Proposal Pork Chops

Like many of us, I associate food with special times in my life. And there will never be a meal more memorable than the one I prepared sixteen years ago today on November 10,1993.

It was a beautiful fall day and Robert, the man I had been dating for almost a year, was coming over to have dinner with me. Usually my suppers were light fare. I wasn't much of a cook back then. But, the autumn chill in the air justified a hearty meal. A few days earlier, a friend sent me a recipe for walnut crusted pork chops.  She said they were inexpensive, easy to make, and her guests raved about them. Those would be perfect, I thought. Add a side dish of buttered steamed carrots, a bottle of wine, some crusty bread, and dinner could be served in no time.

After dinner that evening, Robert asked me to marry him. I was shocked. On more than one occasion, Robert had made it very clear to me that a second marriage was never going to be in his future.

The next day when I told my friends about my engagement, I could think of no reason for Robert’s change of heart. I just laughed and said the delicious pork chops must have sent the self-proclaimed confirmed bachelor over the commitment edge! Jokingly, one of my friends asked for the recipe to see if they could work a bit of marriage magic on her long time boyfriend. She made them for dinner the next week, and he proposed that evening!

A few years later, lightning struck a third time when another friend of mine served them to her boyfriend and the next day…you guessed it…he proposed. But in the interest of honesty and full disclosure, I have to confess that his proposal came on the second time she made them.

Three pork chop dinners, three marriage proposals, three engagements, three weddings, and, after all these years, three couples who are still happily married! Coincidence? Maybe…maybe not.

So, click here for the recipe for my very appropriately named “Proposal Pork Chops”. I think this is the point where my attorney would have me print a disclaimer along with the recipe declaring “outcomes described in this post are not typical--your individual results may vary”. That’s a little too formal for me, but given the past performance of this entree, I would certainly advise serving this meal with caution.