bourbon and honey grilled pork skewers

jim, "pork".

me, "ok, you wore me down".

for decades i've been cooking up a big fret over jim's cholesterol, his ldl and hdl. his triglycerides, his weight, and his body fat percentage. and i've done a pretty good job at keeping him in the healthy range with what i serve and don't serve him to eat. so i now admit to allowing a little pork onto his plate where there once was none . . . or none that i knew of anyway.

          for his part, jim doesn't ask for meat and pork too often, the years of healthy-eating "suggestions" having left their impression. over the weekend when he did make a request for pork chops, i wanted his dinner to be memorable since swine rarely makes to our table. i chose to marinate and then pair skewered chops with some of jim's favorite aromas and flavors: the husky-whisper of evaporated alcohol from bourbon with a creamy-sweet blend of olive oil and honey / the soft smoke of roasted garlic, and a hint of thyme . . . he's still smiling, and i'm not all that worried about this one, uncommon indulgence.

ingredients (serves 6)

• 2/3 cup of olive oil
• 1/3 cup of bourbon
• 3-4 tbl. honey
• 14 to 16 garlic cloves, peeled with the little stems cut off

• 2 tsp. or so of ground thyme, plus fresh thyme sprigs

• 1 doz. bay leaves

• 18 oz. of pork chops, cut into 2" triangles

• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

directions

1. in a med. mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil bourbon and honey until the honey is disolved.
2. add the garlic cloves, ground thyme, and bay leaves. mix well.
3. add the pork and sprinkle with salt and pepper. toss to coat well with the marinade.
4. cover and refrigerate for 8-10 hours.
5. light a fire in the grill.
6. skewer the pork with a garlic clove and bay leaf between each piece.
7. pour the left over marinade into a sauce pan with some of the garlic cloves, and a few fresh thyme sprigs.
8. while the pork is grilling, reduce the marinade on a simmer until it is thickened. strain the sauce through a sieve, and drizzle it over the skewers to serve.
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suggestions

eliminate the pork and make just the reduction to serve as a dipping sauce or drizzle for
• rustic bread smeared with the cooked garlic cloves and goat cheese
• grilled vegetables
• jumbo shrimp