Smothered Pork Chops

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Smothered Pork Chops 2

Those of you who have been with me for the past few weeks are aware that my eating habits are in a state of flux. Once it entered my life, the spiralizer set about changing me, as new loves often attempt. It was successful to an extent. Though I’ve not increased the number of my meatless days, I have enjoyed a greater number of meatless suppers. Even so, there are limits to my meat-free ways. When the temperature gets and stays well below freezing, I crave comfort food which, for this carnivore, means a meat dish of some sort. Enter today’s recipe, smothered pork chops.

I’ve watched countless chefs prepare this dish, each adding their own special touch. I shied away from preparing it because I have a history of being gravy-challenged, unless you prefer a gloppy, lump-filled mess. Lucky for me, and anyone seated around my table, that’s no longer the case. Who says you can’t reach an old dog new tricks? So, with my new-found gravy-making skills, it was time to smother some pork chops — and I haven’t looked back.

The recipe itself is surprisingly simple and there are plenty of opportunities to make it your own. For this recipe, I make a gravy using mushrooms, onions, and garlic with chicken stock and a little milk. You may wish to add jalapeños or perhaps make more of a milk gravy. Buttermilk is a good substitution, as well. Don’t have milk? Don’t worry about it. Replace it with some white wine and you’ll still have a tasty gravy. In short, so long as you’ve got the chops, you can make this for dinner tonight.

One word of caution. Although the chops will be pulled off the heat when not quite finished cooking, the time needed to get to that point will vary greatly depending on the thickness of the chops. Steer clear of really thick chops. They’ll require a longer cooking time, at lower heat, or they’ll brown but remain raw on the inside. That could be a problem later in the process, when you return the chops to the pan with the gravy.  Rather than cook them together for 10 minutes or so, they’ll need to stay in the pan for quite a bit longer. For me, that causes the gravy to thicken far too much. (Gravy-challenged, remember?)

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Smothered Pork Chops 3

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Smothered Pork Chops Recipe 

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil to start, possibly more later in the process
  • pork chops, medium thickness, 1 per serving
  • 1 small to medium onion, sliced
  • 6 mushrooms sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely diced or grated
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 1½ cups chicken stock – vegetable or pork stock may be substituted
  • ¼ cup milk – buttermilk or cream may be substituted
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

  1. Heat olive oil in a large fry pan over medium heat.
  2. Once oil is hot, place pork chop(s) into the pan and cook until browned on each side — about 5 minutes per side. Remove to a plate.
  3. Place onion into the pan and sauté for a couple of minutes before adding the mushrooms. Continue to sauté until onions are translucent and mushroom cooked to your liking.
  4. Add garlic and continue to sauté for about a minute.
  5. Remove all but 4 tbsp of oil from the pan. If need be, add enough oil to the pan so that the amount of fat/oil in the pan equals the amount of flour added in the next step.
  6. Add the flour to the pan, stir, and make a roux. No need to make a dark roux but it should be cooked for a couple of minutes.
  7. Add the chicken stock to the pan in thirds, mixing well between additions to eliminate lumps.
  8. Reduce heat to med-low, add the milk, and stir to combine.
  9. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  10. Return the pork chops to the pan, spoon gravy over them, and heat until cooked to your satisfaction, usually 5 to 10 minutes, Turn the chops mid-way through.
  11. Serve immediately with plenty of gravy for smothering.

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Smothered Pork Chops 1

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Notes

You may need to adjust the gravy ingredient amounts to suit the number of chops to be served. In the photos, that is one big chop and there’s more than enough gravy to smother it.

Milk gravy is a southern tradition. If that’s your preference, you can easily make it here. Just reverse the quantities of the chicken stock and the milk. Be sure to test for seasoning before serving.

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It’s déjà vu all over again …

Strawberry-Balsamic-Mascarpone Parfait

I recently prepared a pasta with mascarpone  for dinner and thought it was about time we revisited making the creamy cheese. (Hard to believe it’s been 4 years since I first shared that recipe.) Mascarpone is far easier to make than you might think and certainly cheaper than any that you can buy. Once made, why not use some in a strawberry-balsamic parfait just like the one pictured? You can learn all about it when you click HERE.

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Coming soon to a monitor near you …

Baked Calamari Preview

Zia’s Baked Calamari

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155 thoughts on “Smothered Pork Chops”

  2. That gravy does indeed look fine to me. You could also bind it with a corn starch slurry, as that would be easier and lighter (if most of the oil is discarded first).
    PS if the spiralizer causes a flux, I wonder what sous-vide would do 😉 You certainly would never have to worry about overcooking or undercooking pork chops again 🙂

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    • Hello, Stefan. Yes, I sometimes use cornstarch and in an upcoming recipe, I use arrowroot. I’m beginning to think that you missed your calling. Internet sous-vide salesman may not have that certain cachet but it is a position you were obviously meant to fill. 🙂

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  4. That looks like perfectly cooked gravy! We’re on more meatless meals at our house trying to get more raw veggies into our bodies. I’m craving a hearty meal like this one!

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    • I’ve been doing the same, Maureen, with my spiralizer helping a great deal. A dish like this is so very welcome after a while. It’s just not something I’d do weekly, that’s for sure. 🙂

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    • Hello, Giovanna. I hope you do give this a try and that you’ll enjoy it as much as I do.
      PS I’m no longer receiving notices of your posts. Earlier this morning, I re-subscribed to your blog and hope that will take care of it. Fingers crossed … 🙂

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  7. This dish looks so delicious I just wanted to reach through my screen and grab the plate! Your mushroom gravy looks like you’ve perfected the art of gravy making and is making my mouth water. I have none of the main ingredients for this dish but I think I might just have to go out and get some now.

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    • Thanks, Laura, and I do hope that you’ll give it a try. It is unbelievably easy to prepare and the reward is a plateful of pure comfort. Why it took me so long to perfect gravy-making is a question best forgotten. The main thing is that I finally got it right! 🙂

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  8. That chop is making my mouth water. Growing up on the other side of the Atlantic I came from a household where gravy was served with every meat dish. My mother would have looked at you as if you were mad if you’d suggested leaving it out. Over here we generally make it with stock, the meat juices and (in my case) nearly always with a good slug of booze. Although we use cream in sauces I think milk gravy is very much an American thing – I’ve never tried it. Am I missing out? I’m off to check out your marscapone post now …sounds intriguing.

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  11. My mum has a spiralizer which she claims to have bought years ago and has resurrected it as they are now “all the rage”. But I agree, sometimes you just need a pork chop and as far as I’m concerned it needs to be heavy on the gravy. Big Man is not a gravy man which suits me as I could happily just eat bread dipped in gravy and leave the chops to him! Great recipe. … I think even Big Man could be converted ☺

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    • Hi, Judy. It is one of those recipes that the mere mention of it transports me back in time. I need no encouragement to make this dish. Let me know when you’re coming and I’ll handle the rest. 🙂

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  15. Mushrooms in gravy? Yes, please. And I agree — nothing more comforting than meat and gravy (preferably with a nice starch on the side) when the weather turns cold. Pork has become so lean that thick pork chops are difficult to cook without drying out (if I’m doing some I’ll add some apple cider to the pan after they’re browned, cover the pan and put it in the oven to finish cooking — that seems to keep them somewhat moist). So I cook mainly thin pork chops — as you say, the perfect cut for this dish. Really nice. And glad you’ve conquered gravy!

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    • Thanks, John, for the kind words and the tip about using vinegar. I’ll be sure to give it a try next time. They really have messed up our pork haven’t they? “The other white meat” is now tasteless. Now that I’ve conquered gravy, can pastry dough be far behind? 🙂

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  16. Mmm mmm, looks like THE perfect cold weather meal, John! One would never know by looking at the gravy that you previously had not found success! My gravy skills continue to be hit or miss and I’ll gladly take cues from this delicious post for my next attempt! Thanks for sharing.

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  17. I love your portion size but I’m not showing my lot or they will want something similar! We have had hail and driving rain today so your dish would be very welcome. Can’t believe you would have gravy drama with your skills. I’m a big fan of a whisk at the first sign of trouble!

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    • Ha! I really didn’t wish to use these photos but had a problem loading the last set of photos. That will teach me for waiting until the last minute. As it is, that chop looks like t would feed a family of 4. 🙂 Yeah, I’m a whisk fan now, no matter what.

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  18. I’m with you on the comfort food! This looks great. Just made braised lamb shanks for the Accountant the other night when the wind was howling. Our attention will turn to tender greens soon enough.

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    • Mmmm braised lamb shanks. Love them. I’ve had lamb on the brain lately and know that I’ll be braising shanks soon. There’s much not to like about our winters but it does give us plenty of reasons to tuck in for some great comfort food. The people living in the tropics don’t know what they’re missing. 🙂

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  19. Looking at those delicious pork chops and that beautiful mushroom gravy, I find it hard to believe you were ever “gravy-challenged!” I love gravy and never make it, but this whole dish looks so easy and appealing, I may have to give it a try. Hope you have a fantastic time in Italy!

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    • Probably best that you don’t know, Betsy. There was more than one occasion where dinner guests were kept waiting while opened a can/jar of gravy and heated it up after my own attempt failed miserably. 🙂

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  20. This looks delicious and I’m not a gravy kind of person. I was meat-free for a while or just limited white meat. There really aren’t many meatless italian meals, so returning to my roots meant returning to meat. I’m still skeptical of the spiralizer tho.

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  21. I just bought some pork steaks – I’ll have to smother them now!
    I want a sauce or gravy with just about all meats. The trick to maintaining the right sauce thickness is to have some extra stock handy which can be stirred in if the sauce thickens too much. I hope that helps 🙂

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  25. I am with Fae… carnivore that gets extremely excited by a plate of pork with gravy and those luscious mushrooms laying on top… honestly, I am salivating in front of the computer and dreaming of making this to my beloved – this is one of his favorite dishes and I am ashamed to admit we haven’t made it in over 8 years. What is wrong with me, can you tell me? (be kind)

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    • There’s absolutely nothing wrong with you, Sally. Dishes come into and out of style. This is one of those dishes. I, too, had quit trying to make it because of my gravy had issues. Now, although I’ll never prepare it weekly, I do make it more often — and thoroughly enjoy it. I’ve another one coming up in a few weeks. Stay tuned … 🙂

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  26. This looks fantastic, reminds me of my favorite Jaegerschnitzel. Hubby has always been our gravy man if the house. He’s a biscuits and gravy kind of guy now and then. I recently made a tasty mushroom gravy for meatloaf night though and now the kids are begging for more gravy.

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    • Your husband and I would get along very well. If i’m at a diner for breakfast, it there’s biscuits and gravy on the menu, I’m sure to order it. When I finally resolved my gravy problems, the first dish I made — again and again — was biscuits and gravy. Coincidentally, I’ve a meatloaf with gravy post coming up in a few weeks. Dishes like these are too good not to make. 😉

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      • I totally agree. I’ve never had gravy before coming to the US, and even now it’s definitely a “wintery” food for me. I can’t understand how biscuits and gravy are a standard breakfast item in the hot Southern states. But I’m sure they’ll think the Israeli breakfast of vegetables salad and white fresh cheese is just as odd…
        As for the hunger, alas, I am always satisfying it, many times too often! 😀

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    • All’s well, Margot, and I hope that you can say the same.
      For me, I found that adding the stock to the roux in smaller amounts was the key to solving my problems. It was easier to fully combine the two and that meant no lumps. I can’t believe how much flour and stock that I wasted until I had that epiphany. 🙂

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  29. I’ve never seen a chef make some smothered pork chops but I do like gravy. I love mine on the thick side with some steamed basmati rice. Surprisingly my kids don’t like mashed potatoes. I don’t know why. When we were young we used to make a well in the mashed potato and pour the gravy into the well. I loved them, gravy days!

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    • This is a standard dish from our south and, yes, I’ve seen it made with a number of variations. All were too much for me until I solved my gravy problems. We, also, made a well in our potatoes, Liz. Heaven forbid if Mom ladled the gravy before we had a chance to make that well! 🙂

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  30. Oh John: how delightful! As we see on Australian TV most nights pasture-raised pork is just about the healthiest protein! You have made it awfully tasty as well!!! Quite frankly I do not like the use of the name ‘gravy’ – it brings back too many horrors experienced!! I say ‘sauce’ [‘saucy minx’!] and you have made it differently and in a way I mean to try soonest!! Absolutely love the sides . . . and zia Leah: please make ‘your guy’ post that baked calamari as soon as possible! Love you both .. . .

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    • Since you have not travelled ‘south’ far enough to reach ‘me’ – that ‘gravy’ business: I arrived in Australia as a young kid: food in the Anglo-Saxon ‘backwater of the fading British Empire was a case of ‘eat to live’ . . . the steaks, chops and sausages were uniformly covered by ‘gravy’ usually made from ‘Gravox’ from a small metal container. A puzzled Mom brought a tin home and made me translate the instructions . . . . we quietly tasted and Mom brought out a bit of newspaper and tho’ we did not have a penny to our name we put the tin in that and out to the garbage bin it went . . . yes, well !!

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      • It must have been difficult for your Mum to adjust her cooking to such a different environment. I give her credit, though, for trying. That Gravox must have been really bad if she tossed it thus wasting those hard-earned dollars.
        Sorry it took me so long to come “south. I’ve finished the travel arrangements and spent some time cooking. I don’t wish to worry about posting recipes when I return. Better to have 1 or 2 written beforehand. 😉

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        • It’s still on sale! To each their own 🙂 ! Hmm: tastes like a very salty medicine . . . sorry to all Aussies who love it!!! Oh Mom’s main problem was the inability to access offal: we love our tongue and liver and sweetbreads et al . . . the butcher would just look a her, think her nuts and laugh . . . ! And she had about 100 words of English!!!

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          • Some of my older relatives were much the same way and relied upon their kids to do the talking for them when English was required. Here in Chicago, we’ve the largest Polish urban population outside of Warsaw. You can live in that area and never need to speak a word of English. There are even all-Polish TV and radio stations, not to mention newspapers. Would love to see a certain politician stand before that group and spout his tripe.

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          • Amen !!!!!! Oh, John,surely he CANNOT get there !!!! Not that I am ‘that’ fond of the other party at this stage [FD Roosevelt – why NOT three terms?] . . . but that would be the saddest ‘joke’ with consequences we cannot imagine!!

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    • In this country, Eha, the pork producers went about changing our pork products some 30 or so years ago. They crossbred the pigs and eliminated much of the fat. Their slogan was ” Pork the other white meat.” Yes, they did create a leaner, healthier product but it was also tougher and relatively tasteless. It got so bad that Mom and Zia stopped making sausage altogether. Zia only started again when I pleaded with her to show me their recipe. I’ve amended the recipe, adding pancetta as a way to increase the fat content. And speaking of Zia, there will be no need to bother her. Her calamari recipe will be shared on the 16th. 🙂

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      • Uhuh – same here but methinks later! Or I was as yet not into cooking ? I agree and disagree . . . methinks if one takes the greater % of ‘lean’ into account and alters recipes and cooking times, pork still tastes like pork. That said quite a few of my male Estonian friends cannot get to ‘Eesti’ fast enough every Estonian summer to have ‘real’ pork with ‘real’ crackling and fat dripping of their chins – one is free to choose 😀 !!

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        • A few “heritage” breeds of pork escaped the producers’ tinkering and their meat is highly sought after. Of course, if you can find it, you’ll pay a much higher price. Makes you wonder if that is the reason they weren’t included with the other breeds.

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  32. Just one look at the photo and I started smiling, John. I am not much of a carnivore at all, but building on Michelle’s comment, my grandmother’s southern cooking immediately came to my mind, and these pork chops are comfort food right from my childhood! And my second thought is that my son-in-law relies on me to cook something just like this from time to time. He’s a big guy and a committed carnivore. If I served him this recipe I’d immediately win points! I’m confident these pork chops are just delicious! 🙂

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    • Thank you, Debra. A I mentioned a few minutes/replies ago, I should have sub-titled this post “A Carnivore’s Delight”. It may not be the healthiest dish I’ve ever shared but it sure does hit the spot on a cold winter’s day. As for your son-in-law, smother some pork chops for him a few weeks before your birthday. 😉

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  33. Although I’m not a chop and gravy person, being a fish eating vegetariana ( a perscateriana) I did enjoy your pasta and mascarpone flashback which made feel like racing back into the kitchen to replicate it.

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    • Yeah, Francesca, this dish is far removed from a pescatarian diet, to say the least. That pasta, though, is a great dish. I do hope you attempt to make your own mascarpone. It is so simple to make and the result is one creamy cheese.

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  34. You are so generous to inspire your fellow pork devotees. Yum. Mushroom gravy / sauce is my absolute favourite, and this one is so versatile I can imagine it having many applications. As they say in the advts here… “get some pork on your fork” 🙂

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    • Thanks, EllaDee. We pork lovers have to stick together!
      Your “get some pork on your fork” is still better than out “pork, the other white meat.” I cannot believe that people get paid to write this stuff.

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    • Thank you, Tania. No one is more surprised of the spiralizer’s effects on my diet than I am. I never that thought I would use it as often as I do. I cannot wait for summer to get here with al those fresh, locally grown veggies to play with. 🙂

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  39. You know, I found pork chops so dull for a while because no one ever did anything fun with them. And, by fun, I mean “added gravy!” I am glad you are gravy-certified now, as it will make my life better!

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  41. You had me at the first photo with that fab mushroom gravy. I’m a real carnivore, but my husband has had to cut down his meat consumption – NOTHING beats meat and gravy in my book. Thanks for the tip re: making a milk gravy by switching the amount of stock vs milk. That is a handy thing to know.

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    • Thanks, Ruth. I so agree with you on meat and gravy. Your poor husband! The only thing worse for me would be to told I have to go GF. I could never give up my pasta and I’d keep changing doctors until I found one that agreed with me. 🙂

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  42. The Hungry Dad would think all his Christmases had come at once if I made this for his dinner! The mushrooms look so delish, I could eat my weight in them. I need to buy a spiralizer, everyone I know who has one raves about it.

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    • Thank you. Your Hungry Dad is not alone. I had no idea that this dish would be so well-receive by the husbands “out there”. I’ve got a meatloaf recipe to share and it will be interesting to see what the response will be. It, too, is covered in gravy. 🙂
      I doubt very much that you’ll regret buying a spiralizer. i use mine far more than I thought I would.

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  43. WOW … this recipe sure takes me back. My mother made us smothered pork chops all of the time and they were one of my favorite meals. This plate looks just like my mom’s! Congratulations on making what looks like a perfect gravy. I can small it through my computer.

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    • Thanks, MJ. Funny how some dishes go out of fashion. Granted, there’s little room for gravy in our diet conscious society. Such a shame because this is a great dish and I refuse to go without. I just won’t prepare it every week. 🙂

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  44. Pork is BIG here. It seems every dinner we’ve been invited to we have been served a variety of pork. Maybe it shouldn’t have, but it came as a surprise to me! This means, I know I can find pork at the grocery store here (still trying to figure out all the labels) and I know the gravy ingredients will be easy to come by too (except the stock, which we are learning to make our own). And fortunately (or unfortunately) the weather is still calling for comfort food! 🙂

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    • That’s the fun — and challenge — of extended stays in a foreign country, Kristy.. Sooner or later you’ll need to face a grocery store and you never know quite what you’ve bought till you get it home and open it up. I know so little German that I’d be completely lost, much like I am when I go to the Asian markets nearby. Why is there no app to read and interpret labels? Now, that’s an idea!

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  45. Bonjourno John! I have the sudden urge to lick the screen and I know that would be very un lady like so I will refrain. I hear you one can only eat so many vegan spiralized meals before you go over the deep side and just need some plain comfort food. Your smothered pork chops with gravy would really hit the spot right now. Sorry, for my late response life has just been busy. You know how that goes. Sharing!

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    • Buon pomeriggio, BAM! First off, no need to worry if you’re too busy to visit or if your comment arrives late. I’m usually far behind with by blogging duties and I’d be the last person to find fault in others who may be in the same boat. Visit when you can. Comment when you can. No problems.
      I’m glad you like this dish. It really is a good one and if they ever upgrade gravy to health food status, I’ll make this for dinner far more frequently. 🙂

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  46. I hear you when it comes to being gravy-challenged. I tend to be a bit challenged in that way as well. Your smothered pork chops look wonderful and it has been years since I have last attempted them…perhaps it would be time for a new attempt with the inspiration from your recipe!

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    • WIth your cold winters, this would be a perfect dinner to warm up the household. As for the gravy, I’ve learned to add the stock or milk to the roux in stages, whisking all the while. It gives the roux a chance to fully dissolve before adding more. Hope this helps. We, the gravy challenged, need to stick together. 🙂

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  47. I think you did a fantastic job, John! This is the kind of dinner that Stefano is looking forward to after a long work day in the city. When I serve him a meatless dinner, he looks … kind of disappointed. I wonder why? 😉

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    • Your Stefano and I have a lot in common. It’s not that I dislike vegetarian meals, far from it. Even so, I walk away from the table feeling like something’s missing. I never feel that way after a steak dinner. 🙂

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    • You’re very welcome, Pamela. Your husband’s not alone. Judging by the comments, there are quite a few husbands out there who’d like to have this for dinner.
      Thanks for the visit and for taking the time to comment.

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  50. Oh my. Now you know I probably wouldn’t eat the pork chop and as I child I hated gravy. However I now love gravy and would be very happy with the mashed potatoes and gravy as my entire meal! And I just ordered your cookbook and can’t wait to get it! Thanks John!

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    • I, too, have grown to appreciate more and more, or so it seems. Part of it, I’m sure,is the nostalgic aspect, reminding me of the family dinners of my youth. The fact that it’s delicious also plays a role. 🙂
      Thank you for ordering our cookbook, Abbe. I really do hope you’ll enjoy it.

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  51. I’m also a gravy-challenged person. Even if I don’t often make gravy, usually I only use white wine, I like the idea of the buttermilk. Anyway, despite all those saucy obstacles, the final result looks smotherful! 🙂

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  52. I haven’t eaten pork chops in ages, this is a recipe which has me thinking that perhaps I should put them on my next shopping list. I also want to tell you that Father Christmas did bring me your wonderful cookery book and I am thrilled with it.

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    • This would make a great way to re-introduce yourself to pork chops, Maria. Few things are as satisfying as a gravy smothered dish. 🙂
      I am so glad that Father Christmas was so thoughtful and hope that you’ll enjoy our book and prepare the recipes. Thank you.

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  53. I saw this pic on FB and my mouth watered. I have had a pork chop in such a long time. My MIL used to make a version in tomato sauce and it was always overcooked and dry! Yours looks so juicy and wonderful. The gravy on the mash must have been just what the doctor ordered too! Today is raining cats and dogs here, this would be a perfectly comforting dish.

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    • Thank you,Eva. This dish is all about comfort, as our most dishes covered in gravy. They’re so very reminiscent of dinners back when I was a boy, although back then it was brontosaurus chops instead of pork. 🙂

      It rained all day yesterday and it looks like it’s trying to clear today. WIth more storms predicted for tomorrow, looks like we’re going to be wet for a while. I’m not complaining. This time of year, all of this rain could easily be snow. Ugh!

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  54. Oh, this looks so delicious! And the last photo of this dish is one of your best ever — very striking and the light was just right (oh, how I struggle with lighting for my food photos!). Coincidentally, I made a dish very similar to this recently, although I haven’t blogged about it yet. You just can’t go wrong with tender pork chops and a delicious mushroom gravy!

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    • You are so right, Mar. Gravy makes any dish special, in my book and it is meant to be served with pork. I’m looking forward to seeing your recipe. Thank goodness warm weather is coming and with it some light. My home gets little enough light in summer but is dark for much of winter. Trying to get proper light is a never-ending quest here. Thank you for the words of encouragement.

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    • Hello, Merryn, and welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe. It’s one that harkens back to my youth. To this day, I have a hard time resisting a menu item that says “gravy” and not “sauce”. 🙂
      Thanks for the visit and for taking the time to leave a comment.

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  56. I am not a great fan of pork (unless it comes as mortadella or prosciutto/salame ecc 🙂 ), so I cannot comment on this pork chop idea, but I love the idea of homemade mascarpone, something I have been thinking about for months now (I even enrolled on a online Craftsy class about cheese making). I love these simple fresh cream cheeses. I started making them many years ago, after reading an essay by Elizabeth David about simple English home made cheeses made with rennet (and English junket remains a nice dessert in Summer, sprinkled with demerara sugar and served with extra cream and strawberry – check it out). Then I started making ricotta-style cheese, from the Mozza Cookbook and using Salvatore Brooklyn recipe (with lemon juice). I finally settled on the wonderful recipe from My Calabria by Rosetta Constatino: she uses rennets and the result is pretty close to real ricotta and the yielding is amazing – highly recommended. I make this sort of ricotta often now, especially for tarts and now it is almost pastiera times so I must get busy… 🙂

    Last year I made few batches of Ligurian prescinseua cheese for my torta pasqualina: easy and gorgeous (I will publish the recipe soon/at the moment I am re-writing my version of Easter torta pasqualina). I also experimented with Eastern, Russian-style fresh, mildly sour cheese because I made Russian paska last year.

    Mascarpone is the next on the list. Even in Italy is these days impossible to get really fresh, artisanal mascarpone – the supermarket stuff is now what most people buy, but I think the mascarpone of bygone days must have been different, creamier. Actually the UK is the right country to try these experiments since the dairy products here are amazing. When I had our restaurant we would serve ad dessert fresh uk rasnberries and raw jersey cow cream + some biscotti… a-ma-zing! english cream and milk is really phenomenal (of course I am talking about good organic, possibly untreated milk)
    it is almost spring now and one of the dishes I want to cook again after many years is tagliatelle con panna, prosciutto e piselli… and I will try it with mascarpone. I will let you know. thanks again. ciao, stefano

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    • Hello, Stefano. Welcome back!
      I envy your ability to get fresh, raw milk. It is against the law to sell it in many states including my own. You can purchase “shares” in a cow and then weekly get a few gallons of raw milk. I would have to go to a neighboring state that allows it and even then, I would receive far too much milk for me to use. The difference in taste, however, is substantial with raw milk being so much more flavorful.
      My family is from San Marino and Marche. Nonna served her daughters a crescia at Easter. That recipe is long lost but I did find a similar one here at a baker’s website. Zia had forgotten all about that bread until I presented her with a loaf of “my” crescia.
      I know that you’ll enjoy the mascarpone that you make at home. It is delightful and very creamy. Our farmers markets will not open until May and I always go and look for fresh peas – piselli. A favorite of my family is Paglia e Fieno. Oh, how we love it!
      Thanks, Stefano, for the visit and for leaving such a great comment. I look forward to seeing the recipe for your torta pasqualina and and learning about that delicious tagliatelle you described.

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      • John, I have never been to San Marino but we have been (me and my partner) many times to le Marche, especially in the south towards the Sibillini mountains, the mountains that Giacomo Leopardi, one of the major Italian Romantic poets, used to call “i monti azzurri”/the blue mountains… I love le Marche, amongst the best areas in Italy, I think, especially inland…I actually prefer le Marche to Umbria and Tuscany, in so far as the area has remained more genuine (much of Tuscany now, beautiful as it is, looks rather fake, a sort of overpriced Disneyland): le Marche countryside is more rugged, the hilltops villages are just beautiful and still manage to retain a feel of real villages, not just “archeological tourists traps”.
        …not to mention the amazing food.. actually it was in le marche that I finally really learn how to roll pasta by hand, watching a local farmer’s wife.. it sounds clichè but it is the truth.. and in le Marche we had among the best meals we ever had, anywhere: especially in this tiny tiny trattoria in Montefalcone Appennino – the trattoria was called Da Quintilia, now alas perhaps closed: few tables, no menu, just beautiful hand rolled pasta, amazingly thin tagliatelline dressed with ragù, sometimes vincisgrassi, local mountain ham and pecorino!, braised rabbit, salad…. that’s it. a dream. this is signora Quintilia:

        Paul, my partner, discovered what real, still warm ricotta is in le Marche… and it remains one of the pinnacles of our eating experiences.
        …ah happy memories.. ciao, stefano

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        • I do not believe in having regrets in my life. Stefano, but I do regret never having gone to Marche to visit Nono’s home and relatives. I cannot go this trip. My nephew has limited vacation time so we will visit San Marino and then go to Rome for a few days. I would like to return in 2 or 3 years and, if I do, I want to get to Marche. I have heard much the same as you have stated, that it is still not tainted by the hoards of tourists. This is the Italy I enjoy visiting. I will go back. 🙂

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        • I forgot to mention the video, This is the kind of place I look for. When I find it, I do not look at the menu but ask for the “specialità della casa.” I have never had a bad meal and, if it is very good, I come back for dinner tomorrow. 🙂

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    • Hello, Julie, and welcome! If you’ve been looking for comfort food there’s no need to look any further. Smothered pork chops is comfort on a plate, pure and simple. Thanks for stopping by and for taking the time to comment. 🙂

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  58. John – Like Judy, this takes me back to my Missouri roots. My mother used to make this all the time and she was an excellent gravy maker. I too am a little challenged. Mom used this little aluminum cup with a cover to shake the flour and water or milk together. I have it now, but never use it. I think the roux method is more foolproof.

    Beautiful dish – so satisfying!!

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    • Thank you, Mary. I’m happy that it stirred some warm memories for you. Isn’t it interesting the bits and pieces we’ve saved from our Moms’ kitchens? I have her old colander and coffee scoop, among other odds and ends. Together, I doubt if the entire batch is worth a dollar but the memories they bring to mind whenever I use them are, for me, priceless.
      I hope you had a wonderful Easter, Mary.

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  60. Pork plus a delicious sauce is a recipe that would be inhaled in my family. I must make this very soon and am so grateful for your sharing the recipe! You’re one of my favorite bloggers with such great posts!
    Ciao,
    Roz

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