This added a poultry background note, the taste of duck fat if you know it, that simply made this classic BETTER, and kept the pork chops exceptionally moist.
The carrots were braised in 3 cups of water with 1/2 a cup of brown sugar, 1/4 maple syrup, 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, a touch of kosher salt, and 1/3 cup of chopped fresh ginger at 425 for 45 minutes. For the dates, these were pitted and stuffed with pieces of cruchy pancetta that was separately roasted, then tossed in a little butter and deglazed with a splash of cassis that caramelized and coated the dates. For the salad, the vinaigrette was prepared with the juice of 1 tangelo, juice of 1/2 a lemon, and ~1/4 cup of Giachi Primolio olive oil (the best and fruitiest olive oil I've ever tasted). The arugula was tossed with the vinaigrette and fresh shavings of parmigiano reggiano.
The meal was built around a 2007 Don Miguel Gascon Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina. The dates and bucheron were uncanny when followed by a sip of the Gascon. Nothing more to say than, happily and somewhat accidentally, quite close to perfection.
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