Archive for the 'pork' Category
You guys, I’ve been holding out on you again. I’ve been making this for a month, and it’s Mike’s new favourite thing to eat, and the only reason I haven’t been sharing the love is because most (OK all) of the times I’ve made it I’ve been on TV (this is what I was doing in Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Vancouver… playing with pig across Western Canada). Every time I make it elicits groans and eye-rolling (in a good way) among camera crews, hosts and all who crawl out of the woodwork when there’s food to be had. It’s really just delicious, and amazingly simple to make. From start to finish it took me under 15 minutes. I served it with boiled new potatoes and the last of the greens still clinging to life in the garden. I’m not sure what I’ll do when I can no longer walk out there with the salad bowl, fill it and bring it back to the table.
So – what’s a pork tenderloin fillet, you ask? It’s something I’m amazed no one came up with eons ago – a halved (crosswise) pork tenderloin that’s been butterflied, so that it resembles a chicken breast in size, shape and thickness, making it faster and easier to cook, on account of it being thinner and far more even. (Pork tenderloins tend to taper on both ends, making them uneven to cook – the ends are well done by the time the middle is cooked through – not that I ever minded, really, but some might.) Anyway, it’s a nice neat little package of meat to cook on the stove top and is just enough for two or three. To make this particular dish, you heat a bit of oil and a bit of butter (one to handle the heat, the other to add flavour) and cook the tenderloin fillet, dousing it in freshly ground pepper and fresh thyme. Then you set it aside, toss a sliced apple into the pan and swirl it around, softening and caramelizing it while loosening up all the browned bits in the bottom of the pan, and then you add a squirt of grainy mustard, a dribble of maple syrup and a splash of cream and wow – it morphs, with those little browned bits, into the most amazing sauce you may have ever had (assuming you’ve never been to Paris, of course) which you then pour over the pork and bring to the table. For years I’ve been making this more labour-intensive version of maple pork tenderloin with apples, and I can’t believe how much more streamlined this is.
It’s a Maple Leaf recipe that was originally intended for a large pork roast, which it’s awkward to cook in real time on TV, and besides – I wanted to show off this new fillet. Maple Leaf is also running a food blogger-inspired pork recipe contest – food bloggers from across Canada are posting their pork recipes with photos. There are 22 recipes posted now, including Slow Cooker Five-Spice Pork, Pork Tenderloin with Spiced Quinoa, Jack Daniels Pork Medallions and Honey Garlic Fried Pork Back Ribs- all of which are now poised at the top of my must-make list. You can go vote on your favourite and they’ll give you a coupon for 50% off Prime Pork – a pretty sweet deal on some mighty fine meat.
Maple Pork Tenderloin Fillet with Caramelized Apples
This recipe is easily doubled; just cook two fillets in the pan and double the sauce ingredients – you can use two apples or just one if you don’t want too much.
1 Tbsp. canola or olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter
1 package Maple Leaf Prime tenderloin fillet
Freshly ground pepper
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
1 tart apple, cored and sliced
1-2 tsp. grainy mustard
2-3 Tbsp. maple syrup
1/2 cup half & half or coffee cream
In a heavy skillet, heat the oil and butter over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the pork tenderloin filet generously with pepper and thyme and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side, until golden and just cooked through (the middle should reach 160F). Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Sauté the apples in the pan for a few minutes, until starting to soften and turn golden. Add the mustard, maple syrup and cream and cook, stirring, until the mixture is well blended, comes to a simmer and thickens. Pour the apples and sauce over the pork and serve immediately. Serves 2-3.
September 21 2010 | pork | 16 Comments »
It’s 11pm, and I just arrived in Edmonton. I’m exhausted, and cranky, and it was a long day and a long drive, made longer by what was supposed to be a quick pull-over in Red Deer to a) wake up and b) find a bathroom that didn’t come with the obligation to buy junk food, which turned into c) a brief meltdown in the Winners changing room with bad florescent lighting. And then an arrival to find no record of the hotel booking I made on Expedia – fortunately the good folks at the Matrix took pity on the fact that I did have a printout from them and gave me a room – a suite, even, for the same price. And because it has a swank little kitchenette, I hauled up my CrockPot and am going to cook some ribs overnight. If I don’t fall asleep in this chair.
My eyes look like I popped them out and soaked them in chlorine for a spell, and I don’t have much confidence they’ll look any better at 7 tomorrow morning when I’m on BT trying to sound smart.
But good news: I’m proud to report I gave in to no road food to keep me awake (if you don’t count coffee) – I brough a few leftover pork satay with almond butter sauce (which are delicious cold, and great for picnics) that I made on the weekend. I found another jackpot of interesting recipes – pork ones – over 20 food writers and bloggers have entered pork recipes to celebrate the launch of Maple Leaf Prime® Pork, and if you go and vote (and live in Western Canada) you get a 50% off coupon to pick up your own piece of pig. Not a bad deal for a click!
Pork Satay with Almond Butter Sauce
Sara entered this one in the Prime Pork recipe contest. I changed it a little. It’s pretty fab.
1 package Maple Leaf Prime® Pork Tenderloin
Marinade:
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. orange or lime juice
1 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. curry powder
pinch hot chile flakes
Almond Butter Satay Sauce:
1/2 cup almond butter (peanut butter works too)
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. lemon or lime juice
2 Tbsp. hot water
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 tsp Sriracha sauce (chile garlic sauce)
Cut the pork tenderloin in half crosswise and then lengthwise into strips. Put in a bowl with all the marinade ingredients, and toss it around with your hands. Cover and refrigerate for an hour or overnight.
Mix together all the satay sauce ingredients, and thin with additional water if necessary. Set aside.
Preheat a grill or broiler. Thread the pork onto skewers that have been soaked in water for at least 10 minutes. Grill or broil on both sides until just cooked through. Serve skewers on top of coconut rice with satay sauce on the side.
September 07 2010 | pork | 16 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 | 17 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 | 27 Comments »
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