It’s been a while since I cooked something fancy. I miss working in the restaurant industry. The things I miss the most are cooking nice cuts of meat and making an interesting sauce with wine. I also miss hosting nice sit-down dinners for special occasions, which hasn’t been possible because of the pandemic.

Today I am making pork chops with creamy mustard in white wine sauce. I like the combination of pork and a little bit of mustard in wine sauce. This sauce is creamy and bursting with flavor. I am serving the pork chops with sautéed rice that has broccoli and cauliflower.

I have read that the wine you use for cooking should be wine that you like to drink. That is certainly the case today. I am using Chardonnay from a local winery called Willamette Valley Vineyards. In my experience it is rare to find a winery for which you like all of their wines. Willamette Valley Vineyards is just such a winery; I can’t recall anything we’ve had from there that we didn’t like.

This dish was so delicious that we were all asking for seconds. An important trick is to cook the pork such that it is not dry. In my case I cooked the pork on medium to about 145 degrees and then let it have a rest.

This dish may look complicated to make but it is really not. Once you have rice (in my case rice cooked the day before) and vegetables (such as broccoli and cauliflower already prepped in a bag from the store), the whole dish takes about 45 minutes.

Ingredients

• 4 oz. or 1/2 cup bacon, cut into small pieces
• 4 pork chops, about 1-inch thick and 6-7 ounces each
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/3 tsp. black ground pepper
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
• 1/4 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup white wine (I used WVV chardonnay)
• 1 tbsp. chicken base
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 1 1/2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh chives

Mixed vegetable rice

• 3 tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
• 2 cups broccoli and cauliflower, cut floret into small pieces
• 1/2 cup yellow onion, small diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 3 cups day old cooked basmati rice

Instructions

Take the pork chops out of the refrigerator and set them aside to rest for 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bacon

In a large skillet, fry the bacon over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally for 5-7 minutes, or until bacon is golden and crisp. Use a slotted spoon to remove bacon and transfer to a paper towel lined bowl to drain, reserving the rendered fat in the pan. Set bacon aside.

Pork Chops

Pat dry pork chops with a paper towel. Season the pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper. Next, place flour in a large shallow bowl and coat the pork chop with flour, then shake off the excess.

In the same skillet you used to fry our bacon, add 1 tbsp. of butter. When the butter is melted, cook pork chops over medium-high heat for 4-6 minutes on each side for medium (do not over cook the pork chop). The cook time will vary depending on the thickness of your pork chop.

If there is a fattier side of the pork, use kitchen tongs to hold the chops fat-side-down until it sizzles and browns slightly. Transfer the cooked chops to a large plate, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and keep warm in an oven.

Mustard-Wine Sauce

Let the skillet cool slightly, then reduce the heat to medium-low, add 1/4 cup yellow onion, and cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are soft. Add the wine and raise the heat to medium-high. Scrape the bottom of the skillet to loosen any brown bits. Simmer until reduced by one-third for around 2-3 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk in chicken base and 1/2 cup water very well. Add this mixture to the skillet. Simmer for a minute or two. Reduce the heat to very low and whisk in the mustard and sugar. Cook for a minute.

Next, whisk in 1/4 cup heavy cream and 2 tbsp. of butter. Bring out the pork chops from the oven and pour in any accumulated juiced from the pork to the mustard sauce. Stir well and taste for seasoning. Fold in 1 tbsp. of chives and leave rest for garnish.

To serve the dish, place generous amount of sauce in the middle of 4 serving plates, using a spoon move around the sauce to a nice 3-inch circle. Place rice and vegetable mixture in the middle of the circle. Top with one pork chop, then garnish with some chopped bacon and chives.

Mixed Vegetable Rice

To make the mixed vegetable rice, heat a large non-stick wok or skillet over medium high-heat. Add 1 tbsp. of butter to the wok. Once the butter is melted, add broccoli and cauliflower to the wok. Cook this for about 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally until vegetables are cooked and lightly charred around edges. Remove vegetable from the skillet and set aside.

Add 2 tbsp. of butter to the skillet, then add onions. Cook until onions are soft for about 2-3 minutes. Add bay leaf, thyme, salt, and pepper and stir. Cook for 30 seconds and then add the rice. Stir-fry this for 2-3 minutes while stirring few times. Add broccoli and cauliflower to the rice and stir well.

Cook for another minute or so and then taste for seasoning. Serve and enjoy!

Serves 4

Did you make this dish? I’d love to know how it turns out! Feel free to like this post and comment or use the hashtag #globaldinein on Instagram. If you would to be notified of upcoming posts, please consider subscribing to my blog!