Pork Chops in Wine and Shallot Sauce

The guys in my office always get a scrunched up, incredulous look on their face when they ask me to go out for lunch and for the zillionth time I reply, "No thanks. I brought mine." I mean, really... sticky questionable meat from the dirty teriyaki place, or home-cooked pork chops drenched in a savory wine sauce with shallots? Yep. Me too.

This sauce is about as simple as it gets yet big on flavor. Cook the pork chops in some extra virgin olive oil, browning each side to get a nice golden brown crust. Once cooked through, remove the chops from the pan and add one chopped shallot, cooking for about one minute to let it soften before pouring in about a cup of white wine to deglaze the pan. Cook the wine down on medium heat until slightly thickened and darker in color, yielding about 1/3 of a cup. Remove the pan from heat and swirl in a generous pat of butter, about a tablespoon. Finish the sauce by adding salt and pepper to taste and a handful of fresh chopped parsley.

You'll never want to go out for lunch again, or at least not have a good excuse, because meals like this are just as easy and almost as fast as throwing together a PB&J. Another way to make brown bagging it less of a chore is to cook a couple servings at once to leave in the fridge at work. One less thing to remember in the morning, and more room in my purse for books to read on my commute. Now if only I could get the guys at work on board, or at least to stop giving me those weird faces!