We had some leftover grilled boneless pork chops that needed to used up and because of the heat I wanted to keep it simple. So I thought a simple sauce served with rice pilaf and some grilled eggplant would work.

Since the meat was already cooked, all I had to do is reheat it. I had several choices but opted for the easiest by using my microwave. I can just hear the purists out there saying, “You used a microwave? What’s wrong with you? Don’t you know a good cook doesn’t use a microwave?”

Well my answer to those of you who think that way is NO. I have no problem using a microwave for reheating cooked food, defrosting stuff, making popcorn and a whole bunch of other helpful, timesaving chores.

I’m not one for cooking whole meals in a “nuker” and usually cook everything on the stove, in the oven or on a grill but if the microwave fits the use it was intended for, so be it. In fact, with two young kids, I don’t know how I would get by without one.

Alternatives

I suppose I could just as easily reheated the meat in the oven or sliced it and reheated the pork in the sauce. These are great alternatives but we were looking for speed and efficiency this night so we just popped the pork into the “radiation machine” and heated it up in less than 30 seconds.

By the way, I would be happy to hear you arguments for and against the use of microwaves in the reply section below. Please just keep it civil.

The Sauce – A Tarragon Red Current Jelly Sauce

Sauce is my thing. I love to make sauces for all my meals. No matter how great you cook something, everyone always comments on the sauce. And if you overcook something or cook it badly, it is easy to hide your mistakes with a good sauce.

The trick is to have the right ingredients. Typically, this calls for a good stock reduction or demi-glace. I have been using a brand of stock reductions from More Than Gourmet that has elevated my cooking ten-fold. I can now make an incredible sauce in less than 20 minutes. In fact, GatewayGourmet has an eCookbook filled with classic sauces you can make at home using these stock reductions called How to Make Restaurant Quality Sauces at Home…in 20 minutes or less.

Here’s the sauce I whipped up before sending the pork to the “tanning salon”.

Ingredients

1-tablespoon butter
1 shallot, chopped fine
1/4 cup red wine
5 ounces demi-glace (I used 1 oz. Demi-Glace Gold reconstituted in 5 ounces hot water that I nuked by the way)
2 tablespoons red current jelly
½ tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped fine
Pepper, to taste

How to Make a Quick Tarragon & Red Current Sauce

Heat a medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the butter and then the chopped shallot. Let this cook until the shallot is translucent, about 2 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and deglaze with the red wine. Be careful not to burn yourself.  Bring the pan back to the heat, lower it to medium and reduce the wine to an essence.

Just before all the wine has cooked off, add the reconstituted demi-glace and again lower the heat and simmer the sauce for about 5 minutes.

Add the red current jelly, fresh tarragon, pepper and keep reducing until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon.

If you cook it down too much (something I do a lot if I’m not paying attention) you can add a little extra wine or beef stock.

In restaurants, the chef will often add a pat or two of butter to give the sauce a little more flavor and some extra sheen. It also adds a bunch more calories so I try not to indulge in this practice unless I’m having guests over.

When the sauce is at your desired thickness, taste and adjust seasonings then serve over the slices of pork and rice pilaf.