A couple weeks ago I made it to a local farmer's market, where I bought a
bottle of fig balsamic vinegar. Trader Joe's used to carry fig balsamic,
and it was passable, so I tasted a sample of this guy's wares. It was sweet
and very complex, much better than the stuff at Trader Joe's.

I tried cooking with it tonight: I had some thin pork chops, and I'd just
read a Cook's Illustrated article about how to cook them: You sear them on
one side and then cook the other side at a lower temperature, so that they
don't become dry and tough.

Accordingly, I put about a tablespoon of olive oil into a skillet over
medium-high heat and heated it up until it started showing tiny wisps of
smoke. I added the pork chops to the pan and left them alone for about four
minutes, so they'd get nicely brown on that side. Then I turned the pork
chops, lowered the heat to medium-low and poured in about a quarter-cup of
the fig balsamic vinegar. While it was bubbling away and reducing (and the
pork chops were cooking through) I added some sea salt and a generous
grinding of black pepper. They were done in about three-and-a-half minutes.

Wow. The chops were INCREDIBLE; the ingredients in the pan had produced a
syrupy sauce with a wonderful depth of flavor. Along with the chops I had a
salad (spinach, Asian pear slices, toasted almonds, and a honey-ginger
vinaigrette), buttered peas, and savory pumpkin cornbread.

I am very, very impressed with this vinegar. The label says "John Spenger's
of Napa Valley" across the top and "Bistro Blends" in the middle.
Googling... looks like there's a web site at www.spenger.com/.

DISCLAIMER: I am not affiliated with this product in any way, and I can't
state an opinion on any other products offered by this producer (other than
to say that I also sampled the white truffle oil and didn't like it enough
to buy). But I really like the fig balsamic vinegar.

Bob