Oregon Style Pork Chops with Pinot Noir and Cranberries, Oregon Hash with Wild Mushrooms, Greens, Beets, Hazelnuts and Blue Cheese, Charred Whole Grain Bread with Butter and Chives
4 (1 1/2-inch thick) boneless pork loin chops
Salt and pepper
4 T. extra-virgin olive oil, 3 turns of the pan
2 leeks
1 C. hazelnut or filbert nut pieces
1/2 C. dried sweetened cranberries
1 C. Pinot Noir (recommended: Willamette Valley Oregon)
1 C. chicken stock
1/2 stick butter, divided
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 lb. crimini (baby portobello) mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1/2 lb. shiitake mushroom caps, sliced
1 bunch kale, chopped, 4 to 5 C.
1 (15-oz.) can sliced beets, drained
8 oz. blue cheese crumbles (recommended: Oregon)
1 loaf crusty whole-grain bread
3 T. chopped chives
Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Season chops with salt and pepper. Add 2 T. extra-virgin olive oil to the hot skillet and the chops. Cook chops 3 to 4 minutes on each side. While they cook, split leeks lengthwise, slice in 1/2-inch half-moon pieces and wash vigorously under running water in a colander to release sand. Shake to dry. Â Preheat a second large skillet for your hash over medium-high heat. Add nuts to the skillet and brown 2 to 3 minutes then remove and reserve them. Â To chop skillet, add another T. extra and the leeks. Cook the leeks until tender, 5 minutes. Add cranberries and Pinot Noir to the pan. Scrape up the pan drippings and stir in chicken stock. When sauce comes up to a bubble, add the chops back to the pan and reduce heat to simmer. Finish cooking chops through, 10 minutes. Â To the hash skillet, add a T. extra-virgin olive oil and 1 T. butter. When butter melts into oil, add shallots then mushrooms and cook 5 minutes, then add kale. Wilt the kale into the pan and season with salt and pepper, to taste. When kale is hot and wilted, add beets and gently combine. Adjust seasonings. Preheat broiler. Pull chops from their sauce. Raise heat and bring back to a bubble. Cut off 4 thick slices of whole-grain bread. Char bread under broiler on each side while you finish the sauce. Add 2 T. butter to the sauce to give it gloss and weight and turn off heat. Pour sauce over the chops. Serve hash alongside the chops and top with crumbles of blue cheese and reserved nuts. Spread charred bread with remaining butter and sprinkle liberally with chopped chives.
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