Great pork chops

Memphis-Style Pork Chops
Better Homes and Gardens New Dieter’s Cookbook Copyright 2003

½ cup bottled chili sauce
2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon chili powder
4 boneless pork loin chops, cut ¾ to 1 inch thick (1 ¼ pounds total)
1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Purchased coleslaw (optional)

1. In a small saucepan stir together chili sauce, molasses, vinegar, and chili powder. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Trim fat from chops. In a small bowl stir together basil, paprika, salt, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Sprinkle evenly over both sides of each chop; rub in with your fingers.
3. Place chops on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium coals. Grill for 12 to 15 minutes or until pork juices run clear (160 degrees F), turning once and brushing with chili sauce mixture during the last 5 minutes of grilling. (I broiled mine.) If desired, serve with coleslaw.

Makes 4 servings. Per serving: 260 cal, 7 g fat, 83 mg chol, 623 mg sodium, 16 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 31 g pro
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Sometimes pork chops turn out so good and other times they're just so-so. This was one of those times when they were really good. I didn't grill them since it was gloomy and damp outside. I considered the George Foreman grill but I decided to broil them and that was a smart decision. I cut these chops from the fattier end of the pork loin. They weren't all that fatty - pork is pretty lean these days - but that little bit of extra fat helps a lot. The were perfectly cooked and a bit crispy from being broiled (the contact grill tends to almost steam the chops making them rubbery instead of crispy). I hardly ever use the broiler but I think I'll be using it more often from now on.

The sauce was great. It had the perfect blend of tanginess, sweetness and smokiness. Even my son liked the sauce. I almost kept his plain but he ate an entire sauced chop and asked for more.

Hey, it's the last day to sign up for the November cookbook giveaway. Tomorrow is December! Guess I can start thinking about Christmas baking.

Speaking of cookbooks, here's a little advice. Do not order anything directly from Oxmoor House (Cooking Light Annuals, Southern Living books, etc) unless you want them to keep sending you more books and more bills. I ordered one CL annual from them, paid for it, and then a Southern Living cookbook came. I remember getting the solicitation for the Southern Living book but I didn't think I replied. When it arrived, I thought, well, maybe I had. Now that a third book has arrived that I'm sure I didn't order, I did a little research and found out that this is how they operate. Most people will just pay rather than return the book. Making a simple purchase can have so many strings attached anymore. Apparently they have been doing this for many years and have already been fined by the FTC so I'm sure the fine print was there, I just didn't read it. Live and learn.

Blast From the Past: Honeyed Pork Chops from October 2005. Why haven't I made them again. They were so good.

Question of the Day: How often do you broil food?