Slogging Through the Snow

I would guess I had about three inches of snow on the ground when I woke up at 5:30 AM on Monday. I got out of the driveway without a hitch, but the roads were a mess!

It was still coming down when I went home for lunch. I got a nice surprise when I pulled in the house; my neighbor plowed my drive again (see what a little pecan pie can get you!) I took some photos out back of the evergreens and the bird feed can (I'm guessing about 7 inches of snow). The snow stopped here around 2:30-3:00 PM.

When I came out after work, all the snow on the car had melted (it was a high of 34 degrees F. today). So unlike lunchtime, I didn't have to clean all the windows. Side roads are still slippery and sloppy, BTW.

I started my Sunday dinner (on Monday) around 6:00 PM. First I put on a pan of cut up Yukon Gold potatoes (skin on) in cold water for mashed potatoes.

Now, I had been complaining to my friend B___ about the pork chops. They're too thin! I like a nice thick pork chop, myself. Aside for just the visual appeal, I find that frying a thin pork chop is usually a disaster. By the time you get a nice sear on the outside, the inside is overcooked and dry (and I hate that).

He suggested a quick sear at high temperature and then braising them. Bingo! So, that's what I tried. I used some bacon grease instead of cooking oil (to give them a smoky flavor). When the pan was smoking hot, I put in the four pork chops. One minute wasn't enough, so I let them go two minutes per side.

I pulled them out of the pan and deglazed it with maybe 1/4 cup of red wine. Then I added in a jar of Hienz pork gravy (hey, it's a weeknight!) and whisked it together. I put the chops back into the pan, put on a lid and stuck it in a pre-heated 325 degrees F. oven.

Just before I started mashing the potatoes, I put some frozen sweet corn into the steamer basket in my small saucepan, put the lid on it and let it do its thing.

I mashed the potatoes with some butter, milk, one egg and a small amount of the few remaining chives I froze last Fall.

I plated one pork chop, some of the sweet corn and a scoop of mashed potatoes. I added the gravy to the mashed potatoes and dug in. Delicious! The pork chops were perfectly cooked and very, very moist. Thanks for the tip, buddy!

I went in to watch some TV while everything cools off so I can put the leftovers in the fridge. I watched the Olympics until 9:30 PM or so. Ice dancing was coming on and I'm just not that interested. I did watch the first event. It was a very young, but very, very talented Canadian couple. Excellent!

I went out and put the food away and cleaned up the kitchen. I started the dishwasher and went back in to watch a new episode of a cooking show I like. Then I went to bed at 11:00 PM.