A halloween dinner... that wasn't spooky at all!

We broke the 2 year running streak of grilling steaks on Halloween night! We also only had 3 trick-or-treat-ers. Weird. Maybe the smell of steak was what lured them to our house in the first place...

This year I made Tyler Florence's Smothered Pork Chops. The recipe below has been halved, and I used a thick boneless chop instead of bone in, and the cooking times he lists are FLAWED. My suggestion so you don't end up with lumpy gravy.... let the pork chops cook completely before you take them out to make the gravy. It takes more than 3 minutes per side!

Smothered Pork Chops
recipe by Tyler Florence

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (i used ground red pepper)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 pork chops, 3/4-inch thick, bone-in (i used a thicker cut that was boneless)
1/4 cup olive oil (i just drizzled enough to coat my pan)
1/2 cup chicken broth (although I ended up using almost the whole can)
1/4 cup buttermilk

Put the flour in a shallow platter and add the onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly. Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels to remove any moisture and then dredge them in the seasoned flour; shaking off the excess.

Heat a large saute pan or cast iron skillet over medium heat and coat with the oil. When the oil is nice and hot, lay the pork chops in the pan in a single layer and fry for 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove the pork chops from the pan and add a little sprinkle of seasoned flour to the pan drippings. (I used about 3 big spoonfuls) Mix the flour into the fat to dissolve and then pour in the chicken broth in. Let the liquid cook down for 5 minutes to reduce and thicken slightly. Stir in the buttermilk to make a creamy gravy and return the pork chops to the pan, covering them with the sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes until the pork is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

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These were VERY good and VERY spicy! I should not of halved the gravy recipe, it was SO good! I think this would be a good meal to use any sort of meat with. I plan to try it out with cube steaks, soon.