Pork and Mushroom Stew with Potato & Apple Mash

I almost feel as though I should be sharing summer recipes with you, instead of this comforting (and delectable) pork stew.  Here we are, in the first week of January, with temperatures reaching the 70's and clear blue skies. You'd think I'd rejoice in that, but I really wish it was a cold and rainy day.   I'm at the tail end of a much needed two week vacation.   I'm also concerned that we might be headed into a drought-- and that's not a good thing.  I think of the Salinas Valley growers, and how our crops could be affected.  Let's hope that  La Niña will bring a lot of states some much needed rain.

Today is my husband's first day back at work, and settling in to a peaceful time at home-- all by myself.   If it was raining, I'd be more inclined to bake bread and soup, and to have a cozy fire where I could curl up and enjoy a quiet lunch at home.  Instead, I'm feeling guilty for now being outside, enjoying the warm weather!

The nights do get chilly, so this quick stew would be a welcome meal for dinner.  Usually, I prefer to braise and cook my stews low and slow. But, this stew uses pork tenderloin, which is one of my favorite meats to cook with.  It's so tender, that I don't need to braise for a long time, so this recipe is perfect to make after a long day at the office.

Sear each piece of seasoned pork tenderloin chunks (dried well with a paper towel). Set aside.

Sweat mushrooms, leeks, and carrot in same pan over medium heat until softened, 3–4 minutes. Stir in flour and cook 1 minute.

Deglaze the pan with sherry, scraping up any bits on bottom of pan, and reduce until evaporated. Stir in cider and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add pork with residual juices and 1 Tbsp. thyme. Simmer stew until thickened, 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper.

I wanted to make mashed potatoes, but I thought it would be nice to add some of the apple garnish into the potatoes.  After cooking some Yukon Gold potatoes (about 6 small), I ran them through a food mill..

...then added some unsalted butter, cream cheese, milk, and a splash of heavy cream.

I had roasted a head of garlic, so I added about half of it into the potatoes...

and then the apple, for a little "crunch".  To the sauce, I also added a splash of heavy cream.

Dinner is served-- in about 40 minutes.

VERDICT:  I love a good stew, and this is a nice change from a more traditional beef stew.  The sauce could have been a little thicker, but I'll simply add a bit more flour next time.  The apple cider and sherry adds a lovely depth of flavor, and the crunch of the apple is really good with the pork.  Yes, I'd make this again.  All I need is that much needed rain and a roaring fire.

A printable recipe card is at the bottom of this post.

Candied Sweet Potatoes, Kicked Up

What's your favorite Thanksgiving dish?  As far as turkey goes, I'll have the white meat, please.  Mashed potatoes? Sure. Gravy? Why not...just a little.  Stuffing?  No.  I'll skip stuffing any day. I know, I'm weird.  (I've been told that I made great stuffing-- but I eat just one bite of it).  What I really hold out for are sweet potatoes.   As a kid, I could hardly wait for sweet potatoes with melted marshmallows, and that golden crust crunch.  The best.  It wasn't until I was all grown up, that I first made this very recipe,  while watching Emeril Lagasse's Food Network show back in 2002.   This recipe is for grownups.  It has fresh orange juice, vanilla bean and-- bourbon.  The funny thing is, I'm not a bourbon drinker.  Never have been.  But, this recipe has become a regular on my Thanksgiving table, now that my son and his cousin are all grown up.   I begin with 8 sweet potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces.  Of course, we need brown sugar.

Next, water, fresh squeezed orange juice (not concentrate) and orange zest.

To me, sweet potatoes and cinnamon are meant for one another.  I received a jar of Red Ape Cinnamon a year ago, and I really like it a lot.  Is cinnamon just cinnamon? Well, yes, and no.

So, this is the cinnamon that I buy now-- because I admire and respect that their product is  all about being sustainable and organic products. I like value and support that.

Two teaspoons of cinnamon, some salt and vanilla bean.  Well, folks, I also received a jar of Singing Dog Vanilla Bean Paste from the same lovely folks who sent me Red Ape Cinnamon.  That was a year ago, and I have continued to buy this product as well.  If you've never used vanilla bean paste, it will become your new best friend.

Vanilla bean paste is thick and tastes just as though you scraped an expensive vanilla bean.  Your end product will have those lovely dark flecks of vanilla bean. Trust me. I love Red Dog Vanilla brand, not because I got to try it for free-- I like it because it's also organic, sustainable and it's a quality product.

So, now the potatoes are cooking away with all those lovely note of orange, cinnamon and vanilla. 

One they are fork tender, remove the potatoes and place them into an oven-proof dish.  We're not through, though.  The bourbon!  As I said, I don't drink bourbon.  So, I buy those small bottles at my local liquor store. (Clever, eh?)

I only need 1/2 cup, which I now add to the sauce. We want to boil the sauce, until it reduces to a syrup.  Be prepared, this can take as much as 30 minutes (as opposed to the original recipe).

I like to mark a wooden spoon with a rubber band, so I know where the liquid is at.  Then, I can tell how much the syrup has reduced.

The sauce coats the back of a spoon. See? There are the vanilla bean flecks.  I told you!

Pour the syrup over the potatoes and then place into a preheated oven at 375F.  Bake for 10-15 minutes, until browned.  (I would think you could do all these steps a day or two ahead and then bake on Thanksgiving Day.) Remove from the oven and add a butter (I use about 1/2 stick, though the recipe says to use a full stick) until incorporated.

VERDICT:  I love these sweet potatoes.  Honestly, you don't taste booze.  There's almost a caramel flavor, with a hint of bourbon...just a kiss.  The balance of orange and sweet vanilla, with the cinnamon is truly a flavor party in your mouth.  Anyone who eats these, always raves about them.  I don't miss my marshmallows one bit.

The very nice folks at Singing Dog Vanilla have offered to give away:

A 4 ounce jar of their Vanilla Bean Paste and...

A 2 ounce bottle of their Pure Vanilla Extract.

All you have to do is leave a comment on my blog page (not my Fan Page), and share what recipe you most love to use vanilla bean or vanilla extract?  For a second entry, please like their Fan Page, and leave them a comment that you are entering my giveaway-- and leave an extra comment telling that you did so.    I will randomly choose a winner on Sunday, November 20th.  Sorry, but I can only ship within the Continental United States.  Please be sure that you have an email address so I can contact you-- anonymous comments cannot be accepted.  Giveaway Entries have closed. Thank you for entering.

Good luck, and the printable recipe is at the end of this post.

Gingerbread (Pumpkin) Waffles

I have a Christmas morning breakfast idea for you.  I've been making these waffles for several years.  This waffle recipe tastes like Christmas, to me-- ginger, pumpkin, molasses, cinnamon.  They're even better when you have Vanilla-Pecan Butter to go on top.  Oh, yeah.

I had extra Vanilla Bean Pecan Butter from the Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pomegranate Molasses recipe that I made.  Perfect!  The waffles are also a great way to use leftover pumpkin puree.  For those of you who feel that an unused can of opened pumpkin puree goes to waste-- freeze it.   Last year, I made my own pumpkin puree-- just to see if it's worth it.  I froze 1-cup portions into a ziploc bag, which is a very convenient to way to measure what you need.  It just so happens that you need 1 cup of pumpkin puree.   A quick thaw in a bowl of water gets you on the way in a snap.

For the dry ingredients, I'll bet that you have these in your pantry right now.  If not, then spices usually go on sale this time of year. Stock up!

(A printable recipe is at the bottom of this post.)  We need unbleached flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ginger and nutmeg.

For the wet ingredients, we need eggs and brown sugar.  We also need melted butter.

...and molasses.  I keep an opened jar of molasses (I don't use it very often) way in the back of my fridge. I don't know how long this jar has been stored, but it's still good to go.  TIP: I teensy bit of oil to my measuring cup before measuring the molasses...

...1/2 cup molasses.  1 1/2 cups milk is the last wet ingredient (I used 1% milk).

GADGET CHECK:  I received this ball whisk as one of my gifts from the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival, last month.  I wasn't sure what was so special about it, and then it hit me.  Duh!  Unlike a regular whisk, I don't get big gobs of stuck dough when I whisk wet into dry ingredients.   Hold on... I'll show you.

First, we whisk all the wet ingredients.  See how easily the molasses slides right out of the measuring cup? I do this with honey, too.  

 add milk and melted butter and whisk one more time...

So, now, let's add the wet to the dry, with my new favorite ball whisk.

Check it out!  No clumps of batter on the ends.  See how easily I'm addicted to amused with kitchen gadgets? Let's make waffles...

  

Brush some butter on the waffle iron...

Warning: This recipe makes a LOT of batter.  

These smell like gingerbread cookies, as they cook. 

These deserve maple syrup.  I stopped buying commercial pancake syrup a few years ago. Have you ever read the ingredients listings? Go ahead. Look!  High fructose corn syrup?  Artificial flavors.   My family has converted over to pure maple syrup, and we'll never go back.  Maple syrup is such a versatile ingredient, too. 

 

Speaking of versatile ingredients...  I received a lovely package from Red Ape Cinnamon.  I wanted to take this cinnamon for a test drive with this recipe.  I am impressed with the products that this company provides. I like that they are very conscious of our planet.  It's a feel-good kind of product to buy, and it's the kind of quality that Ina Garten would have in mind when she says "use good cinnamon".   Their website says:

Red Ape Cinnamon™ is sustainably harvested in Indonesia from Cassia Cinnamon trees that are at least 20 years old. The Volatile Oil (V.O.) content is much higher in older trees resulting in a higher quality cinnamon.

You will notice that Red Ape Cinnamon™ is a lighter reddish brown color than the darker cinnamon you are accustomed to seeing. Only the pure inner cinnamon bark is ground and the extra outer bark that would normally dilute the final powder is disposed of. It is because of this grinding process that our cinnamon delivers a more intense cinnamon flavor experience.

You can order it on-line and I've found it at Whole Foods.  I'm going to buy this brand from now on.  I have another recipe I'll be sharing, that includes Singing Dog Pure Vanilla Extract and their Vanilla Bean Paste.  The lovely folks with this company will let me choose a reader to receive them as well. So, yes, I have another giveaway coming up with my next post. 

 The waffles are ready...

...add some Vanilla Bean-Pecan Butter (or regular butter)

...a dusting of powdered sugar looks nice

...a nice drizzle of pure maple syrup. Hungry yet?

VERDICT:  The texture of these waffle are a cross between tender and dense.  That might sound contradictory, I know. The pumpkin puree adds moisture and some density.  The ginger and cinnamon flavor really comes through, and the molasses gives that rich color and flavor, with just the right balance of sweet.

Kids will love these.  I make all of the batter and then freeze the waffles. They become homemade frozen waffles that heat well in a toaster oven.  Shall I reveal the source of this recipe?  Here it comes-- Rachel Ray. I saw this on her show at least five years ago.  It's a winner!

Thank you Red Ape Cinnamon, for sending me a generous jar of your cinnamon to try.  I love it. Seriously.  I use a lot of cinnamon, and it's nice to see that this is a sustainable product.  That means a lot to me.

A printable recipe card is at the end of this post.

Enjoy!

Personal Favorite Fall Recipe Roundup

My blogger friend, Stacey (of Stacey Snacks), left a comment a couple of posts ago that I should rename my blog "The Weekend Cook".   For those of you who are new to my blog, I wish you a warm welcome.  My two year anniversary is coming up at the end of this month, and I am planning a celebration/giveaway.  Until this July, I was blogging several times a week.  Everything has changed, since I'm at a new school site, working at an Adult School. That means I'm working a split shift and am gone for 13 hours a day, during the week.  So, as Stacey pointed out, it's the weekend and this is where I do my marathon cooking and baking.
I'm still editing and organizing last week's Foodbuzz Blogger Festival, and I hope to find a way to share some of it with you. In the meantime, I'd like to share with you some recipes from last Fall that are worthy of an encore in my own home:

This Rainbow Salad has been featured on my header for some time.  I made this with roasted golden beets and .  I'm fortunate to live in the Salinas Valley, where I can buy beautiful salad greens from Fresh Express. Another salad that I serve for holiday tables is:

This salad with pears, gorgonzola, candied pecans and a balsamic vinaigrette is a recipe I fell in-love with at a restaurant in Pacific Grove, California. Sadly, the restaurant is gone but I was able to replicate the recipe.

While this soup doesn't wouldn't win for it's looks, it's has a mild flavor from a very ugly vegetable-- celeriac. This is a Creamy Celery Root & Yukon Gold Potato Soup.  It's comforting and makes a beautiful starter to any dinner party.

Pumpkin takes center stage this time of year.  I've made this Pumpkin pasta with fried sage pasta dish for several years.  When I first saw this recipe, I couldn't bond with the idea of pumpkin in a pasta.  It changed my mind and I'm going to recreate this very soon.  The pasta is made with Italian sausage, white wine, spices, red pepper flakes and is served with a savory pumpkin cream sauce. Trust me, it's a winner.

Speaking of pumpkin... I do stock up on canned pumpkin for lots of recipes. Last year, I decided to learn how to make my own pumpkin puree.  It was easier than I thought, and I was able to enjoy pumpkin year-round. (Just click on the bold and highlighted recipes names, to be see how I made this)

I also show you how to make tasty pumpkin seeds.

I made the Pioneer Woman's Pumpkin Spice Muffins.  They come together, fast, and disappear even faster.

I created a Pumpkin Ice Cream that turned out even better than expected.  It would be delicious as an ice cream cake.

This is one of the first food shots I ever took for my new blog.  The photo is grainy and was shot in flash-- since then I've learned not to use flash photography or it muddies out the colors. It has zero comments, which also shows that it takes time to develop friendships with other food bloggers. I will remake this so I can re-shoot it and show how I did it.  The picture does not do justice to the Pumpkin Brulee recipe. Trust me, it's delicious and makes for a nice alternative to pumpkin pie.

I'm not sure if this is a dessert or a side dish.  The Pioneer Woman posted this recipe, and I'm going to make it again and again. If you love sweet potatoes and pecans, here's a great Sweet PotatoCasserole side dish/dessert for you.

For pie recipes, Pumpkin and Apple Pie are top on the list.  Making your own pie crust is easier than you think. I'll show you how by clicking here.  I'm making my pie crust dough, this weekend, so I can freeze some and store some in the refrigerator. I found two recipes I hope to make, and I'll share it with you.

 Fruit Crisps are "Cheater Pies".  This is a Cranberry & Pear Fruit Crisp that offers a sweet-tart cooked fruit combination, with a brown sugar & pecan topping that makes you want to eat seconds.

Of course, the Thanksgiving Turkey is what most of us look forward to. I've made many turkeys over the years, but I pay extra for Diestel Turkeys that are fresh and always turn out juicy.  I've evolved into buying range-free, hormone-free turkey that aren't injected with vegetable oil or any other kind of fats.  I don't brine my turkey, either.  Somehow, I think that the turkey takes on a rubbery texture and even Alton Brown's recipe didn't appeal to us.  Ina Garten's Roast Turkey was easy to make and very flavorful.

 I made King Arthur Flour's Buttered pull-apart rolls.  I blew it the first time I made them, and I show you what happened. I also share how my second attempt yielded tender and buttery rolls. Store-bought rolls cannot compare with these! I show you how to make them, and you can do it!

 There are folks who don't like to eat turkey. I don't understand it, but another alternative is a Greek Stuffed Pork Loin that I created.

It's stuffed with fig jam, feta cheese, garlic and spinach.  I made this the night before company was to arrive and it worked perfectly! I made a port-wine reduction sauce, and it was outstanding and worthy of another gala dinner entree.

The weekend flies by so fast, that I need to get up and running. I have a house to clean, errands to run and some new recipes to make.  Someday, I'll return to working a daytime shift. Until then, I'm temporarily The Weekend Blogger!

Remember, all you have to do is click on the recipe names in each paragraph, and you will be linked to the post that shows you how I made the recipe and you will also find a printable recipe at the very bottom of each post.

I need to work on my Two-Year Anniversary Giveaway. Thank you for not giving up on me. I love to cook and bake, and my food blog has led me to meeting so many of you who share the same passion as I do.