A couple of weeks ago I found this recipe on the Food Network recipe, and while the baby and Todd were at the playground I bought all the ingredients and prepared it. (It was so nice to be alone in the kitchen, making dinner, then have them come home, pink-cheeked and hungry.) I've discovered that both of my boys will eat fennel, especially with tomatoes, and that you can do everything wrong and still have it turn out all right.

I bought two pork chops, probably about an inch thick, then salted and peppered them and browned them on both sides. Then I took them out of the pan and added one sliced fennel bulb and a diced shallot. Once they started to soften, I added a 1/4 cup chicken stock and a 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes. Nestled the pok chops back in the pan and simmered them for about 12 minutes to cook them through. Then I added chopped fresh parsley, lemon zest and capers to the sauce and served the pork with the tomatoes and fennel spooned over the top.

The funny thing is, a couple days later I caught the episode of Everyday Italian when she was cooking this, and she really emphasized how you had to use 2-inch pork chops or they'd dry out and how important white wine (not chicken stock) was to the final flavor of the dish. So I did a whole bunch of things wrong (didn't use fennel fronds, either), and still ended up with something that we all really liked. Most cooking really is so forgiving.