Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Grape Sauce

Today is "reveal day" for The Secret Recipe Club (Group B).  

 Once a month, we are assigned a food blog. Our mission is to visit that blog, choose a recipe, cook it (or bake it) and then blog about it.  The "secret" part is that we post our recipe on a specific day, and that is when we find out who got our blog.  It's quite fun to find out which one of my recipes was chosen, and to see their version of it.

My assigned blog was "Eat Laugh Love" and I found a plethora of recipes to choose from.  We share a few things in common-- for one, we are both married to "Craig's" and we are fortunate that our husbands are willing to clean up the kitchen, in exchange for our cooking.  That's very fair!  I had to toss a coin between making the Enchiladas Suizas (I've been on a Mexican food kick as of late) or the Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Grape Sauce.

I was fortunate to find seedless red grapes, so which recipe to choose was finally settled.  I've always meant to roast grapes, and this was my chance to scratch that off my recipe bucket list.

Pork tenderloin is a common protein staple in my kitchen.  I love that it's a lean cut of meat, and my favorite way to prepare it is to sear and roast it.   It's such a fast dinner to make, and it's fun for me to invesnt a pan sauce-- sometimes, from what I can scrounge up from my refrigerator.  With this recipe, except for the grapes, I had everything on hand. Big plus!

  I have plenty of fresh thyme in our herb garden, and I always have shallots on hand.

I tossed the grapes with a little olive oil, salt & pepper, and preheated the oven to 425F

Rather than roasting the grapes, separately, I just tossed them in with the seared tenderloin, then roasted everything for about 20 minutes-- or until about 145F.

Remove the pork, and loosely cover with foil. Set the grapes aside and make a pan sauce...

I liked that the grapes released some of their juices, so I tossed in the shallots and cooked until tender-- 2-3 minutes. Then, I added some Ruby Red Port and reduced that for a few minutes. 

Last, I added chicken broth, the fresh thyme and some Dijon mustard and let that reduce for a few minutes, then adjust with a little bit more salt. Rather than adding a slurry of cornstarch and water, I added a pat of unsalted butter and whisked it.  Done!

Start to finish-- 45 minutes.  I served this with polenta and zucchini.  

TASTING NOTES:  Fruit and pork pair beautifully together.  Roasted grapes are a little bit sweet, and give a lovely texture to this dish.   The perfect combo was one bite of pork, with a nice chunk of grapes-- savory, sweet with just a slight hint of tart.  This is fancy enough to serve at a dinner party, but quick and easy enough for a work night meal.  Overall, it's a healthy meal-- and one small pat of unsalted butter is no biggie.  I'll definitely make roasted grapes again.

You'll find a printable recipe card by scrolling to the bottom of this post.  

My next post will be the Chicken Mole recipe and a Mexican-themed dessert that I made for Cinco de Mayo.   I'm running a little behind, but I'll be catchup up soon!

 

Pork Chops with Wine & Garlic

On most week nights, I still come home wanting to eat home-cooked food-- as opposed to bringing  home take-out.  I'm pretty much the Chief Cook in the house, and I need meals that come together quickly.  I often resort to pan-searing meat and making a pan sauce.  I love pan sauces.  They transform boring old chicken, pork or beef into something that resembles restaurant quality food.  It couldn't be simpler. When the Pioneer Woman recently posted this recipe, I knew that this would be dinner. That very night!

I stopped by my meat market, and picked up two luscious pork loins.  I already had the rest of the ingredients on hand-- red wine, garlic cloves, beef broth and balsamic vinegar.  So, here we go-- the pork is seasoned with coarse salt & black pepper. Then it's seared in a screaming hot skillet with a little oil and unsalted butter.

I did something a little differently that "PW" does... I prefer to sear my meats on one side until golden brown, and then put them into a 425F oven to roast them.  (I already had baked potatoes going, so it was convenient  to do this.) This method pretty much assures me that the meat will be moist.  I roasted these for about 4 minutes, then removed them and lightly covered them in foil.   (Otherwise, just flip them more a few more minutes, because you'll finish cooking the pork in the sauce.) To the skillet, I added about 8 peeled cloves of garlic, and tossed the about on medium heat until golden brown. Look at all the brown deliciousness on the bottom of the pan...flavor, just waiting to happen!

So, now I add some red wine, a bay leaf and let that bubble and reduce for a few minutes. Last, I add some beef broth and the chops and let them simmer for a few minutes more.

I add a bit of balsamic vinegar, and swirl the pan a bit...

For a final ta-da, I turn off the heat and add some unsalted butter and whisk it in.

I served this with a baked potato, and a salad with a light white balsamic vinaigrette.

TASTING NOTES:  I do consider pork to be the "other white meat" and we love it.   I realize that this isn't exactly a child-friendly dish, but my baby is already a grown young man.  The garlic was sweet, and cooking it removed any kind of strong garlic "bite".  I wish I had added even more garlic cloves. The sauce was so flavorful, with that very subtle tang of balsamic.  Loved this dish. Love, love. This recipe is going into my regular rotation for those nights when I'm hungry, but tired.  Super easy to make, and good enough to serve company for dinner.  Thanks, Ree!

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

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.

Cider-Glazed Boneless Pork Loin Chops (Cook's Illustrated)

 While shopping at the meat section of my grocery store, I was smitten with a row of beautiful, thick boneless pork loin chops.  I don't recall the last time I cooked this cut of meat, so I asked the butcher to wrap up three chops to make for Sunday supper.

 It's a little scary how I can recall from my memory a particular recipe that I've bookmarked, and have moved very high on my "must try" list.  Then again, I almost always find a recipe from any Cook's Illustrated publication.

I have bookmarked dozens of recipes from one of my favorite recipe sources. The Complete America's Test Kitchen Show Cookbook is worth every penny, as it has every recipe they've made, through Season 10.  Christopher Kimball, and his team of chefs do a lot of recipe testing to perfect so many recipes.  Boneless pork chops can be easily overcooked-- whether you fry them or bake them.  I am not a fan of baked chicken or pork, because I am a firm believer that searing meat and then roasting them has a much better flavor. America's Test Kitchen came up with a great idea, I thought, and tonight was the night to test their technique.  Here's their quote:

Published March 1, 2006.  

Why this recipe works:For a quick and flavorful pork chop recipe with moist, juicy meat, we settled on the pan-searing method and added flavor with a glaze. To prevent the chops from drying out we seared them on just one side until they were well browned, added the glaze mixture, then gently "poached" the chops in the glaze. This approach helped the chops retain moisture and reduced the glaze to the right consistency.

To begin, you'll want to make the glaze. The ingredients are all items that are in my pantry: apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar), apple cider, light brown sugar, soy sauce (I used low-salt Tamari) and Dijon mustard, and a pinch of cayenne.  Whisk that together and set aside.

Trim the chops and slash through fat and silver skin with sharp knife, making 2 cuts about 2 inches apart in each chop (do not cut into meat of chops). Pat chops dry with paper towels; season with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until smoking. Add pork to skillet and cook until well browned, 4 to 6 minutes. Turn chops and cook 1 minute longer; transfer chops to plate and pour off any oil in skillet.

Add the glaze mixture; cook over medium heat until center of chops registers 140 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove skillet from heat; transfer chops to clean platter, tent with foil, and let rest 5 minutes. The ideal temperature should be 155F once the meat has rested, as it continues to cook.

NOTE: Because my chops were 2" thick, I covered the pan and allowed these to poach/cook for about 18 minutes.

When chops have rested, add any accumulated juices to skillet and set over medium heat. Simmer, whisking constantly, until glaze is thick and color of dark caramel (heatproof spatula should leave wide trail when dragged through glaze), 2 to 6 minutes.
TIP: You'll want to see increased bubbles, caramel color, and a spatula just starts to make trails.Be patient, as the pan sauce will begin to thicken.

 Return chops to skillet; turn to coat both sides with glaze. Transfer chops back to platter, browned side up, and spread remaining glaze over chops. Serve immediately.

 Perfection! I'm hungry!

TASTING NOTES:  The glaze is A-ma-ZING!  Seriously, it's thick and sweet, a little tangy and slightly savory, and flavorful... it gets several O-M-G's from me!  The pork was so moist and juicy.  Craig and I split one of the chops, as they were very large. My 6'2  22 year-old son ate an entire chop, along with some smashed potatoes and a green salad.   The dinner table was pretty void of conversation as we each enjoyed this very quick and delicious way to serve pork.  This recipe moves up very high on my rotation list. In fact, I think this glaze would be excellent with salmon.  Love, love, LOVE this recipe.
SIDE NOTE: Yes, the pork appears to be slightly pink, in the middle.  This is safe, according to the USDA website. The internal temperature should be 145F.   If you doubt, click here to read it!

A printable recipe card follows.

Thank you America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Illustrated! 

Your fan,

                       

                       
                   

Pork with Paprika, Mushrooms & Sour Cream

California is getting it's fair share of rain, and I'm very happy about it.  I think about our local grower's and how much I'm looking forward to my local fresh Salinas Valley produce.  I'm longing to bite into fresh strawberries, peaches and cantaloupe. But, I know that we still need a lot of water for our crops to be bountiful-- and we've had a couple weeks of 70 degree weather, and that's been lovely.  Given that my friend in Rhode Island is shivering from the heavy snowfall they've had, I don't complain when the skies turn dark and I can  hear the pitter-patter of steady rain.  We're on day two of a four day holiday weekend, and since it's been steadily raining, I want to bake....

...I'm honing my Artisan bread skills.

..I finally took the plunge and learned how to make doughnuts. Yes, they're fried. They're also very good, and I am proud of my will power that I didn't eat more than 1 and half of my another...

I ate mine with cinnamon-sugar.  It was tender and reminded me of churros. It will cost me ten extra laps in the pool, but it was worth it!

I haven't left my house in two days, and I'm fine with that!  Not wanting to go grocery shopping, I scoured my freezer and found a package of pork chops that I had forgotten about.  Then, I remembered a recipe I had bookmarked from "Kalyn's Kitchen".   I've made Chicken Paprikash, ages ago, but it never occured to me that pork and sour cream would go very well together.   As luck would have it, I had all the ingredients I needed to make a dinner that would be warm, and hearty on a rainy night.  After noshing on a sweet doughnut, I was ready for a good meal-- and I wanted a one-pot meal, since I'd done three loads of pots, pans and tools.

Because I had spent a great deal of  too much time in the kitchen, photographing the bread and doughnut recipe (and I will post those later on) I decided not to photograph how I made this recipe.  Kalyn's photos are so lovely, that I will send you over there if you'd like to see all the steps involved.  Trust me, this is a very simple dish to prepare. 

TASTING NOTES:  I made only two minor changes to the original recipe.  I added a little bit of flour to the seasoned pork, before searing.  I think it helps the sauce to thicken a bit.  I also added a couple tablespoons of tomato paste, in addition to the diced tomatoes.  I didn't have petite diced tomatoes, so you can see them in the sauce, more than Kalyn's version.  I love the richness of tomato paste-- the rest of the recipe, I followed to a "T".   The sauce was rich, with notes of sweet paprika and I like the flavor of caraway seeds.  I used cremini mushrooms and light sour cream.  This dish reminds me of a cross between beef stroganoff and my Austrian Goulash.  I think that pork tenderloin would be the best choice in making this dish, as the pork chops were a teensie tough in texture.  The flavor made up for that, though.  I loved the combination of paprika and sour cream. Oh, so good!

Thank you, "Kalyn's Kitchen" for sharing this recipe.  It's comfort food made simple.  A printable recipe is at the bottom of this post, or go visit Kalyn to see her lovely photos.