While visiting our daughter, who is a student, my husband and I often dine at the places she and her spouse are familiar with. They are tried-and-true cafes and restaurants that they both know we will love. Many times, they are inexpensive places which are frequented by students who have little disposable income. Often, the places we choose are not typically French, but instead are ethnic restaurants where the food is usually less expensive.
One evening, we decided to splurge on a French restaurant. It was not terribly pricey, but was definitely not "student" food. We had a wonderful time at that charming little restaurant, and were served a memorable meal of pork filet served in a delightful honey-cream sauce. It was so memorable, in fact, that I could not stop thinking about it. Months later, I attempted to duplicate the dish at home, and was successful enough that it is now definitely a keeper.
I started with tender cuts of pork. It's not necessary to use pork filet, but do choose a good quality boneless chop which is lightly marbled for tenderness. I didn't write anything down, so I'll simply walk you through it while trying to estimate the ingredient amounts. I seared the pork (which I had cut into small chunks) quickly over medium-high heat in a skillet to which I had added a a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. When the pork was nicely browned, I stirred in a mixture of about 3 Tablespoons of honey, 1/3 cup of heavy cream, a Tablespoon of butter, 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of chicken bouillon granules, a pinch of mustard, a quarter teaspoon of garlic powder, a few dashes of onion powder, salt, and pepper. Stir the mixture together , coating the pork with cream sauce. Simmer for a few minutes and then serve with roasted potatoes or pasta. I had roasted some new potatoes with parsley and butter - they went very well with the pork.
I normally would have used one or two fresh cloves of garlic, sauteed for a minute before adding the sauce ingredients, but I had run out of it and had to use the garlic powder. Feel free to tweak the recipe. It's a mildly-flavored dish, but is rich and delicious.
I didn't think to get a picture to share, so here is the one I snapped at the restaurant in France, which shows the pork served over a bed of fried potatoes:
