This is a great St. Patrick’s Day meal that doesn’t involve corned beef, delicious as that is. Needless to say, you do not spring this on unsuspecting guests, because so many eschew alcohol, pork, or both. For those who are keeping kosher this is about as treyf as it gets. But for those who believe everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day this is a good meal that doesn’t lapse into the twee and the stereotypical.

Before I begin: There is an even more delicious way to do this using fatty, thick-cut pork chops (1″ or more) but for that you need to put them in the oven to finish them off, and your oven will be occupied by Elliecoo’s Healthy Apple Crisp and/or her Sweet Irish Soda Bread, which you will serve as dessert.

This recipe serves two with a little for the Ravenous Hound, because even he is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, though he is not an Irish setter.

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1 onion the size of a fist (this is how I measure onions), diced

1/2 cup or a little more sliced mushrooms

A little olive oil for the pan

4 pork chops, not too thick. Supermarket pork chops are generally about what you want.

Flour, for two reasons.

Some salt and pepper

3/4 cups whiskey, with an “e”, because you will use Irish whiskey

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

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In a skillet big enough to hold the four pork chops, pour in a little olive oil and cook the diced onions and the mushrooms on medium-high heat for a few minutes, until the onions are browned but not burnt and the mushrooms turn a little translucent. While the onions and mushrooms are doing their thing, generously rub salt and pepper on the pork chops and coat with flour. Add the pork chops to the browned onions and mushrooms and brown the pork chops themselves for a few minutes, depending on thickness. Don’t cook them through entirely yet. Using tongs, remove the pork chops to a plate. [Honestly, all skillets should come with a pair of tongs.]

Reduce the heat to low or medium low. Carefully pour in the whiskey and deglaze the skillet (scrape the sides and bottom) and let this go for a little bit so the alcohol cooks off. You don’t want all the whiskey to evaporate, though. Now pour in the cream and start stirring. To make this less bland, sprinkle in some ground black pepper. You could also add garlic or onion powder but not too much. The sauce will thicken a little, but not enough, so add in 2 tbs. flour, stir, and see if that’s enough. Add more flour if you want thicker. Add the pork chops, cover, and let them simmer for a few minutes so the pork chops fully cook, 8 – 12 minutes.

For this St. Patrick’s Day recipe I intentionally make extra sauce. Plate the pork chops and spoon the sauce over them and the mashed potatoes you’ve made. Did I mention you’ll be mashing potatoes? If you think this is too much sauce-based, make less sauce (cut the whiskey and cream by 1/3) and top the potatoes with good Irish butter. Kerrygold is pretty common around here. I also make honey-glazed carrots, so as to ward off scurvy. You could also make a baggage slaw. You’ll probably still have some onion/mushroom mix left, which makes excellent kibble topping. Just ask my dog, Stephen Dedalus.

Erin go Bragh!