Braised Balinese Pork Chops

Alright, full disclosure right off.  This recipe is probably about as Balinese as maple syrup. I only really threw in the name for two reasons: a) it does have some elements of Balinese flavours, namely lemon grass, cane sugar, and kaffir lime, and b) I used Epicure "Bali Glow" seasoning.  No, I don't sell Epicure products, I am only pestered (in the best way possible) to buy them from a friend. So seeing that I have a decent stock of their spices, I feel compelled to use them once in a while. But you know, they are actually pretty decent - no preservatives, low in sodium and often certified non-GMO. That is not something I generally think much about, but came across it by accident in a search. Here is a list.

Getting some colour on the chops
with some Bali seasoning

Onions, mushroom soup, and
Sherry vinegar

Anyway, I was actually aiming to make one of our family stand-by Sunday dinners, pork chops with mushroom soup (don't judge). Except we had no mushrooms, and I felt like jonesing it up a bit. So I thought I'd start by rubbing both sides with Bali and getting some good colour on them.  After browned, I then sweated some onions and deglazed with Sherry vinegar. Add in the mushroom soup, heat it all through, and then finally in the oven for 30 minutes. Turned out really nicely, the flavours were awesome. It helps that the pork chops were from the butcher - tender and really flavourful. Throw that on some rice, with lots of awesome sauce to pour over the lot.

Braised Balinese Pork Chops

Next Time: nothing.

Me: 9/10
SO: 9/10
SSO: 7/10

Comfort Food, part 1 - Fried Pork Chops with Mushrooms

This has to be one of our all-time most popular go-to quick dinner picks. It has a lot going for it after all: juicy thick pork chops (from our local butcher), fried mushrooms are awesome, and left-overs for lunch the next day. It is never something I make, this is strictly one of SO's specialties; it was no different this time, except for slight differences in the ingredients and method.

Fried Pork Chop with Mushrooms

This time, instead of a good old can of Campbell's Mushroom soup, it was a couple big Portobello mushrooms chopped up. The other key to this is to use a "proper" browning pan, not a non-stick pan. It coaxes all the yummy browned meat flavour out like no other method. A scoup of rice is the base with which to gather the sauce, and of course mushy peas on the side.

Next Time: can't think of how to improve this

Me: 9/10
SO: 10/10
SSO: 5/10