Pork Chops Caprricosa

So this was dinner Sunday night.  Maybe I bit off more than I could chew with the side dish but the main course was awesome. 

 The start of the side dish the Polenta Gorgonzola layer cake.  This is yellow cornmeal, olive oil, salt and bay leaf.  The whole mixture went into a pot with a whole bunch of water and cooked for about an hour.

 The start of the layer cake, butter, blue cheese, parmesan and the cooked (or so I thought) polenta.  More on the parenthetical later.

 The completed layer cake which needed to sit in the fridge for about an hour.

 The start of the salad.  Arugula, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mozzarella, onion, salt and pepper.

 The layer cake ready to go into the oven.

 The star of the night a pork chop that was to get crusted with a panko bread crumb crust.  I love crusting things, a, it makes it look delicious, b its easy, c it tastes freaking awesome.

 The chop got seasoned with salt and pepper, a dusting of flour then into the egg and finally the panko.  Here it is ready to go into the pan.

 And here is the epic fail.  This is the layer cake after spending about 30 minutes in the oven.  See that shining stuff on top?  That's a combination of water and the fat from the butter.  Basically I didn't cook the polenta long enough.  One of the more expensive kitchen mistakes I've made in a long time.

 Here the pork chop is halfway done with the searing process.  You can't get that crust with anything except panko.

 The completed pork chop.

The final plate.  This was another outstanding dish.  This meal was out of the Cuisine magazine.  Might be the best christmas or birthday gift I've ever gotten.  Thanks Mom!