Fancy Sauce

Yesterday I was cranky. Very cranky. So what could possibly cheer me up more than whipping up something amazingly delicious, and overly fancy for a lovely Sunday night dinner. Instantly, duck popped into my head, so I went to the store to find some. Unfortunately, they only had frozen duck, so that adventure will have to be continued on Thursday night, when the Duck defrosts and is ready to be roasted. So I took a lap around the store and thought, and thought and then I decided, pork chops with mushroom sauce and mashed potatoes, perfect! As expected, the delicious dinner cheered me up, as soon as the sherry hit the pan...

Mashed Potatoes
5-6 medium red potatoes, washed and cubed
2-3 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tbsp of butter
A little bit of water (if necessary)
Salt, Pepper

Boil the potatoes and garlic until potatoes are tender, drain liquid and and add butter and sour cream. Mash together and if dry and a little water to moisten. Salt and pepper to taste.

Pork Chops and Mushroom Sauce.
2 thick cut boneless pork chops
1 package of gourmet blend mushrooms
1 shallot
1 clove of garlic
3/4 cup of chicken stock
1/4 cup of dry sherry
1 tbsp of butter, plus a little more
1 to 2 tbsp of flour.
Salt, Pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Cover a cooking sheet in tinfoil and spray with non-stick spray, set aside. Butter the bottom of the skillet so that it is just covered. Salt and pepper the pork chops on both sides. Place pork chops in the hot skillet and brown for about 3-4 minutes, flip and repeat. Place pork chops on the prepared cooking sheet and cook for approximately 15 minutes, time will vary based on the thickness of the chops. In the meantime lower the heat on the skillet to medium and dice the shallots and the garlic. Add the shallots, garlic, mushrooms and chicken stock to the pan, bring to a simmer. Add the sherry. Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes. When the mushrooms are almost done, reduce heat to low and whisk in butter and flour to thicken sauce. Continue whisking until sauce has thickened. Salt and pepper to taste (you shouldn't need a lot). Serve on the side or on top of the chops. The sauce also tastes great on the mashed potatoes.

Happy Eating.