Cranberry Glazed Pork Chops

Tart cranberries incorporated into a Dijon cream sauce add a taste dimension to the mild pork.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons virgin olive oil

6 center-cut pork chops, 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup orange juice, plus 1 tablespoon, divided

1/2 cup heavy or light cream

1/2 cup fresh cranberries, chopped

1/4 cup cognac, brandy, or chicken stock

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon cornstarch

cranberries for garnish

1. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and brown chops on both sides. Season chops with salt and pepper. Add 1 tablespoon orange juice, cover pan, reduce heat, and cook for 20-25 minutes or until chops are done.

2. Transfer chops to a platter and keep warm in an oven heated to lowest temperature. Whisk together reserved 1/2 cup orange juice, cream, chopped cranberries, cognac or brandy, mustard, and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add to warm skillet and cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring frequently.

3. Remove chops from oven and pour sauce over garnishing with fresh cranberries.

Wine Pairing From Kestrel Vintners:

Third Edition – Lady In Red

The Release:Our third release of Lady In Red is a non-vintage wine as were our first two releases. It is a blend of wines crafted from three superb vintages – ten percent from 2000, four percent in 2001, and eighty-six percent from 2003.

The Grapes

The fruit used to produce the third edition of Lady In Red was grown at several outstanding locations in the Yakima Valley and Columbia Valley. Our own Kestrel View Vineyard estate grapes comprise 60% of the blend. Grapes from this site produce wines brimming with fully ripened black and red fruit flavors and aromas coupled with generous amounts of fine-grained tannins.

The Winemaking:

The fruit was carefully picked and sorted by hand, de-stemmed and crushed leaving 15% whole berries. It was fermented at 85˚F in small batches for 7 to 10 days, then gently pressed so as not to extract any harsh tannins. Sixty percent was then aged in small oak barrels until bottling.
The Wine:This wine possesses a sensual ruby-purple color. In the aroma you will find luscious ripe strawberry, cherry, currant and blueberry fruit flavors that expose themselves in one’s glass. The wine ripples with structure and finishes with a lingering cherry, cedar, and cigar notes.