(Does your inner gourmet want more? Check out K-Town Homestead.)

If living in a Puerto Rican neighborhood on the west side of Chicago has taught me anything, it is that grilled pork chops are a thing of beauty. Forget hamburgers or sausages — we’ll leave those to the twenty-somethings in Wrigleyville. Most of my neighbors start the coals early in the afternoon on the weekends, grilling their chuletas with a blend of garlic, adobo and citrus. Add a side of arroz con gandules, and there you go — Humboldt Park on a plate. While I never turn down such a meal, I don’t dare to compete — but the idea of grilled pork chops is too good to ignore. So I serve up sage-rubbed pork chops — simple and packed with flavor.

Sage is not the first herb that comes to mind in the summertime. I suspect that in most households it only makes appearances in Thanksgiving stuffing or in a winter pork roast. Or perhaps you are an Italophile and make a savory and sage-rich saltimbocca now and then. Good work. Admittedly, most summertime recipes that feature herbs involve generous handfuls of basil, parsley or cilantro — fresh, copious, and green, like summer itself. Sage is a funkier plant — gray, thick, and velvety. If you use too many fresh sage leaves in a dish, it will taste off — musky and medicinal. This is not an herb to measure by the handful, but it has a place on the summer table.

Sage and Garlic Rubbed Pork Chops

1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf, finely crumbled
1 tablespoon minced sage leaves
2 thick bone-in pork chops

1. Mix all ingredients but the pork in a small bowl.

2. Rub onto both sides of pork chops and wrap in plastic wrap. Leave in fridge for a day or two, until ready to grill.

3. Grill the pork chops. I am not a barbecue goddess, so I am not going to give step-by-step instructions on how to grill the perfect chop. If you really care, get a thermometer and any book by Steven Raichlen (I’m partial to How to Grill). Otherwise, do as my neighbors do and put them on, don’t cook them too long, and don’t be too upset if some parts are juicier than others. It will still taste good. If you have overcooked them, a drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon has rescued many a chop at this house, and to good effect. Enjoy.

Note: I forget how this recipe came into my possession. I think it was passed on from a relative. If they copied it from a cookbook, my apologies.