Unintentionally Blackened Pork.

Mistakes are just part of the game in cooking. Sometimes you want to slap yourself over the head with a large center-cut bone-in pork loin chop. Others are probably the fault of an over-zealous recipe. This little creation combined both. Sigh.

Things we learned:

1. Make sure your pan is centered on the burner.
2. When checking for doneness on the bottom of the meat, make sure you lift up more than just a corner.
3. When a recipe calls for 24 hours of brining, take it seriously when it says to RINSE the meat before cooking. Otherwise you'll exceed your sodium intake for the next 2 years and your once-lovely pork chop will end up tasting like very old bacon.
4. Marry a man who will eat ANYTHING. Wait - that wasn't a mistake.