Defrosting a Bargain

In our household, the freezer compartment of our refrigerator is the equivalent to the legendary hall closet of radio’s Fibber McGee: You open it and run fast before you’re bonked on the head by flying, foil-wrapped food.

The problem is that I can’t pass up a food bargain, especially two-for-one sales on meat. Like Noah, I start with two of everything: two chickens for the price of one; two pounds of ground beef; two club steaks, two pork chops--and hope the freezer will hold them all.

In theory this works well. I cook one-half of my bargain immediately and freeze the remainder for a second meal. The payoff would be to have an almost free dinner; the trick is to find the second half. All too often I add to, rather than eat, the inventory.

But in a recent effort to make more freezer space, I foraged through the foil packages and struck gold: two packages, each with two small pork chops (I must have gone back for seconds on that sale).

I prepared the pork with buttery yellow potatoes, garlic and meaty Portobello mushrooms, flavored it with rosemary and simmered it in red wine, beef broth and a little balsamic vinegar. It was one of my great freezer finds.

PORK CHOPS WITH POTATOES AND MUSHROOMS 4 slices bacon 2 tablespoons flour Salt, pepper 4 small (1-inch-thick) rib pork chops 1/2 pound thinly sliced yellow Finn or Yukon Gold potatoes 1 garlic clove, smashed 1/2 pound Portobello mushrooms, sliced 1/2-inch thick 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary 1/4 cup dry red wine 1 cup beef broth 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Fry bacon in large skillet until crisp and brown. Remove and set aside. Reserve fat.

Place flour in plastic food bag with salt and pepper to taste. Add pork chops and shake to coat with flour. Reserve any remaining flour.

If bacon fat has cooled, reheat in skillet. Add pork chops in single layer and brown on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove chops from pan. Add potatoes and garlic and saute potatoes 2 minutes per side. Add mushrooms and rosemary and saute 2 to 3 minutes longer. Add any reserved flour to skillet and stir well.

Add wine and scrape up browned bits in skillet. Add beef broth and bring to boil. Return chops to skillet. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes, turning pork chops over once. Stir in vinegar. Crumble bacon and sprinkle in. Simmer 1 minute. Serve immediately. Makes 2 servings.