Valentine's Day Dinner

John and I always celebrate Valentine's Day on the 15th. We both enjoy this tradition because it saves us money (usually). Also, it gives me an extra day to usually relax and not stress out about setting apart time for just John and I. Sometimes we go out and sometimes we cook dinner together, and this year I decided to stay in and cook dinner. Two days ago I started the Pork chops marinating in fresh buttermilk from Whole Foods (organic if possible). I used 8 oz pork chops for each of us, and used 1 cup of buttermilk.

Here is my personal recipe that I used for the Pork Chops. Credits for inspiration go to Food Network, and Taste of Home.

Pork Chops
1 Cup Buttermilk
2 8 oz Pork Chops (that can easily be folded over and put together with toothpicks)
1 t Aleppo Turkey Seasoning (Penzey's Spice carries this) You can omit this if you desire.
2 T Butter or Ghee
2 Fresh Diced Garlic Cloves
Salt
Pepper


To Garnish
Goat Cheese, blue Cheese, or Gorgonzola Cheese
Pomegranate Arils


Stuffing
1 C of any Favorite Stuffing Mix
1/4 C diced Yellow Onion
1 stalk of diced Celery (Including Leaves)
1 T Butter or Ghee
1-2 C Chicken Broth

Side Dish
2 bulbs Fennel

Applegate Salami (Or any favorite of yours)
Goat Cheese
Crackers

Preheat the Oven to 425 degrees for roasting the Fennel

Fennel

Cut the stems off the fennel starting at the top of the bulb. Dice the bulb of the Fennel into bite size pieces, then put on a roasting sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Before adding into the oven, prep the stuffing.

Stuffing

Remove the pork chops from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking in order for it to be room temperature.

First, preheat a cast iron skillet on medium to prepare the stuffing.

Add the butter or ghee, let it melt, then add diced onion and celery.

Sauté until translucent (About 5 minutes).

Add the stuffing and broth and cook until it is the consistency you desire (Around 10-12 minutes).

Take it out of the pan and put it into a bowl while you prepare the pork chops.


Meanwhile

Put the fennel into the oven (Should cook 20-30 minutes). Taste one halfway through to decide on the texture you want.

Pork Chops

Take the pork chops out of the bag of buttermilk and set it on a plate by the stove.

Sprinkle with Aleppo Seasoning, salt, and pepper.

Scrape whatever you can get off of the bottom of the pan into the sink and turn the stove to medium high and add the 2 T butter or ghee to the pan.

Then add the Garlic into the pan. Sauté the garlic for about 15 seconds then when the pan is hot enough to get a good sear on the pork, add the the pork chops and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side.

After a good sear, grab tongs and fill with whatever amount of stuffing you desire and close with toothpicks.

Reduce the heat to a medium, and cook on one side for 5 minutes and switch to a total of 10 minutes.

Then plate and garnish with pomegranate arils, and whichever cheese you choose. Add a small spoonful of stuffing onto plate with whatever else you decided to make with it.

Enjoy!