Pork chops: Habit Forming

Julia came over last night and I made us a purple dinner. We had pork chops with mustard-shallot sauce, red cabbage, and smashed potatoes (purple red and white).

Julia really liked the cabbage, but it wasn't how I had imagined, and to me it just tasted of failure. It was kind of mushy. I seared both sides on the stove, added s, p, some coriander seeds and a pat of butter, covered the whole pan in foil and stuck it in the over for about 15 or 20 minutes. I think lower heat (i had it at 385) might have produced the effect I was going for. It was better with a splash of vinegar.

The potatoes were just smashed potatoes, nothing special. But they were totally edible. It is best to start potatoes in cold water on the stove and bring everything to a boil together.

The butcher convinced me to buy chops "from the other end" with the loin still attached. They had more meat, and the loin was really tasty. The sauce had whole grain mustard and chopped shallots. I think i prefer the glaze made with fruit or jam, but this was not bad.