Italian Pork Sandwiches

So life continues to get in the way of my blogging, but I promise, this recipe is worth the wait!  It's easy, it's different from my normal fare, and my family LOVED it!  Winner winner, pork chops for dinner!  (I couldn't resist :)

I got this recipe from my trusty edition of Everyday Food magazine.  This was the first recipe I've tried from the magazine and it was SO yummy!  In fact, the next few recipes will be from Everyday Food, and they're ALL yummy!!  Let the feasting begin!

For these yummy sandwiches, you'll need:  

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs (I used Panko, the japanese breadcrumbs, bc that's what I had, but you could use any kind.  I really liked how the panko turned out, though)
• coarse salt and ground pepper (used regular salt bc I'm out of my grinder at present)
• 4 pork cutlets (Original recipe called for the 4 cutlets, I ended up using about 6 thin sliced pork cutlets, this made it super easy to fry up)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 4 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced (I used provolone bc that's what I had)
• 4 ciabatta rolls (I couldn't find ciabatta, so I used some fresh rolls from the bakery - they were perfect!)
• 1 cup marinara, warmed
• 2 cups arugula (I didn't use arugula bc I thought my people wouldn't eat arugula.  Of course, that led to my husband saying he would eat arugula when it came to dinnertime - so now I know ha)

Place flour, egg, and breadcrumbs in three separate dishes.  Season flour and breadcrumbs with salt & pepper (and garlic powder if you're me).  Coat pork in flour, shaking off excess, dip in egg, then coat with breadcrumbs, pressing into meat.  Place pork on wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet (more on that later).  Your fingers will get good & coated with flour, egg, and breadcrumbs, as well - that just means you're doing it right!

Turn on your oven broiler.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high.  Cook pork until a deep golden brown, about 3 minutes, flipping halfway through.  It took me about 3 batches to cook all the pork, and since I was using 6 pieces of pork, I had to add a little more oil at the end.  

Doesn't that look yummy??  Can you smell it through the computer??  Because it's that good!!

I lined a plate with paper towels and put the cooked pork on it to drain for about a minute.  Top pork with a slice of cheese & broil cheese until melted (about a minute, or if you're like me - about 3 minutes, forget about it, almost burn it, then pull it out of the oven just in time.  I digress...)

Place pork chop on roll and top with marinara.  This picture doesn't do it justice - this sandwich is delicious!  More on those sweet potato fries to come...

Apple Pork Chops with Cream Gravy

I'm so excited to share this recipe!!  I'd been thinking about putting this together for awhile, then a couple days ago Pioneer Woman made something similar so it was great to have something to start from!  I have to say, this is the first time I've ever just made up something and I was super excited that all family members ate it!  And liked it!  Bonus!!

You'll need:

• boneless pork chops
• 2 tbs salted butter
• 2-3 tbs olive oil
• 2 apples
• 1/2 sweet onion
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• 1 can chicken broth
• sea salt
• pepper
• **the picture shows salt, which you can season to your taste, I just didn't end up using it bc the salted butter flavored it just fine

For cream gravy, you'll need:

• 2 tbs flour
• 1/4 c. half and half (or milk)

Peel and dice apples, dice onion

Melt butter and add olive oil in pan over medium heat

Season pork chops with sea salt and pepper and add to the pan

Brown pork chops on both sides and remove from pan

Add onions to pan and cook to soften - oh my, this smelled so good!!  I added a little more olive oil here

Add brown sugar and mix into onions - yes, the smell got even better here!!

Add apples and mix together with the onions heat to sweet and savory perfection

Then crack open this can of fabulous flavor

And add it to your pan - the whole can

Bring it to a boil

And return the pork chops to the pot.  Cover and simmer 10-15 minutes, until pork chops are no longer pink.  I checked mine at 10 minutes and they needed a few more minutes.  Once they were cooked through, I removed the pork chops, took out the apples and onions and set them aside (I did this with a slotted spatula, it was simple, and don't worry if you don't get everything)

I put the apples and onions aside - aren't they pretty?

Then I took my remaining juices and added 2 tbs flour,

And a 1/4 c. half and half.  I probably could've added more bc my gravy was pretty thick.  If you like it thinner, just add some more to your liking.  Also, it would probably have been a little easier to mix my half and half with the flour before putting it straight in the pan.  To eliminate the bothersome clumps of flour.  I got them out but they were slightly annoying and going through the mixing step would've helped here :)

Doesn't that gravy look yummy??

I prettied it up to serve it :)

And served the pork chops with the gravy and apple mixture (shall I call it compote or salsa?) - either way it was delicious!!  I do believe I am ready for fall with this recipe!!