Cider Glazed Pork Loin with Fennel – Apple Relish and Cauliflower Puree

02/20/2017 by Laura 1 Comment

When I made these Cider Glazed Scallops a few weeks ago, I knew immediately that I wanted to use the same cider glaze and cauliflower puree with pork. Pork chops, pork loin or pork tenderloin. I also love apple and fennel with pork, and knew the combination of the cider glaze and the apple-fennel relish would be spectacular. It was just delicious.

For the cider glaze, adapted slightly from this recipe

3 – 4 cups fresh apple cider

1 teaspoon minced shallot

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3-4 Tablespoons cider vinegar (I prefer Bragg’s)

Salt and pepper

Place the ingredients in a wide saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and allow to reduce to about 1 cup. This should take 15-20 minutes. Keep warm over low heat.

For the fennel – apple relish

2 sweet, crisp apples, like Honey Crisp, diced

1 large fennel bulb, sliced

1 large shallot, sliced

Sauté the shallot in a tablespoon of olive oil, in a large oven proof skillet, that you will cook the pork roast in. When shallots are slightly caramelized, add the apple and fennel. Sauté about 5 minutes and remove from the pan. Set aside while your brown the pork.

for the Pork

Preheat the oven to 375′

1 3-4 pound boneless pork loin roast

salt and pepper

Season the pork roast with salt and pepper. Bring the sauté pan you used for the apple relish to medium heat. Add a little oil, if needed. Brown the roast on all sides. Add the apple, fennel and shallots back into the sauté pan. Place in the pre-heated oven and roast approximately 30 minutes, or until thermometer reaches 150′ – 155′. Do not overcook it! The roast will cook a bit after being removed from the oven, while it rests.

While the roast is cooking, prepare the Cauliflower Puree.

for the Califlower Puree, again, adapted from this recipe

1 large head of cauliflower, cut into small pieces

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

salt and pepper

Place the cauliflower in a large sauce pan. Add the chicken stock, cumin, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes until the cauliflower is done. Transfer the cauliflower and the liquid to a blender. Blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Return the mixture to the sauce pan and keep warm, over very low heat, until ready to serve.

To serve, slice the roast into 1 inch thick slices. Plate the cauliflower puree, the sliced roast and a spoon full of apple-fennel relish.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. Thanks for stopping by.

Have a great evening,

Laura

Calling all lovebirds…a special meal for Valentine’s Day

02/04/2017 by Laura Leave a Comment

I previously mentioned we are trying to create a little excitement at dinner time this year. One way we are doing this is to randomly grab a cookbook, open it and make whatever is on that page! I have to say, this “experiment” is working out very well! While I did not make all three recipes below on the same day, I do think they would make an inspired meal for your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day, or any other “show the love” day for that matter.

This post is a little different, as I am going to just “refer” you to the recipes. I am endorsing all of them as truly inspired and delicious, and I hope you will give them a try. I have provided you links to the books and the specific recipes. The photos are from the dishes I prepared for Dave and I. I am privileged to own a copy of all the books referenced.

The Chocolate Orange Beet Cake with Cream Cheese Walnut Frosting, is absolutely delicious. It is from Vivian Howard’s new cookbook, Deep Run Roots and was also featured on her PBS series A Chef’s Life. The book is heavy on southern, seasonal produce. I cannot wait to cook from it this summer, when the fresh ingredients are readily available at the farmers market. I made only 2 changes to the recipe. I used two 9″ layer pans, rather than 3 8″ layer pans. I also frosted the entire cake, sides and top. It all worked out perfectly.

My next “open the book and cook” recipe is from Top Chef Master, Floyd Cardoz. His new book Flavorwalla is filled with recipes inspired by what he cooks at home, what he grew up with and a few from the menus of his restaurants. The Grilled Shrimp with Fennel and Radish Salad, is something that he served at Tabla. It makes a wonderful first course, or a light meal. It gave me the chance to use my mandolin! It’s a must for slicing the fennel and radishes perfectly thin.

I seem to be going backwards with the courses. But hey, you can certainly start with chocolate cake if you want to….with a little ‘bubbly, and come back later for the rest of the meal!

The main course is also from Flavorwalla! This one was not a random recipe, but one I chose due to a craving for fresh, seared scallops. It’s quite an unusual take on traditional pan seared scallops, with the Cider Glaze over the top and the Cumin Scented Cauliflower Puree underneath. It all works! It’s an amazingly flavorful dish. Here is the link for Cider-Glazed Seared Scallops with Cauliflower Puree. I especially love the addition of cumin, ginger and shallot to the cauliflower puree. It adds a wonderful depth of flavor and you will not miss the cream or butter at all!

So there ya go….Valentine’s or any other special occasion meal, all laid out for you. All you have to do is shop and cook, pour the bubbly and light the candles.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a wonderful evening!

Laura

A few production photos….just for fun!

Low-Carb “Mock” Mashed Potatoes II and Savory Roast Pork

01/18/2014 by Laura 2 Comments

I recently discovered the wonderfulness of “mock” mashed potatoes, made with cauliflower, which I previously posted. While they were amazing, I thought they could be a little heartier and drier. So, the research and testing began. Many people use celery root in place of the cauliflower. Tried that….didn’t really care for it. That led to the concoction below – which combines celery root and cauliflower! It is my new personal favorite.

Mock Mashed Potatoes, Round 2

1 large head of cauliflower, rinsed and separated into small florets

1 large celery root (Celeriac), washed, peeled and cut into small cubes

16 ounces of chicken broth

4-5 cloves of garlic, peeled

1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

2 Tablespoons of butter or low fat sour cream, or both

salt and pepper

Place the celery root, cauliflower and garlic in a medium sauce pot. Add the chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until soft, about 12-15 minutes. Drain well in a colander. Put back into the sauce pan and return to the stove on a very low simmer, for about 5 minutes, to remove as much of the residual liquid as possible. Meanwhile, line a baking pan with a few layers of paper towel. Spread the veggies on the paper towel to continue the drying process.

When you feel they are as dry as possible, return the veggies to the pan, add the additional ingredients and mash, with a potato masher, stick blender or electric mixer. Keep warm over very low heat until ready to serve.

For the Roast Pork with Oven Roasted Vegetables

1 Boneless Pork Roast

1 large fennel bulb, halved and sliced

2 carrots, peeled, sliced on the diagonal into 2-3″ pieces

1 large onion, halved and sliced

6-8 garlic cloves, sliced

12 – 14 Brussels Sprouts, halved (Or any other vegetable you prefer)

1/2 cup dry white wine

Herbs de Provence

Salt and Pepper

1 Package of Brown Gravy Mix, your choice (Yes, sometimes I use these things!)

Place all the vegetables, except the Brussels sprouts in the bottom of a roasting pan. Season with salt and pepper. Place the pork roast on top of the vegetables. Season the roast with the Herbs de Provence, Salt and Pepper. Pour the white wine over the vegetables.

Roast in a 325′ oven until the internal temperature of the roast is 160′. Set the roast on a cutting board and cover with foil to keep warm. Put the Brussels sprouts in the roasting pan, and return to the oven for another 20 minutes.

Make the gravy while the veggies are roasting. Taste all for seasoning. Slice the roast. Serve with the “mock” mashed potatoes, gravy and roasted veggies.

French Inspired “Pork and Bean” Stew

04/29/2013 by Laura 2 Comments

This one pot wonder is inspired by a post on the blog “Not Without Salt”, who was just named the Best Food Blog 2013 by Saveur Magazine! The original version was created for a pressure cooker and featured in the new “Pressure Cooker Perfection” cookbook from America’s Test Kitchen. I have made this recipe twice now. I fully intended to use my pressure cooker the first time I made this, but it was far too small for this recipe. So I improvised. The first time I used the crock pot and the second time I braised the stew in the oven about 5 hours. I actually think the crock pot version was slightly better. Regardless, this is a fabulous “stew”, that not only fills your tummy at dinner time, it also fills your kitchen with the most amazing aromas as it cooks!

Ingredients

8 ounces, 1 1/4 cups, dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight in water*

*You could use two cans of cannellini beans. You would need to rinse them extremely well, and add the last hour of cooking.

3-4 pound boneless pork butt roast, cut into 1-2″ fat trimmed cubes and seasoned on both sides with salt and pepper

2 yellow onions, coarsely chopped

8 cloves garlic, minced

6-8 carrots cut into 2″ chinks

1 large fennel bulb cut into 1″ chunks

2 Tablespoons Herbs de Provence

2 bay leaves

1/3 cup flour

1-2 cups dry white wine

2-3 cups chicken stock

high heat oil for browning

salt and pepper

Brown the pork in a skillet (if using the crock pot) or Dutch oven (if braising in the oven) in about 2 tablespoons of oil. Brown in 2-3 batches, don’t crowd the pan.

Once all the meat has been browned, drain the excess oil, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pan. Add the onions and saute about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and saute about 5 more minutes. Scrape up all the lovely bits from the bottom of the pan.

Sprinkle the 1/3 cup of flour over the onions and garlic. Saute about 1 minute to cook in the flour. Add the Herbs de Provence and the Bay leaves.

Add in 1- 2 cups of wine. Stir briskly, scraping the pan to incorporate all the “goodies” from the bottom of the pan. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the liquid is reduced by half.

Reduce the heat and add the ingredients back into to pan as listed below. (If using the crock pot, layer the ingredients as listed, and then pour the onion, garlic and wine reduction over them.)

Add in the drained, soaked beans followed by the pork, the carrots and fennel. (If using canned beans, do not add them yet!) Add chicken broth to ensure all ingredients are covered. (If using canned beans, do use about 1-1 1/2 cups broth.) If using a Dutch oven, bring all to a simmer and then move to 325′ oven for about 5 hours, stirring every 45 minutes to an hour. (If using canned beans, cook 4 hours and then add the beans, cook one more hour.) If using the crock pot, cook 6-7 hours. Again, if using canned beans, add them in at the last hour of cooking time.

To serve, plate in a bowl and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with crusty french bread, a tossed green salad* and a Washington Pinot Grigio.

*If I had skipped the salad, I would have skipped the trip to the ER to get stitches in my hand! I was dishing things up at 7pm. I went to open a bottle of salad dressing. The bottle was broken, just under the cap. When I went to turn the cap, it fell off and the glass at the top of the bottle sliced my palm. It was pretty deep and I knew I needed stitches. So, everything got turned down to “warm” and we headed to the neighborhood ER. 3 stitches and only one hour later, we sat down to this lovely meal. The salad dressing bottle is below. I am not going to show you the hand, or the stitches!