More Cheese More Chocolate

Yesterday afternoon Matt and I were standing in the middle of the bulk foods aisle at Whole Foods trying to figure out what to do with the pork chops that we’d just picked up, so I opened the Epicurious app on my phone and did a quick search for “pork chop.”  We are so 2011!  The first few recipes that popped up sounded good but required buying too many extra ingredients (although one of these days I will be stuffing a pork chop with chorizo).  Then came the Roquefort-Stuffed Pork Chops recipe.  Blue cheese and pork? Yes, please!

The only problem was that along with the Roquefort, bread cubes, and rosemary, you’re supposed to add chopped mushrooms to the filling.  With a few minor exceptions, I don’t do mushrooms. Mushroom devotees would probably hate me because I grew up surrounded by woods that were a fertile breeding ground for morels, and although I enjoyed wandering through the woods in search of them, I can only remember eating them on one occasion when our neighbor was pan frying them and my best friend and I each smothered a half in ketchup, stuffed them in our mouths, chewed for a few seconds and then ran out to the garage and spit them in the trash.  We were really mature.

I dislike being a picky eater almost as much as I dislike mushrooms, and I knew that I would eventually come around to trying to appreciate mushrooms. I’ve learned to love almost all of the short list of things that I didn’t like as a kid (avocado, salmon, wine – kidding!), and mushrooms are the one thing that I’ve been holding out on (although I learned to enjoy raw, button mushrooms on salads a few years ago).  So there we were in the middle of Whole Foods, Matt really excited about stuffing those pork chops with blue cheese and mushrooms and me being the only thing standing in his way.  Without really thinking about what I was getting myself into, I decided that it was time for me to try to enjoy cooked mushrooms, and we were off to gather the ingredients.  I panicked a little as we were driving out of the parking lot and again as I watched Matt sauté the mushrooms, but when the pork chops were done, I happily dove right in.  The verdict: melted blue cheese makes anything taste good.

Blue Cheese Stuffed Pork Chops

From Bon Appetit via Epicurious

*recipe adjusted to serve 2*

• 2 thick, bone-in pork chops
• 3 tbsp butter
• 3/4 cup small cubes of French bread
• 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
• 1 tbsp minced onion (we used a shallot)
• 1/4 tsp dried rosemary, finely crumbled
• 1/4 cup crumbled Roquefort or blue cheese

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Melt 1 tbsp butter in a heavy, oven-proof skillet over medium heat.  Add bread cubes, and sauté until golden, about 10 minutes.  Transfer bread to a medium bowl.
• Return skillet to heat and melt 1 tbsp butter.  Add mushrooms, onion/shallot, and rosemary.  Sauté until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.  Add to the bowl with the bread, and refrigerate for about 15 minutes, until cool.

• Slice each pork chop in half horizontally to the bone.
• Add the blue cheese to the cooled bread mixture, stir to combine and season with salt and pepper.

• Divide the mixture between the pork chops, and use toothpicks to hold them closed, if necessary.

• Melt the last 1 tbsp butter in the skillet over high heat.  Add the pork chops, and sauté until browned on each side, about 2 minutes per side.

• Transfer skillet to the oven.

• Cook for 15-20 minutes, until cooked through.

• If you have any leftover stuffing, spoon it over the pork chops before transferring them to the oven.

Blue cheese stuffed pork chop with roasted asparagus and oven fries