I know I’ve been showering you all with (really really) good recipes lately. Real food recipes, too; ones that don’t include “2 sticks butter” as an ingredient. I hope you’ve tried a few already, because I’d hate for you to fall behind, especially with this one- pork marinated in thyme and balsamic vinegar, grilled, and covered with crumbled blue cheese, arugula and grapes.

 At home we always get in a rut with dinners- I think I’ve had the same pork chop dish (marinated and broiled) at least nearly 20 times in the past few months. Don’t get me wrong, they’re always delicious, but I felt like a change in pork chops was in order for a new school year, which, by the way, started last thursday.

I highly doubt that any of you will be as excited as me by this news, but today for lunch I had the first bagel I’ve had in over 10 years. It was life changing. I told everyone; most people thought I was crazy- “why is this girl talking to me about a bagel?”. Those who knew me better weren’t terribly surprised. But because I’ve been missing out for so long and have so much catching up to do concerning bagels, please eat them. For my sake. I need to make up for lost time. 

Oh. I forgot to mention that my birthday is tomorrow- I’ll be 17. I don’t know. I’m not a big birthday person. It feels so weird celebrating myself. But I’m going out to dinner with my mom to Lupa- Mario Batali’s restaurant in the Village. I couldn’t be more excited.

Grilled Pork with Arugula-and-Grape Salad
from Food Network Magazine

Try this with any type of blue cheese, goat cheese, or anything delicious… Parmigian shavings. I’ll stop myself.

1 medium shallot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 5-ounce boneless pork chops
3/4 cup red seedless grapes, halved
4 heaping cups baby arugula
1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola or other blue cheese

Combine the shallot, vinegar, 1 teaspoon thyme, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil, starting with a few drops and adding the rest in a steady stream.

Put the pork chops in a shallow dish and season all over with salt. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon thyme and 3 tablespoons of the dressing. Coat the pork and set aside to marinate for 5 minutes.

Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Grill the pork until cooked through but still moist, 4 to 5 minutes per side.

Add the grapes and arugula to the remaining dressing and toss to coat. Transfer the pork chops to a serving platter or individual plates; top with the salad and sprinkle with the gorgonzola