One-Pan Whiskey-Flavored Pork Chops

I need a personal assistant to keep up with all my tasks. I manage so much data that there is no way to keep atop it all. My recipes are such a case. I learned 15 years ago that there was no way to collect each and every recipe I thought was interesting. So it was then that I began to prune what I had on hand. I spent a month going through all my magazines, clippings, and other scratches of paper to assemble my two personal cookbooks. Oh, they looked great. Each page is in a plastic sheet to protect them. Ah yes, I had thought ahead.

My approach was to only put in those recipes I would use. Gone were the magazines. In their place, two large three-ring binders.

But after a few years I found I was not using much from those binders other than a dough recipe someone had scribbled for me. I had picked up even more cookbooks and clippings, and napkins, and other assorted scraps of paper.

Then came a brainstorm; convert it all to a database. I researched and researched. At one time I had used MealMaster and while it was merely a DOS interface, it seemed like the most versatile. So, I began playing with it. And soon enough I had downloaded every conceivable database of recipes the Internet had. Sigh . . . now even though I had everything, I was just so overwhelmed. Somewhere around then I happened to be in a Comp USA or some such store. This was 24 August 2005 as I went there to purchase Windows 95 at midnight. Anyhow, I came upon Micro Cookbook which seemed like a good cookbook and I purchased it. I believe this was version 3. From what I can gather, Micro Cookbook is no longer produced. Gourmet Cooking Suite seems to have purchased the database and it was re-named. It may even be known as Cooking Suite now. I am not certain.

Anyhow, as I recall, I liked this little program, but not really because of being able to add recipes. I think I just liked it because of the recipes it contained. I was easily swayed . . . but after some time, that too went away and after doing some more researh, found out that Mastercook was the database du jour.

I believe I purchased version 5. There was an update at some point and I know I went to 6 and had the Betty Crocker edition. I was somewhat active on the Sierra boards and was learning how to use the product effectively. I began entering the recipes from my hand-created cookbook. I imported recipes that others recommended. I was learning how to be mindful of what went into the database.

But this project seems to be all or nothing for me. I have gone through the cycle of being really good and then forgetting about it for a while. I passed on version 7 after ValueSoft purchased the product. Somewhere along the lines, a friend of mine gave me version 4. I think I even have a version 3 somewhere too. The version 4 one, while old software, was a great gift because it is the Cooking Light version. The software is nothing great and the included recipes are ill-formatted, imo, but it was my introduction to Cooking Light.

Since then I found the Cooking Light boards (via the old Sierra boards, I believe) and have further refined my approach to database management.

The folks on the Cooking Light boards are wonderful. I refer to the posters as my blue-hairs. Most, I suspect, are not, but it is a term of affection I use when Gert queries what I am doing. We have been turned on to a lot of fine food from these folks. It isn’t always light either. :)

As for managing the recipes I have pretty well gotten a system that works for me. I primarily use two cookbooks: one full of recipes we have prepared and another containing those that we want to try. Some time back I went through every cookbook, scrap of paper, etc. we had and pulled what we realisticlly want to make. I have sourced everything (much to some people’s consternation) I entered. Once that project was done, I put the paper cookbooks away.

ValuSoft added a nice browser toolbar feature to help capture recipes from the ‘Net in version 8. It works like a charm, but unfortunately, only in IE. I use IE for my intranet at work and whenever I come to recipe to add to the database. That isi it. Version 9 did not correct this or add any other functions for me, therefore, ValuSoft did not receive any money from me . . . or a lot of other regular users. I truly hope that is remedied on the next release.

I adopted a policy for how recipes are now entered into the database. First of all, any recipe I find needs to have source information to enter. I figure there are enough chicken marsala recipes out there that if I can’t source the one that is recommended, I can find another that I can. Hey, it works for me. This helps curtail bulk additions of recipes. Secondly, I cook from the To Try cookbook. As we plan out our meals, I am constantly referring to what I have in the database. I like variety and by cooking from what has yet to be prepared, the meals are always new and interesting. Gert would prefer us to repeat meals more frequently. There is something to be said for that as well. I am trying to develop a rating system that will work to help us with that. As it is right now, I add to the notes section of a recipe if it is one that we will not repeat. We do have a few of those that we come across.

Each month when the new edition of Cooking Light arrives (the only magazine I subscribe to, fwiw) I scour it for those recipes I want to try. I add them to the database and try to get to them before the month is out. It is a futile goal as it rarely happens. There’s been one recipe that I have wanted to make for years now that just keeps getting bounced on every menu we prepare. It is more of a winter meal in that it sticks to the ribs, but gosh darn, I am working on clearing some of these recipes in the To Try cookbook that have been languishing.

So, tonight we made One-Pan Whiskey-Flavored Pork Chops. This is definitely a Bob meal. Pork chops with a cream sauce, mashed potatoes, and a vegetable. What more could a working man ask for? This is an easy recipe to make. One of the reasons it kept getting bumped is because it requires whiskey and I have not been drinking these days. It’s all I can do to sneak a beer in once in a while let alone having cocktails. But for this, I went out and purchased a bottle of bourbon (there’s a a bread pudding recipe I want to make that calls for bourbon) and got started.

Preparation is easy. I think the times listed to sear the chops on the stovetop are too long. Unless you have inch and a half chops, just brown each side before placing in the oven. I like using sour cream for the sauce. It added body to the sauce that my marsala often lacks. I may try sour cream next time I make marsala to help thicken it up.

In the oven everything went and a little less than an hour later, all was ready. We steamed some broccoli and prepared mashed potatoes to accompany the chops.

These were very good.  It was a filling meal probably better suited for January (the issue in which the recipe was printed) than April, but I am one who can eat this kind of food year-round.  A nice Cabernet would complete this meal.

Mastercook File

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:15
Categories : Pork

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method
——– ———— ——————————–
2/3 cup fat-free sour cream
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried sage — rubbed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 center-cut pork chop — bone-in-center; 6-ounce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup onion — chopped
8 ounces mushroom — pre-sliced
1/2 cup whiskey

Preheat oven to 300°.

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a small bowl.

Sprinkle pork with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork; sauté 5 minutes on each side or until golden. Remove pork from pan. Add onion and mushrooms to pan; sauté for 3 minutes. Carefully add whiskey to pan; cook for 1 minute or until liquid almost evaporates. Stir sour cream mixture into pan. Return pork to pan; spoon sauce over pork.

Wrap handle of skillet with foil. Cover and bake at 300° for 1 hour. Serve immediately.

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 310 (28% from fat); FAT 9.6g (sat 3g, mono 4.5g, poly 1.1g); PROTEIN 29.5g; CARB 24.3g; FIBER 1.3g; CHOL 71mg; IRON 2mg; SODIUM 546mg; CALC 16mg;

Source:
“Cooking Light Magazine, January 2001″
Copyright:
“© 2001 by Southern Living, Inc.”
Yield:
“1 pork chop”
Start to Finish Time:
“1:15″

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 360 Calories; 16g Fat (47.5% calories from fat); 27g Protein; 12g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 79mg Cholesterol; 500mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 3 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 1 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

NOTES :
First Made: 20 April 2006

This is a very easy preparation. The sauce is excellent.

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 904559 0 0 0 0 0 0

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