Herbed Lemon Pork Chops -- Ma's Sunday Table After a Week of Costumes and Candy

Halloween week. The kids are vibrating. Liam's costume is a Sox jersey with eye black. Nora's costume is a white coat (Tom is not in the picture yet; the white coat came from Amazon and it almost fits) and a stethoscope from the dollar store and her hair in two French braids. She insisted on the braids. I am no good at French braids. Ma did them Thursday. They lasted into Friday morning before Nora pulled one out absentmindedly.

Trick or treat is Friday in our neighborhood. Saturday in Southie. We will do both. I have already accepted defeat about the candy. The kids will eat three pounds of sugar by Sunday morning and Monday will be biological warfare in my kitchen.

Group Tuesday. Bernadette did a check-in on autumn. Henry said October was hard last year and is hard this year and will be hard next year. He said it without self-pity. He said his wife loved fall. The room nodded. I said for me August is the hard month. They knew that. I said it anyway, because saying it is part of how it gets smaller.

Clinic Tuesday and Wednesday: flu shots, flu shots, flu shots. We are running a clinic-within-the-clinic. Mrs. Halloran's daughter scheduled hers and her mother's. Mrs. Halloran is doing well. I love saying that sentence about a patient with a long history.

Wednesday Kettle. Ten quarts. The first time in double digits. Father Murphy at St. Ambrose stopped me on the way out and said there is room in the parish kitchen on Wednesday nights if you need more space. I said I might. I am thinking about it. The kitchen at home is full when I am cooking ten quarts.

Saturday pancakes. Burned the first. Nora said the burned one is wearing eye black. Liam laughed. Sean's jersey straight in the hallway.

Friday night trick or treat. Liam ran ahead with a kid named Tucker from down the street. Nora held my hand for two blocks and then let go. They came home with bags so full they could not lift them. They sat on the kitchen floor and traded and negotiated. Liam will trade six Smarties for one Snickers. Nora knows this.

Sunday dinner at Ma's: leftover Halloween candy as appetizer; pork chops as the actual meal. The kids fell asleep in the car on the way home.

Food of the week: pork chops, Ma's, with apple sauce. The kids ate the apple sauce only. Tradition.

Ma’s pork chops are the punctuation at the end of a long week—Halloween candy as appetizer, the kids negotiating Smarties-for-Snickers on the kitchen floor, Nora’s braid half out by Friday morning, and somehow it all lands at her table on Sunday. The version I come back to on my own is this one: herbed, lemony, bright enough to cut through the sugar fog. The applesauce is still non-negotiable for the kids. Tradition.

Herbed Lemon Pork Chops

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 bone-in pork chops (about 3/4 inch thick)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• 1 teaspoon fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Lemon slices, for serving

Instructions

1. Make the herb rub. In a small bowl, combine the garlic, rosemary, thyme, parsley, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Stir to mix evenly.
2. Season the chops. Pat pork chops dry with paper towels. Rub both sides of each chop generously with the herb mixture. Let them sit at room temperature for 5 minutes.
3. Heat the pan. Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking.
4. Sear the chops. Add the pork chops to the skillet. Cook undisturbed for 5–6 minutes per side, until a golden crust forms and the internal temperature reaches 145°F on an instant-read thermometer.
5. Deglaze and finish. Reduce heat to medium-low. Pour the lemon juice into the pan and swirl to coat. Cook for 1 minute, spooning the pan juices over the chops.
6. Rest and serve. Transfer chops to a plate and let rest 3 minutes before serving. Serve with lemon slices and pan drippings spooned over the top. Applesauce on the side is, of course, non-negotiable.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 32g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 2g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 340mg