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!

Well, it is 2016 and I haven't posted in a while, one of these days I will get a little bit more consistent... Yeah Right.

School is about to start again and Nathan and Anthony are both in highschool which brings a whole lot of after school activities, the fall musical, marching band, center stage, girlfriends... and Nathan may be buying a car... today... Yikes.

So for the last week I have been making dinner and then portioning and freezing the leftovers in mini bread loaf pans that can easily be wrapped, labeled and then reheated as a quick dinner.  so far my freezer meals include Gnocchi with Fresh Tomato Sauce, Beef Curry and Cumin Potatoes, Knorr Soup Mix Chicken and Noodles and Pork Picadillo with Rice, Enjoy!

Fresh Tomato Sauce
            2 T Olive Oil
            1 c Onion, chopped
            4 Cloves Garlic, minced and divided
            1 c Red Wine
            1 c White Wine
            10 c Tomatoes, chopped
            Salt and Pepper TT

                 1.    Heat oil in a four quart pan   
                  2.     Sauté onions and two tablespoons garlic until soft      

                  3.   Add wines and cook until almost dry    

                  4.   Add tomatoes and simmer 1 hour

                  5.   Blend with a hand blender or cool and puree in a blender then return to the

                        stove
                  6.   Add remaining garlic

      7.   Season with salt and pepper to taste
      8.   Simmer until it is reduced by one third

Parmesan Gnocchi

            4 c Potatoes, cooked and mashed

            1 c Parmesan Cheese

            2 Eggs

            3 c Flour

            Dash Nutmeg

            Salt and Pepper TT

            Fresh tomato Sauce

            Cooked Italian Sausage

            Fresh Basil and Parmesan for serving

1.      Mash Potatoes when hot until fluffy

2.      Add Parmesan, eggs and a dash of nutmeg

3.      Add flour to mix until a semi firm dough forms

4.      Season to taste with Salt and Pepper

5.      Roll into logs about ½ inch thick and cut into 1 inch pieces

6.      IQF or drop into boiling water until they float

7.      Drain and toss with sauce and sausage

8.      Serve with Parmesan and Fresh Basil

Beef Curry

            2 T Butter
            ½ c Onions, sliced
            3 T Patak's Mild Curry Paste

            1 lb. Beef Tips, diced

            ¾ lb. Fresh Tomatoes, diced
            1 Green Pepper, diced
            ½ c Sour Cream
            1 t Sugar
            2 T Cilantro, chopped
            ½ c Water
            Salt, to taste

1.      Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy based pan and fry the sliced onions for 5 minutes. Add curry paste and sprinkle in some water, cook for 2 minutes.

                  2.      Add the beef and sauté for a further four minutes.
                  3.      Add the fresh tomatoes, green pepper and water and bring to the boil.
                  4.      Cover and leave to simmer for 30 minutes or until the beef is cooked through. 
                  5.      Stir in the sour cream and sugar.
                  6.      Season to taste with salt. 
                  7.      Stir through the cilantro and serve over rice or potatoes.

Cumin Fried Potato

            2 lb. Potatoes, diced
            ½ c Butter
            1 t Cumin Seeds
            Salt To Taste

1.      Pre-heat oven to 375°

                  2.      Cover potatoes with water and bring to a boil
                  3.      Reduce to a simmer and cook until tender, about twelve minutes
                  4.      Drain potatoes and set aside
                  5.      In a small pan, melt butter with the cumin seeds until the froth subsides
                  6.      Toss potatoes with butter and a pinch of salt
                  7.      Pour onto a baking sheet and bake until crispy about twenty minutes, stirring
                        after ten minutes

Knorr’s Creamy Chicken and Pasta

            6 Chicken Breasts

            Salt and Pepper TT

            ½ Cup Flour

            2 c Chicken Stock

            1 c Water

            1 Package Knorr’s Soup Mix

            2 T Olive Oil

            1 c Sour Cream

            1 lb. Pasta of Choice

            Parmesan Cheese, grated

1.      Season Chicken with Salt and Pepper

2.      Dust Chicken with Flour

3.      Bring broth and water to a boil in a pan

4.      Add Knorr’s soup mix and reduce to a simmer for 8 minutes

5.      Add Pasta and cook until al dente

6.      Heat oil in a skillet and cook chicken until cooked through, about 8 minutes per side

7.      Stir Sour Cream into pasta and mix well

8.      Season to taste

9.      Arrange pasta on plates

10.  Slice Chicken and arrange over pasta

11.  Garnish with parmesan cheese

Pork Picadillo

            2 T Olive Oil
            ½ c Onion, chopped
            2 Cloves Garlic
            ½ lb. Ground or Chopped Pork
            ½ t Cinnamon
            2 t Cumin
            Dash Cloves
            Dash Nutmeg
            2 c Diced Tomatoes
            Salt and Pepper TT
            ¼ c Dried Cherries
            ¼ c Cilantro, chopped
            ¼ c Scallion, chopped
            ¼ c Green Olives, chopped

1.      Heat olive oil in a skillet

                  2.      Sauté onions and garlic until soft about ten minutes
                  3.      Add Pork and cook through
                  4.      Add chili mild cinnamon, cloves, cumin and nutmeg
                  5.      Add diced tomatoes and simmer five minutes
                  6.      Season to taste with salt and pepper
                  7.      In a separate bowl, combine cherries, cilantro, scallions and olives
                  8.      Serve over rice with olive mixture for garnish

By the way... I just found out Nathan did get the car....

Best Neighbor Ever

A couple of days ago my wife called me to let me know that or neighbor had given us some venison. Great! I thought, a couple of pounds of freezer burned ground venison he is trying to unload before the next hunting season.  When I got home I was pleasantly surprised to find about 25# of venison, wrapped, vacuum sealed and frozen.  Not just ground either but about 5 packages of loin steaks.  Ok, I will send them some Christmas cookies this year.

My brother in law Stu is also here from England and wanted to make some chili.  I had a good recipe from a couple of years ago and updated it to take advantage of my fresh tomatoes and venison.  Unfortunately, he is leaving Saturday so I had to make it myself and not with him, so are some detailed instructions, followed by a printable recipe.

Both recipes start basically the same way, with some fat and meat... what a great way to start out the recipe. Don't worry if you can't find the beef heart for the first recipe, just substitute more ground beef.  I like the heart because it adds another texture to the final chili.

When the meat is done, add the peppers and onions.  In the 2012 recipe I used some mild peppers in adobo sauce that I had made at home.  You can use Chipotle peppers in Adobo Sauce, but be careful as they can add a lot of heat.

Once the peppers and onions are soft, add the spices and let them get fragrant.  I like to stir everything to the side of my pan, let the bottom get good and hot and dump the spices right in the middle.  Stir them a little and the smell will be amazing.  after about a minute, stir everything together.

Now add the liquids, tomatoes, broth and beer.  Don't worry about what kind of beer, I used Corona for the 2014 and i think Labbat for the 2012.  Bring everything to a boil and then down to the simmer.

Oh yeah, the smoked bone.  I found one of these at a local butcher.  It adds a really nice smoky flavor as well as it looks really cool when you use it to stir the chili as it sticks out of the pan.  For the 2014 I had some bones I had saved from some smoked porkchops.

Then I turn everything on low and let it simmer over night.  this is really the secret to a good soup, stew, or chili in my opinion.  Then the following morning, give it a final seasoning check, adding salt and pepper as needed.

Enjoy!

Chili 2012

            ½ c Bacon Fat

            1 ½ lb Ground Sirloin

            1 lb Ground Beef Heart

            1 lb Diced Sirloin

            1 Onion, diced

            2 Green Peppers, diced

            1 T Cumin

            1 T Oregano    

            2 T Paprika

            1 T Thyme

            1 T Granulated Garlic

            1 #10 Can Diced Tomatoes

            4 c Beef Stock

            Smoked Bone

            2 12oz bottle beer

            6 oz Tomato paste

            Mild Peppers in Adobo Sauce, chopped

            Salt and Pepper TT

           

1.      Cook beef in bacon fat, add onions and peppers

2.      Saute 10 minutes

3.      Return meat to pan and add tomatoes, stock, bone and beer

4.      Simmer 1 hour

5.      Add remaining ingredients and season with salt and pepper

6.      Remove bone and serve

Chili 2014

½ c Olive Oil

3# Ground Venison

1 Onion, diced

2 Green Peppers, diced

2 Jalapeno Peppers,  seeded, minced

1 T Instant Coffee

1 T Cumin

1 T Oregano

2 T Paprika

1 T Thyme

1 T Granulated Garlic

12 c Fresh Tomatoes, diced

4 c Beef Stock Smoked Bone

            2 - 12oz bottle beer

            16 oz Tomato paste

Salt and Pepper TT 1.

1.      Cook venison in olive oil 

2.      Add onions and peppers and sauté 10 minutes

3.     Add spices and stir to coat, sauté 2 minutes

4.      Add tomatoes, stock, bone and beer, simmer 1 hour

5.      Add remaining ingredients and season with salt and pepper

6.      Remove bone and serve

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I also made some killer Venison Quesadillas, check these out to.

Venison Quesadillas

2 T Olive Oil

1# Ground Venison

1/2 Red Onion, cut into 1/8 inch rings

1 Red Bell Peppers, diced

3 T Balsamic Vinegar

1/2 Celery Salt

Salt and pepper TT

1/4 pound Good Irish Cheddar Cheese, such as Dubliner, shaved

4 Flour Tortillas

Cooking Spray

1.      Cook venison in olive oil

2.      Add onions and peppers and sauté 10 minutes

3.      Add balsamic, celery salt and 1 cup of water simmer 1 hour, careful not to let it dry out

4.      Season to taste with salt and pepper, set aside

5.      Preheat oven to 450 degrees

6.   Spray tortillas and place on a baking sheet

7.   Divide venison onion mixture on to the tortillas

8.   Top with cheese and fold tortillas over

9.   Bake 10 - 12 minutes until golden brown

10. cut into triangles and serve immediately

** Notes, I used Fustini (www.fustinis.com) Meyer Lemon Olive Oil and Blueberry Balsamic Vinegar which added a nice fruity complement to the gaminess of the venison