Sage and Honey Pork Chops

Another easy Jamie Oliver dinner - and this one created a totally reasonable amount of dishes, unlike the last one I cooked!  Unfortunately, I didn't think the flavor of these pork chops was as good as it could have been.  The ingredients sound fantastic - fennel, honey, sage, and garlic - but the chops somehow weren't a knockout.  If I make these again, I think I'd probably use twice as much of all the seasonings so their flavor would come through better, because I do think this flavor combo has the potential to be amazing.  I'd also look for the recommended bone-in pork chops, which I have a feeling would be moister and more flavorful.  Still, you can't complain too much when you get dinner on the table in 20 minutes or so - this is definitely one of those recipes that needs some tweaking, but that has real potential.

Sage and Honey Pork Chops (adapted from Jamie Oliver)
Serves 4

Oil
8 cloves of garlic, peeled but not chopped
4 6-ounce pork chops
1 tsp fennel seeds
Small bunch of fresh sage, leaves picked off the stems
Honey, to drizzle

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Set a frying pan on the stove over medium high heat and add enough oil to just cover the bottom of the pan.  Lightly smash the garlic  and add to the pan.  Give it a minute or so, and then stand the pork up in the pan, fat side down (on their edges).
3. Transfer the garlic to a roasting pan, and scatter the fennel seeds over.  Place the roasting pan in the hot oven on the top shelf.
4. Once the fat on the pork chops is golden brown, use tongs to lay them flat in the pan.  Cook about 4 minutes total, flipping them halfway.  Remove the roasting pan from the oven and add the pork chops.  Top each chop with a few sage leaves.  Drizzle with honey, and then return the pan to the oven for about 10 minutes, until the pork is golden and cooked through.