First you buy a pork loin...

... and then you cut it into user-friendly pieces...

It's no secret that the smaller the package or the more someone has had to handle something, the more expensive it is going to be.  In the world of groceries and meat, it is most definitely true.  That's one of the reasons I like to buy less-processed and larger quantities whenever possible.  It's also why I bought a FoodSaver.

I picked up a pretty good sized pork loin the other day, and cut it into some really nice, thick, pork chops.  The kind that are perfect for stuffing.  They went into the freezer and the rest was pounded into little scallops.

Tonight, I dredged the scallops of pork in seasoned flour (s&p, garlic, onion) and sauteed in a bit of olive oil and butter.  I pulled them outy of the pan and added a handful of mushrooms, and browned them well.  I then added a splash of whilte wine - maybe half a cup (that's all that was left in the bottle) - and reduced it down.  I then added about a cup of beef broth, reduced it by half, and then added about a half-cup of cream.  I thickened it with a bit of cornstarch, added the pork back to the pan, heated everything through, and ate.

It was pretty good.

Tomorrow we start baking Christmas cookies.

by Tim Dineen

Lentil Soup

We've been serving spiral sliced hams at work this week - and that means we've had quite a few ham bones.  Under normal circumstances we don't take home leftovers, but exceptions are made form time to time - especially in the case of ham bones for soup!  I was able to bring one home yesterday, and we've had quite a few employees who have been the happy recipients of some nice and meaty bones.

It always surprises me that so many people have no idea what to do with a ham bone!  It's a shame, really, because if they took the time to make a pot of soup now and again, they'd never buy the canned stuff, again.

Making soup is - literally - throwing stuf in a pot and cooking it down a bit.  There's no big secret, no special talent necessary.  It's stuff in a pot.  I do 'clean out the refrigerator' soups all winter long.  Bits of this and that, leftover anything.  Into the pot it goes.  Most of the time the only seasonings necessary are salt and pepper.  The ingredients speak for themselves.

This recipe is an approximation, because I don't measure things like "water" and carrots, celery, and such are whatever's in the 'fridge at the time.

Lentil Soup

• meaty ham bone
• 8 cups water
• 2 cups dried lentils
• 4 carrots, diced
• 4 stalks celery, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, saute carrots, celery, and onion in a bit of oil or butter.  Add ham bone, water, lentils, and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour, or until lentils are tender.

Remove ham bone and remove as much meat as possible. Chop meat and return to lentil soup.   Taste, and add salt and pepper, as desired.

For this particular soup, we had about a cup of red lentils and a cup of French lentils, so the red lentils went in first, and after we pulled out the ham bone, we hit the pot with an immersion blender, and then added the cup of French lentils and let them cook down.

At the end I stirred in a bit of Victor's roasted garlic butter - because it was there.

I also made mini grilled ham and cheese sandwiches on rye bread.  I had a loaf of mini-rye bread that was perfect for the job.  Ham, American cheese, and butter on the bread.  That was it.  As plain and basic as one can get.

It was good.

by Tim Dineen

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

I love it when I call home at lunch and Victor say's he's taking care of dinner.  It always means something good.  And tonight was no exception.  Stuffed Chicken Breasts!

Really simply done with goat cheese and a bit of panko bread crumbs.  Baked in the oven.  Simple, yet delicious.

Accompanied by oven-roasted sweet potatoes and Brussel's Sprouts with garlic butter and brown sugar.  Oh yeah.  Way good!

My tastebuds have died and gone to heaven.  Dinner was great.

by Tim Dineen

Having Stuff For Dinner

"Stuff" is the term we use for dinner that is made with no recipe - and from a concoction of ingredients that are unlikely to ever be present in the kitchen in the same quantities, again.  In other words, a one-shot, one-of-a-kind meal, unlikely to ever be duplicated, replicated, or otherwise made, again.

In this case - too bad.

Today's leftover dinner delight was:

• 1 carrot, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 4 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 small pork chop, cubed
• 1 small chicken breast, cubed
• 2 links andouille sausage, diced
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 cans white beans
• 1 cup turkey gravy
• panko bread crumbs
• butter

I sauteed the garlic, onion, celery, mushrooms, and carrot in a bit of butter  and then added the pork, chicken, and andouille.  When it was cooked, I added the wine and reduced it to almost nothing.  Then went in the beans.  Everything went into the casserole and I added garlicky buttered panko bread crumbs on top and into the oven for about 30 minutes.

It was one of those dishes that may not be much to look at once dished out (it would be great in individual casserole dishes) but dayum it was tasty!  The flavors and textures were continually changing.  It was savory and comforting, with crunchy bread crumbs balancing the soft beans and the meats...

We're having leftovers for lunch!

by Tim Dineen

Ravioli and Meatballs

I love Saturday.  I especially love it when Victor cooks dinner on Saturday.

I had pulled some hamburger out of the freezer before heading off to work this morning, and Victor turned it into meatballs, homemade sauce, and ravioli.  Yum.

A while back, Victor had roasted a bunch of garlic.  He made a most excellent garlic butter merely by softening a cube of butter and stirring in the roasted garlic paste.  There was still lots of roasted garlic left, and it's been sitting in olive oil - in the fridge - being used for this-and-that.  Tonight, the final this was the sauce.  That sweet-garlic flavor was great!

And the roasted garlic butter is perfect on the walnut raisin bread for sopping up the sauce.

Yum, again.

My stomach is smiling...

by Tim Dineen

Panko Breaded Chicken

I've been craving bacon for days, now...  I picked up almost 2 pounds at the farmers market the other day and it's been sitting, nicely wrapped, in the refrigerator ever since.  Tonight, it became a part of dinner.  (Well - four slices did.  The rest was nicely portioned with the FoodSaver and into the freezer it went...)

I had thawed out a couple of really huge chicken breasts (so huge, actually, I should have used one and split it, since we both only ate half tonight...) so chicken was definitely the star, but I needed some supporting players, and bacon, roasted red peppers, and manchego cheese easily filled the bill.

I dredged the chicken in seasoned flour, dipped into egg, and then into seasoned panko bread crumbs. (The basics - garlic, salt, and pepper.)

Into a hot skillet with a bit of grapeseed oil it went.  When the chicken was well-browned, I put it into a 350° oven for about 10 minutes to continue cooking.

I then topped each breast with 2 slices of cooked bacon, roasted red pepper, and thick slices of manchego cheese.  Back into the oven.

In the meantime, I had cubed and roasted potatoes, and steamed broccoli and drizzled it with Victor's roasted garlic butter.

The flavors really worked out well.  The bacon, pepper, and cheese really worked well with the panko chicken.  Lots of flavors and textures for minimal effort.

And I ate all my broccoli.

by Tim Dineen

Turkey Soup

It's hard to take credit for boiling bones with water - but, what the heck...

Coming from a large family, we were raised on soups.  My mother could make soup out of anything - or nothing, depending upon how close it was to payday.  Soup is merely putting things into a pot and making it all hot.  Really basic.  And really, really easy.

Tonight's soup started with the turkey carcass in a pot filled with water.  I added a bit of white wine, a couple of bay leaves, a couple of garlic cloves, and a bit of salt and pepper.  I let it go at a rolling boil for a couple of hours, allowing it to reduce by almost half.  (It did a wonderful job of humidifying the house.) I strained it, added a couple of cups of leftover gravy, and after it cooled, into the 'fridge it went.  I probably ended up with a gallon of broth.

Today, I skimmed the grease from the top and back into the soup pot it went - with:

• 2 cups chopped celery
• 2 cups chopped carrots
• 1 cup fresh peas (leftover from my farmer's market run)
• 2 cups fresh green beans
• 1 can cannellini beans
• about 3/4 cup dried barley and
• about 1/3 cup wild rice that I precooked before adding
• 3 cups chopped turkey

It all went into the pot and cooked.  Really simple, really basic.  The beauty is any and all of the ingredients could have been changed or omitted.  In most situations, it's about what's in the refrigerator or cabinets.  You shouldn't have to go shopping to make soup.

And now that cake is calling my name...

by Tim Dineen

Apple and Gorgonzola Ravioli

When I was at the farmer's market yesterday, I happened upon Sassano's Fresh Pasta stand. I've had their pasta before, and while it's a bit pricey - almost everything at the farmer's market is - it's also really good. And like everything at the market, the quality is superb.

I espied a ravioli I hadn't heard of before - Apple and Gorgonzola.  They were big - over an ounce each.  I bought a pound and received 14 huge rectangular ravioli.

Apple and Gorgonzola cried out for a cream sauce.  I wanted something fairly rich and flavorful, but not anything overpowering to compete with the apple and Gorgonzola filling.

I came up with a mushroom and leek cream sauce:

• 3 oz baby bella mushrooms
• 1 small leek, cleaned and sliced
• 1/4 cup port (I usually use Madeira or sherry - I was out)
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Parmesan cheese
• Butter

Saute the mushrooms and leeks in a bit of butter and garlic. (Victor made roasted garlic butter today so I used it for the sauce and for garlic toast.)

When mushrooms have cooked down considerably, add port (Madeira, sherry, Marsala, etc...) and cook until almost fully evaporated.  Add broth and cook down again, to about half.  Add the cream, bring to a boil and add the cheese.

Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper, as desired.

The sauce was easy - it took 10 minutes.

The ravioli did not have the flavor I was expecting.  They were good - but I did not pick up on the Gorgonzola, at all.  They had a great apple flavor, but the Gorgonzola just didn't come through.  Had I known, the sauce would have had Gorgonzola in it, rather than the Parmesan.  It would have been a nice compliment.  Oh well.  It was quite edible the way it was.

I also picked up some colored cauliflower while I was at the market.  It's always a fun addition.  All it got was salt, pepper, and a drizzle of butter.

Tomorrow is Turkey Soup.  I can't wait!

by Tim Dineen

The Leftovers

It's all about the leftovers.  That really is the main reason I had to cook dinner yesterday - I wanted the leftovers.

And King of the Leftovers is a Turkey Sandwich.

This particular one was on a large roll from the bakeryat the farmer's market, instead of squishy white bread. (While I will almost always eschew squishy white bread, a Thanksgiving Turkey Sandwich on Squishy White Bread is gastronomic heaven...)

Roll bottom, mayonnaise, cranberry sauce, sliced turkey, salt and pepper, dressing, more mayo, top of roll.

Simple and delicious.

by Tim Dineen