Baked Pork Chops with Parmesan-Sage Crust

We love these pork chops. I used a fantastic Bon Appetit recipe from www.epicurious.com; the chops come out tender and moist.

If you have the patience to make smaller bread crumbs than I do, your chops will look a little smoother and less rustic. One review of this recipe on the Web site says halving the bread-crumb mixture makes enough for the crust, but I like to really pack on the crust mixture because it’s so tasty. I add more lemon zest and fresh sage, which I’ve incorporated into the ingredients.

I recommend starting with one egg. If it’s not enough, go with the second egg.

Baked Pork Chops with Parmesan-Sage Crust

1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs made from crustless French or other good white bread
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp. dried rubbed sage or 2 tbsp. fresh, minced sage
Zest from 1 lemon, with none of the white pith
1 to 2 large eggs
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Salt
Pepper
4 center-cut pork loin chops (each about 1-inch thick, boneless is fine)
2 tbsp. (1/4 stick) butter
2 tbsp. olive oil
Lemon wedges (optional)
Orange wedges (optional)

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Mix breadcrumbs, cheese, sage and lemon peel in pie dish. Whisk eggs in a bowl or a second pie plate to blend. Place flour on plate; season generously with salt and pepper.

Coat pork chops on both sides with flour; shake off excess. Dip chops into eggs, then coat on both sides with breadcrumb mixture. Let rest 5 minutes.

Melt butter with oil in heavy large, nonstick, ovenproof skillet* over medium-high heat. Add pork chops to skillet and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer skillet with pork to oven.

Bake until breading is crisp on the outside and meat thermometer inserted into pork registers 150°F, about 15 to 20 minutes (less if chops are thinner). The chops will continue to cook a little after removed from the heat.

Transfer pork chops to plates. Garnish with lemon and orange wedges, if desired, and serve.

*If you don’t have an ovenproof, nonstick skillet, use your favorite large skillet and transfer cooked chops to greased casserole dish to bake.