Pork & Gewurz

I love to cook. Even when I am down and out and so sick that I can only stand for small periods of time, I want to cook. And so, yesterday, after sitting around all day long, I was ready to cook.

It was quite the coincidence that at almost the very same time I wanted to cook, the FedEx man arrived with a sample that I have been waiting for. . .

Yes, my friends, the cobalt blue Le Creuset French Oven. And I received it as a gift from the wonderful people who do Public Relations for Le Creuset. I am beyond lucky and excited about this sample, and I know that there will be many meals built around it. Merci beaucoup!

Since I was more in the mood for cooking than I was eating, I decided to make pork chops, something that I don’t eat and rarely make.

I started with some of the leftover Afton Mountains 2009 Gewürztraminer from the Virginia wines TasteLive event, then added two chopped apples and slowly cooked them together in the new Le Creuset.

Meanwhile, I gave the pork a generous rub of curry powder. The pork was very lean, and I wanted to make sure it had tons of flavor.

On the side, I was cooking orzo in a mix of water and Gewürztraminer. I absolutely love the texture of orzo, and I find it a nice, versatile side dish.

Once the orzo was mostly cooked, I added it to the pork and apples, then poured in a bit more Gewürztraminer. I let it all simmer for a few minutes, making sure the pork was cooked, then served it all in a big bowl. The smells coming from this pot were absolutely incredible. I didn’t taste it, as I am on a strict diet of throat-soothing soup, but my husband LOVED it. Lots of flavor, tender pork, and the wine was really an excellent pairing. Gewürztraminer has a nice spice to it, making it great for the curry. I was quite proud of this last-minute dish!

Do you have a favorite “thrown together turned gourmet” meal that you have discovered, or are you more “by the (cook)book”?