About That Extra Bottle of Wine...

In my last post I told you how I ended up with two bottles of pinor noir at the Chocolate World Expo.  I didn't want two pinot noirs.  I wanted one pinot noir and one Riesling.  I bought the wine for Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving dinner will be small this year.  I doubt my family will go through two bottles of pinot noir in one meal.  Since my husband doesn't generally drink red wine, I wasn't about to drink the extra bottle all by myself.  What to do with it?

The answer is, "Cook with it!" of course.  Pinot noir is fruity and light-bodied, but also can pack quite a flavor punch.  I often drink it with duck.  I decided to try it with something else this time.  Since pork is sweet and rich, I thought pinot noir would go perfectly.

I made my sauce very simple with the wine as the main flavor.  Unlike many dishes I have been featuring here over the past few months, there was nothing sweet about it.  I wanted the sauce to be purely savory. 

I started with lots of minced sauteed shallots.  I added a cup of the wine and let the pork chops simmer in it.  I removed the chops, added some butter and then some thyme and parsley.  I thought the sauce could handle some strong herbs.

I served it along with spinach sauteed with mushrooms and garlic.  I didn't add any garlic to the pinot noir sauce because of the garlic I used in the spinach.

Flavors here were simple and tasty.  Just part of the lesson I've learned as a cook that you don't need an ingredient overload to make a delicious dish.  I might make it again before the pinot noir runs out.

Or I just might drink the rest.

Pinot Noir Pork Chops

Ingredients

• 2-3 pounds thick-cut pork chops
• Salt and pepper
• 5 shallots, minced
• 1 cup pinot noir
• 1 Tbl chopped fresh parsley
• 6 chopped fresh sage leaves
• 2 Tbl butter

Sprinkle chops on both sides with salt and pepper.  In a large pan over medium heat, brown chops well on both sides, about 5 minutes per side.  Remove from pan and keep warm.

Cook shallots in the pan until soft and fragrant.  Add wine to the pan and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Reduce to simmer and return chops to the pan.  Cook an additional 15-20 minutes (depending on thickness).  Remove from pan.  Add butter, sage, and thyme to the sauce.  Cook another minute and serve over chops.