spring pork chops...anytime

Fresh peaches this spring have been delicious, so they haven't been lasting long enough around our house to make it into an actual dish before being picked up and just eaten as is. This is a great dish because it uses frozen peaches, which you can get any time of the year. The flavors in this dish come together beautifully, sweet and savory all at once. We served it with roasted asparagus and fried plantains.

3-4 (1-inch-thick) pork chops
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots
1-2 teaspoons finely chopped thyme
1/4 cup brandy
1 (10-ounce) bag frozen peaches, thawed
1/3 cup peach preserves

Sprinkle pork chops on both sides with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper (total) and coat lightly with olive oil.

Heat 12-inch cast iron skillet in oven for 10 minutes at 500 degrees, bring pan back to the stove top and cook pork chops over high heat, turning once, until browned, 3 minutes on each side. Return pan with pork chops to 350 degree oven for 6 minutes, until cooked through. Transfer to a platter and keep warm, loosely covered with foil.

Return skillet to stove top. Heat butter in skillet over medium heat until foam subsides, then cook shallots with thyme, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden-brown, about 5 minutes.

Add 1/4 cup brandy to skillet, then cook over medium heat, scraping bottom of skillet to loosen brown bits. Add peaches, preserves, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper and any meat juices from platter. Nestle pork chops in the sauce and cook, until peaches are tender and juicy, about 3 minutes. Plate pork chops and spoon sauce over chops.

Adapted from epicurious.com