Copy-Cat Recipe from Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives:  Pesto Pork Chops

Welcome to the weekend! So being a foodie, one of my favorite shows (if not my favorite) is Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (Triple D) on The Food Network. When they run the episodes back-to-back in a marathon (like they do on Friday nights), I am glued to the TV for hours. Guilty Pleasure!  For those of you who have never seen the show, host Guy Fieri (the winner of Season 2 of The Next Food Network Star), visits and profiles diners, drive-ins and dives across the country. The show has spawned two cookbooks and made Guy Fieri the network’s biggest star since Emeril LaGasse shouted Bam!  Plus, the show has its own catch-phrases like “Off the Hook”, “Money” and “That’s Bananas and Bananas is Good!” The best part of the show: the restaurants spill their secrets! If you have a quick pen and a creative mind, you can re-create the recipes at home. One of our favorites is the pork chop on the breakfast menu at Matt’s Big Breakfast in Phoenix, Arizona.  

The Chop and Chick is two eggs and a skillet seared Iowa pork rib chop. But this isn’t any pork chop; it is marinated in a basil pesto sauce and then pan seared.  No need to dredge this pork chop in flour or bread crumbs; the pesto forms its own crust and tastes like a Southern fried pork chop. This is the perfect weekend recipe. You can serve these pork chops with eggs and toast for breakfast or brunch. For Sunday dinner, serve the pork chops with pasta the way we do (or even with mashed potatoes or rice). Whatever you decide, this will become one of your favorites, a dish that you will make again and again.  

P.S. Sorry, but we gotta go!  Time for another episode of Triple D. Enjoy! 

Pesto Pork Chops

INGREDIENTS:

4 pork chops

2 – 3 TBSP olive oil
¾ cup pesto (see recipe below)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Dredge pork chops in half of the pesto. Set aside remainder of pesto. Let pork chops sit in a non-reactive dish in the fridge for at least an hour and up to several hours (3-4 hours or the better part of a day but not overnight for food safety reasons). Remove pork chops from the dish and leave the pesto clinging to the chops. Warm the olive oil in an oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork chops and cook on both sides until golden brown and a crust forms, about 3-5 minutes per side. Place pan in the oven and roast the pork chops until an instant read thermometer registers 150 degrees (15-20 minutes). . Remove from oven and let pork chops rest 10 minutes. Coat pork chops with remaining pesto and serve.

Makes: 4 servings

To serve pork chops with pasta:  Double the pesto recipe to make 1 ½ cups pesto. Use ¾ cups pesto for pork chops and reserve ¾ cups pesto for pasta. Cook a pound of pasta per package directions. Drain pasta and return to warm pan. Toss pasta with ¾ cups pesto and ½ cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes. Toss pasta with grated parmesan cheese. You can garnish pasta with fresh chopped basil leaves and toasted pine nuts, which replicate the ingredients in the pesto. Your friends and family will think you are a domestic goddess! Serves 4 heaping servings of pasta to go along with the pork chops!  

Basil Pesto

1 ½ cups fresh basil leaves

2-5 garlic cloves, sliced
¼ cup pine nuts
¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup olive oil

In a food processor, pulse basil, garlic, nuts and cheese.  Drizzle olive oil and continue to pulse, adding small amounts of olive oil until pesto forms a smooth paste.

Yields: About ¾ cups pesto.