crushed

Heat:
3 Tbsp. olive oil

Deglaze:
1/2 cup brandy

Add:
1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp. white balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. fresh chopped thyme
3 Tbsp. salted butter, cubed

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Coat both sides of the pork chops with salt and the peppercorns.
Heat oil in a saute pan at medium-high heat until it simmers.
Add pork chops and sautee until browned (about 2 minutes per side).
Transfer pan to oven and roast pork until meat reads 145 degrees (about 8-10 minutes).
Transfer pork to plate and tent with foil.
Deglaze same pan with brandy.
Cook at medium-high heat until liquid nearly evaporates (about 2 minutes).
Add broth, vinegar, and thyme to pan, and reduce (4 minutes).
Off heat, whisk in butter.
Serve sauce over pork.

We wanted to use up more Fresh Fork items from our weekly bags, so we used some Ohio City Pasta garlic scape linguine as a base for this dish, and steamed some broccoli as a side.

The peppercorns have quite a bite to them, and a little heat, but we both love that flavor, so it worked for us. The pasta was a perfect pairing, and we enjoyed this last-minute dish that we had created.