Archives for the 'beef, fish, poultry, pork' Category
Pork tenderloin with roasted beets and salsify
A quick and easy dinner is just what a Monday night calls for. My favorite way to cook pork tenderloin is in an obscenely hot oven (500°) for about 10 minutes or until the internal temp in the thickest part is 140°. But that requires either a clean oven or the doors and windows wide open to let the smoke out of the house. Since it was raining/snowing/sleeting I decided to forgo my favorite method, instead I cut the tenderloin into medallions and sautéd it in some olive oil. I finished them off with a huge splash of lemon juice and then plated them with some of the pan juices dribbled across the top.
Salsify is also known as oyster plant apparently because someone, somewhere thought that it tasted like an oyster. Well I didn’t get that flavor note but it did taste vaguely nutty and sort of reminded me of a sunchoke. It’s a difficult root to peel because it’s tough and the white sap that exuded as I peeled and chopped was sticky and difficult to get off my hands. It’s also necessary to drop the peeled root in acidulated water immediately or it will turn brown.
Once I got the salsify peeled and chopped I gave it a spin around the bowl with some good olive oil and then I tossed it with some dijon mustard, lemon juice, and yuzu honey. The beets were tossed in that mix too. I roasted the two roots in a 425° oven for about 20 minutes and they came out tender and sweet yet with a tiny bite from the mustard. I’ve been cooking beets like this for years and we’ve always loved them but the recent addition of the yuzu honey has been genius even if I do saw so myself. Even though the salsify was fun to try, I doubt that I’ll be in a hurry to use it again. It’s sappiness and extra steps made it more work than it was worth…at least flavor-wise.
Do you seek out new products to try? What has been your favorite find? For me it’s anything with Yuzu in it.
Balsamic chicken with porcini and lentilles de Puy
I made the balsamic chicken that I read about over at Cooking and Eating in the Windy City and while I didn’t follow the recipe, I did come up with an excellent meal that satisfied and soothed. Stove top braises are satisfying because you can hover about the kitchen, occasionally peeking under the lid, spooning sauce over the chicken, tasting, adjusting, adding more of this or that. When I have the time I love to cook that way.
I used boneless skinless breasts and thighs for the chicken and that helped to reduce prep and cooking time although I’m sure it would be even more delicious with a whole local chicken. The porcinis came from my pantry’s stash of dried mushrooms and they were a tasty and splendid addition to the pan sauce. But I have to admit that it was a stroke of genius on my part (but of course!) to serve it with the little green, peppery french lentils…they were an apt foil to the rich, tangy chicken. The side salad was maché and frisée with a dijon vinaigrette. I think this is my favorite meal that I’ve made in awhile…let me know if you like it.
Balsamic chicken with porcini mushrooms and lentilles de Puy
inspired by Erin from Cooking and Eating In The Windy City
printer-friendly recipe
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, seasoned with salt and pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, seasoned with salt and pepper
3 slices of good thick bacon, diced
3 shallots, peeled and sliced thin
2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 cup of water
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup dried porcinis, rehydrated with the liquid discarded
Put a large skillet or chef’s pan (that has a lid) on a burner over medium heat. Add the diced bacon once the pan is hot and then cover and reduce the heat to medium low. Stir occasionally and cook low and slow until crispy. Remove the bacon, turn up the heat to medium and add the chicken, cooking to brown it on all sides. Once it is browned, remove it from the pan and add the shallots, give them a toss or two in the pan juices then reduce the heat to medium low and cover the pan. Let them cook like this for 10 minutes. Remove the lid of the pan, add the garlic, and let them cook another 10 minutes over medium low heat, stirring occasionally.
Add 1 cup of water and stir to mix it all together and dislodge any good bits stuck to the sides or bottom. Add the chicken, bacon, and porcini mushrooms back to the pan and let them cook for 5 minutes or so with the lid off. Add the balsamic vinegar and stir the sauce. Spoon it over the chicken and let it cook for no more than 10 minutes or so, turning the chicken in the sauce at least once. Make sure you serve it before all your pan juices disappear.
If you’re going to serve this with the lentils you’ll want to start them right after you put the shallots in the pan…that way they get about 30 minutes to cook and that should be perfect. Rinse them first and then put them in a heavy sauce pan, cover them with water and place the pan on a burner over medium high heat. Once they boil, skim the foam off, reduce the heat to medium low, and cover the pan.
The beef
It’s rainy and cold around here right now. T.S. Eliot said that April is the cruelest month and he certainly hit the nail on the head. Funny how weather like this in Paris didn’t even phase me but here it sure does get me down. That and the fact that my fearless minivan, hauler of trees, compost, groceries, and kids, has broken down and been at the shop since last Thursday. I’m torn between wanting to stop sinking money into repairs and get something new, fuel efficient, and small and wanting it to pull through so I can do some bondo work on its rust spots this summer…perhaps even give it a snazzy, arty, creative paint job. We’ll see how this saga ends up soon enough. Until then I’ve been driving Dave’s car and logging a lot of drive time as I drop Dave and the boys off and then pick them up again later in the day.
Braised short ribs are perfect for when your life becomes unreasonably hectic and stressful. Begin the day before you want to eat them. In a deep, large dutch oven brown each piece. Add 1/2 bottle of red wine, 1 onion peeled and quartered, 5 garlic cloves, bashed but not peeled, and a can of whole roma tomatoes. If the liquid amount is low feel free to add water. Also add salt and pepper and a bay leaf or two. Cover the pot and stick it in the refrigerator. On the day you want to eat them you should preheat the oven to 325F about 3 hours before you want to serve them. While the oven is preheating put the pot on a burner and heat up the contents then pop the ribs into the oven. 3 hours later they’ll come out of the oven looking like little succulent pot roast. There is nothing that well-marbled, braised, grass-fed, locally-raised beef won’t cure…well maybe there is… but it sure does fix me up after a bad day.
Enjoy those ribs with some nice smashed potatoes, a nice pool of reduced braising juices lapping at their base, and a delicious pile of haricot verte to contrast. Don’t forget the wine.
Beef was raised by and purchased from Eric and Carrie Johnson at Jordandal Farm.
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