Flattened Pork Chops with Greens and Mustard Pan Sauce

I can't wait to get this up on the blog! I had pork chops in the freezer and wanted to try a new way to prepare them and so I picked this recipe from epicurious.

The recipe's success may have been such a shock to me because the entire time I was cooking I was thinking about what a terrible recipe this was and how much I was screwing it up. I even apologized to Jim before I even served it. Woooah, apology redacted!

Even though I didn't have shallot and used onion, and even though I thought the pan sauce would taste burnt, and even though I thought the mustard/pickling flavor would be off-putting....it was AWESOME and I will definitely repeat this meal.

Ingredients:

1 medium shallot, thinly sliced into rings (I only had a yellow onion)
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more
4 bone-in pork rib chops (about 12 ounces each)
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 tablespoon whole grain Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons honey
1 bunch mustard greens, tough stems trimmed (I only had some kale that was on its last leg)

Place shallot and mustard seeds in a small bowl or heatproof jar. Bring sugar, 1/4 cup vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar and salt. Pour over shallot and mustard seeds; set aside.

Pound pork chops between 2 layers of plastic wrap to 1/4–1/2" thickness; season with salt and pepper. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high.

Working in batches if needed, cook pork chops until browned and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a large plate and cover with foil.

Reduce heat to medium-low and add mustard, honey, remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar, and a splash of water to skillet. Bring to a simmer and cook, scraping up browned bits from bottom of skillet, until liquid is slightly reduced, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove pan sauce from heat and throw in the greens and toss around to coat with the sauce. Drain the vinegar from shallot and mustard seeds.

Serve pork chops with greens topped with pickled shallot and mustard seeds and drizzled with more oil.

I had some Yukon gold potatoes in the pantry so I diced them into half inch pieces and tossed them with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Put them in a single layer on a baking sheet and roasted in the oven at 400 for 10 minutes (tossing them around) and then 425 for 10 minutes longer.