And the rotations continue… Our group of interns is spending this week and next at the Arizona Department of Health Services learning about public health policy. It’s the first time all 16 of us have been together since August and it’s been great catching up with everyone. The more presentations we have the more I realize that my research work has also been a form of public health – just a bit earlier in the process. I’ve been able to help obtain the facts that are used to develop recommendations affecting the care of children which is incredibly cool.
You know what else is really cool? Crispy, cheesy pork. Sometimes a plain old chicken breast just won’t cut it – you want to mix things up a little or appease the people you are feeding. Over the years I have made three different types of pork chops – breaded, balsamic and rosemary. A few weeks ago when planning our menu Carver suggested we combine all of those and as always it was a stroke of pure genius. These are so easy and tasty I think it will be quite awhile before we make plain old pork chops again.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and top with a cooling rack.
Combine the two breadcrumbs, rosemary, parmesan and a bit of salt and pepper in a shallow dish.
Coat each side of the chops in the breadcrumb mixture.
Heat a bit of nonstick spray in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork to the pan and cook until golden brown, approximately 5 minutes per side.
One pork has browned evenly on each side, transfer to the cooling rack and let finish cooking in the oven while you make the sauce and sides.
Return the skillet to the stove and heat over medium-high heat. Add in the butter and balsamic, whisking to combine. Continue whisking and add in the broth and let bubble away until slightly thickened.
Typically we serve these chops topped with the balsamic gravy with veggies and some kind of grain – nothing fancy. As you can see in the photo we used green beans and crusty bread this day.