There’s too much goodness to love in these Tomato and Artichoke Rosemary Pork Chops with Balsamic Glaze that I can hardly fit it in the title! Flavorful grape tomatoes, onions, artichokes, and mushrooms spooned on top of seasoned pork chops with warm goat cheese and balsamic reduction makes for a fabulous and fancy, comforting meal.
Happy Mother’s Day to meeeeeeeeeee!!!
While most moms are receiving the royal treatment with breakfast in bed and dinner made by their husbands…I requested something quite different: distract the kids and let me cook whatever the heck I want. Mother’s Day dream come true.
You guys, I already made an amazing honey, orange, and ginger cheesecake with a blackberry compote. I know it’s amazing because I already photographed it and I just had to taste test a slice afterwards. I hope that’s not too tacky that we invited friends over for dessert with a missing piece of cheesecake. Oh well! And YES, this recipe is coming very, very soon.
As far as dinner is concerned, I’m pretty sure I’m going to stick with the honey ginger theme and make marinated Asian fish tacos with fresh salmon. YUM!
Poor Ben tried to treat me to a nice meal last night with the girls. He planned the whole thing in advance, making reservations and all. We drove almost an hour to the North Shore to partake of this “wonderful” Mother’s Day meal. Here’s how it played out:
- The restaurant was practically empty because apparently the rest of the population was much smarter than us.
- Nobody gave us any menus.
- Our server took over 15 minutes to greet us only because Ben finally went and tracked her down.
- Braelyn whined and complained about how hungry she was, which was followed by more whining and complaining when everybody’s food came out but hers. They forgot her meal.
- After forgetting Braelyn’s meal, her nachos were eventually brought out and they were completely disgusting! My kids despise American cheese, nacho cheese, or any fake cheese of that sort. Instead of melted cheddar, these nachos were soaked in ballpark nacho cheese. Ewww!
- We returned the nachos and asked for a different cheese topping, in which they exchanged the nacho cheese for huge hunks of mozarella which melted into one big glob of chewy “silly putty” as Braelyn called it.
- Dinner ended with a temper tantrum that we weren’t getting dessert.
Amazing evening, huh?! Actually we had a great laugh!!! There were quite a few highlights:
- Seeing the kids’ faces when they realized we drove an hour just to eat dinner. For some reason they thought the night entailed much MUCH more. Haha!
- Watching Emry make her own pizza and waiting intently for it to cook in the brick oven.
- Seeing the size of Emry’s eyes when they brought her pizza to her WITH a side of fries.
- Driving along the beautiful coast to get to dinner.
- Opening presents from two thoughtful, sweet girls and one amazing husband.
In the end, the night was a success. Memories were made and great company was had.
However, the next time Ben tries to treat me to a “fancy dinner” I may just have to opt for these homemade Tomato and Artichoke Rosemary Pork Chops with Balsamic Glaze instead. Trust me, it’s worth the extra effort on my part than to suffer through a less than mediocre EXPENSIVE meal at a not so nice restaurant.
I’d much rather be drooling over these babies at home.
The great part about these pork chops is that they’re actually not so hard to make. Really, it’s one of those fancy meals that looks like it took hours, but can be thrown together in a little over 30 minutes.
This dinner only involves a few basic steps of seasoning, searing, and baking the chops. And while the pork chops are baking, you reduce your balsamic vinegar and saute your veggies. See?! Easy!
I opted to splurge on using fresh rosemary for this meal. I LOVE the flavor of rosemary, especially paired with either poultry or pork. I added the fresh rosemary not only to the pork chops themselves, but also to the vegetable topping for a more pronounced flavor. It was earthy and delicious!
Besides all the rosemary goodness, the warm goat cheese and tangy balsamic reduction had me all like, “HEY YEAH!!!” As Hawaiian’s would say, this meal “Broke da mout!” Translation: It was really really good!
I actually brought these pork chops to a potluck at the beach. I know, who brings this kind of meal to a potluck??? I’m pretty sure it’s mandatory to only bring casseroles, but I like to break the rules. Anyhow, a friend’s husband came up to me afterward and told me how much he loved the pork chops. Awww! I felt so special.
So if these pork chops can be a shining star at a sandy potluck, they can definitely find a place at your own dinner table. But just remember, if your meal is going to look this fancy, you better bust out all the good manners to go with it. I’m talking elbows off the table, silverware on the right side of the plate, and napkins on your lap. These chops deserve your respect!
What meal did you eat for Mother’s Day?
- For the Pork Chops:
- 6 pork chops, trimmed of fat (about 1" thick)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 3 teaspoons freshly chopped rosemary
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or cooking oil
- For the Sauteed Vegetables:
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ small onion, chopped
- ⅔ cup sliced mushrooms
- ⅔ cup roughly chopped canned artichoke hearts
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1½ teaspoons freshly chopped rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons white wine
- 1½ cups grape tomatoes
- For Balsamic Glaze:
- ⅔ cup balsamic vinegar
- Additional:
- 4 oz. goat cheese
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Trim fat off pork chops and lay in 9X13 baking dish. In a small bowl, mix together seasonings for pork chops. Evenly rub spice mixture over pork chops on both sides. Set aside.*
- In a large saute pan or cast iron skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil or cooking oil over medium heat. Once pan in hot enough that a drop of water sizzles, arrange pork chops in pan and sear each side until golden brown (about 2 mins per side).**
- Place pork chops back in 9X13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes until no longer pink in the center.
- Remove any fatty drippings from the saute pan, keeping other drippings, and set aside while making balsamic reduction and preparing veggies.
- Begin making balsamic reduction by pouring ⅔ cup balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan. Bring mixture to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 7-8 minutes until reduced by half. Set aside to cool and thicken.
- Cut and dice veggies for pork chop topping. Using the same pan that pork chops were seared in, place back on medium heat, adding 1 more tablespoon of oil. Once pan is hot enough that a drop of water sizzles, add onions and mushrooms. Reduce heat slightly (4 out of 10) and cook for 5-6 minutes until onions are tender and turning golden brown, stirring occasionally to avoid burning. Add artichoke hearts, minced garlic, rosemary, salt, and pepper and cook additional 2 minutes. Add white wine and cook until liquid is reduced, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in grape tomatoes. Set aside.
- Once pork chops have finished cooking, remove from pan and place on serving dish. Top each with a spread of goat cheese, a scoop of veggies, and a drizzle of balsamic reduction. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.
**If you're pan is smaller, you may want to do this in two batches so you don't overcrowd the meat.
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