2 medium thick boneless pork chops
3 Tbls. of excellent Apricot jam, preferably Blenheim variety & organic
1 Tbl. ketchup
1 large onion, sliced thinly
1 lemon (I used Meyer lemon because it’s in my garden)
1 clove garlic mashed then minced
1 Tb. herbs de Provence or other herbs
1 bay leaf
2 Tbl. olive oil
½ cup water or wine
salt & pepper to taste

Place olive oil in a heat proof shallow fry pan on medium high heat.
Sprinkled chops with salt & pepper & herbs on one side.
Place the seasoned side in the hot pan, sprinkling more herbs & salt & pepper on the naked side.
When both sides are almost browned, scatter the onions & lemon slices and a bit more herbs around the chops, adding salt & pepper to taste.
Mix together the jam & ketchup, placing most of it on top of each chop.
Add the garlic, bay leaf, wine or water, & the rest of the jam mix to the pan.
Turn heat down to medium & cook just until you begin seeing steam.
At this point, turn the heat to low, cook an additional 10--15 minutes (depends on the thickness of the chops) or until cooked or put the oven proof pan in the oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until cooked.

The final look:
The pan will have jammy liquid, the jam on top of the chops should have a lovely golden look, and the onions will be almost caramelized.

Tonight I’m serving my Apricot Glazed Pork Chops with a mash of Butternut squash and steamed broccoli.
Enjoy!

Bee’s Apricot Jam Glazed Pork Chops

This jam story and recipe had it’s beginnings many years ago. I was just a young thing of 18, living with my favorite Aunt & Uncle for the summer, along with their teenage sons and occasionally assorted wives/girlfriends & their babies of the older brothers.

Aunt Dora, being of the school of proportioned 1960’s salt & pepper only meals, asked me one day to cook the family dinner. As I child of a New Orleans mother, and according to Aunt Dora, I was always clinging to Mom’s apron. It’s not much of a stretch to say that my love of food started way back then.

Auntie then informed me of the pork chops in the fridge and hurriedly ran off to her half-day job.

Peering into the Kelvinator avocado green refrigerator, the very one that I thought so cool and sophisticated, there I found a large family package of cellophane wrapped pink, slightly fatty, pork chops. Ummm.

So I, undaunted by my lack of experience, looked around her perennially organized and full cupboard finding a lovely jar of apricot jam, grabbed the ketchup bottle out of the fridge, and a couple of onions from the basket she kept for such things as her Irish stew. I figured I had about three hours before the hungry crowd came home. Most certainly I wanted to have a bit of command over the ingredients before then.

I proceeded by slicing the onions into thin rounds. Placing them along with the chops into a large rectangular Pyrex dish, then smothering the whole thing with apricot jam mixed with a little ketchup, and of course, salt and pepper. There! I thought to myself. All ready to cook up!
Little did I know then that by doing this early prep work, I had invented my own marinade!

As dinnertime approached the appointed hour, I found an accompaniment to the main dish, a package of Rice-A-Roni, the original flavored San Francisco treat, next to a box of Uncle Ben’s Converted Rice. Not understanding what “converted rice” meant, and being a San Francisco native, I grabbed the Rice-A-Roni, somehow knowing it would be completely agreeable with the chops and a large can of stringed beans, a family favorite but not mine. My aunt always served a balanced meal.

In Auntie’s Weberware stainless steel pan, putting some Wesson vegetable oil in the bottom, I carefully arranged each chop, not touching each other, sprinkling them with salt & pepper. After browning them for a bit, the onions went in to get a little golden color, followed by the twisted ingredients of apricot jam flavored with everybody’s favorite condiment, ketchup. (I’m sure it was Del Monte’s.) Instinct told me to add a little water so I did.

These apricot jam pork chops became a favorite of the family forever. Auntie & Uncle Jack often mentioned how I made the chops taste like nothing they had eaten before or since.

Thank you Auntie Dora for asking & thank you Mom for your apron’s hem.

You’ll see from the recipe that I’ve enhanced my original recipe adding herbs, lemon, garlic and a bit of whatever wine is around.