Sunday Dinner

I like to make something on Sunday that takes a bit of TLC. Its nice to cook & relax on a Sunday night. The Hubs was wrapping presents so I had some time to myself in the kitchen. I had a recipe for porcini mushroom risotto & bone-in pork chops were on sale at the store, nice 1 1/4" thick ones. So we had Parmesan pork chops & mushroom risotto. Well the risotto recipe I got from Williams-Sonoma I didn't totally read, really I just read the ingredients, then as I was cooking was like, huh? pressure cooker?? So I pulled out the risotto recipe I made awhile back & used its directions.


Porcini Mushroom Risotto
Williams-Sonoma

2 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
4 1/2 cups chicken stock, plus more as needed
1 cup water
8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 yellow onions, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups Carnaroli rice
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus
more for serving
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the mushrooms, 1 cup of the stock and the water. Bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat. Let soak for 30 minutes to soften. Drain the mushrooms, reserving the soaking liquid and discarding any sediment that falls to the bottom of the pan. Chop the mushrooms and set aside.

**This is where I started to use the Giada Risotto recipe, but I used some of the mushroom stock & chicken broth. HOWEVER, what am I doing wrong?? My risotto rice is always hard-not a nice soft rice, but crunchy. Really pissed me off since I spent $8 on 10 oz of porcini mushrooms!**

Parmesan Pork Chops
Giada

2 large eggs
1 cup dried Italian-style bread crumbs
3/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan
4 (1/2 to 3/4-inch thick) center-cut pork loin chops (each about 10 to 12 ounces)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons olive oil
Lemon wedges, for serving

Whisk the eggs in a pie plate to blend. Place the bread crumbs in another pie plate. Place the cheese in a third pie plate. Sprinkle the pork chops generously with salt and pepper. Coat the chops completely with the cheese, patting to adhere. Dip the chops into the eggs, then coat completely with the bread crumbs, patting to adhere.
Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a very large skillet over medium heat. Add pork chops, in batches if necessary, and cook until golden brown and the center reaches 150 degrees, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer the chops to plates and serve with lemon wedges

** I marinated the pork chops in a lemon & buttermilk sauce for about an hour to keep them from drying out. After pan frying the chops, I placed them in the over at 350 until my thermometer read 160. They were still pink, so I hope we don't get tapeworm. **