Pork Chops w/ Stuffed Rosti Potatoes & Cherry Confit

Our AC has been out since Friday.  Apparently the motor went out on it.  Not the best couple of days in the house.  Especially because when I step outside, it feels 20 degrees cooler out there than in our house!  However, hope is not lost because the repairman is due to be here shortly and we should be back in the cool air (hopefully) in no time!

I had my little sister and her boyfriend over for dinner and game night last night.  We sat on the porch (because it was too hot to eat inside lol) and had this lovely pork chop meal!  While I didn't win ANY of the games we played, (I should have won Clue - but someone didn't realize he had a card that I guessed!) we had a lot of fun and it was great to see them!

This meal is just a little bit fussy, but a lot of things can be made ahead so really, it's not that bad!

Ingredients:

Stuffed Rosti Potatoes:

2 large Idaho potatoes, peeled and julienned
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup goat cheese
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh chives, chopped

4 bone-in pork chops
 olive oil, for rubbing
salt and pepper, to taste

Port Wine Sauce:

1/2 cup ruby port wine
1 & 1/2 cup beef stock
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold water
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Cherry Confit:

1/4 cup red onion, minced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup dried cherries
1 tablespoon brandy
1 tablespoon port wine sauce
1/2 teaspoon sherry vinegar

To prepare the potatoes, combine the potatoes, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.  Preheat oven to 350 F.

Melt the butter in a large cast iron skillet under medium high heat.  Add potato mixture and pack down with the back of a spoon into one even layer.  Cook until potatoes start to brown.

Flip the potatoes over and place the pan in the oven.  Cook until potatoes are crisp, flipping once in between (about 20 minutes per side). 

Let cool slightly.  Cut the potatoes into two round halves.  On one side, spread the goat cheese.  Top with the chopped rosemary and chives.  Place the other potato half on top to form a "sandwich".

In a medium saucepan, combine the beef stock and port wine sauce.  Bring to a boil.  In a small bowl, make a slurry with the cornstarch and cold water.  Add to saucepan and cook until mixture starts to thicken.  Keep warm until service.  Before plating, mount sauce with butter for a shinier appearance and added flavor.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

To make cherry confit, heat the butter in a medium saute pan under medium high heat.  Add red onion and cook until softened, but not browned.  Add cherries.  Add brandy and flambe (carefully tip pan toward flame if you have a gas range, if not, just bring a match or long lighter close to pan until flame comes up).  Cook until flame runs out.  Stir in port wine and vinegar and cook until almost dry.  Keep warm until service.

Preheat a grill to medium high.  Rub pork chops with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Grill chops to desired doneness, about 4-5 minutes per side for a good medium.

Cut the potatoes into wedges and place in center of plate.  Lean pork chop against the potatoes and top with port wine sauce.  Sprinkle some cherries around plate.  Voila! 

There's tons of different flavors going on here.  Savory, sweet, delicious! 

Enjoy guys!

Foodie Fights Battle #11 - Chipotle/Goat Cheese: Chicken Adobo Lettuce Wraps W/ Chipotle Tomatillo Salsa & Goat Cheese Queso

Ok. Chipotle & Goat Cheese. Two amazing ingredient on their own. But can they work together as one to be a powerhouse of flavor? The answer? Si.

This is my second battle, and after winning the first, I knew I had to bring my A plus plus game because yeah, winning one battle is pretty awesome, but what if it was just a fluke? So what if one judge gave me the win, but to get two wins in a row (and be the 1st to ever do so, I might add), now THAT would be incredible. Not to mention how huge my head would become after doing so, but I digress. Now to bring myself back to the present instead of dreamland.

Anyway, the immediate moment that I found out the ingredients, my brain was at work. Exploring flavor options and profiles. Thinking what would sound good and refreshing. And BAM! My pencil met the paper and I came up with this... Lettuce Wraps. Chicken ADOBO Lettuce Wraps. I've been looking for a reason to make chicken adobo for ages, considering my last bout pretty much sucked. A sad day for a Filipino when her adobo doesn't turn out well.

So for the adobo, I chose to do two different styles. The traditional Filipino adobo with chipotles. And then the Latin American Style adobo that chipotles are usually in when you buy them from a can. Out of them both, I don't know if it's because I'm Filipino and I'm kind of partial anyway, but I liked the flavors of that one better.

Marinated Chicken in Filipino Style Chipotle Adobo:


1/2 lb boneless and skinless chicken thighs
3 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup vinegar
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 big pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Marinated Chicken in Latin American Style Chipotle Adobo:


1/2 lb boneless and skinless chicken thighs
3 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon oregano
juice from 1 lime
1/4 cup vinegar

For the marinades, combine all ingredients, except for the chicken and bay leaf from Filipino adobo, in a blender and puree until all ingredients are incorporated. Then in 2 separate plastic bags, combine chicken thighs, pureed marinades, and add bay leaf to Filipino adobo bag. Seal both bags, and make sure there is little or no air in each one. Fold bags as tightly together as possible, that way, the marinade has little surface area and can penetrate through the chicken easier. I let the marinades sit in the fridge for 2 days, mainly because I lost track of time and couldn't make time until today (Labor Day), but I'd suggest letting it marinate for AT LEAST 2 hours, but overnight is ideal.

So as I was brainstorming, I was trying to think of how I could incorporate the goat cheese in all of this. And keeping with a sort of Asian/Latin American fusion type deal, I decided to do a goat cheese queso to top the chicken. Which then led to the idea of a Chipotle Tomatillo Salsa. Cheese and salsa go together fantastically, so why not in this dish also??! The ball was rollin' and I was getting excited.

Goat Cheese Queso:


6 oz. Queso Fresco, chopped into cubes
1 Serrano Pepper, sliced
6 oz. Goat cheese, chopped into cubes
1/2 to 1 cup of heavy cream, depending on the consistency of how you like your cheese

In a small saucepan, combine cheeses and serrano peppers. Let melt, and then add cream in small batches until you get the texture of your liking.

I've never melted goat cheese before, so I didn't know how well it would interact in all of this, but it faired pretty well. It gave the cheese a texture, kind of gritty (but not like sandy, unbearable gritty, but the taste of goat cheese gritty (if that makes any sense at all?!?!)). It definitely packed a heated punch with the Serrano pepper in there though!

Chipotle Tomatillo Salsa

1 lb. of tomatillos, halved and quartered
3 gloves garlic, chopped
2 canned chipotles in adobo sauce

In a large fry pan, saute garlic until just fragrant, maybe a minute.
Add tomatillos and cook until soft.

Remove from heat for a few minutes and add to blender along with chipotles.
Pulse a few times until you get a desired consistency. Some like it chunky, but mine was pretty smooth.

So now I have all of my components, and individually tasting each one, they all tasted pretty damn good. But would they work together?!?!

Grill the chicken on a medium to high heat on a charcoal grill.


Cook until white throughout.
Let chicken rest on cutting board for about 5 minutes.

Then cut chicken in strips.


Get out some lettuce leaves, I used iceberg because they're crisp and I thought they would hold well. Layer some strips of chicken on top of lettuce.

Then add salsa.

And finally, top with queso.

Fold over and stuff your face! Andy enjoyed them, and I finally took this to work shortly after I made them, and all of my coworkers seemed to enjoy them also. So I'm pretty sure this was a home run with them, and hopefully it will be for you guys too!! Good luck to the competition!!!