Archive for the 'pork' Category
I’m taking another stab at freeing up some freezer space, this time to make room for the inevitable onslaught of rhubarb and preserves I see in my near future. I had managed to clear out many of the mystery yogurt containers, but they were quickly replaced with pork. Earlier this summer the nice folks at Maple Leaf sent over some pork for me to try – they’ve been working up in Leduc on a new line of Prime Pork, sourced in the prairies especially for Western Canada – and sent me a fridgeful during Stampede to cook and hand out at one of my kitchen theatre demos.
They sent more than I needed, and the surplus wound up in the freezer, so I pulled out some chops to throw on the grill. This is not something I normally do – cook pork chops on the grill. Because they are notorious for coming off the grill with the texture of a shoe. And not a light strappy sandal – a big ol’ work boot. You know what I’m talking about.
People are hard-wired to overcook pork, making it tough and dry. So the purpose of this new line of grain-fed pork is to ensure the meat stays moist even when it’s overcooked. Two years of testing proved it would do just that, so I thought I’d give it a go.
In the promotional materials was a recipe written by a friend in Ontario – a recipe for mojito pork chops. I’m a fan of the mojito. My mint is running rampant in the back yard, and I actually had a bottle of tequila out on the countertop that a friend brought back from Mexico (I must admit I’m always a tad disappointed when it’s not vanilla) – clearly it was a sign.
It took about five minutes to stir together the marinade – grated orange and lime zest and the juice of both, garlic, cumin, a splash of tequila if you’re so inclined and a handful of mint. I chopped up a salad – a technique my sister has taken to this summer – tossing in some cold rice, and dinner was on the table in under 20 minutes.
They were right – the chops were incredibly juicy, even though the grill was cranked up a little too high and I left them on a little too long. But what really blew me away was the kids’ reaction – they were over the moon over this meat. They rarely comment on dinner once it’s in front of them, but they asked what was in it. A 7 year old boy wondered aloud what I had done to make this particular pork chop so tasty. They all asked for more, and ate it all first, jamming bites in one after another as if it were a pile of M&Ms on their plate next to the salad. I took a look around for a hidden camera, but didn’t find one.
Mojito Pork Chops
from Maple Leaf
1 Tbsp. grated orange zest
2 tsp. grated lime zest
3 Tbsp. orange juice
2 Tbsp. lime juice
2 Tbsp. canola or olive oil
1 Tbsp. tequila (optional)
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
6 Maple Leaf Prime Pork Boneless Centre Cut Chops
Stir together orange and lime zest and juice, oil, tequila (if using), mint, garlic and cumin. Set aside 1/4 cup marinade for basting. Add remaining marinade to pork chops and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or for up to 4 hours.
Preheat grill to medium high heat. Grill chops, basting with reserved marinade and turning once, for 10 to 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 160F. Allow meat to rest for 2 minutes before serving. Serves 6.
If you’re looking for Prime Pork, you can find it in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba at Sobeys West, Federated Co-op, Calgary Co-op and Overwaitea stores.
August 16 2010 | on the grill and pork | 14 Comments »
I’ve just brushed my teeth for ten full minutes and still have garlic scape burps.
Since it’s still early in the season, we’ve been getting garlic scapes in our CSA box. The question is, what is a garlic scape and what does one do with them?
When you think of garlic, you most likely picture an entire bulb, or head, but as it grows, the stalk is referred to as the garlic scape. They are long and green, windy and perfectly smooth, reminiscent of green onions or garlic chives with a not-so-subtle garlic flavour. You can chop them and add them to soups, stir-fries, salads.. or you could make a batch of garlicky pesto. Over the weekend we’ll be dipping into this for pasta, mashed potatoes.. maybe a pasta or potato salad? Minestrone?
I pulled a pork loin from the freezer and roasted it with quartered potatoes, all drizzled with a bit of canola oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Both were fab with the pesto. Ali made a chopped salad with other CSA goodies-lettuce, peas, radishes-yum.
Garlic Scape Pesto
adapted from (inspired by?) What Geeks Eat
a couple handfuls of fresh garlic scapes, cut into pieces a couple inches long
a big handful of fresh basil
1/2-1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
a handful of walnuts, toasted
1/2 cup(ish) extra-virgin olive oil or cold-pressed canola oil
Put everything but the oil into a food processor and pulse, pouring the oil in a thin stream through the feed tube, until roughly or smoothly puréed.
August 14 2010 | pork | 11 Comments »
These aren’t nearly as disgusting as they sound, honest.
They went over stupendously well last Tuesday morning at CBC. Seriously, people were near-ecstatic over them. Being Stampede week and all I need to give you an appropriately-themed recipe – I’m sorry if I held out for so long and you’re already over the whole corn dog thing. Even if you never were into the whole corn dog thing, these are worth a try. They’re little breakfast sausages dipped in grainy pancake batter and fried corn-dog style, then served with maple syrup for dipping. I made these once years ago, and we had wee ones in Kelowna last year at a hotel – I wish I could remember which one – they were small, and part of a breakfast buffet. So there you go – a new idea for your next brunch, or any party, really. Breakfast of champions. Also a great way to win friends and influence people.
They started with a pancake recipe. A nice grainy (without being heavy) one with a smattering of cornmeal (but not so much as to make them corn-cakey). The pancakes were great (although I do give you permission to knock down the oil a bit), and substantial enough that they worked perfectly for corn dog purposes, although I did omit the oil (after all, I was going to cook them in oil) and one of the eggs. (Don’t try boxed mix – not that you buy boxed pancake mix, right? – it’s too poufy and wussy, and your sausage will undress itself almost immediately upon hitting the hot oil.) You could make full-sized corn dogs using regular hot dogs, and this same batter would work out just fine. Upon comparing to my old corn dog recipe to this, they aren’t really that different. Turns out you can teach an old corn dog new tricks. Haw! Yes, I am my father’s daughter.
Whole Wheat Cornmeal Pancakes
1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl; add buttermilk, eggs, and oil and whisk until smooth. Let stand 5 minutes (batter will thicken). If it’s too thick to pour easily, thin with more buttermilk.
Brush a griddle or skillet with oil or spray with nonstick spray and heat over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Reduce heat to medium. Working in batches of 4, spoon 2 tablespoons batter per pancake (a heaping large serving spoon works well) onto hot griddle and cook for about a minute, until bubbles appear on surface and pop around the edges, the edges are set, and undersides are golden. Flip pancakes with a thin metal spatula and cook until undersides are golden and pancakes are cooked through, 45 seconds to 1 minute more. (Lower heat if pancakes brown too much before insides are cooked through.) Transfer pancakes to plates and brush griddle with oil between batches; if you like, keep them warm in a 250F oven while you cook the rest. Serve warm. Makes about 10 pancakes.
Pancake Corn Dogs
1 1/2 – 2 dozen small maple pork breakfast sausages
wooden coffee stirrers, popsicle sticks or bamboo skewers
1 batch pancake batter above, omitting the oil and one egg
canola oil, for cooking
Cook the sausages and let them cool, then stick them on the wooden stirrers. In a wide, medium-large pot, heat a few inches of canola oil until hot but not smoking. Dip each sausage into the batter, holding it by the stick and rolling it around until well coated – dip into the oil and cook, turning as necessary, for a minute or until deep golden. Cook only two or three at a time, without crowding the pot, which could cause corn dog collisions and cause your oil to cool down.
Drain on paper towels and serve immediately, with maple syrup.
July 11 2010 | appetizers and pork | 12 Comments »
Confession: I’ve never made a sausage roll. Shocking, I know. (I had never made sausage before this week either, but that’s a whole other story.) Besides the obvious deterrent of the sausage-puff pastry double whammy, they always seemed heavy and greasy and far too eighties (but not in a faddish-yes that’s a word-sort of way) and why would I bother putting forth the effort? (Not that I seem to have a problem downing cheese, meat and bread with a side salad of crispy chicken skin and donuts for dessert.)
But then I was challenged to pull out the grinder attachment Mike bought me for my KitchenAid three Christmases ago and use it to make sausage from scratch, and being too lazy to head out to the butcher and pick up some pig intestine casings, I figured I’d much rather wrap the finished sausage in pastry. Good call.
But wait – I didn’t even use the grinder to make this. I had some nice ground Alberta lamb in the freezer, and squished in my add-ins as if I was making a meatloaf, and in very few minutes I was the proud momma of a batch of lamb sausage. Which I could have shaped into little patties and pan-fried, or rolled into balls and roasted, or extruded into casings. I went ahead and thawed some puff pastry – which is so charmingly rustic and forgiving, it looks fabulous no matter what you do to it – and made sausage rolls.
All you do is cut the rolled-out puff pastry into strips, make a long pile of meat on top,
pull up the pastry around it, pinch it closed, turn it seam-down and brush it with a little egg…
and cut the roll into whatever size lengths you fancy, then bake for about 20 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Beautiful. You could do these with any kind of sausage, but I loved the lamb-orange zest combo. They’d do well bite-sized, and you can freeze them ahead for partying later.
Lamb Sausage Rolls with Orange and Fennel
adapted from Canadian Living
1 lb (454 g) ground lamb
1 egg
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 shallot, minced (or 1/4 cup onion)
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp. crushed fennel seeds
grated zest of an orange
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
salt & pepper
1 pkg (450 g) frozen puff pastry, thawed
beaten egg, for brushing tops (optional)
In large bowl, mix the lamb, egg, bread crumbs, onion, garlic, parsley, fennel seeds, orange zest, coriander, salt and pepper; set aside.
Divide pastry in half. On lightly floured surface, roll out each half into a 10″ square; cut each into 3 equal strips. Spoon the filling down the center of each strip, fold pastry over filling and press the edge to seal.
Arrange rolls, seam side down, on a rimmed cookie sheet. Cover and chill for about half an hour. Preheat the oven to 400F.
Cut each roll into 1″-2″ pieces. (Make-ahead: Layer between waxed paper in airtight container and freeze for up to 2 months.) Brush the tops with a little beaten egg and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden.
(They may need an extra 5-10 minutes if you bake them from frozen.)
March 04 2010 | appetizers and pork | 26 Comments »
So I was sitting at my desk this afternoon, as I typically am on any given afternoon of my present-day life, on this particular day enraged at a box of styrofoam peanuts that had just arrived at my door containing: a juice box, a Nutri-grain Bar and a single packet of those little bread sticks with processed cheese product. (Like-a third of a three-pack, pulled apart.) This is what the PR people charged with promoting National Snack Month on behalf of the Canadian Automatic Merchandising Association decided would be a good idea, that I might open it up and be inspired to write about how concerned the vending machine people are with the health of all our kids who have snack machines in their schools and hospitals, and how we can all feel good about the fact that they now have healthy options like WHITE BREADSTICKS AND PROCESSED CHEESE PRODUCT. For real. That was the gist of the accompanying press release.
Boy, did they get the wrong person. I was fuming, tweeting, plotting my course of action when an email came out of the blue, letting me know that the group of Blog Aid contributors had ganged up to make a donation to Doctors without Borders in my honour. My emotions did a backflip. I couldn’t see to type for the tears. Had there been any witnesses they might have thought me a little unbalanced, going from annoyed hammering on my keypad to snivelling, grinning and searching for Kleenex.
There’s so much love around. I feel like all I did was reach into the pot and stir it up. Like Tea so eloquently put it, we cannot do it alone. (I love the way she widens the scope of love in our lives – I couldn’t agree more. Even as someone married, I get tired of Valentine’s day so narrowly defined as a mushily romantic, couple-y sort of occasion. Love is so much bigger than romance and overpriced roses for a member of the opposite sex you want to hop in bed with. It does indeed make the world go ’round.)
This wonderful lot schemed to make an even bigger difference to those who need it (and to me): Chef Michael Smith, Dana McCauley, Emily Richards, Catharine from Weelicious, Cheryl from Backseat Gourmet, Jeannette of Everybody Likes Sandwiches, Nishta from Blue Jean Gourmet, Lauren of Celiac Teen, Charmian from Christie’s Corner, Shaina from Food for my Family, Marisa of Food in Jars, Shauna and Danny from Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef, Lauren from Healthy Delicious, Alice from Savory Sweet Life, Tara from Seven Spoons, Jess of Sweet Amandine, Helen from Tartelette, Gail from The Pink Peppercorn, Pierre of Kitchen Scraps, Tim from Lottie and Doof, Tea from Tea & Cookies, Jamie from My Baking Addiction, Lori from Recipe Girl, Melissa from The Traveler’s Lunchbox, Brooke of Tongue-n-Cheeky and Aimee of Under the High Chair.
Thanks, guys. Sniff.
And let’s not forget dinner: this morning the CEO crew requested Chinese food in honour of the Chinese New Year and I managed to save some ribs for us. Dinner was fried rice to use up the last bits of broccoli and asparagus, and a half rack of ribs. And popcorn. (Also: I filled the blender with the last of last summer’s blackberries from the freezer, and when I turned to get the yogurt, W pressed the on button with the lid off.)
Hoisin Pork Ribs
Adapted from Canadian Living Magazine, April 2004
2 lb (1 kg) pork side or back ribs
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp liquid honey
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. grated fresh gingerroot
big pinch hot pepper flakes
toasted sesame seeds and/or chopped green onions, for garnish (optional)
Put the ribs on a rimmed baking sheet and cover tightly with foil; bake at 300°F for 2 1/2-3 hours, until tender. (Ribs can be cooked up to this point and then wrapped in foil and refrigerated for up to 3 days.) Meanwhile, stir together the hoisin sauce, vinegar, honey, garlic, ginger and hot pepper flakes.
Remove the foil, turn the oven up to 425°F, brush the ribs with sauce and roast for another 10 minutes, until dark and sticky. (Alternatively, you could finish them on the grill over high heat for a few minutes.) Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions. Serves 6.
February 16 2010 | pork | 16 Comments »
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