Minestrone with Pork

When I was flipping through Lidia's Favorite Recipes I found the recipe for Minestrone with Pork. I think Chris would put this dinner on his top 10 list for this year. The recipe called for smoked pork shoulder butt. Unfortunately I unable to find it at any of the stores I visited.  I did find smoked pork neck. Yeah I never bought pork neck before but I read that the cut is often used to flavor bean dishes. Perfect! The broth was nice and spicy as the recipe called for a teaspoon hot red pepper flakes.

And this was the perfect meal for a day that started with this weather...