Pork chops with savory applesauce

Pork chops used to be on the bottom of my pig list. When you have bacon, ham, slow-roasted pork butt … why settle for a dry, flavorless chop? Then I discovered the butcher counter pork chops. On the bone, inch-thick chops are where it’s at!

The combination of pork and apples is pretty standard. Here’s my take on it.

Pork chops with savory applesauce
2 half-pound, inch-thick pork chops
2 apples, sliced (I used Macintosh)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Olive oil
Salt, pepper
1/4 cup white wine (I used pinot grigio)
1 tbsp. half and half

Preheat oven to 400. Toss apples slices with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic. Roast for 20 minutes, stirring halfway through.

While apples are roasting, heat skillet over medium-high heat. Rub both sides of pork chops with olive oil and a liberal amount of salt and pepper. Add another teaspoon of olive oil to skillet. Sear chops 6 minutes per side for deep brown crust. After searing, place chops in oven for another 6 minutes. Remove chops from oven and remove from skillet to rest.

Return skillet to burner on medium heat. Add 1/4 cup wine. Use wooden spoon to scrape up brown bits off bottom of skillet while wine comes up to a boil. Add roasted apples and garlic and let cook another 5 minutes. Mash apples with wooden spoon while they cook. Turn off heat and add cream. Top pork chops with savory applesauce and serve. (You could also serve the chop on top, so the applesauce catches all of its juices. Yum!)