Pork chops with maple, mustard and sage sauce

At the end of a long day, sometimes a light, simple meal can taste as delicious as a sumptuous feast. This Bon Appétit Fast Easy Fresh cookbook has been true to its word about providing quick meals with relatively few ingredients and minimal prep time. I'd had this recipe ear-marked to try for some time, so we finally bought the maple syrup (a heinous crime I realize for a Canadian to not have maple syrup stocked in her pantry) and gave it a go.

Recipe

from Bon Appétit Fast Easy Fresh CookbookServes 22 boneless pork chops3 tsp minced fresh sage, divided1 tbsp butter1/2 cup chicken broth1 tbsp pure maple syrup1 tbsp coarse-grained mustardUsing meat mallet, pound pork to 1/3" thickness. Sprinkle with 1-1/2 tsp fresh sage, salt and generous amount of pepper. Melt butter in a heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and cook until brown on both sides and cooked through, about 1-1/2 minutes per side. Transfer pork to plate, leaving drippings in skillet. Add broth, maple syrup, mustard and remaining sage to skillet. Boil until syrupy, scraping up the browned bits, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Return pork and any juices to skillet and cook until just heated through, about 1 minute. Serve pork with sauce.

Musings

A few notes on preparation: David forgot to sprinkle the sage on the pork before pan-frying, so he included it in the sauce.The sauce was a big hit for both of us...not overly sweet but just sweet enough from the maple syrup. David loves pork and (a little bit) sweet, so this definitely satisfied that desire. David noted that he probably didn't need to pound the pork chops flatter, but the chops were still tasty. Simple, speedy and tasty--all good things!