My husband and I went to the store to pick out something nice for our New Year's Eve meal, and thought we would get fish or lamb, etc. but, nothing looked great. We ended up getting bone-in pork chops (locally & organically raised). We brined the pork chops in orange juice, salt, sugar, and a spice blend for a couple of hours, then pan seared them (check out my grill marks)!! Topped with a mango clementine salsa, they were super delicious. For sides we had lovely rolls from Creme Patisserie on Merrimon and shaved brussel sprouts with bacon.

The brussel sprouts are a breeze. Render some bacon pieces in a large skillet, remove the bacon when crispy & reserve the bacon fat. In a tablespoon or two of the bacon fat, saute some thinly sliced onion or shallot then add the shredded brussel sprouts (using your food processors slicing attachment). Cook down the brussel sprouts until just tender adding salt and pepper to taste & some vinegar for acidity. In the past I've tried both balsamic and white wine vinegar and they were both nice. For this food pairing I actually added a splash of orange juice to tie it into the pork dish. The recipe is adapted from Jacques Pepin's food show on PBS.