Pistachio Fig Stuffed Pork Loin with Hasselback Butternut Squash

I had some pistachios and figs in the freezer and I wanted to do something with them and came up with this.  It was a success, all four boys and Jennifer said they would eat it again... and again.

I started by cutting the loin into a roll and then cut

It into two even pieces, topped with some figs cooked in white wine and some toasted pistachios. Then I rolled them up and placed them in a pan with a little chicken stalk and 5 whole cloves of garlic.  Why five?  I heard somewhere that odd numbers are more common in nature and it looks more natural... maybe I am a little OCD... I don't know.

Next was the Hasselback Squash.  I saw this in Bon Appetite and knew I wanted to do it.  Their version was stuffed with bay leaves but I wanted to something different.  I started by peeling the squash and laying chopsticks on either side to keep me from cutting all the way through.  Then I was able to open the squash up and slide slices of apple inside, using the left over apples to fill the hollow bottom where the seeds were.  I topped it with bacon pieces, butter and maple syrup and then baked it with the pork for 1 hour at 375 degrees.

The pork was served with a creamy mead reduction and I made some mashed potatoes.  Then I served the Apple sauce from the previous post on the side....

Get in the Kitchen and Cook Something!


Hasselback Squash
     1 Butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut in half
     1 Apple, cored, halved and sliced thin
     1/4 c Cooked Bacon Pieces
     1/4 c Butter
     1/4 c Maple Syrup
     Salt and Pepper To Taste

     1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees
     2.  Lay chopsticks down along side of the squash and using a sharp knife cut vertically through the squash leaving it in one piece.
     3.  Carefully open the slices and stuff apple slices into the squash
     4.  Sprinkle with bacon and butter and drizzle with Maple syrup
     5.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake 1 hour.

 Fig Pistachio Stuffed Pork Loin (Pig Newton)
     1 4# Pork Loin Roast
     6  Fresh Figs, 4 chopped and 2 sliced thin
     1/2 c White Wine
     1/2 c Toasted Pistachios, chopped
     5 Whole Garlic Cloves
     22oz Bottle of Mead or Riesling
     16oz Chicken Stock
     1 c Heavy Cream
     Salt and Pepper To Taste
     Fresh Herbs for Garnish

     1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees
     2.  In a small saucepan, combine figs with white wine
     3.  Bring to a simmer and cook until it is quite thick
     4.  Using a sharp knife, slice the pork line and in roll it into a rectangular piece
     5.  Cut across the grain to give you two pieces and season with salt and pepper
     6.  Spread with the Fig mixture and top with all but two tablespoons of the figs.
     7.  Roll the pork up tightly and place in a baking pan. 
     8.  Arrange the sliced figs on top, sprinkle with reserved Pistachios
     9. Season with salt and pepper and place in the oven for 1 hour
     10.  Meanwhile pour the mead or Riesling in a saucepan with the chicken stock and reduce to about one cup.
     11.  Stir in the cream and keep warm
     12.  To Server, slice the pork on a diagonal and arrange on a platter with the garlic cloves and spoon some sauce over.
     13.  Garnish with fresh herbs and serve remaining sauce on the side.

I got some magnificent Northern Spy and Cortland Apples from the Oakland County Farmers Market on Saturday and had to make some fresh apple sauce.  The kids aren't big fans of the chunks but I love a homemade apple sauce with big pieces of apple in it.  It's great as a side dish for any dinner.

Apple Sauce
     8 Large Apples, I used 1/2 Northern Spy and 1/2 Cortland, peeled and cut into chunks
     1 c Water
     2 t Cinnamon, more to taste
     1/2 c Sugar, more or less, it really depends on personal taste and the tartness of your apples
     1 t Vanilla Extract

     1. Combine the apples, water, cinnamon and sugar in a large pan on medium heat
     2. Stir often to bring the cooked apples to the top and send the raw apples down to cook.
     3. As the apples cook, smash them against the side of the pan with your spoon
     4. When the apples are a uniform color, turn the heat down and cook to desired consistency.
     5. I use a spoon test and when a good mouthful will sit on a spoon I remove the sauce from the heat.
     6. Cool slightly and stir in the vanilla.  This was my Grandfather's secret to a good apple sauce.
     7. Refrigerate and serve with anything.

Enjoy,

Get in the Kitchen and Cook Something!

Farmers Market Curry

Well, it was a typical Saturday morning, I woke up thinking about the dinner I wanted to make for Sunday.  We are on a budget but I still like to do something special on Sunday's when the family can all be together.  More on that in a future post.

So I woke up and knew the litanies of "what's for breakfast?" would start soon so I made some waffles, bacon and sausage. Saturdays are also the day that Anthony has to be to school for band by 9 so I like him to have something to start the day off right.

On the way back I got a message from Jennifer, "Want to go to the Oakland County farmers market?".  To quote Jonathan I answered "Well YeaAhh!". So we went...

It has been a gorgeous fall day, a little cool but I think it should be.  I still wore my Birkenstocks though and only one person asked if my toes were cold.  I bought some Cortland and Northern Spy apples, (More on what I did with them later!) as well as some purple and golden beets, some heirloom tomatoes, fairy tale eggplant, butternut squash and purple cauliflower.

Jen has been asking me to try to make more vegetarian meals and meals without cheese.  For some reason I have a hard time doing both at the same time but this turned out great.

Farmers Market Curry
   2 T butter
   1/2 c Onion, diced
   1 Red Pepper, diced
   1/2 c Eggplant, large diced
   2 c Cauliflower, chopped
   1 14oz Can Garbanzo Beans, drained and rinsed.
   1 c Cherry Tomatoes, halved
   2 T Patak's Mild Curry Paste
   1/2 c White Wine
   1 t Cumin
   1 t Coriander
   1 t Turmeric
   1/4 c Tomato Paste
   2 c Kale, chopped
   1 c Water
   Kosher Salt TT

   1. Melt butter in a large saute pan
   2. Add onions and peppers and saute five minutes.
   3.  Meanwhile, sprinkle eggplant with salt and set aside.
   4.  Add tomatoes, cauliflower, and garbanzo beans and saute 5 minutes.
   5. Add curry paste and saute 5 minutes.
   6. Add white wine and stir up the brown bits in the pan
   7. Rinse the eggplant and drain well, add to the pan with the cumin, coriander, turmeric and tomato paste.
   8. Add the chopped kale.
   9. Add some water and bring to a simmer for 30 minutes, adding water as needed.
   10. Serve over rice



Get in the Kitchen and Cook Something!

Last week I dug up the rest of my beets and carrots from the garden.  I don't usually plant beets or carrots as I am to impatient to wait until Late fall to harvest them.  Also, they take a lot of water I am told to get them to a decent size.  Anyway, this year I had some left over seeds so I planted a two foot row of Carrots as well as two short rows of beets.  It wasn't a bumper crop but it was a successful experiment and I ended up with a handful or two of both.  Most of the carrots were the definition of baby carrots although oddly deformed and mutant looking but still delicious.  The beets were more normal looking although on the small side.


I carefully peeled them and placed them in a pan of water, added a little salt, pepper and about a third of a cup of honey.

Then I let them come to a low boil and watched as they slowly cooked and the water evaporated, leaving behind a sweet glaze.  This took about 30 minutes.

then a little fresh basil snipped from my Miracle Grow Aero Garden and we had a succulent side dish.

My plans for next years garden include more space for carrots and beets.  Wish me luck.

I saved some of the leftovers to slice and serve in salads.  Delicious!
Get in the Kitchen and Cook Something!

The other night I wanted to make something with chicken and some fresh sage from my garden. The results were fantastic.

Lemon Sage Chicken with Prosciutto
Ingredients:
4 - 6oz Chicken Breasts
Fresh Black Pepper
Sea Salt
Fresh Sage, rubbed or chopped
2T Olive Oil
1/2 c White Onion, julienned
1 c Crimini Mushrooms, sliced
2 c Chicken Stock
3 slices Prosciutto
Juice of 1 Lemon
Paprika for garnish

 Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Sprinkle pepper, salt and save over chicken and set aside
3. Heat olive oil in a oven safe frying pan
4. Sauté onions until they start to sweat
5. Add mushrooms and saute 5 minutes
6. Push the mushrooms and onions to the sides of the pan and add the chicken seasoning side down and cook for 4 minutes
7. Turn the chicken over and spread the onions and mushrooms over top of the chicken
8. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil
9. Cut the Prosciutto in half and arrange over top of the chicken.
10. Place the pan in the oven and cook 15 minutes.
11. Remove from the oven, cut the lemon in half and squeeze over the chicken.
12. Sprinkle with paprika. I served this with says but rice or potatoes would be good too.
Get in the kitchen and cook something!