Roast Pork & Almond Sauce over Noodles

Been trying to cook some healthy options and I’ll be posting a few I’ve found that are really good.  We had grilled up a pork tenderloin and had leftover pork.  So I used that pork with this recipe.  Super quick and easy since the pork was already cooked.  I’m sure their way is super tasty too.

1/2 pound pork tenderloin

8 oz uncooked pasta (I used a whole grain angel hair)

1/4 cup almond butter

2 1/2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce

1 cup thinly sliced green onions

For the pork, you can do what they did or what I did.  We grilled up a pork tenderloin the day before and only ate half.  I took the other half and cut into thin strips and heated in the oven at 350 for 5-10 minutes or until warm.

While cooking the pasta, you can start making the sauce.  Mix all ingredients together and once pasta is done, add 2 tablespoons of the pasta water.  Top each bowl of pasta with pork, sauce and sprinkle some sliced green onions.  Serves about 4.

Note, I was worried that our pork tenderloin was pre-seasoned with lemon and garlic and would make the dish taste funny.  It did not.  It was crazy delicious and maybe more enjoyable since this whole process took practically no time when you don’t have to cook the pork.

Here’s a crappy picture of the tasty dish:

 

Barbecued Pork Banh Mi

I love, love, love Vietnamese food. This banh mi is (almost) as delicious as the sandwich at my favorite Vietnamese restaurant in NOLA. The meat is incredibly tender, and it’s wonderful on french bread or in a lettuce wrap.

Ingredients

2-3 lbs. pork tenderloin
1 minced shallot
6 cloves minced garlic
1/3 cup of minced lemongrass
3 tbsp. sesame seeds
1/3 cup of brown sugar
2 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. salt
1/2 tbsp. black pepper
3 tbsp. fish sauce
1 tbsp. sesame oil
1/2 tbsp. of vegetable oil
2-4 tbsp tamari (regular soy sauce will also work)
French bread
Jalapenos
Pickled carrots, daikon and cucumbers
Fresh cilantro

Slice the pork tenderloin into 1/4-inch-thick slices. In a large bowl, combine all of the remaining ingredients, mixing thoroughly. Add the sliced pork to the bowl. Toss the pork to coat it in the marinade, then cover the bowl and refrigerate it for about 24 hours.

Skewer the pork slices or lay them in a single layer in a meat cage for the grill. (We tried both methods, and they worked equally well.) Grill the meat over medium heat for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side, just long enough to get a nice, caramelized char. Serve the barbecued pork on french bread with sliced fresh jalapenos and pickled carrots, daikon and cucumbers. (You can buy them at the store or make your own. This recipe is easy and delicious: http://userealbutter.com/2011/08/22/vietnamese-pickled-vegetables-recipe/) Top with fresh cilantro.

Mashed Potato & Cheddar Casserole

Tonight was a cold night, and I was craving comfort food. Potato and cheese casserole sounded wonderful. I adapted this recipe based on what I had in the house. It made just enough for two servings as a main dish, so double the recipe if you’d like extra helpings.

2 large Russet potatoes
1 tbsp. butter
1 carrot or a handful of baby carrots, shredded
1/2 zucchini, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onions or leeks (the white part, washed well)
1 1/2 cups sour cream*
1 cup cheddar cheese, divided in half
2 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
salt & pepper to taste

Boil potatoes in salted water. When tender, peel and mash until mostly smooth. Sautee the vegetables in the butter until tender. Combine vegetables with the potatoes, sour cream, half of the cheese, the parsley, and salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture into a buttered 8×8 baking dish and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, until cheese browns on top.

* I didn’t have any sour cream, so I made my own. I whipped a bit more than 3/4 cup of cream, pouring in lemon juice little by little as I whisked so it wouldn’t curdle. I kept tasting along the way and stopped adding lemon juice when the cream was tart enough. Eventually, the cream nearly doubled in volume.

The Best Thing About Black Friday- Turkey, Stuffing, Cranberry Omelets.

I don’t need to tell anyone here the merits of having leftovers, but Thanksgiving is one of those occasions where the leftovers are almost as good (if not better) than the original meal itself.

What you’re looking at here is a turkey omelet with stuffing, cranberry sauce and a little parmigiano reggiano; the first of many meals made from the enormous quantity of leftovers our Thanksgiving celebration created. The beauty of the omelet is that it can be filled with just about anything, so feel free supplement with whatever you’ve got in your refrigerator.

1. Heat skillet on low.
2. Combine egg in bowl, mix and add a small handful of parmesan.
3. Position turkey, cranberry sauce and stuffing nearby for quick access.
4. Pour egg on skillet, spread around for even coating if necessary.
5. While eggs are soupy on top, add turkey and accompanying ingredients down the center one-third of your eggs.
6. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
7. When eggs are firm on the bottom (but not cooked completely through), fold the two sides up and over the fix’ins in the middle. Cook for another minute or so.
8. Flip omelet to ensure cheese is melted. It will help keep the folds ‘glued’ down. Depending on how big your omelet is, I recommend using two spatulas.
9. Remove from skillet, plate and enjoy.
10. Calculate the number of hours before making another one of these would be appropriate.

Crock-Pot Greek Chicken Pitas With Tzatziki Sauce

I am obsessed with tzatziki sauce. It’s gotten to the point where I will actually plan entire meals around it. Mmmm. Delicious tzatziki sauce… and whatever I’ve drowned in it.

This recipe was super easy and turned out finger-lickin’ delicious.

Ingredients

1 lb. to 1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon oregano
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper

1. Throw all of the ingredients into the Crock-Pot, mixing so the seasoning is evenly coating the chicken.

2. Cook on low for about 8 hours, or until the chicken is tender and falls apart easily when you touch it with a fork.

3. Remove chicken from the slow cooker and shred it on a plate using two forks. Put the chicken back in the cooker with the juices and leave on warm until you are ready to eat.

4. About 1-2 hours before you eat, make the tzatziki sauce and refrigerate to let the flavors mingle. This has been my go-to recipe lately; it is so tasty, especially when you make it with white wine vinegar.

5. Spoon chicken and tzatziki sauce onto warm pita bread and serve with tomato, lettuce and feta (I like it with hot sauce as well).

Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

When I’m experimenting with a new recipe, I always get nervous.  Especially when I’m cooking for a crowd… and it happens to be gumbo… and everyone expects me to naturally know how to make it.  Before this, I had never made a gumbo from scratch.  I made it once before, but I used the Savoie’s Roux sold in grocery stores back in Louisiana.  And even then, it didn’t turn out that great. And while I’d made a roux before, it was always a light roux for etouffees and such, never a dark one.

My mother shared a horror story from her first attempt at making gumbo from scratch.  She messed up on the roux and the whole thing turned to such a mess that she wouldn’t even let my dad taste it. From that point on, she only used Savoie’s premade roux.

A couple of weekends ago, I took a swing at a homemade gumbo to rally support for the Saints game.  I went to Emeril for advice and basically used this recipe. Below is what I did.

½ cup vegetable oil

1 cup all purpose flour

2 cups chopped onions

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped green bell peppers

1 bunch green onions

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tblsp Emeril’s Seasoning (recipe below)

3 bay leaves

9 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 pounds smoked sausage, cut into bite size pieces

2-3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces

Hot sauce

Steamed white rice

Emeril’s Seasoning (you’ll end up with much more than you need, but it will leave you with seasoning for the future):

2 ½ Tblsp paprika

2 Tblsp salt

2 Tblsp garlic powder

1 Tblsp black pepper

1 Tblsp onion powder

1 Tblsp cayenne pepper

1 Tblsp dried oregano

1 Tblsp dried thyme

Now if you read Emeril’s recipe, he does a lot more work with the meat.  I took my mom’s advice and skipped that whole process.  Too much work and our way turned out fantastic with a lot less effort.  You’ll see below.

First off, chop up all the veggies.  I used 2 large white onions, 1 bunch of celery, 2 green bell peppers and 1 bunch of green onions.  When chopping up the green onions, take the bottom half and add to the veggie mixture, the top half (aka the green part), you can chop and place to the side in a small bowl for garnishing later.

Making the roux: combine vegetable oil and flour in a very large pot.  Cook over medium heat, constantly stirring until the roux is the color of a dark chocolate.  Emeril said about 20-25 minutes.  I stirred for a good 35-40 minutes.

Now you’ll add the veggie mixture you’ve previously chopped.  Stir for about 5 minutes, until they start to soften. Add in Emeril’s Seasoning, salt, cayenne, and bay leaves.  Stir for about 2 minutes and then slowly start to add the chicken stock.  Bring up to a boil.  Once the mixture is mostly combined, drop in the chopped, uncooked chicken and sausage, reduce heat to a simmer and continue cooking, uncovered, for at least an hour.

Note: this is when I got super nervous. The liquid appeared to just be chicken stock soup with flecks of roux stirring around.  It was not appetizing in the least.  But after you let the gumbo simmer for a good long while, it all comes together and looks and tastes the way it should.  Like heaven.

Somewhere in the simmering time, sprinkle in a few hefty shakes of hot sauce.

Serve up over rice, with a sprinkling of those reserved green onions and perhaps a tasty side of garlic bread.  I’ll be honest.  I am very picky in the world of Cajun food outside of Louisiana.  And this was so much more than satisfactory.  It was crazy delicious. I was proud to serve this to several people who’d never actually tasted gumbo.  Success.  Try it. Do it. Now.  The weather is perfect.

Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

I found the recipe found here.

 

 

2 cups all purpose flour

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)

¾ cup cocoa powder (I used a ghiradelli semi-sweet cocoa powder)

2 cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup vanilla extract

2 cups chocolate chips (and used ghiradelli semi-sweet choc chips)

Preheat oven to 350F and line baking sheet with wax paper.

Mix flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.  Next, melt butter and combine with cocoa powder until smooth.  Mix in sugar, vanilla and buttermilk.  Gradually stir in the flour mixture. Be careful not to send flour flying all over the kitchen. Trust me, it happens quite easily. Then mix in the chocolate chips.

Drop 1-inch balls of dough onto the baking sheet with the wax paper.  I thought the wax paper step might be a silly step, but turns out this will make or break the final cookie quite literally.

Depending on your oven, bake about 10-12 minutes.  I actually baked closer to 14 minutes.  If the edges (not the middles) are set then the cookies are done. Whatever you do, don’t try and scoop them up now.  They will break and thus the whole purpose of the wax paper comes into play.  Let them cool for 3-4 minutes on the baking sheet.  The bottoms of the cookies will become perfectly settled and when you finally take the spatula to them, they’ll scoop up easily and maintain their shape perfectly.

The final cookie has a little crunch on the edges but gives way to a chewy fudgy center. Delicious.