Pork Tenderloin - Adapted from Many Kitchens

This is prehaps the best pork tenderloin we have ever had. Start by cutting a bagguette to the length of the tenderloin and then slicing it lengthwise.  Pull out most of the bread to make it hollow and set it aside.  Pat the pork dry and season with salt and 1T of "Herbs de Provence", a mixture you can buy or make yourself.  Google will give the mix.  Then wrap the pork in slices of Prosciutto and place the bundle inside the bagguette.  Wrap the bagguette in more sliced Prosciutto and season with another table spoon of the herbs.  Tie the bundle together for baking with some twine.  Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 45 min. or until the internal temp of the pork is 140 degrees.  We served ours with lima beans and tomatoes from the garden.  It is delicious.  The Prosciutto is crisp and the bread is crusty and has absorbed all the juices from the pork.  Enjoy with a nice chilled Rose wine.

Galantine of Chicken - Adapted from The Ploughman's lunch and the Miser's Feast

A Galantine is very much like a Pate`.  This one, char-acter-istic of the dish, can be served hot or as part of a cold picnic.
Combine 1C Canadian bacon and 1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breast in a food processor.  Process until the meats become a course paste.  Combine the chicken mix with 1/2 lb mild bulk sausage, 1C unflavored bread crumbs, 1/2t dried sage, 1/2t ground mace, 1 egg and salt and pepper to taste.  Using your hands, mix thoroughly.  Grease a round 6C heatproof bowl and pack in the meat mixture tightly.  Smooth the surface because it will become the bottom when the dish is unmolded.  Cover with foil.  Put 1" of water in a large covered pot and bring to a boil.  Place the dish on a support which keeps it just above the water level.  Cover the pot and keep at a low simmer for about 2 hrs or until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees.  Unmold the mixture and slice.  Garnish with chopped parsley.  We served ours hot with a crusty bread and creamed spinach as a side dish. Excellent hot or cold.

Pork Tenderloin with Sour Cream Dill Pan Sauce

Here's a new sauce we dreamed up for pork tenderloin. Start by sauteing 8 oz. sliced mushrooms in 3T butter.  Set them aside.  Brown the tenderloin in in 3T olive oil in an oven proof saute pan.  Place the pan and the meat in a 400 degree oven for about 20 min, depending on the size of the tenderloin. The internal temperature should be between 140 and 150 degrees.  Remove the meat to a plate.  Add 1/3C white wine to the pan to deglaze and then add 1/2C sour cream, the sauted mushrooms and 1t dry dill.  Serve the sauce over the meat.  The redskin potatoes and green beans have been here many times before.

Cuban Pork Roast with Roasted Cauliflower and Brussel Sprouts

For the second rotisserie meal we thought we would try a pork roast and found many recipes like this one.  Prepare a marinade by mixing 1/3C orange juice, 3T lime juice, 1T ground cumin, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1T dry oregano and some red pepper flakes to taste.  Butterfly a 2 1/2 lb boneless pork loin and spread 1/2 of the marinade on the meat.  Roll tightly and secure with butchers twine.  Place the roast in a plastic bag with the rest of the marinade and allow it to rest for a couple hours.  Cook on the rotisserie until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees, about 1 1/2 hours for our Weber. Place a drip tray under the meat and put some sliced bell pepper and onions in it.  The meat juices dripping on the vegetables as the cook give them a wonderful flavor.  These veggies make a nice addition to a sandwich made with the left over pork.  Toss the cauliflower and brussel sprouts with olive oil to lightly coat them.  Add 2 cloves minced garlic and place in th 450 degree oven for about 15 min.  Then pour on 1/2C orange juice and return to the oven for 10 min or until the vegetables are tender.  We served the meal with a crusty bread and a chilled Rose wine.

Posole - A Mexican Stew

This is a nice braised dish for a cool evening and will serve 8. Start by cutting 3 lb of pork butt and 8 chicken thighs into 1" cubes. Skinless, boneless thighs make life easy but we think the skin and bone of the thigh added flavor. Brown the meat in 1/4C olive oil and remove from the oven proof pan. To the pan add 2 thinly sliced onions and saute for a couple minutes. Add 1T ground cumin, 1t ground coriander, and 1t ground cardamom and continue to cook until the spices are fragrant. Add 8 cloves minced garlic, 8 oz enchilada sauce and 1 14-1/2 oz can of chicken stock. Place in a 275 degree oven for about 2 hrs or until the meat is fork tender, adding stock as needed during cooking. Just before serving add hominy (up to 4 cans) and top with chopped cilantro. Serve over rice with tortillas. Delicious...proving once again that Mexican dishes are not necessarily spicy...but, you can add your favorite heat to taste.

Brats with Verde Sauce

This is a fairly simple sauce which is a bit different than the red salsas or sauces you usually see on brats or hot dogs. The brats were grilled on the Weber. For the sauce, start by rough chopping 1/4 of a large onion. We like to leave nice big chunks of onion in the sauce. When the onion has softened, add 3 cloves minced garlic, 1t ground cumin, 1/2t ground cardamom, 1/2t ground coriander, and as much heat as you like in the form of hot pepper powder. Bring the sauce to a slow simmer and cover until ready to serve. It is excellent used with a Dijon mustard.

Thyme Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Smashed Redskin Potatoes and Asparagus

Here is a fairly easy grilled dinner featuring a pork tenderloin. We made a rub consisting of 1/4C chopped fresh thyme, 1T sea salt, and 1/4t cayenne pepper. Rub the mixture on the meat and allow it to sit for an hour or two before cooking. The redskins were boiled until fork tender and then smashed into a "grill proof" dish. We made one out of aluminum foil. Drizzle the potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and place on a HOT charcoal grill at the same time as the meat. The Weber thermometer read 400 degrees. It is surprising how fast the meat cooked to an internal temp of 145 degrees...just slightly pink. The asparagus was cooked on the grill while the meat rested before carving...perhaps 5 min or so. It is fun to prepare a meal like this outside in the summer so you don't heat up the kitchen. In addition we enjoy the smoky flavor.

Cuban Pork Hash and Black Beans - Adapted from Saveur

This dish combines a wonderful and unusual assortment of flavors, for us anyway. We didn't have any ground pork so we started with a diced pork chop. Heat 2T of oil in a skillet. Add a cinnamon stick, 1 large diced onion, and 1 diced green bell pepper. Heat until the vegetables are softened. Remove the cinnimon stick and add 1T ground cinnamon, 1 1/2t oregano, 1/8t cround cloves, 4 cloves minced garlic and 2 lb of pork. Add 3/4C raisins, 3/4C green pimiento stuffed olives, 2- 14 oz. can diced tomatoes and 1T red wine vinegar. Simmer slowly until the liquid is mostly evaproated.

For the beans we used canned black beans rather than dried ones. Place 1- 14 oz. can of black beans in a sauce pan and add 1 bay leaf, 1t oregano, 2t olive oil 1t ground cumin, 6 chopped scallions, 4 cloves minced garlic, and a diced green bell pepper. Heat through and serve with the pork. We don't know if tortillas are traditional in Cuba, but we served them with the dish. Very tasty.

Pork Chops with Fennel and Mushroom Sauce

This dinner features, again, the Costco pork chops. We browned them on top of the stove in an oven proof pan and 2T olive oil. Place the pan in the oven at 400 degrees for about 10 min. Add a sliced fennel bulb and return the pan to the oven for another 10 min or until the internal temperature of the meat is 140 degrees. Remove the chops from the pan and deglaze it with 1/4C white wine and 1/2C chicken stock. Add about 4 oz. of sliced mushrooms and 2 cloves of crushed garlic. Bring to a rapid boil and reduce the sauce to about 1/2, or until it reaches the thickness you desire. Finish the sauce with 2T butter, salt and pepper to taste. Add some of the fennel fronds as a garnish. Serve the sauce, fennel and mushrooms over the meat with boiled fingerling potatoes and green beans.

Pork Shanks with Savory Bread Pudding

We got some pork shanks from our CSA. We have had veal shanks and lamb shanks but never pork. They turned out very similar to veal shanks but at about 1/3 the price. We will have them again. First, coat the shanks with seasoned flour and brown them in 3T olive oil. Remove them and add to the pan a medium diced onion, roughly chopped carrot and a rib of celery. Continue cooking until the onion is soft, perhaps 5 min. Add 2 cloves minced garlic and 2T tomato paste. Deglaze the pan with 1/2C white wine and 1C chicken stock, or, use all chicken stock. Add a bouquet garni containing rosemary, thyme, tarrigon and cloves. Return the shanks to the pan, cover and place in a 275F oven for about 2 hr. While the meat is cooking, prepare the bread pudding but using some dried stale bread and processing it to make bite-sized pieces. We had some leftover corn bread that we used but any bread will do. Add the bread to a sauted medium onion. Beat 2 eggs together with 1C cream and add to the bread mixture. Allow the mix to stand for about 15 min to allow the bread to absorb the cream mixture. Place in a 350F oven for an hour or until the top becomes brown and crusty. When you raise the temp of the oven (assuming you dont have two), put the shanks on low heat on the top of the stove and continue to cook for an additional hour. Doing this completes cooking of both dishes at about the same time. Strain the sauce on the shanks and serve on the side. We served steamed cauliflower also. This dish would stand up to a big red wine but we drank a chilled dry white. Emma enjoyed the bone!

Savoy Cabbage with Spicy Italian Sausage

We got a savoy cabbage from our CSA, Fresh Fork and decided on this recipe to try it. Start by pricking holes in your favorite sausage links (we used spicy italian) and marinating them in 1/2C red wine with 2 cloves minced garlic. For two sausages, seperate about 1/2 lb. cabbage leaves, wash in salt water and rinse. Saute 1/4C diced onion in 2T olive oil and 2T butter. When the onions are tender, add the sausage which has been drained. Reserve the marinade. Continue cooking until the sausage is brown. Add one 14 oz. can diced tomatoes and the reserved marinating liquid and heat through. Slice the cabbage leaves into manageable size pieces and add to the pan. Cover and cook until the cabbage is wilted and tender, about 30 min. We served the dish with simple boiled redskin potatoes. Very tasty dish. The link for Freshfork is www.freshforkmarket.com

Chorizo Sausage Stuffed Patty-pan Squash

We got both the squash and the sausage from Freshfork Market, our CSA. Start by cutting the top off the squash. Scoop out and retain the squash using a melon baller and set aside. Lightly brown the sausage to remove the excess fat. Remove the sausage to a paper towel and set aside. In the same pan saute 1/4C diced onion, 1/4C diced celery and 2 cloves minced garlic. Put the sausage and the veggies in a mixing bowl and add the squash. Stir in a lightly beaten egg and then stuff the mixture into the squash shell. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 min. The squash is garnished with some fresh chopped parsley. The tomatoes with fresh basil and white balsamic vingegar. You could use any kind of sausage to make the stuffing but the chorizo gave it a nice "heat". The link for the CSA is www.freshforkmarket.com

Pulled Pork Sandwich with Hoppin' Johns

Hoppin' Johns is a tradition side dish served all over southern bbq country and there are many recipes. This is a compilation of many we reviewed. All of them are basically a mix of black-eyed peas and rice, with various additional spices. You can start with dry peas or canned ones. We used canned ones. Start by cooking some rice (1/2C uncooked rice) in chicken stock (you could use vegetable stock or water if you wish). Set the rice aside. In a sauce pan, brown 2 strips of diced bacon and remove from the pan. Add to the same pan 1 bay leaf, 2T fresh thyme, 1 clove minced garlic, 2 or 3 chopped green onions, 1 rib of diced celery, 1/2C diced bell pepper, salt and pepper to taste. Saute the veggies until tender and then add 1-14oz can of diced tomatoes. Simmer to allow the spices to come together. Just before serving add the cooked black-eyed peas (1-14 oz can or equivalent) and rice and heat through. We cooked it this way so the peas and rice didn' t get to "mushy". This will serve 4 easily.

The pork for the sandwich was left-over.

Pork Skewers with Greens and Twice Baked Potatoes

We decided to try a variation on the pork tenderloin. Chunk the tenderloin up and toss it with a mixture of 1/3C olive oil, 3T balsamic vinegar, some fresh tarrigon and salt and pepper to taste. Add some mushrooms and onion and allow the mix to marinate for a few hours. Skewer the meat and veggies separately because of the difference in cooking time. This is especially true with chicken and pork because, while we don't like the pork over done and dry, we don't want it medium rare like beef either. Turn the meat skewers after about 10 min on the grill and add the veggie skewers then. The greens were simply steamed and tossed with a little vinegar and hot sauce. The twice baked potatoes have been here many times before.

Chili Verde

This is the green variety of the "Chili without Beans" posted here earlier. Start by removing the paper-like outer skins of about 8 tomatillos. Cut them in half and put them under the broiler with 5 cloves of garlic for about 5-7 minutes. The tomatillos will just be beginning to brown. Place the tomatillos and garlic in a food processor along with one seeded and chopped jalapeno, one seeded and chopped pablano pepper, one can of chopped green chilies and 1/2C cilantro leaves. Process to a smooth paste and set aside. Brown 1 lb of pork shoulder cut into chunks in about 3T olive oil. Remove the pork and add 1 diced med. onion and three cloves of garlic to the pan. When the onions are tender, add 1/2 cup chopped fresh oregano and add the meat back to the pan. Stir in the green sauce and add enough chicken stock to cover the meat. Cover and place in a 275 degree oven until the meat is fork tender, about 3 hrs. Top with fresh chopped cilantro and serve with your favorite tortillas and sides such as refried beans, avocado, sour cream and cheese.

Sausage, Mushroom and Ricotta Pasta

This dish goes together really easily. Add your favorite shaped pasta to boiling water. While it is cooking, add 3/4 lb. link sausage which had been cut into bite sized pieces to a skillet with 2T olive oil. Cook the sausage through and then add about 6 oz. of sliced mushrooms and continue cooking until the mushrooms are tender. Add about 8 oz. of ricotta cheese to the skillet and stir until mixed. Thin the mixture with some of the pasta boiling liquid until it has a "saucy" consistancy. Drain the pasta and add to the sausage mixture. Toss to mix and serve with a green salad perhaps. Garnish the sausage with fresh basil.

Pulled Pork BBQ with Baked Beans, Sweet Potatoes and Orange Salad

This post is mainly for a new sweet potato recipe we wanted to try. The pork shoulder was slow cooked on the Weber. The sauce is a secret. The salad had orange wedges and caramelized almond slivers and a vinaigrette with a touch of Tabasco.

The sweet potatoes were first boiled until just barely tender. They were then cut in wedges, finished on the grill and topped with a vinaigrette made from olive oil, fresh lime juice and chopped cilantro...different and tasty.

Bratwursts with Cajun-Shrimp Sauce and Pasta Salad

We had a few leftover shrimp and decided to incor-porate them into a sauce to use on our brats. The brats were grilled on the Weber. The sauce would also be good any fish as well. Saute 1/4C each of onion, celery and bell pepper in 1/4C of oil. When the vegetables are soft add 2 cloves mince garlic and 2T corn meal (or flour). Cook until the mix is hot and bubbly and then add 1C chicken stock and 1 medium tomato, diced. When the mixture thickens add 1/2C diced shrimp. Continue to heat and stir for another 1 or 2 min. Serve over the brat with some Tabasco to adjust the heat to your liking.

For the salad, while you are cooking your favorite pasta, mix equal parts of sour cream and mayonnaise, 2T fresh lemon juice and 1/4t dry dill. Drain the pasta, add 1/2C sliced Kalamata olives and some fresh spinach lives and top with the dressing. Serve the brat in a bun, if you wish.

Island Pork Tenderloin Salad - Adapted from Bon Appetit

There are three mixes for this recipe which can be made a bit in advance. This will prepare 2 1-1/4 lb. tender-loins.

Spice rub: 2t salt, 1/2t black pepper, 1t ground cumin, 1t chili powder, 1t ground cinnamon

Glaze: 1C packed, dark brown sugar, 1 minced garlic clove, 1T Tabasco sauce

Vinaigrette: 3T lime juice, 1T orange juice, 1T Dijon mustard, 1t toasted curry powder (just put the curry powder in a small pan and heat until it becomes fragrant)

Several hours before cooking, rub the pork with the spice rub. Start by browning the tenderloin in 3T of olive oil in an oven-proof pan. When the meat is brown, place the glaze on top of the meat. Place the pan in a preheated 425 degree oven until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees, about 20 min. Remove the meat and let it rest for 10 min before slicing into 1/4-1/2 in slices. While the meat is resting, put the salad together: greens, red bell pepper, orange slices, and avacado slices. Top with the vinaigrette. The mixture of flavors in this recipe is well worth the effort. We think the flavors would work well with chicken as well. Almost any wine you can think of will work with the bold flavors from a dry white to a red.

Pork Chops with Shallots and Pears - Adapted from Bon Apetit

The recipe calls for a pork tenderloin but we had some nice thick Costco pork chops so we adapted. Start by seasoning the pork with salt, pepper and dry thyme. Brown the pork in 2-3T olive oil and then place it in a 450 degree oven until the internal temperature is 140 degrees or until the juices run clear(about 15 min. for these chops). Remove the pan from the oven and remove the pork from the pan. To the pan add 2 cloves minced garlic, 2 medium diced shallots and 1/2 of a pear in 1/8" slices and saute until the pear slices begin to brown. Deglaze the pan with 1/2C dry white wine and 1/2C stock. Finish the sauce with 2T butter. Serve the sauce over the pork. We served boiled fingerling potatoes topped with the sauce but you could use pasta or rice as well.