Salta in bocca! (it) jumps into (one's) mouth

Usually when I get those huge pork chops from Costco, I fry them like I would fry chicken to brown them, then I bake them slowly to cook them through and still keep them tender and juicy.  This however is an entirely different recipe all together.  I was looking through one of my cooking magazines and found a recipe for Pork Chops Saltimbocca that sounded interesting and tasty.  I didn't really have all the ingredients but I knew that I usually liked to do things differently than most recipes.  I like to develop a recipe to my own tastes using the foods I typically have on hand.

Here is how I made my Pork Chops Saltimbocca.

I had 4 thick (about 1 1/2 inches) cut loin pork chops that I patted dry with paper towels.  I sliced a pocket in them in the middle of the chop.  I wanted a deep pocket, so I tried to get as close to the other side as possible.  I seasoned each of the chops with salt and pepper and let them sit to the side while I got other ingredients ready.  I had mistakenly bought some camembert cheese that had a blue vein in it (instead of bleu cheese).  It was not as soft as I had thought, so I felt like it would be a nice consistency for this dish.   I cut it into slices and put 2 slices into the cut open cavity of the chop.  I turned on the oven to 450 degrees farenheit, and turned the burner on to low medium setting while I cut up 6 pieces of thick sliced bacon with kitchen shears into a large dice.

I put my large cast iron skillet on the burner and got it hot enough.   I began by putting the diced bacon into the hot skillet.  Stirring often, I cooked it until the pieces were light golden brown.  I removed them from the pan and put them on a paper towel to drain and cool.  I took the pan off the heat, but left the burner on while I finished preparing the pork chops.  (I might have drained some grease from the pan right about now) I stuffed the bacon in between the cheese slices in the pork chop, using all the bacon up and pushing the opening closed as well as I could.  I put the skillet back on the burner, turned it up to medium, and let it get hot again. I put the 4 pork chops into the hot bacon grease.   I let them cook for about 5-6 minutes until they were brown on one side, and then turned them over.  After cooking that side till it was also golden brown, I put the skillet with the pork chops into the hot oven for about 7 minutes to finish cooking.   While that was cooking I sliced 4 small red peppers with the seeds removed, and thinly sliced a half an onion.    Removing the chops from the skillet, I put them on a platter and set them aside while I  finish up my dish with a red pepper and onion sauce. 

I turned the temperature of the burner down just a little bit to a medium low again and put the onions and peppers into the skillet with the juices from the chops and melted cheese and let them cook till they are tender, about 3-4 minutes.  I added a lump of butter and let that cook for a minute then squeezed the juice of a half a lemon into the vegetables and stirred until they are mixed well. 

I turned off the burner and poured the mixture over the chops in the platter. I served this dish with rice and garlic brussel sprouts,

 

and a salad of tomatoes and sliced avocado.

The pork chops were tender and juicy.  The cheese was rich and creamy and had a sharpness from the blue vein, and the bacon was a salty crunchy addition that enhanced the tasty combination of meat and vegetables.  The flavors meld well together and went well with the other flavors on the plate.   I thought this entire dinner was one worthy of repeating. 

Boccappetit!