Lyonnaise Pork Chops

... thick pork chops, mustard onion slather, crispy bread crumb topping, easy dinner ...

Seared pork chops get a bit of special treatment in this easy dish.  Bone-in, thick cut pork chops work best here. The key is trimming the fat from round the outside of the chops and being careful not to sear them for more than two minutes per side - yup two minutes.

Let the seared chops rest in an oven casserole that is just large enough to hold them. Meanwhile, toss a couple tablespoons of butter and a medium-sized diced onion into the super hot pan (the one in which you just seared those chops) and sweat the onions. Turn the heat off under the pan and spoon the onions out of the pan, reserving the pan juices. Place the onions in a small bowl and toss them with seeded Dijon mustard and a bit of super hot spicy mustard (about a tablespoon and a half in total), plenty of black pepper, and about a tablespoon and a half of fresh thyme leaves.

Spread the onion slather over top of the seared pork chops. Then whiz a four inch chunk of good baguette in a blender to create fresh bread crumbs. Toss the bread crumbs in the pan juices/butter. Mound the crumble atop the onion slather and bake the chops for about fifteen to twenty minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Let the chops rest for a couple minutes covered with foil and a dish cloth before serving surrounded by super crisped potato roasties that have had the casserole dish juices drizzled over top. I roast the potatoes in their own pan and toss them in the oven when I turn the oven on to preheat. That way, they get to roast the whole time that I'm beginning to sear the pork and prep the toppings. A side salad or vegetable is all that's needed to round out this meal ... well, a glass of wine always helps too ! Wink, wink!

... meat and potatoes, the staple of the working man ...