Sweet n' Tangy Pork Chops

I got this recipe from a fellow blogger. All I know is that her name is Mary. She often posts food centered blogs and her recipes always have an interesting name. So, this one appealed to me because they're pork chops and I liked the word 'tangy'. I have an obsession with needing to learn how to cook pork chops properly. So I force pork on Steve. I've had good pork chops in the past. All made by others - chefs & home cooks. I've experienced tender delicious chops so I know it's possible to make a regular pork chop into something fantastic.

The 1" chops I purchased were on sale and that made me happy. They came two in a package. They were also beautiful. Perfect looking center cut chops with the bone in. Nice pink color. Mary's recipe wasn't difficult to follow at all. The only real preparation involved the sauce. The ingredients are as follows: Tomato sauce (the kind in a can - not a prepared sauce), packed brown sugar (ours was hard as a rock and I couldn't incorporate it into the sauce so I used sugar in the raw), cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, celery salt (I used celery seed and added salt because I didn't have any celery salt), ground nutmeg (mine was freshly ground) and I'm assuming she meant black pepper. So I browned the chops on both sides and added the sauce and let it simmer for a bit. And that's it!

The result. *deep breath*. Okay, I don't want to criticize this recipe because I didn't follow it correctly. As you know now, I switched around a lot of ingredients. I also played around with the amount of sugar. I didn't (and still don't) know whether brown sugar is sweeter (or less sweet) than the sugar in the raw. So I totally blew that measurement. I used less but it wasn't enough. The sauce was really sweet or maybe it was supposed to be that sweet. I'm uncertain. Another concern was the celery salt. I've never used it before and therefore I don't really know how it tastes. As for Steve. I should start by saying that he doesn't love pork chops. He says they're too tough and chewy. He did, however, admit that my chops were better than they have been in the past. I thought the texture was pretty good. It's not tender like if you were eating a steak and I understand Steve's commentary. But I don't mind. I kinda like the texture. So for me, I pat myself on the back for not overcooking them. The sauce. I didn't love it. There wasn't that much tang but alot of sweet. It was reminiscent of a sweet n' sour sauce but with less sour. And every now and again, I'd hit a celery seed and wondered if it belonged there. It wasn't an undesirable taste but unexpected. On the side, I served Spanish rice. Camilla brand, I think. I messed up the rice. Steve's been on a mixed vegetable kick. You know, the very common carrots, peas & corn combination. Anyway, when we go to our salvadorean restaurant El Dorado (Brewster, NY) - they sometimes serve their rice with those veggies in it. Well, not only did I overcook the rice, I added too much of the vegetables. Steve ate his with butter and didn't complain. He was kind to me last night even though I knew I'd messed up dinner. I didn't put up a pic because the meal was a little cheesy looking. I want to thank Mary for giving me the opportunity to try her recipe. In the future, I'll be sure to stick to the recipe and not attempt to substitute which I believe is the whole reason why my dinner failed. Oh well. So today, it'll be my mission to Eat Something Good!