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| Pork Chops with Port Glazed Mushrooms |
The liquor cupboard in my house is a mishmash of opened and
unopened bottles of all shapes and sizes. While the red wine bottles tend to
change more frequently, most of the others are dusted off only occasionally.
Earlier this week I visited the cupboard looking for something to glaze a beautiful bounty of button mushrooms. What I know about wine is
sadly limited, but I knew from past cooking experience that marsala went well
with mushrooms. I had no marsala, not even any sherry, and so I reached for the
bottle of white port (how it arrived at our house I cannot recall). It was a
delicious default decision.
This main dish is simple to prepare and cooks up quickly on
the stovetop. The mushrooms are sautéed dry, that is, without oil, to draw the
moisture out of them. The residual mushroom “juice” is boiled away, and then
butter is added to brown the mushrooms. Finally, the port is poured in and
reduced down to a flavorsome glaze. The mushrooms on their own make a
scrumptious side dish or you can pair them with chicken breasts instead of pork
chops for an equally easy and elegant main dish.
MA's Pork Chops with Port Glazed Mushrooms
½ onion, finely diced
1 lb fresh button mushrooms, cut into thick slices
4 tbsp butter, divided into 1 tbsp and 3 tbsp
1/3 cup Port (white)
Pinch of dry thyme leaves
In a large frying pan, melt 1 tbsp butter over medium high heat.
Add onions and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes or until onions are softened.
Add chops to pan and sauté on medium heat for about 5 minutes; turn chops over and sauté 5 minutes more.
Remove chops from frying pan and keep warm.
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| Place mushrooms in dry pan |
Remove onions from frying pan, keeping separate from chops.
With frying pan on high heat, put in all the mushrooms and stir well with love.
Reduce the heat to medium high and keep stirring often.
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| Moisture is released from mushrooms |
After a few minutes, moisture will begin to escape from the mushrooms.
Continue stirring the mushrooms until most of the liquid has evaporated, then add 3 tbsp butter, sautéed onions and thyme. Stir to combine.
Continue stirring the mushrooms until most of the liquid has evaporated, then add 3 tbsp butter, sautéed onions and thyme. Stir to combine.
Sauté on medium high heat until the mushrooms begin to brown.
Add the Port to the pan and toss to coat the mushrooms well. Increase the heat to high and let boil vigorously until the Port has reduced in volume by about half.
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| Almost ready to serve |
Return the chops to the pan and cook on medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes.
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