Sunday Dinner: Mushroom Shallot and Bacon Risotto-Stuffed Pork Chops

Autumn has officially converged onto Southern California, and it couldn't have come at a better time. Roasts are on sale at the grocery stores, the holiday paraphernalia is unavoidable, and the weatherman is false-alarming us with reports of possible rain. Ahhh, yes, autumn in L.A. is the best. With football season in place, Sundays are the perfect day to invite friends and family over for dinner (to be eaten AFTER the night game, of course...), and I've started feeling inspired with a few cozy recipes to share.

A few weeks ago, I had some of the best risotto I have ever had the pleasure of eating at the Michelin-rated Providence. I was determined to try to replicate it at home, although I was doubtful I could have included the summer white truffles Providence added into my humble version. However, I had one small issue: I had never made risotto. I knew it was a somewhat demanding and sensitive dish, but I feared not. I bought my package of arborio rice, read the directions on the back for a "Classic Risotto" and tweaked it Moonlighting Fooditor style. Here's my version:

3 cups clear chicken broth
8 oz. arborio rice
2 Tb unsalted butter
1 shallot, diced
1 cup white mushrooms (or other flavorful mushroom of your choice), diced
1 slice of thick cut bacon, cooked and diced
1/2 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp black pepper
Truffle oil

Simmer the chicken broth in a pot over medium heat. In a large skillet, saute the rice in 1 Tb of the butter over medium heat, stirring constantly. (You don't want the rice to toast or burn.) Add the shallot, mushrooms and bacon to the rice and saute until the shallot is clear in color. Add the white wine to the rice and continue to stire until the wine is absorbed. Slowly add one cup of the chicken broth and continue to stir, thickening the mixture. Add 1/2 cup of the broth at a time until the rice becomes creamy, but still wet. (There should still be a little bit of liquid in the risotto.) Fold in the remaining butter, parmesan, garlic salt and pepper, and add truffle oil to taste. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting and cover until you are ready to serve.

Now, for the stuffing, you should use thick cut pork sirloin chops. The risotto recipe above will make plenty of risotto to stuff four or five medium size pork chops, with a little left on the side. Pan sear your pork chops in a skillet over high heat for three minutes on each side, until you have a crisp glaze. Remove from the skillet and let them cool for a minute or two. Butterfly cut the pork chops in half so as to create a pocket for the risotto. Stuff each chop with risotto according to the size of the chop, and bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

Your porkchops should be moist, and the risotto that has been over low heat should be ready to serve! My boyfriend and I sauteed some asparagus and threw a spinach salad together for the greens. The result was a cozy and filling dinner (and naturally warm kitchen from using your oven!), just what you need after eating snacks and drinking diet coke (and/or beer) all day long while watching football.


Now your only challenge will be recruiting a dishwasher from the comatose guests sitting on your couch after dinner... Happy cooking!!!