You can make surprisingly good, sexy weeknight meals in minutes if you learn how to make a simple pan sauce. This isn't a recipe per se; this is how to sear and sauce anything. But, if you want a specific recipe, here you go...
2 1-inch-thick pork chops
1 small shallot, chopped
1/4 cup white wine (or fruit juice)
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon mustard
1/2 oz butter
A few leaves of sage, thyme, etc
salt
pepper
olive oil
Coat the chops in olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook them in a pan on medium heat until brown on the outside, and the interior temperature reads 145 F. Take them out and put them on a plate to rest. Fry the shallots in the pan for 30 seconds, then put in the wine and water. Scrape the pan to dissolve all the brown stuff on the bottom, and simmer the sauce for a few minutes. Turn off the heat and mix in the mustard. When the sauce isn't bubbling anymore, put in the butter and mix it in as it gradually melts. Tear in the herbs, grind in some pepper, and add some more salt if it needs it. Slice the pork chops, and pour any of the juice that comes out into the sauce. Pour the sauce over the sliced pork.
MY COOKING PHILOSOPHY: I don't like weighing or measuring things if I don't have to, and I don't like to be constantly checking a recipe as I cook. I don't care that volume is a bad way of measuring things — it's usually easier. I like for a recipe to get me in the ballpark, and then I like to eyeball and improvise the rest. If you're like me, my goal with these videos is to give you a sense of how the food should look and feel as you're cooking it, rather than give you a refined formula to reproduce.
