Pork Chops with Horseradish Cream Sauce

Pan-roasted Pork Chops
2- 2" bone in pork chops
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1 Tbl. olive oil
2 carrots- chopped
1 celery stick- chopped
1 bay leaf
2 c. chopped brussel sprouts

1. Preheat oven to 425. Bring the chops to room temperature and rub with the salt, pepper, allspice and marjoram. Heat a saute pan to medium high, add in the oil and when the oil's hot but not yet smoking, add the chops. Let brown on all sides.

2. Add the carrots, celery and bay leaf around the chops in the pan, then over that add the brussel sprouts. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, then remove and cover the pork. Pour out and reserve 1/4-1/2 cup of the pan juices. Keep roasting the vegetables for another 15-20 minutes until tender.

Horseradish Cream Sauce
1 c. heavy cream
1/4- 1/2 c. of the reserved pan juice (depending on how much you have, add in 1/2-3/4 c. chicken or beef stock)
1/4 c. grated horseradish
1/4 c. diced apple
2 Tbl. finely chopped scallions (original recipe calls for chives)
1/2 tsp dry mustard
Salt to taste

1. Combine all the ingredients in a sauce pan and let simmer over a low heat for 30 minutes. Taste for and add salt. You can serve with the apples and scallions for a chunkier sauce or strain them out with a sieve.

Standing Still

The other night I had a party to go to. I knew it would be fun, I knew my friends would be there, I knew I would laugh and gossip and probably see a celebrity or 2. But I was feeling under the weather, I had been going out almost every day for the past week and my social calendar certainly wasn't lacking prior to that. And I knew I could rally. I'm a big believer in "go" and "do" and I've talked myself into things in the past with the best results. But that day I just couldn't.

So I went home instead. And didn't do anything- or at least none of the normal things that I do on the rare night at home. I didn't clean, I didn't (really) cook, I completely ignored the monstrous pile of laundry. I took out some crackers and then opened up a tin of smoked trout. I didn't pour a glass of wine, I didn't curl up on my couch. I just stood in my kitchen in my sweats, watching a Seinfeld episode followed by How I Met Your Mother and forked out the trout onto cracker after cracker and enjoyed every minute of it.