I don’t know about all of you, but it’s hard to beat a good pork chop. Now in the U.S. our cooking style is to cook a chop within an inch of its life. In other words, cook that monster until you can make it into a nice pair of shoes. In France there are more delightful ways of cooking pork than to bring a dish to the dinner table looking as if it spent a week in Death Valley; it is a disservice to good cuisine. There are more mysterious combinations of sauces to go along with pork than mankind ever thought possible. This particular dish is evocative for me, it conjures up images of a rainy Fall evening “en ville” somewhere as I duck-in to the nearest little bistro for just a glass of wine but the hustle and bustle of la maison, the waiters working at warped speed, and the heavenly smells coming from the kitchen and chain me to my chair for dinner. I offer little resistance and go no further than my waiters suggestion. Oh yes, and a demi-pichet of your vin maison, likely to be a Chinon from the Loire or a Cotes-du-Rhone. A table tout le monde! Could things get any better?  I doubt it, I feel as if I’m home finally. 

Côtes de porc charcutière
Serves 6

Ingredients:
6 pork chops (6 oz +/-)
2 small onions
2 oz lard (use butter alternatively)
1 tablespoon of flour
2 tablespoons of sliced cornichon (those delicious baby pickles)
2 glass of dry white wine (and additional one for you)
Salt and  cracked pepper 
1 heaping teaspoon of Dijon mustard

Directions:
Salt and pepper your chops and set them aside and away from the dog.

Chop the onions and sweat them in the pan with a little butter.

Add the flour and cook until the flour begins to color a bit.

Add the first glass of white wine and bring to a boil then add some chicken stock and let simmer on very low and stirring every so often so the mixture does not stick to the pan.
The sauce should reduce down to a third in 20 minutes or so. Salt and pepper to taste.
Brown your chops in the reduced mixture and as soon as they are brown on either side, lower the heat and let cook for another 15 minutes.
Set the chops in a serving dish and the sauce in a separate pan.
Remove as much of the grease as you can from the pan then deglaze it with one or two teaspoon of stock and using a wooden spoon to work the bottom of the pan. Add the sauce back into the original pan along with the mustard and the cornichons. Heat up then serve in a sauce dish. 
**Alternatively add the chops back into the pan for a family reunion. And let everything simmer. It’s easier that way and the presentation is a little more “rustic” unless the Grandparents are coming over then get out those silly looking lace doilies. I fail to see their use. But that’s just moi.   

Now about those wines…

As you may remember, having pork on the menu is a signal that almost wine will pair well because pork is essentially two-face working just as well with the whites as it does the reds. Do not attempt to read any geopolitical prognostications into all of this, please. So here are a few good reds to help kick things off.

Domaine Annie Charmensat Cotes d’Auvergne Boudes Rouge, Auvergne
Costières de Nîmes, Domaine De Campagnol, “Avec Les Copains”, 2006
Chateau Greysac Medoc 2007 Bordeaux
Beaujolais or a Chinon (both traditional standbys and personal favorites.)
Minervois, Le Clos Du Marbrier, 2006 Languedoc
Macon (white), Burgundy
Aligoté (white), Burgundy 

This week’s sleeper: Chateau Coupe Rose, Minervois 2009 La Bastide
The vineyards are situated in the highest region of Minervois which guarantees cool nights and a long growing season. The Château Coupe Roses produce wines of excellent acidity and freshness. “La Bastide” is made from a red Rhone blend with a wonderful intensity of grenache and carignan with a touch of syrah. It is extremely pleasant to drink. Great taste, great price, great wine. What’s not to like?