Mustard Glazed Pork Chops
Last night I decided to be adventurous and try something new…Rather than making the same old boring meals I usually make. I decided I would make mustard glazed pork chops, herb and garlic mashed potatoes and brown sugar glazed carrots.
For the mustard glaze I put equal parts maple syrup and grainy mustard in a bowl and mixed in some salt and pepper…Simple enough, right? The idea was to “glaze” the pork chops after they had been in the oven for a little while. They turned out alright…the glaze was flavourful and didn’t burn(always a plus!), but the meat was not…flavourful that is.
Solutions for next time:
1) either make extra glaze and marinade the chops for a while before baking
OR
2) score the chops before adding the glaze
The brown sugar glazed carrots are easy..honestly, my four year old could make them if I would let her cut carrots or get near the stove. Boil carrots until they reach the tenderness you desire. Drain water. Add a knife-full(yes, very technical measurement…perhaps a teaspoon?) of butter and melt. Once the butter is melted add 1-2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Stir carrots into the glaze.
The herb and garlic mashed potatoes are another one of those “so easy my four year old could do it” recipes. Boil the potatoes until your fork goes through them easily. Drain. Mash with Herb and Garlic cream cheese. These would have been wonderful…if I hadn’t overlooked one small detail… I don’t have a potato masher…Seriously…I was in shock. Who doesn’t have a potato masher? So I mashed them in my food processor…One issue…The food processor is too rough on the potatoes, you end up with potato glue, not mashed potatoes. I do not recommend mashing potatoes with a food processor.
In short, we learned some lessons from this meal.
1) pork chops need more than just a glaze if you want them to have flavour
2) no matter how hungry you are or how long the potatoes have been done, do NOT crank the oven up from 350 to 450..the pork chops WILL be dry
3) mash potatoes with a potato masher…NOT a food processor