Baked Pork Chops with Sweet Apple Pear Slaw

My mother was the perfect hostess.  She and my father loved to entertain and hosted so many dinner parties at our house for friends and family; our house was the gathering place, for sure.  My sister and I were often recruited to be the “servers” and were taught how to set tables, serve food properly, replenish water glasses, etc.  Looking back on it, it was a lot of fun really as the guests would tease us or offer compliments.

Mother didn’t serve fancy meals, but they were colorful, flavorful, fresh and fairly traditional.  When she wanted to prepare something suitable for a large group, one of her go-to-dinners was this baked pork chop served with baked potatoes, a large tossed green salad and horseradish carrots; I’ll post the latter recipe at a later date closer to the holidays.  These dishes were relatively easy to prepare en mass and were well received by her guests.

Pork chops can be a little tricky because they are easily overcooked.  The best way to evaluate doneness is to use a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the meat.   By USDA standards, pork must reach an internal temperature of at least 145 degrees.  The thickness of the chop, whether it has bone-in or is boneless, and even the color of the baking sheet all influence baking times.  So use your thermometer just to be safe!

I’ve added the Sweet Apple Pear Slaw for contrast and a unique touch.  We all love applesauce with pork chops, so why  not a lovely little slaw made by grating apples and pears in the food processor and simply tossing them with apricot preserves.  So yummy!

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