Grilled Pork Chops with Cherries

This will be one of my more enthusiastic posts!! I just made this entree tonight, and rather than sit down and make notes on scratch paper to blog about later, it was so good that it must be written down right now!  

The enthusiasm is sparked by a combination of easy preparation, beautiful presentation, and really good flavors.  I saw a photo in a magazine that inspired this recipe, I hope my picture speaks to your taste buds also!  You won't be disappointed!

Basically there are three steps to preparing this, first a little chopping and stirring to put together the cherry vinaigrette.  Second, cup up the bacon slices, cook in a fry pan, and set aside.  Both of these can be accomplished ahead of time in the day, leaving only the third step of grilling for the evening meal prep time.  A little bit of effort for an really big flavored meal!  And so beautiful! 

4 bone-in pork chops
4 slices crumbled cooked bacon
baby spinach leaves
FOR THE VINAIGRETTE:
4 Tbl olive oil
3 tsp chopped rosemary
1 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 Tbl red wine vinegar
2 Tbl Dijon mustard

Stir together the ingredients for the vinaigrette, it is rather thick, more the consistency of a chutney.  Slice the strips of bacon and stir fry until crispy, set aside on a paper towel.  Brush both sides of pork chop with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Grill pork chop to your liking, and set aside to rest.  Put a handful of baby spinach leaves on each plate, place the pork chop over the spinach leaves, spoon the cherry vinaigrette over the pork chop, and top with the bacon pieces.  Enjoy!

Note: Several of my recipes call for unsweetened dried fruit, cherries, craisins, etc.  They aren't always easy to find without all the sugar!  These can be purchased at Trader Joe's, in the bulk section at one of the healthier markets, and some are also available to order from Amazon.