Pork Chops w/ Bleu Cheese Gravy

For our first night out, I decided to go full steam ahead (may as well while I'm still excited about this endeavor). The menu included a meat I didn't much care for growing up (in fact I may have hidden the raw version a few times if my mom left it out to thaw on the counter) and a vegetable, I must confess, I've pushed around many a plate, but doubt I've taken a bit of in 17+ years. On the menu...

Pork chops with bleu cheese gravy
Steamed broccoli
Orzo

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
2 tablespoons butter
4 thick cut pork chops
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste
1 cup whipping cream
2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

DIRECTIONS
Melt butter in a large skillet, over medium heat. Season pork chops with black pepper and garlic powder. Fry the chops in butter until no longer pink and the juices run clear, about 20 to 25 minutes. Turn occasionally to brown evenly.

Remove chops to a plate and keep warm. Stir the whipping cream into the skillet, loosening any bits of meat stuck to the bottom. Stir in blue cheese. Cook, stirring constantly until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Pour sauce over warm pork chops.

THE RESULTS
The gravy was the clear winner. Not too shocking since the primary ingredients were bleu cheese, butter and milk. I can imagine it on chicken with pasta. But then that would be right back in the comfort zone wouldn't it? A few areas where I strayed from the recipe (who do I think I am, Martha Stewart?)... I used whole milk instead of whipping cream and thickened the gravy with flour. This part of the meal was 100% splendid. I also pan-seared the pork on both sides and then put it in a covered dish in the over at 350 to finish it. In retrospect, I'm pretty sure that was a mistake. The flavor was good, but the texture was challenging to say the least. I always remember pork being tough though, so out of the gate, I'm not falling madly in love with the other white meat. Bygones. With 51 weeks to go, I'm probably going to have to make pork chops at least 11 different ways.

The broccoli, much to my surprise, was a success. Steamed it and added salt and butter. Todd declared that he loves broccoli and even ate Tyler's (who limited himself to a few bites of each item, but good enough for now. No need to go into how much Anna ate, little. The orzo I cooked in chicken broth instead of water and added sauteed onions and garlic for flavor.

What I learned...
Maybe don't mess around so much with the directions...