Recipe: Pork Chops au Gratin (scalloped potatoes, baked, serves 3)

PORK CHOPS AU GRATIN

4 large russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 pork chops, 1 inch or more thick
Salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons butter or margarine, broken into pieces
Scant cup of milk

Heat oven to 500 degrees. Lightly butter a 9x13-inch baking dish.

Distribute half of the potato slices in an even layer in the prepared baking dish. Layer half of the onion slices on top of the potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste

Season chops liberally with salt and pepper on both sides, and place them into the baking dish, spaced evenly apart. Top with a layer of onion and a final layer of potato. Sprinkle it all with salt and pepper to taste. Dot the casserole with butter pieces and splash milk over the top. Cover with foil.

Bake 30 to 45 minutes, until potatoes are tender and pork chops are cooked through.

ABOUT THE RECIPE:
"While I was growing up, my mother was the queen of comfort foods. The recipe nearest and dearest to her heart was pork chops and scalloped potatoes, a dish she'd brought from her mother's kitchen right into ours. This dish goes in the oven every time I have a particularly long or hard day at work. Or when it's really cold outside. Or when I just want to feel good. Even though I'm eating by myself in front of the television set, it feels like I'm back at the dinner table with my parents, shoveling in comfort by the forkful." - Amanda Cuda, Bridgeport Connecticut

Makes 3 servings
Source: A Cup of Comfort Cookbook by Jay Weinstein and Colleen Sell