Pork Chops with Wine & Garlic

On most week nights, I still come home wanting to eat home-cooked food-- as opposed to bringing  home take-out.  I'm pretty much the Chief Cook in the house, and I need meals that come together quickly.  I often resort to pan-searing meat and making a pan sauce.  I love pan sauces.  They transform boring old chicken, pork or beef into something that resembles restaurant quality food.  It couldn't be simpler. When the Pioneer Woman recently posted this recipe, I knew that this would be dinner. That very night!

I stopped by my meat market, and picked up two luscious pork loins.  I already had the rest of the ingredients on hand-- red wine, garlic cloves, beef broth and balsamic vinegar.  So, here we go-- the pork is seasoned with coarse salt & black pepper. Then it's seared in a screaming hot skillet with a little oil and unsalted butter.

I did something a little differently that "PW" does... I prefer to sear my meats on one side until golden brown, and then put them into a 425F oven to roast them.  (I already had baked potatoes going, so it was convenient  to do this.) This method pretty much assures me that the meat will be moist.  I roasted these for about 4 minutes, then removed them and lightly covered them in foil.   (Otherwise, just flip them more a few more minutes, because you'll finish cooking the pork in the sauce.) To the skillet, I added about 8 peeled cloves of garlic, and tossed the about on medium heat until golden brown. Look at all the brown deliciousness on the bottom of the pan...flavor, just waiting to happen!

So, now I add some red wine, a bay leaf and let that bubble and reduce for a few minutes. Last, I add some beef broth and the chops and let them simmer for a few minutes more.

I add a bit of balsamic vinegar, and swirl the pan a bit...

For a final ta-da, I turn off the heat and add some unsalted butter and whisk it in.

I served this with a baked potato, and a salad with a light white balsamic vinaigrette.

TASTING NOTES:  I do consider pork to be the "other white meat" and we love it.   I realize that this isn't exactly a child-friendly dish, but my baby is already a grown young man.  The garlic was sweet, and cooking it removed any kind of strong garlic "bite".  I wish I had added even more garlic cloves. The sauce was so flavorful, with that very subtle tang of balsamic.  Loved this dish. Love, love. This recipe is going into my regular rotation for those nights when I'm hungry, but tired.  Super easy to make, and good enough to serve company for dinner.  Thanks, Ree!

A printable recipe card is at the end of this post.