Pork Chops with Bourbon-Cherry Sauce and Sweet Potatoes

Ingredience

2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced ¼ inch thick

1 cup chicken broth, divided

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

2 teaspoons table salt, divided

1¾ teaspoons pepper, divided

4 (8- to 10-ounce) bone-in pork rib chops, ¾ to 1 inch thick, trimmed

¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon cornstarch

8 ounces frozen sweet cherries, quartered

¼ cup bourbon

1 tablespoon orange marmalade

Pokyny

1. Combine potatoes, ½ cup chicken broth, 4 tablespoons butter, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in large saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Process with immersion blender until smooth.

2. Meanwhile, pat pork dry with paper towels and sprinkle with pie spice, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and cook until well browned and registers 140 degrees, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer pork to platter and tent with foil.

3. Whisk cornstarch and remaining ½ cup chicken broth together in bowl. Combine cherries, bourbon, orange marmalade, chicken broth mixture, remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, and remaining ¼ teaspoon pepper in now-empty skillet. Bring to simmer over medium-high heat and cook, stirring, until mixture turns thick and translucent, about 3 minutes. Off heat, stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Serve pork chops and sweet potatoes with sauce.

Poznámky

You can substitute ground cinnamon for the pumpkin pie spice. Garnish this dish with chopped fresh chives.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS This whole meal came together in an hour; combined with its comforting flavors, that made it an ideal choice for dinner on a cold weeknight. We used pumpkin pie spice to add wintry warmth to bone-in pork chops, which we seared in a pan with butter to achieve great browning fast. Using an immersion blender to whip sweet potatoes made an ultracreamy mash. And a quick sweet and savory pan sauce inspired by the flavors of an old-fashioned (we used flavor-forward bourbon, sweet cherries, and orange marmalade) tied the dish together in an unexpected and elevated way.