Just back from a wedding in California, where I ate some delicious fish, I was craving meat last night. Still, I must have had fish on the brain because I found myself flipping through James Peterson’s Fish & Shellfish. A quick aside on Peterson: he’s an expert on classic French cooking — complex sauces, long-cooking stocks and other elaborate undertakings not conducive to a Monday night. But he’s also a master of technique in general, and reading and rereading his books always reminds me of simple ideas for making quick weeknight dinners.

On that note, I took a broiled fish recipe from Fish & Shellfish and applied it to pork loin chops. Like fish, pork dries out when it’s cooked too long. Broiling in a makeshift tray is a great way to keep the cooking juices close to the meat. It’s also really easy to clean up.

I preheated the broiler and put the rack about 8 inches below it. I made a small tray of aluminum foil just big enough to hold each chop and pinched the corners upright so the sides would keep in the cooking juices.

Next, I stirred together a T. of unsalted butter and a T. of chopped fresh rosemary, then added salt & pepper. I seasoned the chop itself with a sprinkle of salt & pepper on both sides, and set it in the tray. I rolled the butter into a dollop and put it on top of the pork. Put the pork under the broiler and cooked it for about 8 minutes per side (for 1-inch-thick chops).

I checked the temperature early and often, and pulled the pork out of the broiler at 140F. I let it rest 10 minutes. It was barely pink and very juicy inside, not dry at all. I had mine with an arugula & red pepper salad and lightly buttered noodles. I finished everything with a few shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano.

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