Why wait for the weekend to cook something special when you can have a restaurant-quality meal ready in about half an hour? Plus, if you cook the meal at home, your cost will be a fraction of what you would have to pay at a fancy restaurant. Thin pork cutlets--which I usually can find at Aldi and other area markets--are usually far less expensive than beef, and they cook in only a few minutes. You can also save money by slicing your own thin cutlets from a large pork loin. A Marsala wine sauce with lots of mushrooms takes only about 20 minutes to prepare. Want to leave out the Marsala? You can. Just substitute an equal amount of water or chicken broth. I like the pork cutlets with noodles, but rice and potatoes also go well with the sauce. A simple green salad and a vegetable steamed in the microwave take little time and would round out an elegant weeknight meal. Your family will wonder what's up as they savor the tender pork and sweet, creamy mushroom sauce. Enjoy!
Pork Cutlets Marsala -- Serves 4
2 tablespoons of canola oil, divided
3-4 tablespoons of flour
1 1/4 pounds of very thin cut pork cutlets (about 1/4-1/3-inch thick)
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of lemon pepper
16 ounces of button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
2 teaspoons of dried parsley flakes
1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
1/2 cup of Marsala wine
1/2 cup of light sour cream
Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat and add 1/2 tablespoon of oil, swirling the pan a little to distribute the oil. Flour the pork cutlets on both sides (save the remaining flour) and add three or four cutlets to the hot pan. You don't want to crowd the pan with the cutlets. Brown the cutlets for 2-3 minutes and flip them, cooking them for a couple of minutes more. Remove the first batch of cutlets to a plate and add another tablespoon of oil to the pan, swirling the pan to distribute the oil. Add another batch of cutlets to the pan and cook them, as before, removing them after browning both sides. Add a little more oil and cook the remainder of the cutlets (if there are any more) as before, again removing them after cooking to the plate with the other cutlets. To the now empty pan, add the remainder of the oil and the mushrooms and saute the mushrooms for 5-6 minutes or until they begin to brown. Add the remaining flour from dredging the pork cutlets, the garlic powder, and the dried parsley flakes and stir them into the mushrooms for a couple of minutes. Add the chicken broth and Marsala wine and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the mushroom mixture cook for about 10 minutes, stirring it frequently, until the sauce reduces by about half. Turn off the heat, stir in the sour cream, and add the cutlets back to the pan, spooning the sauce over the top of them. Let the cutlets sit in the pan a few minutes to warm them and let them drink in some sauce. Serve the cutlets and sauce with noodles, rice, or mashed potatoes.