We're going to be making a pork chop supper,
and it features figs.
Sage with lamb and pork this time of year
is just magic together.
We've got some shallots, some garlic.
It's easy clean-up.
And the dish could be made in just one pan.
But I'm gonna serve it up with some garlic mashed potatoes
because I want to. (clapping)
For garlicky mashed potatoes,
one large starchy russet potato per person.
Peel that up, cut the potatoes in equal shapes and sizes,
cover the potatoes with cold water.
Bring the water up to a full boil before you salt,
otherwise, the salt will sink to the bottom
and scar your pots.
When you're cooking with potatoes,
they're full of starch, of course.
So I've put the lid on just to bring them up to a boil,
because we start with cold water, of course.
And then you gotta be mindful
and take the lid off immediately,
or that starch will cause this to overflow.
In with the potatoes, I have lots
of cloves of crushed garlic.
We're gonna warm some milk to put into our mashed potatoes.
And, of course, we're gonna use a little butter,
salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
I like white pepper in my garlic mash.
So our potatoes are coming up to a boil.
Our cast iron skillet is getting nice and hot.
For the chops, though,
I drizzle them with a little olive oil,
season them on both sides with salt and pepper.
Before I put them in the pan,
I put a couple leaves of sage right onto the chops.
And I'll meet you right back here
and I'll show you how to make the sauce.
(clapping)
So once you make your chops with the sage leaves,
pop them out of the pan and in the exact same skillet,
extra little drizzle of olive oil
and a little pad or two of butter.
To that, we're gonna add some shallots.
And we're gonna add some garlic.
(sizzling)
Now, the fresh figs are so delicate.
I just throw them in and turn them around in the sauce.
If you wanna use apples, you can do skin on
or skin off, doesn't really matter.
And you want them tender crisp.
Gonna add our balsamic vinegar first.
(sizzling)
Then our fresh-pressed cider.
Then our grainy, big fat spoonfuls of grainy Dijon.
Get the mustard distributed.
And then we're gonna sweeten and thicken the sauce
with some fig preserves.
(clapping) Oh my God, it's so good!
And now we're gonna let that just bubble up
and let the chops finish cooking back through,
and we'll tuck those little fresh figs in alongside.
Now, for the mashed potatoes, I put them through the ricer
or the food mill, and we processed them.
You can just mash them with a hand masher, too.
That's fine.
Tuck those around.
We're gonna add in our hot milk now.
I'm gonna season with a little white pepper,
salt, and nutmeg.
And for these potatoes, I used Taleggio,
which is an Italian soft cheese.
It's my husband's favorite.
You can also use Brie, ripe Brie, or Camembert.
So good!
And with soft cheeses, you just cube them up--
chill them down, cube them up.
You can also use a soft young Fontina, that'd be delicious.
And stir it in slowly slowly until all the cheese melts.
When we come back, we'll plate it up.
(clapping)
All right!
This is one of my husband's favorites,
garlic Taleggio mashed potato.
You can also make it with Brie or Camembert.
I've been making these for years.
They are delicious.
So, this is such a classic.
Saltimbocca is made this way.
And you take very thin pieces of veal or chicken
and you literally press them with sage.
And we're going to take our sauce,
which is balsamic vinegar, aged balsamic,
with tons of grainy mustard
and lots of sweet fresh-pressed cider.
And then we make it sweet by adding some figgy preserves.
And you can serve this with apples
or you can do figs, when you can find them in the stores
and they're looking delicious.
And this is equally delicious with chicken.
How good does that look?
(clapping)