Curried Pork Chops and Asparagus with Parmesan

This is a new record, I had all the ingredients I needed!  I am so thankful that I had everything necessary because this was my first night working out after a shameful amount of not working out.  I was moving a little less jauntily around my kitchen tonight, that is for sure!  It is very lucky that curried pork chops is a simple recipe.  


All I needed to do was put a little butter and oil in a saute pan and cook the pork chops for a few minutes.  At the same time I put a large pan of salted water on to boil for the asparagus.  After I cooked the pork chops through it was time to deglaze the pan with a large amount of brandy.  This took a fair amount of time, I steeled myself to be patient and then added cream, vegetable stock and curry powder.  All that was left to do was simmer the pork chops for 15 more minutes.  


It was just about time for the asparagus to be overdone so I drained them and drizzled melted butter over all the slightly mushy veggies.  Again, if you like your vegetables on the crisp side reduce cooking times listed for them in The Silver Spoon. Because I am learning to be patient and trust in the experience in others, I will continue to overcook my vegetables as directed, but I will try not to complain about it as much.  The asparagus being well buttered and *tender* was then ready to have Parmesan cheese grated over the top.  I grated like a demon, this was just like one of the exercises in aerobics.  The pork chops had just about finished as well.  My fiance plated it for me as I was too sore to finish the job(I wish I was kidding) and included some Parisian Cucumbers from yesterday.  They were even better after marinating another day!  


I wish I could tell you that I had a pork chop revelation, that the meat was moist and flavorful.  The sauce was great, the dish looked great (very carmelized) but the meat was just plain dry.  This is the thing that keeps me from cooking pork chops.  No matter what I do, the meat isn't moist.  Who wants a hunk of dry meat?  I would not, unless it is beef jerky.  I can't think of what I could have done differently to moisturize the pork chops.  So, it is back to the drawing board for me as far as executing a juicy pork chop.  Don't worry, I'll have plenty more chances!  Tomorrow I move onto Pork Ribs, I hope they will be juicier than tonight.