Pork Tenderloin with Garlic-Orange Vinaigrette

Yep. Thats right. Everyday Food Magazine. (I should rename my blog lol)...

Serves 4

4 tablespoons olive oil
2 pork tenderloins (about 1 pound each), trimmed and patted dry
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (Didnt have any dijon so I used brown... still good but the mustard was a bit strong. Next time Ill use Dijon)
1 tablespoon honey
1 garlic clove
4 bunches flat-leaf spinach (about 2 pounds total), thick stems removed, washed well (I did roasted asparagus instead with the dressing over it, so good!)

Directions

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium; season pork with salt and pepper. Add pork to skillet, and cook, turning occasionally, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part registers 145 degrees, 20 to 25 minutes (reduce heat if pork browns too quickly). Transfer pork to a plate, and cover loosely with aluminum foil; let rest 5 to 10 minutes (reserve skillet).

Meanwhile, in a blender, combine orange juice, mustard, honey, garlic, and 2 tablespoons oil. Season with salt and pepper, and blend until smooth; set vinaigrette aside.

In reserved skillet (if bottom of skillet is blackened, use a new one), heat remaining tablespoon oil over high. Add as much spinach as will fit; toss until wilted, adding more spinach as there is room, 3 to 5 minutes total. Drain off excess liquid, and season spinach with salt and pepper. Slice pork and drizzle with vinaigrette; serve with spinach. (or roast asparagus at 450 for 15 min, tossed with oil and salt, turning halfway and serve topped with vinaigrette - was excellent!)

Sweet Potato Soup with Chipotle Cream

A few months ago, my mother-in-law mailed a clipping from Ladies Home Journal with this recipe, saying that it sounded like something we would like. She was right! I filed it away fully intending to make it... but then it got lost in the shuffle. When trying to decide what to make for our bi-weekly sunday dinners with my sis and bro, I looked through my soups and saw it again. Sweet Potatos go well (I think) with Pork (which I was serving as well) and soups are good weekend projects since sometimes they take some extra time and cleanup.

This was SO good! I really liked it! The Chipotle cream is key so don't skip it. Without it, the soup was too sweet, almost baby-food like? But the smokiness in the cream was the right balance. I couldnt find unsalted pepitas ANYWHERE (not at Trader Joes, not at Kanes, not at Fitzgeralds, and not at Stop and Shop...) so salted it was. I dont think it was an issue though, still was yummy. I recommend this soup and would definitely make it again!

Makes 15 Cups

2 T olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 pounds sweet potatos, peeled and diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 T tomato paste

4 (14 ounce) cans low sodium chicken broth (note: I read this as 4 cups and then later felt like more broth was needed... guess I was right!)

3 T maple syrup

1 T lime juice

1 1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp cumin

3/4 tsp dried sage

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 bay leaf

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 chipotle chile (from a can of chipotles in adobo), seeds removed and finely chopped (1/2 tsp or to taste - I did more like a full tsp)

2 tsp adobo sauce (from can) or to taste (I did a bit more)

1/2 cup unsalted pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds)

In a large pot, heat oil over low. Add onion and cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Increase heat to medium; stir in potato, carrots, and tomato paste. Cook until vegetables begin to caramelize, about 4 min. Add broth, syrup, juice, salt, cumin, sage, pepper, bay leaf, and nutmeg. Cover and cook until vegetables are fork-tender, about 30 min. Discard Bay leaf. Puree using an immersion blender or in batches in a blender.

For Chipotle Cream: in a small mixer bowl, beat cream on medium to firm peaks. Fold in chile and adobo sauce.

Ladel soup into bowls, top with a dollop of cream, and sprinkle with pepitas.

Chocolate 'Covered' Banana Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes to bring to a party. There was going to be a 20 month old there who cant yet have peanuts or coconuts (or booze probably!) so I wanted to make some cupcakes with something else to kick them up. I had saved this recipe ages ago from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody that I used to make cupcakes (the explosion of overripe bananas in my freezer helped too!)

Banana Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup shortening

8 ounce Mascarpone cheese

2 eggs

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 cup mashed bananas (I used 2 overripe frozen then thawed bananas)

Cream together the sugar, shortening and Mascarpone cheese. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down after each addition. Add vanilla extract and mix for another 30 seconds. Add banana and buttermilk. Mix together all dry ingredients, then combine sugar mixture with dry ingredients. Pour into 9 x 13 inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. (This made 22 cupcakes, on the full side, and took about 15ish minutes to be done).

I picked up the April issue of Cooks Illustrated and decided to test out their "Foolproof Chocolate Frosting' claim. After all, my mom's birthday is coming up and she loves a good chocolate frosting. This recipe lived up to its claims: easy decadently deeply chocolatey...

Foolproof Chocolate Frosting

Makes 3 cups

20 T unsalted butter, softened

1 cup confectioners sugar

3/4 cup cocoa

pinch salt

3/4 cup light corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla

8 ounces chocolate (I used unsweetened), melted and cooled slightly

In food processor (NOT your KASM), process butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt until smooth, about 30 sec. Scrape sides as needed. Add corn syrup and vanilla and process to just combined, 5-10 sec. Scrape sides, and add chocolate and pulse to smooth and creamy, 10-15 sec. Frosting can by used immediately or held (longer than 3 hrs, chill covered and let stand at room temp for an hour prior to use). Yummmmm

Strawberry Crepes

Ryan requested that I try making crepes when I asked for breakfast suggestions last weekend. Man they are HARD! Definitely a few went in hte trash! But then I got the hang of it... yum! I used this recipe from william sonoma, with the addition of some vanilla beans mmm.

These crepes can be used with a variety of sweet or savory fillings. They're the perfect foundation for our souffléd crepes
Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1/2 Tbs. melted unsalted butter, plus 8 tsp. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
Directions:
In a blender, combine the milk, egg, flour, the 1/2 Tbs. melted butter and the salt and blend until smooth. Refrigerate for 2 to 8 hours. In a crepe pan over medium heat, melt 1 tsp. of the butter to coat the pan evenly. Lift the pan at a slight angle and pour 2 Tbs. of the batter into the center, tilting the pan to spread the batter to the edges. Return the pan to the heat and cook until the crepe is golden underneath, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the crepe over and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate and cover. Repeat with the remaining batter. Makes 8 crepes.
Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.

Simply served with sliced strawberries and fresh whipped cream. Sooo good...

Balsamic Strawberries YOU FOOL!

I have been wanting to make fools for a while now but just never got around to it. Stop and Shop has had great strawberries lately, so we have an abundance, and some were getting a bit peaked looking... perfect opportunity! I wanted to try something a bit different for it, though, so I macerated the (sliced, cleaned, stemmed) berries in a few tablespoons of balsamic for about an hour first, then shot them through the cuisinart with a tablespoon of sugar. The balsamic flavor was subtle but same through and gave a nice acidity to the fruit. They would be great seved sliced over vanilla ice cream too!

Meanwhile, I whipped some cream (no sugar added). Fold in the berries and serve! These can be made ahead a little and refridgerated. SO good...

I use about 1 cup of whipping cream and a little less than a pint of berries.

This made about 4 martini glasses worth, but it is very rich so I think that it would be plenty for 6 as well.

I will definitely experiment with other fruit this summer!

Balsamic Skirt Steak with Polenta and Roasted Tomatoes

This is from my fav recipe source, Everyday Food mag (check it out - its a small reader's digest sized magazine and so so good and easy!). It was an excellent meal!

Serves 4

Total Time 35 Min

2 pints grape tomatoes

6 scallions, white and greens separated and cut into 1 inch pieces (note: next time I wouldnt bother separating but would just roast them all)

2 T olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 cup groupnd cornmeal

1 Tablespoon Butter

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1.5 ponuds skirt steak (cut into pieces as needed to fit in skillet)

1 cup balsamic

1) Preheat over to 400. In a large saucepan, set 4 cups of water to boil. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss tomatoes with scallion whites and 1 T oil; season with salt and pepper. Roast until tomatoes are tender and some skins have split, 12 to 15 min; toss wiht scallion greens.

2) Meanwhile, add 1 tsp salt to boiling water; gradually whisk in cornmeal. Simmer gently over low heat, whicking occassionally, until polenta is thickened and cooked through, about 10 min. Whisk in butter and parmesan and keep over low heat (add more water if needed if too thick before serving)

3) Heat remaining tablespoon oil in a large skillet over high. Season steak with salt and pepper and add to skillet. Cook turning once , 6-8 min total for medium rare. Transfer to a plate, cover loosely with foil and let rest 5-10 min.

4) Add vinegar to skillet and boil on high until reduced to 1/2 cup, 5-7 min. Stir in any juices from the steak. Slice steak and serve with vinegar , polenta, and tomatoes

I don't like CAPERS!!!

So this month, Kate is hosting Platinum Chef Challenge, and her five ingredients are:

Leeks

Lemon

Cream

Rosemary

Capers

I had all sorts of great ideas and felt very inspired by this grocery list. So inspired that I made my entry THAT DAY. But I have waited to post my results. Why? Well. I learned that I really. Truly. Not at all. Made me gag. Needed to eat a chocolate bunny to get the taste out of my mouth. Dont. Like. Capers!!!!!!!!!

I think that had I discovered a love of capers. Or even a like. I would have enjoyed my dishes. I was tempted to try something else for a more palatable result, but that would mean including capers. Again. NOOOOOO!!!

I made two dishes though, both incorporated all five ingredients. The first was an asparagus soup, and the second a tapenade of sorts. Ryan really liked the tapenade (he does not share my capers aversion apparently).

Roasted Asparagus-Capers Soup

1 bundle of asparagus, trimmed, washed

3 sprigs of rosemary

1 lemon

4 cups stock

1 bundle leeks, trimmed and carefully washed

4 oz craime fraiche

2-3 tablespoons capers

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

scallops

bacon

Roast asparagus in an oven at 450 degrees tossed with oil, rosemary sprigs, and thinly sliced lemon for about 15 minutes or until slightly charred.

Meanwhile, in a large stock pot, heat oil over medium and add chopped leeks. Stir occasionally until slightly browned. Add stock and simmer about 10 min. In batches if needed, puree the stock/leeks and asparagus in a food processor or blender to smooth. Stir in cream to taste. Salt and pepper to taste.

In a small skillet, sautee the capers until slightly brown. Stir into soup. (Optional) Sear bacon wrapped scallops.

If desired, top with bacon-wrapped scallop.

Caper Tapenade

In a blender, combine 2 T drained capers, and the 'leaves' from 1 sprig of rosemary. Set aside.

Sautee thinly sliced whites from 1 large (or 3 small) leek with olive oil to caramelize. Combine with the caper-rosemary mixture. Squeeze juice from 1/2 of a lemon over, and stir in craime fraiche. Serve with multigrain bread.