Avery's Havarti & Apple stuffed Pork Chops Recipe

Bistro Grillware from Williams Sonoma

Valentine's Day is over but that doesn't mean you can't make a lovely meal for your Valentine, post-Valentine's Day. And it doesn't need to be packed with sweets (though this one sort of is...read on.)

Sweet Butter sweets

Also, I have to admit, I saw this sweets display at a local Sherman Oaks restaurant called Sweet Butter, and it looked so yummy that I had to take a picture and share it. The restaurant is known for its sweets!

Now, my Valentine happens to be out of town so I'm planning a great "reunion" dinner for Thursday with Krista's Trifle (oh, yum) for dessert. Okay, yes, there will be sweets!  Sue me. LOL

Here's a little "cuppa" I am giving him for Valentine's to help him keep on his diet after our Valentine's dinner. He loves his coffee, so I stuffed a mug with those sugar-free Werther's Candies.

Back to the main course.

I had to do a trial run of the entree to make sure that this meal was going to be good. I just wasn't sure. I had seen a recipe in the William Sonoma catalogue. Do you know about those? They have recipes in every catalogue. Of course, many require fancy-schmancy cookware. I went for the simple grilled meal. I did get this grillware at WS and I love it.

Now, most of the recipes have gluten (rats), so I have to tweak, but this one caught my eye. Pork stuffed with squash and apples. Well, I tweaked a ton, and what I came up with was something that tasted like Thanksgiving and Christmas all rolled into one. I'm so pleased with it that I can't wait to share it with my sweetheart.

The recipe in WS called for summer squash and onions and apples and bread crumbs. I took out the squash, added more apples, added syrup because, well, it sounded like a good fit! And I replaced the bread crumbs with crushed rice cereal that was gluten-free.  Voila. Stuffing!  A stuffing that I will create again and again on Thanksgiving from this day forward. And I added cheese, of course.  Havarti melted like a dream. Whee.

Can you tell I'm a little "high" from all the excitement this last week since my latest book, CLOBBERED BY CAMEMBERT, came out? I've been busy...busy with promotion and writing a new outline for a new book and finishing up the edits on the latest book (#5 in the series). My head is awhirl. But I'm having fun.

Oh, by the way...while I'm in the whee-stage.  I'm having a contest on my website. If you join my mailing list (so you can get up-to-date info on releases and other contests and such), you will be entered. All who are on the mailing list are contestants!!

In addition, I'm having a giveaway today.

Leave a comment. Two of you will win your choice of one of my three books: THE LONG QUICHE GOODBYE, LOST AND FONDUE, or CLOBBERED BY CAMEMBERT.

So lots to do today, in addition to salivating over a delicious new recipe.  Enjoy.

APPLE AND HAVARTI STUFFED PORK CHOP

            GLUTEN-FREE

Ingredients: 2  8-ounce pork chops 2 Tablespoons oil 1 teaspoon garlic ½ yellow (sweet) onion 1 Fuji apple ½ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon rosemary ½ teaspoon thyme ¼ cup rice check-style cereal (gluten-free) 4 ounces Havarti cheese 1 Tablespoon maple syrup + more for garnish

Directions: Heat oven to 400 degrees. Slice pork chops, from the meaty side to the bone, creating a pocket in each. Set aside.   Dice onion and Fuji apple into small chunks. [Leave the skin on the Fuji). Pour the rice cereal into a bag and crush with your hands to make chunky. Set to the side. Heat oil in skillet over medium-low heat. Saute onions and garlic until onions are clear, about 3-4 minutes. Add spices and Fuji apple and herbs. Saute for another 3-4 minutes. Add the rice cereal and stir. Set pork chops on an oven-safe grill platter. Open the pockets and stuff about ¼ cup of the apple stuffing into the pocket. [RESERVE the rest of the stuffing in the saute pan.] Place about 2 ounces of Havarti cheese on top of the stuffing in each chop. Close the pork chops. {This is a bit messy and pieces will fall out.}  Brush the top of the pork chop with maple syrup. Set platter of chops in a hot oven. Cook 3 minutes. Flip the pork chop and cook 3 more minutes. Flip once more and REDUCE heat. Cook for 20-30 minutes at 300 degrees. Remove from oven and cover with foil while doing the next step. Reheat the remaining stuffing in the skillet. Add a little more syrup as you stir. Plate the pork chops. Top with extra stuffing. Drizzle with syrup, if you like. By the way, I decided the next day to have the leftover apple stuffing that I hadn't been able to fit into the pork chops. The picture isn't great.  I set the stuffing on a plate, topped with extra Havarti cheese and put in the microwave on medium-high for about a minute. I added some leftover chicken breasts slices and slices of apples.  It was light, tasty, and a perfect midday meal. Lunch ** Note: yes, of course this may be made with regular bread crumbs for those of you who can eat them. Say cheese!

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