We're actually gonna start with
the mashed potatoes and gravy,
but the centerpiece of the plate
is pork chops, bone-in pork chops.
You can make the same meal with chicken breasts,
if you prefer.
And we're going to do a really lovely fall dish
of fennel, apple, onion, and cabbage,
just a light saute.
And then, to go along with that,
a medium-brown gravy, and mashed potatoes with cheddar
and bacon, yes.
(audience applauds) Okay.
So, for any quick stove-top gravy,
you start with the roux, the thickening agent,
equal amounts of fat, in this case,
melted butter, and flour.
So, couple of tablespoons, two,
two and a half tablespoons of butter,
'cause we're just making a little bit of gravy,
to an equal amount of flour.
A fat splash of Worcestershire goes in.
I think that coarse black pepper is,
like, the magic ingredient in gravy.
Pepper has oils in it.
You want to develop that flavor,
so sprinkle in a good, fat,
oh, teaspoon or two of black pepper.
Whisk that together.
Half and half chicken stock and beef stock.
So, you end up with that pretty medium-brown color,
and a gravy that's not too heavy,
not too light.
So, our gravy, we're turning up a little.
Our potatoes, we're turning on to high,
and as soon as they come up,
we'll turn that back down.
Now, we're gonna talk about the,
oh, we gotta get the bacon in the oven.
We're gonna put bacon bits on top of our potatoes.
You can arrange bacon on a slotted broiler pan.
You always bake bacon, never put it in a frying pan.
It makes a mess and you get uneven cooking.
See you later, guys.
And we're bringing our chops to room temperature.
Thinly slice.
For the apples, to peel or not to peel
is really up to you.
I'm gonna get these guys sauteing,
I'm gonna get our chops in the pan,
and I'll meet you right back here.
(audience applauds)
Bone-in pork chops, I think, have more flavor.
These are pork loin chops.
And again, if pork isn't your thing,
I make this for my sister, when she comes over,
with chicken breasts.
Over here, we have our beautiful saute.
I added a little bit of fresh thyme.
You wanna keep this tender-crisp.
We're gonna finish this with just a little pop of acid.
You can use a splash of vinegar,
or I have lemon juice.
Douse it with a little lemon juice.
So, for the chops, we're gonna de-glaze
the pan at the end.
You can use a splash of chicken stock
'cause we used that already in our gravy.
You can also use what my family prefers,
a nice apple brandy.
(laughs)
Okay.
To our potatoes, I forgot to mention,
for these potatoes, I added a whole bunch
of crushed garlic to the pot with the potatoes.
Then, they're gonna have this lovely,
garlic-y flavor going all through them.
Then, I'm gonna put them into one
of these oldie-timey food mills.
This is how you get those nice,
fluffy potatoes when you make mashed potatoes,
as opposed to just smashed potatoes.
We're going to then add white pepper,
which has a totally different flavor than black pepper,
a little nutmeg,
salt because potatoes love salt,
a little butter,
a couple of pats of butter,
and some whole milk, half-and-half, or cream,
and
super sharp white cheddar.
We're going to de-glaze our pork chops
with our brandy.
We're going to add a little citrus pop
and a drizzle of honey to our veg,
and we're gonna plate everybody all together,
right after this. (audience applauds)
So, we are ready for the big finish.
We're going to take our beautiful bone-in pork chops,
or you could substitute chicken breasts.
We're gonna add a nice, fat splash of apple brandy
to the pan and add our little,
tiny drizzle of honey.
This is acacia honey.
When you cook with honey, the lighter the color,
the lighter the flavor.
And we're gonna add a little pop of citrus,
a little squish of lemon at the end.
Stir your bacon into your white cheddar mashed.
Make a well in your taters,
fill it with your gravy,
and then (audience applauding)
lots of beautiful fall veg,
our brandy-bathed pork chop. (audience cheering)