Tasty Thursday

A few years ago I received a wonderful French cookbook,  My French Kitchen,  from a friend  who lives in Provence. Claire is a wonderful cook, and of course when I am visiting Provence, we always make time to cook together, and share recipes.

Recently when I had a dinner party I made these delicious recipes from this French cookbook.. Every guest at  my dinner party requested to be invited back to my next party, because they nevr had a meal like this one. Delicious food does not have to complicated, these are simple recipes. I bought my pork chops at Shiretown Meats in Edgartown. It's a little expensive, but worth every penny.

I don't know about you, but when the leaves start turning beautiful shades of red and orange, I want to cook, especially comfort food. These recipes are in this category.

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Cotelettes de Porc a la Moutarde - a quick and easy way to make simple pork chops special.

6 center-cut loin pork chops with bone

Sea salt, to taste

7 tablespoons (1/2 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter

3 onions, finely diced onions

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Sprinkle the chops with salt. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet, add the chops, and cook for 12 minutes on each side, or until golden brown all over. Remove the pork chops from the skillet and cover with aluminum foil to keep them warm.

Add the onions to the skillet and cook over gentle heat----- do not frizzle or brown them. Pour in the white wine, increase the heat, and reduce the wine by half.

Mix in the mustard, reduce the heat again, then whisk in the remaining 5 tablespoons of butter in small pieces to form a smooth glossy sauce. Serve the sauce over the pork chops.

Gratin Dauphinois - The ultimate potato dish.

2 1/4 pounds baking potatoes

1 garlic clove, crushed

5 tablespoons (1/2 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter plus softened butter for the dish

2 1/2 cups half and half

Sea salt, to taste

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1 cup(4 ounces) shredded Gruyere cheese

Heat the oven to 300 degrees

Peel the potatoes and slice them thin. Place the potato slices in a large bowl of cold water and move them around to get rid of excess starch. Drain well and dry thoroughly use a salad spinner or else put the slices in a kitchen towel, gather the corners together, go outside, and swing your arm as fast and vigorously as you can.

Rub a large shallow baking dish with the garlic clove and a little butter.

Put the butter with the cream in a large saucepan and bring just a boil. Finally dice what's left of the garlic and add it to the butter and cream, along with the sliced potatoes, salt, and pepper. Gently simmer for 8 minutes.

Transfer to the prepared dish, spread evenly, and top with the Gruyere and a little more salt and pepper. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Serve hot.

You could serve a simple salad and French bread to complete this meal.