Rick Thompson
Apple and Cheese Stuffed Pork Chops
Apples are classic with pork. In this case, we paired tart, Granny Smith apples with pungent Asiago cheese and loved the combination. You of course, can use cheddar or maybe gorgonzola. We added an optional cheese sauce to serve with your pork chops.
Your family will enjoy these pork chops.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon thyme
1 cup Granny Smith apples, diced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup Asiago cheese, crumbled
4 thick cut pork chops
salt
pepper
Directions
1. In the butter, sauté the chopped apple with the thyme, salt, and pepper until tender. Add the cheese and stir. The cheese should melt. Set aside.
2. With a fillet or other thin-bladed knife, cut the pockets in the pork chops. Place the pork chops on a cutting board. Holding the knife parallel to the board, cut a pocket into the pork, starting from the fatty side and going nearly all the way through but leaving the sides intact and the opening small. Salt and pepper the pork chops.
3. Stuff about one-fourth of the dressing into each pork chop. Push the dressing far into the pocket of each pork chop with the dressing pushed away from the opening. Push two toothpicks diagonally through the outer edges of the pork chop to secure the opening.
4. You can now cook the pork chops on the grill, in a skillet, in the oven. To cook the pork chops in a skillet, cook them in butter for about six to eight minutes on each side or until done. To cook them on the grill, brush the pork chops with oil and then cook them for four to eight minutes on each side over medium heat. To bake them in the oven, place the pork chops on a lightly oiled baking sheet (or on a rack on a baking sheet if you would like to keep the pork chops out of the pan juices). Cover the pan with aluminum foil and tightly press the foil around the edges to trap steam and keep the chops from drying out. Bake for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
5. Serve with the optional sauce.
For the sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/2 cup Asiago cheese
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt
pepper
1. Heat the oil in a skillet and sauté the garlic until transparent. Remove from the heat and stir in the corn starch and cheese until combined and the cheese melted.
2. Return the pan to the heat and drizzle in the broth while stirring with a whisk. Cook until the sauce thickens. Add the cream and salt and pepper to taste.
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