Pork and Finocchio

Momma does not mind all the snow in the East as long as I have some comfort dinners to accompany a BIG glass of vino.

Momma Explains: If you know the snow is coming, do not worry about milk and bread. You just head out and buy some nice comfort foods, especially a nice piece of meat and a good bottle of wine. Let the snow fall, you are warm all over with this recipe. It is pork chops with finocchio, which is simply fennel or anise. If you go into the store and ask for finocchio they may call security and accuse you of profanity, so ask for fennel as it is safer. Now, momma loves fennel, cooked or raw. In this recipe it is cooked, which softens the slight licorice taste, but it is still there. When you make these pork chops, use a red wine that is described as fruity with a licorice spice. The wine that you use in the recipe should be the same wine that you serve to accompany the pork chops. In the wine stores you should have several wines that list their flavor description, and that makes combining recipes and wine easier.

Pork and Finnochio

4 pork loin chops, medium thickness

olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper( less if you do not like pepper)

1 cup red wine

2 whole cloves garlic, split

1 bunch fennel, cut into 1/2 inch slices

Flour for dredging

Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper and dredge in flour. Heat olive oil to fry pork, add pork and cook on medium heat, browning on both sides. It should take about 20 minutes per side depending on thickness. Pork needs to be cooked thoroughly, if it is getting too brown, lower your heat. When cooked, remove pork chops and place on a dish.

Add butter to pan with drippings and drop in garlic cloves, after about one minute of cooking, add chopped fennel. After fennel softens, add red wine, let reduce and place pork chops in wine sauce to simmer for 5 minutes or until they have absorbed some of the sauce. Do not overcook or they toughen.

Pour your wine and let it snow!