First of all I wish you could smell this dish.  It made my house smell fantastic.  All we needed was some really good German beer, warm German potato salad and you would have thought you were in Germany.

On our recent trip to Walt Disney World we had an afternoon where we were “eating around the world” in Epcot.  We went to each country to sample a bite or two from some of the dishes.  Our favorites were Morocco’s Shwarma Platter and Germany’s Brats with potato salad.  How we wished for some of that potato salad tonight.

The children were each telling us their favorite parts of our vacation and repeatedly food was mentioned by both children.  When I finally probed a bit into why they kept mentioning the food they both said because we were sitting down, it was quiet and we could talk about what we had just done or were going to do.  I love being with my family around the table no matter where we are!

I found this recipe for Pork Chops with Cider Gravy, Sautéed Apples and Onions at Foodnetwork.com.  It is a Rachael Ray recipe and as I read through the recipe it sounded easy and more importantly I had all the ingredients in my kitchen.

Verdict:

The recipe was as easy as it sounded and it was delicious.  There was a bite from the  apple cider vinegar but we really liked the tartness.  Some may not enjoy that as much as we did.  The best way we found to enjoy this meal was to have a bite of the pork and gravy with the apple and onion.  You really needed all the flavors together to really appreciate the way the flavors balanced each other out.

You may wish to double the gravy ingredients if your family really likes gravy.  There was enough for everyone to have a couple tablespoons but my family really wanted more gravy.

I served this with the suggested corn muffin and a green salad but next time I think I would go for the German potato salad and maybe some braised red cabbage.

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper.
2. Heat 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the pork chop until golden, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove the cooked chop to a plate and cover to keep warm.
3. Add the remaining olive oil, onions and apple slices to the pan.  Season with salt, pepper, and the thyme and cook until just tender, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Stir the lemon juice into the onion and apple mixture.   Remove the apple and onion mixture to the plate with the pork chops.
5. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter to the skillet and when it melts, whisk in the flour. Cook for 1 minute, stirring, then whisk in the cider vinegar and stock. Season the gravy with salt and pepper. Cook over medium-low heat for 3 to 4 minutes to thicken.
6. Serve the chop covered with apples and onions, the gravy poured down over the top, and the muffin alongside.