Pork Chops with Garlic and Wine

Wow, you guys really love oatmeal raisin cookies! The day I posted these I had over one hundred hits! I know that's not much, but I'm new to this, so it was very exciting. Thank you for taking the time to stop by! :) Now onto something a little more savory...

I just love cooking with wine. Not only does it impart a wonderfully rich flavor, but I look good cooking with it. Seriously, when you cook with wine, don't you feel like you're hot stuff? Hmm...maybe it's just me. 

These chops were easy to prepare, took very little time, and yielded great results. My sauce was a little on the thin side, because I was doing a million things at once, and added double the amount of broth...oops. I reduced it a little longer then the recipe suggested, but I was impatient and starving, so I decided it was just going to be a little thin. That was not at all a problem, as we slathered our broccoli in it...MMM. The addition of whole cooked garlic cloves was genius. I adore garlic in any form, so this was an added bonus on top of an already stellar sauce. This was my first pan sauce, so I'm super excited to try out more varieties!

Pork Chops with Garlic and Wine

Ingredients

6 whole pork chops (medium-to-thin)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

Salt and pepper 

1 1/2 cups dry red wine

1/2 cup beef broth (more if needed)

1 whole bay leaf

1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar

18 whole pealed garlic cloves

1 tablespoon additional butter

Directions

Heat oil and butter in a heavy skillet over high heat. Salt and pepper both sides of the pork chops and sear them on both sides until they're nice and golden, about 2 minutes per side. (No need to completely cook the chops at this point.) Remove the chops from the skillet and set aside.

Reduce the heat to medium-high, then throw in the whole garlic cloves. Stir them around and cook them for several minutes, or until they get nice and golden brown.

Pour in the red wine, then add the bay leaf. Stir around and let it reduce, raising the heat if necessary. Cook the sauce for several minutes, or until it's nice and reduced and thick.

Stir in the beef broth (you can add more if it needs the liquid) and add the chops back into the cooking liquid, arranging them so that they're swimming in the sauce. Allow the chops to cook in the liquid for a few minutes, then pour in the balsamic. Shake the pan to get it to distribute, then cook for a couple more minutes, or until the pork chops are done.

Remove the chops from the pan once more, then let the sauce reduce a little more if needed until it's very thick and rich and the garlic is soft. Swirl in 1 tablespoon of butter and sprinkle in a little salt and pepper.

Arrange pork chops on a platter, then pour the whole skillet of sauce (including garlic) over the top.

Serve with a green salad.

*You may substitute white wine for a slightly lighter sauce.

Recipe Source: adapted from The Pioneer Woman