Cold-Front Food

A decent cold front has moved through Florida this week....reinforcing that feeling of the Christmas season! Tonight it's supposed to be down in the 30s here. Trying to decide what to do for dinner (and wanting something different from turkey), I settled on a cold-weather type dish. I found a great recipe for Braised Pork with Mustard Spaetzle. Still working long hours, I needed to make it something quicker, though....something I could put together during a break and let cook away.

So I tossed two small, boneless pork chops into my small crock pot along with some cut up carrot, onion, celery and minced garlic. The pork should've been browned first, but they were frozen solid, so I just said, "skip it!" Along with some chicken stock, a splash of Gewurturztraminer and a splash of Pinot Noir (I always tweak recipes), I set the pot to going. It smelled so good, just like a Sunday dinner roast!

For the side I decided to make a small pot of risotto for the 2 of us, adding a bit of dijon mustard and whole whipping cream along with the stock. It turned out delicious and went perfectly with the pork. The recipe also called for poached apples, but I didn't have time and I happened to have some stewed apple compote left over from breakfast at Cracker Barrel the other day, so I just served those on the side. The last step was taking the cooking liquid (drippings and stock) from the crock pot and simmering them down in a small pot, mixed with some cornstarch for thickening, to make a delicious gravy. I served the crockpot vegetables on the side and poured the gravy over the pork chops. Scrumptious!

I must confess, I partially chose this meal because I wanted something that would go well with the leftover Gewurtztraminer from Thanksgiving. And it went perfectly! I have to say this wine is going to be a regular on my wine rack...I love the fruity aroma. This time when I swirled the glass, I immediately smelled pears. Yum! I was delighted that the wine complimented the food so well and this entire dinner, complete with wine, is definitely going to be repeated. It was perfect food for cold weather, comforting and warming, and the pork was so fork-tender! We cleaned our plates and agreed that this is one meal to put in our list of favorites.

I hope all of you are bundled up warm as the chilly weather spreads across the Country....and I hope you're enjoying the Christmas season! -Kathy