A new way for pork

We grill pork tenderloin quite often. The go-to way is for Jason to season it, throw it on the grill and serve with a little BBQ sauce. This week I wanted something different so I asked for recipes on the What's Cooking board. I wanted something easy and something that didn't require a lot of ingredients that I don't already have. I went with the following recipe from Vintage Victuals thinking I only needed Dijonnaise. I was wrong, but it still turned out really good! This is actually something I'd make when we have company over. Not that it ever happens. I did take photos, but I'm having issues uploading them. I'll try again later.

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Creamy Dijon Sauce adapted from Vintage Victuals

• 1/4 cup Dijonaise spread (this will be in the store with the mustard)
• 1 t dry mustard (I left this out)
• 1/4 t dried minced onion seasoning
• 1 t garlic, minced or grated
• 3 T olive oil
• 1 fresh pork tenderloin
• salt & pepper
• 1/2 cup half-n-half (I used a little milk instead)
• 2 T Dijonaise spread

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together the Dijonnaise, dry mustard, the onion, and the garlic. The mixture should be a bit thick. Set it aside. In a large dutch oven heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Season the pork loin with salt and pepper on all sides. Brown the pork in the olive oil until it is nice and caramelized on all sides. Spoon the dijon mixture over all sides of the pork loin and place the entire dish in the oven. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the meat reaches 145 degrees internally (medium doneness). Remove the dish from the oven and allow the meat to rest on a platter for about 10 minutes to finish the cooking process. Return the dutch oven to the stove top. Add the half-n-half, deglazing the pan by scraping the caramelized drippings off of the bottom. Stir in the extra 2 tablespoons of Dijonnaise and warm the sauce to a simmer over low to medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Slice the rested tenderloin into thick slices and drizzle the dijon sauce over the pork before serving.

Trying something new

I've been posting on the Nest about this recipe I intended to make for, oh, weeks. Finally I made it last week and Jason and I both loved it! But I have NO idea what happened to the photos. And it even looked good! I'm sure they're on the desktop and Jason must have deleted them from the camera without telling me.

Either way, this was a good dinner. And a pretty easy Rachel Ray recipe. I've made some before where I thought it was SO not worth it after...when I'm cleaning up the kitchen.

Pork Chops with Balsamic Strawberry Salad & Pine Nut Orzo from Rachael Ray

• 1/2 pound orzo pasta
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 pint strawberries, quartered
• 1/2 cup basil leaves, torn
• 1 cup baby spinach leaves
• 4 slices prosciutto, sliced into 1/2" strips (I used regular bacon because...well, prosciutto is expensive)
• four 1" thick pork chops
• pepper
• 3 T butter
• 1 pinch cinnamon
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain.

In a saucepan, boil the balsamic vinegar until reduced to 2-3 T, about 5 minutes. Toss the vinegar in a bowl with the strawberries, basil & spinach.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat some olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the prosciutto (or bacon) and cook until crispy, remove and set on a paper towel to drain. Add a little more olive oil. Salt & pepper the pork chops and cook, turning once, for about 8 minutes or until done.

In the large pot (used to cook orzo), melt the butter over medium heat. Add the pasta, cinnamon & nutmeg. Toss and season with salt; stir in the pine nuts.

RR suggest serving the salad on top of the pork chops, but I did it on the side. I'm picky like that.

Here's a photo from her website - mine looked almost as good. :-)

Pork Tenderloin

Each weekend on the Nest we do a weekly menu post. I'm not much of a menu planner, but it helps me get ideas and recipes. Plus, since everyone is in to saving money right now, some of the menus are built around what's on sale - score!

This week a friend of mine, Katie, posted her recipe for pork tenderloin. Since we have a few of those in the freezer on a regular basis, I decided to try something different. Plus, corn on the cob and green beans were on sale over the weekend...so guess what the meal was? The pork turned out very well, if I do say so myself. Jason ended up working late yesterday so I was in charge of cooking dinner and ended up eating before he got home. Hey, I was hungry!

Soy Lime Pork Tenderloin from So Tasty, So Yummy

• 2 limes
• 2 T wed or white wine vinegar (I used red)
• 2 T vegetable oil (I used EVOO because I was out of veg oil)
• 1 T low-sodium Soy sauce
• 1 T honey
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 t red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 - 2 lb pork tenderloin

Cut limes in ½ and squeeze juice in a large measuring cup (about 2 cups). Add the vinegar, olive oil, soy sauce and honey. Add garlic and red pepper flakes, whisk to blend the mixture. Place the pork in a zip-top plastic bag and pour the marinade over the meat. Be sure to scrape out any honey that may cling to the measuring cup. Seal and chill for 24 hours.

Preheat gas grill on high. Cook the pork, rotating the meat every 5-6 minutes until all sides are brown. Continue to cook for another 8-10 minutes (about 30-35 minutes total) or until the internal temperature is 160. Take the pork off of the grill and cover with foil for about 10 minutes to let the meat rest. Jason is not the best at letting things rest, so I was kind of glad I was on my own last night. It makes such a big difference!

I need two ovens.

That statement went from a "want" to a "need" during the holidays. The in-laws came in the weekend before Christmas so that we could celebrate with them. And me, being the obsessive "I can do it all" kind of person I am decided that I'd be able to fix this elaborate meal without my MIL bringing anything. Usually I take up her offer on adding in a side and a few desserts, but this time...nope, I can do it all! Yeah, right. When they left I told Jason that next time I'm going to Sam's and buying a freaking box of paper plates and cups. Mostly, it was my dumb fault for thinking that everything needed to be served on my fancy Christmas dishes. The fancy dishes that cannot go in the dishwasher. Idiot.

So, I sat down to create this fantastic meal. The kind that did not include turkey and dressing. I nixed the Roasted Red Pepper soup that I wanted, mostly because Jason correctly stated that I would probably not like it. I ended up with rolls & butter, Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing, Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Carolina Apple Compote, Potatoes Au Gratin, Green Beans Amandine and the Peppermint Cheesecake from a few posts back. Everything would have worked out great...if I had factored cooking time and temps into this menu. See, three of the above items needed to bake in the oven. For about an our each. All at different temperatures. Nice. And since I waited until the last minute to buy Jason's Christmas gifts, I used most of my cooking time Saturday shopping. Even better.

In the end, I compromised by giving Jason the pork to cook on the grille and moving dinner time back by an hour. Not so bad, considering I was aiming for 6:30.

Pork Loin Roast with Carolina Apple Compote from Southern Living

• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 (3-lb.) boneless pork loin roast
• Kitchen string
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 2 pounds Gala apples, unpeeled (I couldn't find these at my store so I bought some other red apples)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 cup apple cider
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons orange zest
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of ground cloves
• 1 tablespoon butter

The first 4 ingredients are for the pork tenderloin - since I turned that over to Jason I have no idea what he did instead. The recipe calls for the seasoning to be rubbed on all sides of the pork and tied with kitchen string at 1" intervals. Chill the pork for 2 hours. Brown it on the stove top and transfer to a 375 oven for about 1 hour. Instead, we threw this on the grill. The key to keeping things moist and tender is to let them rest when you take them off of the heat. It's taken me a while to get that through to Jason. He wants to take the food off the grill and cut it up right away. Huge difference when you take the extra 15 minutes!

For the sauce, cut apples into bite-size pieces and sprinkle with lemon juice. Add cider and next 4 ingredients to skillet. Cook, over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add apples, and cook, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes or just until apples are tender and liquid is absorbed. Stir in butter until melted, and remove skillet from heat. Stir any accumulated pan juices from roast into compote. Serve compote immediately with pork.

Green Beans Amandine from Southern Living

• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 2 lbs fresh green beans
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 T lemon juice
• salt & pepper

Bake almonds at 350 for about 5-10 minutes, set aside. Split the beans lengthwise, cook in boiling water for about 4 minutes, or until tender. Drain. Melt butter and add remaining ingredients. Toss to coat.

Herb Potatoes au Gratin from Aaron McCargo, Jr. - Food Network

• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup grated Mild Cheddar
• 1/4 cup grated American cheese
• 1/4 cup grated white cheddar (I used Monterrey Jack instead)
• 1 t chicken bullion powder (I didn't have any, so I left this out)
• 2 t ground nutmeg
• 1 t pepper
• 3 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and sliced thin




• 1 stick butter, melted
• 2 cups Panko breadcrumbs
• 2 t smoked paprika

Preheat oven to 350. In a large sauce pot over medium-high heat, melt butter. Stir in the flour until pasty. Add milk and stir to remove lumps. Let it cook for about 6 minutes, or until thick. Lower the heat and add the cheese, bouillon, nutmeg and black pepper. Whisk until well combined and sauce thickens, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat. In a bowl, combine butter, Panko and smoky paprika. Stir well. Place potatoes into a 9*13 casserole dish. Pour cheese over potatoes and sprinkle au gratin on top. Wrap with foil and bake in oven for 35 to 45 minutes. Remove foil and cook for 10 minutes uncovered. Allow to sit for 10 minutes.

Football season is here!

Labor Day weekend we geared up for start of Football Season by heading to College Station for the first Aggie Game of 2008. It was...horrible. Ok, well, let me start from the beginning.

Saturday Jason and I drove to CS to meet my sister and her crew, along with Maegan and my godson, Jett. This was going to be Jett's first Aggie Tailgate! Whoop! We trucked over to the Quad where my mom and step-dad were helping cook for the Corp. To clarify, they were only cooking for one group or division or whatever, not the whole Corp. They had a ton of brisket, sausage and chicken off of the BBQ pit. Perfect with a cold Bud Light.

We moved over to another tailgate closer to the stadium, since Jason and I had tickets to the game. This is where things went downhill. Let's see...we watched half of the game and then headed out. I had a killer headache, it was H.O.T. and I was hungry. Surprise. So, we stopped for snow cones on the way out (see the blue tongue below) and headed over to Northgate for a stop at the Dixie Chicken.

We met up with Bear, Maegan and Jett, made a run for Freebirds and then headed to Bear's house to play the Wii. Let me tell you, I'm sold. I want one so freaking bad I can taste it! And, I'm not being modest, Jett is pretty good at the Wii! Ok, ok, he's funny. But who can complain? He's 19 months old.

Oh, yeah, the horrible part - the Aggies were up 14-6 at the half. They lost 18-14.

Lunch Sunday was at Wings-n-More with my sister and Adam and Jason and I headed back. In case you missed it, Gustav managed to NOT hit Houston, so we were in the clear.

On Labor Day I decided to make use of my crock pot. I try to keep it from becoming for "cheese dip only." I found this recipe from Bridget's blog...but then I forgot to save it. I'd read it and remembered some of the ingredients...and managed pretty well. However, since that was 3 weeks ago I've forgotten my "made up" recipe!! Just follow Bridget's and you'll be fine. Oh, I will say that I did not have the liquid smoke...so I'm not sure how that would taste.

I really loved this as an option to a pork roast. I'm a roast fan, but I just think beef is much better than pork. I think this is my new favorite cooking method for pork roast.

Recipe Exchange: Chalupas!

I will fully admit two things about this recipe. First, I thought chalupas were either some sort of taco things...or beans, lettuce and cheese on a fried corn tortilla. Second, I was really intimidated by this recipe. But...I succeeded! We went to a friends house to hang out and drink some beers, so I used that time to try out the recipe. However, I forgot my camera at home and we ended up eating the whole batch of chalupas! It was so good!! Hopefully this does not violate the What's Cooking Recipe Exchange rules...

Chalupas from Food Network

• 2 1/2 pound pork loin roast
• 2 cups pinto beans, rinsed
• 4 large tomatoes, peeled and diced
• 6 fresh green chilies, roasted, peeled and diced
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 1 T chopped garlic
• 1 T oregano
• 2 T chili powder
• salt and pepper
• water

Place the roast, and all remaining ingredients in a large stock pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for about 3 hours. Remove the meat and continue to cook for another 2 hours, stirring occasionally until the beans are tender.

Shred the meat and discard the fat. Return it to the pot and continue to cook for another hour, stiring often. Add more water if needed, until it thins out.

We served ours like a soup with chips, shredded cheese and some pico on top. For a crowd, this is perfect! I will probably make it again when we have guests over...but I will say you need a long day to do so.

It slices, it dices...

Ok, well, almost. The in-laws were here this weekend and they seem to be fans of the gadgety as seen on TV stuff. Hey, if it works I'm all for it! So that meant that while shopping Saturday, my mother-in-law bought me the Vidalia Slice Wizard! I'm always a little skeptical of the "as seen on TV" stuff, but I will say that this sucker works! We intended to make garlic mashed potatoes last night for dinner, but Jason wanted to try out the new toy...and loved it. He also managed to slice about half of a clove of garlic as well, but I'd stick with something larger than garlic.

I also made Roasted Broccoli for the first time! I read about it in another What's Cooking nestie's blog (however, I can't remember whose it was!) and thought it would be good to try. We love broccoli and usually just steam it with a little Parmesan cheese on top, but I wanted to try something different. This was perfect.

We cooked our favorite Grilled Pork Tenderloin. I really don't have a recipe for this because Jason just wings it! However, it always turns out really good! The pork is seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. He then mixes a sauce of bottled BBQ sauce, ketchup, salt, pepper, garlic, onion powder, worcestershire sauce and brown sugar. The pork is rubbed with the sauce before we throw it on the grill.

Rosemary Roasted New Potatoes

• 4-5 new potatoes
• 1 t salt
• 1-2 t black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 t onion powder
• 1 T dried rosemary
• 2 t dried thyme
• 1/2 t ground oregano
• 2-3 T olive oil, to coat

Slice the potatoes (or dice them) and toss with the seasoning and olive oil. Spread a thin layer on a baking sheet and bake at 415 for 30-40 minutes, until tender.

Roasted Broccoli

• 3 bunches fresh broccoli
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 T olive oil
• 1-2 T balsamic vinegar
• salt, ground black pepper and red pepper flakes to taste

Cut the broccoli so that you have the small florets only. Toss with the remaining ingredients, making sure to coat the vegetables. Spread on a baking sheet and roast in the oven at 415 for 20-30 minutes.