Pan-Fried Pork Chops with Herbed Pea Sauce

I can't believe it has been a week and a half since I last blogged, that is way too long!  Last week was a very busy and intense week to the point that I only cooked dinner once...and that recipe will be the next post.  Where to begin, I had a pretty wonderful Memorial day weekend filled with kayaking (pictured below), my dad's 60th birthday BBQ, and eating lots of amazing food.  We went kayaking at Smith and Bybee Lakes off of the Columbia river where we saw a bunch of swallows, cranes, and river monsters (which we now realize were big old sturgeon).  This park is the largest protected wetlands within an American city.  We also witnessed a snake eating a frog which was sad but we couldn't interfere with nature.  The lakes were pretty low but we still managed to have a full afternoon of kayaking fun and now I really want to purchase my own flat-water kayak.  My friend also just bought a new GoPro camera so we made a fun little video of our adventure...makes me want to buy one too!  I need more toys in my life, but not till after our Europe trip.  I adapted this amazing pea sauce recipe from Bon Appetit and served it over pork but I'm sure you could serve it over a countless number of dishes and it would be just as delicious.  Enjoy!

Serves 4

The Ingredients
4 thin pork chops
2 cups shelled fresh peas (from about 2 pounds pods), or frozen peas, thawed
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh chives
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
Olive Oil (for pork)


The Process
1.  Pan-fry pork chops in olive oil over medium heat until done, about 3 minutes each side. Set aside and keep warm).

2.  If using fresh peas, cook in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until tender, about 3 minutes; drain and set aside (do not cook frozen peas).

3.  Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add scallions and peas and cook, stirring constantly, until scallions are just beginning to soften and peas are heated through, about 1 minute.

4.  Remove pan from heat and stir in lemon juice. Stir in parsley and chives; season with salt and pepper.  Serve over pork chops.