Pork Chops Stuffed With Portobello Mushrooms

I made this tonight and it was about as great as it could be following the recipe to a T, but would very much be improved with a few suggestions. Pork Chops: use boneless if you want it to cook as fast as the recipe suggests. That might be a no-brainer to many who have experience cooking meats but I made the mistake in assuming that, because other recipes in his book will specify boneless, Rocco wanted me to use a bone-in piece. It didn't help that the only thick cut at Albertsons was bone-in (I prefer to get my single use meats at Vons, but I happened to be at Albertsons for another item). Number Two, Water: the onion saute was needing something. Char and butter is delicious but the adding of water seemed such a waste. I would recommend a white wine instead, dry- but fruity works okay too. You have to work a little quicker with wine instead of water but I think the flavour addition would be worth the extra splattering in the eye. Another suggestion instead of the frisee lettuce is to substitute with steamed green beans.


recipe from Rocco's Real Life Recipes.

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 large portobello mushrooms, stemmed and sliced thin
8 ounces softened goat cheese
salt and pepper
4 pork loin chops, about 1-1/2 inches thick*
2 Tablespoons butter
1 medium vidalia onion, (sliced or chopped, he doesn't say how to prepare this- i sliced)
1/2 cup water*
2 heads frisee lettuce, roughly torn*

1) Heat a large saute pan over high heat. When it's hot add 3 Tblsp. of the olive to the pan. When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Take the pan off the heat. Fold the goat cheese into the warm mushrooms and season to taste with salt and pepper.

2) Using the tip of a very sharp paring knife, make a slit halfway up the side of the chops to create a pocket. Divide the mushroom mixture among the four pork chops, stuffing neatly and evenly.

3) Wipe out the saute pan with a paper towel. Heat 1/3 cup of the olive oil in the pan over medium heat. Add the chops and cook until golden brown on both sides and just cooked through, about 5 to 7 minutes per side.

4) While the pork is cooking, heat a second large saute pan over very high heat. Add the butter and immediately add the onion. Allow onion to char and become mostly tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add a little water to the pan, stirring to loosen any onion that is sticking to the pan.

5) In a large bowl, toss torn frisee with remaining olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

6) Serve chops with onion sauce and frisee salad.