Cherry … Cherry but None for Dessert

We decided to try something different tonight.  Although, as I said in a previous blog, we really like the Sonoma Pork we were reluctant to enter into another debate about tradition versus rut.  So we decided to breakout and try something new.  We ran across a recipe by Ellie Krieger for Pork Medallions with Cherry Sauce.  I was really excited to try this mainly because it was new and different and I really do enjoy cooking new things.  However, just to make sure we didn’t get too far out of the box (I like to hedge my bets) I paired the pork with a standby of roasted brussel sprouts and roasted rosemary potatoes.

            The pork was not bad but did not compare to our usual Sonoma Pork … in fact it was somewhat disappointing.   The cherry sauce never thickened the way I had hoped and the flavor was somewhat bland.  In addition the pork was not as tender as I would usually like it. On a more positive note the brussel sprouts and potatoes were great.  In retrospect, I guess this proves it's not a rut if it can be justified by taste.

            While we were walking through Wegmans today we discovered they had a special sale on some of their premium wines.  Looking at the shelf we found what we were convinced would be the perfect wine to pair with this dinner.  Tenuta Greppone Mazzi is a 2003 Brunello Di Montalcino imported by Ruffino.  This wine (which Wegmans had on sale for $53) boasts an inviting bouquet of wild cherries and plums and is full bodied with an aftertaste of rosemary and cherry pie.  Needless to say the cherry notes were very complimentary to the pork (in fact at times I seemed to get more cherry from the wine than the "pork cherry sauce").

            Anyway, it was all-in-all a good dinner but not worth the sacrifice of our more traditional Sonoma Pork.  On the other hand the wine was very special with the chocolate!!