Stuffed Pork Tenderloin and Friends in Cairo, IL

When I think of pork tenderloins, I usually think grill or cut into cutlets.  When Victor thinks pork tenderloin, it's stuffed.

Yummy-stuffed!

Before leaving for work this morning, I took a tenderloin out of the freezer with the intention of doing a quick marinade and grilling it for dinner.  Nothing fancy, just a quick, easy meal.

When I got home, Victor said that dinner had just gone into the oven - stuffed tenderloin!  Love it!

As I have said many times before, I love cooking - but I also love someone else cooking.  If you're cooking, I'm eating and not complaining.

And I'm especially not complaining if Victor is cooking.  He's a really good cook.

Tonight's gastronomical delight was the aforementioned pork tenderloin stuffed with breadcrumbs, sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella, with baby broccoli and rice.

Classic goodness.

And to make a perfect meal even better, there's apple cake for dessert!

A perfect meal.

And as I sit here and write about my perfect meal, friends of ours have just evacuated from Cairo, Illinois.  Lori and Ev have had to leave all of their earthly goods and their beautiful home with no idea what is going to happen.  Their home could literally be under water at any moment.  Missouri House Speaker Steve Tilley (R) actually stated that it would be better to flood Cairo than to open up the floodway and flood farmland.  Farmland that is specifically set aside since 1928 for such a disaster.   Missouri actually sued to keep the Army Corps of Engineers from breaching the levees because farmland is more important than poor people in a small town.  Fortunately, they lost.  The bastards.  It's unconscionable.

So... Think of them tonight and send positive thoughts to the southern tip of Illinois.

They need it.

 


The Royal Salad

I think I was almost the only person who didn't get up in the middle of the night to watch The Wedding.

I just kinda felt the same way I do about any strangers wedding...  I wish them luck, and all, but it's not like I have a personal stake in any of it. I mean, it's fairly unlikely that we'll be running into them at the gym any time soon, ya know?!?

But it was definitely all the buzz at work.  Early in the day two women were talking and one of them was sobbing - sobbing - because Diana wasn't there to see it.  I have to admit that I though that to be just a tad extreme.

Maybe it's just that I'm a bit bitter because they got to celebrate their wedding at Westminster Abbey, officiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, in front of a world-wide audience, and it's recognized as legal throughout the world.  Our own wedding was slightly less elaborate - no one wore hats - and is recognized in six states and the District of Columbia.  I wouldn't want to be them - I couldn't imagine being hounded by the paparazzi 24/7 - but I wouldn't mind our marriage being as legal as theirs.

So we go from Royal Wedding to Royal Salad.

We had almost Spring-like weather today and salads and greens were calling my name.  This particular one started with a bed of greens and sliced strawberries, blackberries, and cucumber on one end, a caprese salad - tomato, fresh mozzarella, and basil - on the other, sauteed belgian endive, micro greens, and thinly-sliced grilled beef.  The dressing was strawberry white balsamic vinegar, olive oil, herbs d'Provence, salt and pepper.

As for the royal couple, the palace said guests would be served a selection of canapes, including:

  • Cornish crab salad on lemon blini
  • Pressed duck terrine with fruit chutney
  • Roulade of goats' cheese with caramelised walnuts
  • Assortment of palmiers and cheese straws
  • Scottish smoked salmon rose on beetroot blini
  • Miniature watercress and asparagus tart
  • Poached asparagus spears with Hollandaise sauce
  • Quails eggs with celery salt
  • Scottish langoustines with lemon mayonnaise pressed confit of pork belly with crayfish and crackling
  • Wild mushroom and celeriac chausson
  • Bubble and squeak with confit shoulder of lamb
  • Grain mustard and honey-glazed chipolatas
  • Smoked haddock fishcake with pea guacamole
  • Miniature Yorkshire pudding with roast fillet of beef and horseradish mousse
  • Gateau opera
  • Blood orange pate de fruit
  • Raspberry financier
  • Rhubarb creme brulee tartlet
  • Passionfruit praline
  • White chocolate ganache truffle
  • Milk chocolate praline with nuts
  • Dark chocolate ganache truffle

Buckingham Palace added that guests would be served Pol Roger NV brut reserve champagne - along with other soft and alcoholic drinks.

I'm equally glad I no longer do catering.

 

 


Birthday Lobster Salad

It's Victor's Birthday, today.  With all the things we've done this month - from new granite counters to iPads and family parties, today is almost anti-climatic.  I got the truck inspected (Ka-CHING!) and made a Dr appointment for next week, and Victor is working late.  Almost like a normal day around here.

But I did make a fun screen-saver, call, sing, and bring home flowers.  And pulled a couple of lobster tails out of the freezer.  (Yes, we had lobster tails in our freezer.  Julia Child always spoke of having a well-stocked larder.)

I thought of a dozen different things to do with them, but salads really were just the thing for dinner.  It's gone from winter to summer overnight.  At almost 80° the weather just screamed fresh fruits and vegetables.

The lobster salad, itself, was pretty basic... I cooked the tails and chopped them and added lemon zest, lemon juice, onion, garlic, celery, pickle, mayo, salt, and pepper.  Very simple.  I wanted to still be able to taste a bit of lobster in them.

The salad was greens, blueberry chevre, tomato, cucumber, strawberries, and blackberries.  Dressing was strawberry white balsamic vinegar, grapeseed oil, salt, pepper, and a bit of thyme.

Really light, bright, and flavorful.

I love the fact that we can be both extravagant and low-key.  It's just fun to be fun.

In an hour or so, we have Carrot Cake that need to be consumed.  And three types of ice cream.  Ice cream is just about my favorite food group.  And it's Victor's birthday, after all.

 

 

 


Easter 2011

It takes weeks of planning, a week of prep, and it's over before you know it.

But what fun we have!

Easter, this year was a bit extra-special because it's 2 days before Victor's birthday.

Every year his family gets together on Saturday night for the annual pizza-and-egg-coloring-eggstravaganza.  This year they surprised him with a birthday celebration, as well.

They baked a lot of cupcakes!  And yes, the number is correct.

 

The pizza was great.  There were five different varieties.  This one was topped with arugula.  Back in the day when I made pizza, I was such a purist  I probably would have turned my nose up at something like this.  Over the years I've learned to appreciate things a bit more.  And I definitely appreciated this!

I ate more than I should - but then...  when don't I?!?  Especially when faced with something like this - and 60 cupcakes.

 

Earlier in the week I started the Peep-Dipping.

I personally cannot abide Peeps but they are fun to play with.  And one of these days I'm going to get serious about playing with them.  Every year I see the contests, creativity, and extremes people go tt with Peeps.  Some of them are just outstanding.  A far cry from a mere chocolate dip!

On to the eating!

Today, we started early - 1pm - with enough food to feed many more than the 15 assembled.  We really tried to cut down.  We really did.  Somehow, though, things just kept multiplying.

We started off with appetizers, of course... Meat balls, stuffed eggs, cheeses and crackers, olives, peppers, prosciutto...

The stuffed eggs were really simple.  Mayo, turmeric, dill, salt, and pepper.

We decided to do a bit of a picnic theme this year.  We did cold turkey, ham, and beef tenderloin with rolls and croissants for sandwiches, lingonberry sauce and aioli for spreads, and potato salad, pasta salad, green bean and red onion salad, and a green salad.

And we had two hot dishes - Marie's pineapple bread pudding and Ricotta Rollatini - a pasta dish Victor made with homemade pasta and homemade ricotta cheese!

He made a variation a few weeks ago that was excellent - but today's was stellar.  He used fresh peas instead of the spinach and the homemade ricotta.

Yum.

The ricotta is no-brainer easy to make and what a difference in flavor!

Fresh Ricotta

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Add all ingredients to a heavy pot and simmer 15-20 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow to sit for 30 minutes.

Scoop curds into a cheesecloth-lined sieve and drain about 30 minutes.  Squeeze to remove as much whey as possible.

Cover and chill.

It really is easy to make and it's totally worth the time!

And then it was Dessert Time!

It pretty much doesn't matter how much I've eaten - when dessert is ready - I make room.

We started off with Victor's Carrot Cake.

Carrot Cake

  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 cups shredded carrots (about 4 medium)
  • 1 1/2 cups oil (neutral oil like grapeseed – not olive)
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 cup coconut (optional)

Heat oven to 350°. Grease and flour 2 9″ cake pans.

In a large bowl, blend all ingredients (except nuts, etc) on low speed until moistened. Beat 3 minutes on high speed. Stir in nuts, raisins, and coconutr, if using.

Pour into pans and bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cook cake 10 minutes before removing from pans.

Cool completely before frosting.

I made cream cheese frosting, split it into 4 layers, and decorated it with marzipan carrots we bought at Cost Plus when we were in San Francisco last month.  They were festive,  i couldn't resist.

And I made a Strawberry Cheesecake...

It was a variation on my most favorite recipe.

Strawberry Cheesecake

The Crust:

  • 3/4 cups walnuts, finely ground
  • 3/4 cup vanilla wafer crumbs
  • 3 1/2 tbsp butter, melted

The Filling:

  • 4 pkgs cream cheese, room temperature
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup whipping cream

The Topping:

  • 16 oz sour cream
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

The Glaze:

  • 4 cups strawberries
  • 1 10 oz jar red raspberry jelly

Putting it together: Preheat oven to 350º.  Mix crust ingredients and press evenly into bottom of 10″ springform pan.  Set aside.

Cream the cheese until light and fluffy.  Mix in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add sugar, vanilla, and whipping cream, mixing until smooth and light. Pour into pan and bake 60 – 70 minutes. Remove from oven and cool about 15 minutes.  Keep oven on.

Mix topping ingredients and spread onto top of cheesecake to within about 1/2 inch from edge.  Return to oven and bake about 7 more minutes.  Cool completely, cover, and refrigerate at least 24 hours (as I said, 2-3 days is best.)

On day you’re going to serve, make glaze.  Simply melt jar of jelly over low heat.

Remove cake from pan.  Press graham cracker crumbs onto sides, if desired.

Arrange sliced strawberries on top of cheesecake, covering the whole thing. Brush glaze on strawberries, allowing it to run down and pool on cake.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

It really is the best.

Marie brought a crostata di frutta that was outstanding!

A tender crust with a pastry cream, topped with sliced strawberries.  Excellent.

And, finally, fresh fruit with honey and more fresh ricotta.

Totally simple and totally good.

The honey is local that I pick up down at Gentile's Market in Newtown Square.  I've heard that eating local honey is supposed to help with seasonal allergies.  It actually may be working.  I haven't felt as bad recently as I have since moving back here!

Our final things were gifts we made for everyone to bring home with them - Limocello and Strawberry White Balsamic Vinegar.

Both are really good and really easy to make.

The vinegar is simple crushed strawberries steeped in white balsamic and then strained and filtered. It can be accomplished in a couple of hours.

The limoncello takes a bit longer.  Weeks longer.

Limoncello

  • 15 organic lemons, well scrubbed
  • 2 (750 ml) bottles 100-proof vodka
  • 4 cups sugar
  • 5 cups water

Wash the lemons well and pat dry. Carefully zest the lemons with a zester or vegetable peeler so there is no white pith on the peel.

Step One:
In a large glass jar (1-gallon jar), add the vodka and the lemon zest. Cover the jar and let sit at room temperature for at least 10 days and up to 40 days in a cool dark place. The longer it rests, the better the taste will be. (There is no need to stir – all you have to do is wait.) As the limoncello sits, the vodka slowly take on the flavor and rich yellow color of the lemon zest.

Step Two:
In a large saucepan, combine the sugar and water; cook until thick and syrupy, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Cool the syrup and then stir into the limoncello mixture. Allow to rest for another 10 to 40 days.

Step Three:
After the rest period, strain and bottle: discarding the lemon zest. Keep in the freezer until ready to serve.

It was a lot of fun. And a lot of food.

It doesn't get much better.

 

 

 

 

 

 


Pork and Pappardelle

If I hadn't been so lazy, I would have gone down to the store and gotten another tank of propane.  Or, I could have cleaned the charcoal grill.

The rain didn't materialize and the weather was actually nice.  I had options.

Lazy won out. I cooked indoors.

I had a pork tenderloin all nice and thawed so I cut it into about 1" cutlets and popped them into a nice, hot skillet.  After they were nicely browned, I added a splash of marsala, and after it cooked down, I added some leftover chicken gravy from the bird I roasted Monday.  It's the dinner that keeps on giving.  I have a gallon of chicken stock that needs to get into the freezer, too.

While that simmered away, I cooked up some pappardelle pasta and some frozen mixed vegetables.

Lazy never tasted so good!

And Victor just made banana Bread.  It's in the oven right now.

 

 


French-Cut Green Beans

As a kid growing up, "French-Cut" Green Beans came in a frozen cube.  Actually, pretty much all vegetables came in a frozen cube - or a can.  The freezer was always full of those 10 for a dollar Lady Lee boxes.  It was how you fed six kids on a fireman's salary.

Come to think of it, the majority of the restaurants I worked at in the late '60's and early '70's served most of their vegetables from #10 cans.  Alice Waters wasn't yet on the scene.

French-cut green beans were always a special occasion vegetable.  Definitely not your basic Tuesday night fare.  If mom was going to get really fancy, there might be some slivered almonds in them.  But more often than not, they were boiled, salted, and buttered.

I still eat frozen vegetables - ofttimes they're fresher and more flavorful than stuff grown for shipping durability, but when they're available, nothing beats a fresh French-cut green bean.  And they're easy to prepare with the right little tool.

I'm not sure where we picked up the green bean frencher, but it's one of those gadgets that sits in the drawer just minding its own business until I decide it needs to see the light of day.  There's a variation of it on the top of a lot of vegetable peelers.

It's brilliant in its simplicity... a bean gets fed into the little opening and hits about 5 razor blades.  Ya pull it through and you have a French-cut bean.  It only cuts one bean at a time but in a matter of minutes, I had a nice-sized pile.

I simply steamed the beans and added a pat of butter and some salt and pepper.  Very basic.  I wanted to taste the beans - not a lot of other stuff.

The beans set off a classic roast chicken.  Lemon and herbs d'Provence in the cavity, mashed potatoes and pan gravy.

There is enough chicken left over for a couple more meals...

I'm going to have to think of something fun for tomorrow...

 


Baked Ravioli with Broccoli Rabe

I mentioned to Victor before I headed to work yesterday that we had some broccoli rabe that needed using up.  I came home to baked ravioli with broccoli rabe and pancetta.  I love how making such a simple statement can lead to such a fabulous meal!

It was cold, and storming outside, and warm and filling inside.  It was the perfect meal for the day.

Baked Ravioli with Broccoli Rabe

  • 1 pound ravioli
  • 1 bunch broccoli rabe
  • 4 oz pancetta
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • 1/2 tbsp butter
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Cook ravioli about 3/4 done.  Drain and set aside.

Saute pancetta in a bit of olive oil until crispy-brown.  Add minced garlic and quickly saute.

Add broccoli rabe and cook until wilted.

Add milk and scrape pan to get up all small bits.  Stir in cheese.  Add raviloi and mix well.

Pour into buttered baking dissh, cover, and bake about 15 minutes at 350°.

Remove cover, add bread crumbs mixed with butter.  Continue to bake another 20 minutes, or until bubbly nd bread crumbs are browned.

It was extremely good! The flavors blended perfectly, the broccoli rabe added just the right amount of bitterness to the creamy cheesy ravioli and salty pancetta.

 

 

 


Malt Shoppe Pie

In one of our Family Reunion Cook Books, my aunt and my cousin submitted a recipe for "Malt Shoppe Pie."  Essentially, ice cream, cool whip, and crushed malt balls spread into a chocolate cookie crust.  Very simple, and very yummy!

The cook books are well over 20 years old and none of us use cool whip, anymore, (or store-bought cookie crusts, for that matter) but a substitute of whipped cream and a homemade cookie crust took mere seconds.

And so worth those few seconds!

As with any cooking, the quality of the ingredients dictates the final result.  One can make an acceptable dessert using acceptable ingredients, or make a superior dessert using superior ingredients.

I have my feet planted in both worlds.  Sometimes "acceptable" is perfectly fine.  Other times, one wants to take it over the top. I made a variation of this a few years ago and put a chocolate ganache on top.  That was taking it over the top.

This version used really good ingredients - premium vanilla ice cream, real heavy cream (look at the ingredients on the next carton of heavy cream you buy - if it lists anything other than cream - don't buy it!) malt balls without partially hydrogenated fats or high fructose corn syrup, and vanilla bean vanilla wafers.

It makes a difference.

Malt Shoppe Pie

  • 2 cups vanilla wafer cookie crumbs
  • 3 tbsp butter, melted
  • 1 qt vanilla ice cream, softened
  • 1 cup heavy cream, whipped
  • 10 oz malt balls, crushed

Mix crumbs and butter and press into bottom of a 9" springform pan.  Bake at 350° about 10 minutes.  Cool.

Soften ice cream.  Whip cream and blend with ice cream.  Mix in malt balls.

Spread into cooked crust, cover with wrap and freeze.

You can cover with a ganache, sprinkle more crushed malt balls on top, or just serve it as-is.

It really does rock!

 

 


Boursin Mashed Potatoes

Tonight's dinner was all about the mashed potatoes.  Boursin Mashed Potatoes.

Boursin is a soft, creamy cheese that hails from France, but is also manufactured right here in the good ol' USofA.  Besides the obvious crackers and bread, it mixes well into sauces and is especially good mixed into mashed potatoes.  Really especially good.

I don't remember when I first had Boursin.  It was years (and years and years) ago.  Maybe Tahoe in the '70s?  We were all pretty adventurous cooks back then.  Boursin would have been just the thing to liven up one of those pot-smoking-and-wine-drinking evenings with the roommates on Canterbury Drive...  Ah yes...  the good old days...   20' ceiling, wall of windows, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, loft... We paid $400/mo rent - split 4 ways. I'd move back into that house in a heartbeat.  Serious good times were had by all!

But I digress...

The concept/recipe is pretty basic - just add some cheese to your favorite mashed potato recipe.  Simple but oh, so flavorful!  It really takes the spuds to the next level.  There are quite a few varieties out there but my favorite remains garlic and herb.

The rest of the dinner was steamed wax beans and grilled burgers with a wild mushroom sauce.

I picked up some 90/10 ground beef because it was on sale for slightly less than my normal 80/20 and am sorry I did.  The burgers just lacked flavor and were dry.  What I saved in a couple grams of fat I totally lost in flavor and enjoyment.  Back to the 80/20 next shopping trip.

Dessert will make up for it, though...  A variation on my Aunt Kathleen's and Cousin Kate's  Malt Shoppe Pie!


Springtime Salads

My body is saying "thank you" a million times over tonight.  It's finally salad weather.

I know and understand that in today's world of produce being grown and flown in from all over the planet, I can have a salad any time I want.  Problem is, when it's cold outside, I don't want to eat a salad.  I want soups and stews and homemade bread and casseroles and good things like that.  But as the temperature rises the thought of soup gives way to leafy greens and anything else I can think of to top them.

Tonight it was a grilled pork tenderloin.

I marinated the tenderloin in the Honey Clementine BBQ Sauce I made earlier, and grilled it from the top rack of the grill.  Came out great.

The Honey Clementine Salad Dressing worked perfectly.

So... off-topic a bit...  When did "wax beans" start getting called "Yellow Beans?"   I was surprised to see them labeled that way at the produce store, today.  And when did "string beans" lose their string?!?  I haven't been paying attention!

I blanced the two types of beans and a bit of broccoli, boiled a couple of eggs, sliced a tomato and chopped a green onion.  All on a bed of mixed greens.

We're going to be seeing more and more of these as the months progress...

Who knows...  maybe I'll even drop a pound or two.

It could happen.


Honey Tangerines

Today was my day to play with honey tangerines.  They are at peak season right now and probably the best I've had in a long time.  I was at the produce store earlier today and while talking with a guy over the honey tangerine display, he said "these things make salt taste like sugar!"

Right to the point.  Sweet doesn't even begin to describe them.  There's just flavor like you wouldn't believe.

I knew  couple of days ago that I was going to use them for the next BBQ sauce experiment but didn't have a clear idea of what I was going to do.  The recipe came to me as I was frying peppers this afternoon. (I fried up 3 pounds of frying peppers and 1 pound of long hot peppers in olive oil just to have around the house.)

Right before that I had boiled down 5 cups of fresh-squeezed juice to 1 1/4 cups and it was cooling on the counter...

Honey Tangerine BBQ Sauce

  • 1 cup reduced honey tangerine juice
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 3 fried peppers
  • 1 6oz can tomato paste
  • 1 tsp tabasco sauce
  • salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients in sauce pan and bring to boil.  Reduce heat and, using an immersion blender, blend until smooth.  Simmer about 10 minutes, taste for seasoning and add more salt, pepper, or hot sauce, as desired.

And since I'm doing salads for dinner and need a salad dressing for tonight, I thought a honey tangerine dressing would bw just the ticket!

Honey Tangerine Salad Dressing

  • 1/4 cup reduced honey tangerine juice
  • 1/4 cup strawberry white balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 cup grapeseed oil
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Place all ingredients in jar or bottle and shake well.

It's really crisp and fruity - perfect for a spring salad!

As with the BBQ sauce, I really practiced restraint - not something I do on a regular basis.  In both instances, I wanted the juice to be the star and really shine above the other ingredients.  It's why I used grapeseed oil - a neutral oil - instead of a heavier olive oil.  I didn't want the flavors to have to compete.

I made the strawberry balsamic vinegar a few days ago.  It is simply crushed strawberries soaked in the white balsamic and then strained.

So dinner tonight is going to be salads with bbq'd pork tenderloin.

More on that, later...

 

 


Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Slow-simmered pork shoulder and spicy BBQ sauce - what could be better?!?  A winning lottery ticket, perhaps, or maybe a split of champagne at Fouquet's on the Champs Elysées... but a  dreary wet Friday evening in Strafford?!?  Pulled pork sandwiches win hands down.

Victor put the pork into the oven at 275° for about 3 hours while I was at work.  He used a heavy caserole with a tight-fitting lid.  The pork shoulder was seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic - very basic - and he then added a couple of cups of water to the pot.  Closed it tight and into the oven.

When I got home, it was fall-apart-tender.  I drained the pot, shredded the pork, and added a bottle of Gates Kansas City BBQ Sauce.  I popped it back into the oven for another hour just to get it sassy.

And sassy it was!

I seriously thought about making a BBQ sauce but remembered I still had one bottle of the Gates sauce in the cupboard.  Gates is definitely one of the better bottled sauces available.  "Tomatoes, vinegar, salt, sugar, celery, garlic, spices, and pepper." Can't beat the ingredients.

I baked off a couple of ciabatta rolls and added some Red Dragon cheese.  Good ol' Wikipedia states: Y Fenni  is a variety of Welsh cheese, consisting of Cheddar cheese blended with mustard seed and ale. It takes its name from the Welsh language name of Abergavenny, a market town in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. Y Fenni, when coated in red wax, is also known as 'Red Dragon', a name derived from the dragon on the Flag of Wales. It really is tasty.  It has a good mustard-y tang and the ale undertones are just discernible enough to be complimenting to the cheddar and the mustard seed.

The pork came out great and I'm glad I resisted making a sauce.  Sometimes a classic sauce just works best and in this case, it worked perfectly with the cheese.