Grilled Pork Chops with Sun-Dried Tomato Butter

This recipe is really all about the Sun-Dried Tomato Butter.  NO offense to the pork chops, but as delicious as they are, the pork chops simply serve as a means to eat this exceptionally tasty spread.  Borrowing a phrase from Emeril Lagasse, you could probably put the sun-dried tomato butter on a car bumper and it would still taste fantastic.  Disclaimer: I am not recommending that you eat a car bumper--it's just a figure of speech.  I would recommend, however, that you heat up some fresh bakery rolls to serve alongside the pork chops, because fortunately this recipe makes plenty of extra savory butter for you to spread around (get it??).  Even better, this entire recipe can come together in about 30 minutes, and, as long as you don't go too crazy with the butter, it is a fairly healthy entree.  Here are a few tips for these butter-basted chops:

• One of my favorite side dish recipes from Epicurious, Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage, would accompany this dish nicely.  The cabbage recipe has only a few ingredients, but it full of flavor.
• The sun-dried tomato butter would also taste great spread on lamb chops, grilled steaks, vegetables, fish---pretty much anything!  Try tossing it with cooked pasta, spreading it on toast, or use it as a spread for your favorite hot sandwich.  It will keep for a week in the refrigerator, tightly covered.
• If you can't find sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, simply simmer some dehydrated sun-dried tomatoes in a little bit of olive oil for 5 minutes.  This will plump them up.  Drain and chop the tomatoes according to the recipe's directions.

Grilled Pork Chops with Sun-Dried Tomato Butter

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil, drained

1/2 cup lightly toasted walnuts

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 boneless pork chops, about 1-inch thick

Place the garlic in a food processor or mini-chopper and pulse with the sun-dried tomatoes, walnuts, coriander, cayenne, parsley, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper until finely chopped.  Blend in the butter and lemon juice and then transfer to a container.

Preheat the grill or a grill pan over medium-high heat and spray with nonstick cooking spray.  Mix the dried thyme, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl and then rub the mixture evenly over the pork chops.

Grill the pork chops until cooked through, turning once, about 10-12 minutes.  During the last few minutes of grilling, spread the sun-dried tomato butter over the chops.