Every one of us has a dish that we grew up eating and that still holds a special place in our hearts. It may not have been the greatest meal, or the fanciest meal, but there was something about it that made it special for us. For me, it was my mom’s pork chops cooked in Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup.
Now, I can’t recall the last time I had soup out of a can. Its just not my thing anymore. As I learned to cook, and as my tastes matured, I stopped eating processed foods. And as I learned more and more about processed food, I turned away from it forever. But I still have great memories from some of it, and I love that I can now use my skill to recreate some of those dishes using better quality ingredients. I still get those sense memories and its good.
This is a pretty easy dish to make, and one that really doesn’t require a recipe, but for those that need a little guidance, here’s as close as I can get.
pork chops – 1 for each person, or more if they are really hungry
onion – 1 onion for every two people, unless your like me and absolutely love onion and then use 1 for each person
mushrooms – a 1lb container should suffice for 3-4 people, but again, let your taste buds and desires decide how much to use.
garlic – personally, I go for 2-3 cloves for each person, but for most that would be excessive.
heavy cream – about 2 fl.oz. for each person.
salt and pepper – enough to make it taste good
butter/olive oil/vegetable oil – enough so things don’t stick
thyme – a couple of sprigs, but feel free to use a sprinkle or two of dried if that’s what you have handy.
1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Slice onions and place in a skillet with the fat of your choice. Turn on a medium heat.
3. While onions are cooking, slice mushrooms and mince garlic.
4. When onions have become soft and translucent, remove from pan and set aside.
5. Add a bit more fat to skillet, and sauté mushrooms. If you end up overcrowding your pan, as I did in the video, crank up the heat to eliminate the excess water that will seep from the mushrooms.
6. When mushrooms are nearly cooked, add minced garlic and thyme. Sauté for another 2-3 minutes and add to the cooked onions.
7. Turn the heat on high and allow skillet to get very hot. Once very hot, add the pork chops. The goal here is to simple brown them, not to fully cook them. If required, do pork chops in several rounds. Season with salt and pepper as they are browning.
8. Once pork chops are browned, return mushrooms, onions, and anything else you have used to pan.
9. Add heavy cream, bring to a simmer, and place in oven. Allow to bake for 20-25 minutes.
10. Serve with your favourite starchy food. I opted for a sour cream mashed potato.
Enjoy!!