Project 365: Day 127 and 101 items in 1001 days update

Another day, another recipe.  I've now tried seven new recipes since the beginning of the year.  Not too shabby and I'm making good progress on my 101 items in 1001 days challenge.

Tonight I made "Pork chips with Prunes and Cream" from Mark Bittman's The Best Recipes in the World cookbook.  I was going to make it last night, but didn't...uh...feel up to it.

Here's the recipe:

2 T butter (preferred) or extra virgin olive oil
4 thick pork chops
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 fresh thyme sprigs (I used "regular" thyme)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly mashed (I used minced garlic from a jar)
1 cut not-too-dry white wine or cider (I used apple cider vinegar)
1 cup pitted prunes
0.5 to 1 C heavy cream
Chopped fresh chervil leaves for garnish, optional (I don't know what the heck "chervil" is so I left it out)

1. Put the butter in a large skillet with a lid over medium-high heat.  When the butter melts, add the pork chops and brown them well on both sides, rotating them in the pan so they brown evenly, turning as needed and sprinkling with salt and pepper.  When they are just about browned, after about 10 minutes, add the thyme and garlic.  [Note: it'll start to smell really damn good at this point.]
2. Pour in the wine and scatter the prunes around the pork.  Cover and adjust the heat so the mixture simmers steadily, but not violently.  Cook just until the pork chops are tender, 20 minutes or so, or until their internal temperature reads 145 F.
3. Transfer the meat to a platter, reduce the remaining liquid slightly and stir in the heavy cream until the consistency is right.  If you know what the hell chervil is, go ahead and add it.

Here is what it looked like just before step 3:

I served it with mashed yams and the meal was goddamned awesome.  I plowed through it in about ten minutes while still savoring every bite.  I would definitely make this recipe again.