by anolon gourmet cookware. for the home cook who demands professional performance, anolon. by valley fig growers, sweet additions with blue ribbon orchard choice and sun-maid california figs. by hansgrohe. kitchen, shower, and bath ideas since 1901. and by mcevoy ranch organic extra-virgin olive oil. >> joanne: sometimes when i put together a class i like to think about a technique that someone may never, ever have heard about. so i thought today i would do brined pork chops with asparagus and morels with my student cheryl who works at a record business. have you ever done any brining? >>cheryl: i have never done brining. i've seen it. >>joann: you have? >>cheryl: i've seen it but i've never actually done it before so -- >>joanne: good. what i love about brining is it's such a great technique because it really tenderizes meat. >>cheryl: so what exactly is brining? >>joanne: i'm going to show you. ok? >>cheryl: ok >>joanne: i take beautiful, big, thick pork chops like this and i place those in a bowl and then i add to this some salt and water. and i usually use, just room te