Q. Dear Recipe Doctor, I love to order the cider-glazed pork chops at a local restaurant chain. It tastes very buttery to me, and I'm hoping you can create a light recipe for this.

A. I'm not a big pork chop eater but I really like these pork chops (and so did my kids). The husband likes pork chop anything, so he was a very happy camper this time.

I basically browned a very lean sirloin-cut pork chop in a minimum of olive oil then added the cider with some brown sugar to help finish cooking the pork chops. The rest of the glaze was made by boiling the cider mixture down a bit and adding in some cider vinegar and ground mustard. It's a simple glaze, but it works well with the pork and it's simple enough in flavors that the kids will likely love it, too.

This entree is often served with cornbread stuffing (that complements the cider glaze nicely), which you can also lighten up by using chicken broth for half of the amount of butter or fat called for.

If this pork chops recipe were made with 2 tablespoons butter instead of the olive oil and used center rib chops with some fat visible, each serving would contain 390 calories, 23 grams fat and 10 grams saturated fat.

CIDER-GLAZED PORK CHOPS

4 sirloin pork chops (about 1 1/2 pounds), trimmed of visible fat and the thickness can range from 1/2-inch thick to 3/4-inch.

Freshly ground pepper

Salt (optional)

2 teaspoons olive oil (canola oil can be used)

1 cup apple cider (sparkling cider can be used)

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon ground mustard (add a pinch or two more to taste if desired)

Pat pork chops dry with paper towels. Season each side with a sprinkling of pepper and salt if desired. Heat oil in a large nonstick frying pan or skillet over medium-high heat until just hot then add pork chops and brown both sides (around 5 minutes if your pork chops are around 1/2-inch thick).

Stir cider and brown sugar together in 2-cup measure and add to the frying pan. Reduce heat to low and simmer the pork chops, uncovered, turning the chops after a minute, until the meat is almost cooked through but not quite (about 2 minutes). Remove pork chops to a plate with a fork.

Add the vinegar and ground mustard to the frying pan juices and bring to a boil (over medium heat), scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan with a spatula. Continue to cook until the glaze mixture is reduced to about 1/3 cup (2 to 3 minutes).

Turn off heat. Place the pork chops back in the frying pan along with any juices that formed on the bottom of the plate. Flip chops over to coat both sides with the cider glaze, cover frying pan and let sit for a minute or two to blend flavors. Check thickest part of the pork chop for desired doneness and serve!

Makes 4 servings.