Super Bowl Snacks: Bacon Brittle and Spiced Nuts

I'm really looking forward to the Superbowl because it's a great excuse to make really fun food. And because I'll get to see Tom Brady crush Eli Manning...yippee!

If you serve even one of these recipes to people on Superbowl Sunday (or any day), they will remember you for throwing the best Superbowl party ever. Serve both and people may not be able to handle all the tastiness--these snacks are unbelievably addictive.

I made them both over the holidays, and the bacon brittle was a surprise stocking stuffer for Mike. I had never made any kind of brittle by myself, but the process went smoothly, and it turned out perfectly. It's pretty well established that a little salt makes sweet things a million times more delicious. When that salt comes in the form of bacon, you've really hit the ultimate expression of the idea. Whatever doubts you might have about this recipe, just banish them and go for it. At the very least, you'll have fun breaking the brittle up with a hammer (in the photo above, the brittle is set, but not yet cracked into shards).

I followed this simple recipe, which was adapted from Obsession with Food. I did however use slightly more bacon, about seven slices. Needless to say, use the best bacon you can find for this recipe. Overly salty, watery stuff will reduce the deliciousness considerably. For planning purposes, note that this brittle stays hard for about 48 hours after you make it, then gets progressively softer.

The spiced nuts are another take on sweet and salty, this time with some fresh rosemary thrown in. I've been making these for years, since I saw the recipe in Nigella Bites. Nigella adapted it from the Union Square Cafe, a great restaurant in New York. When I was there on business a few years ago, that's where I went for dinner the first night because I remembered Sara Moulton talking about it on her old cooking show, and I loved Sara. I think they had bar nuts when I went, but they weren't quite like these.

I love these nuts. Anytime you're having people over, you won't go wrong if you put these out. They are incredible warm, and not really any less incredible after they've cooled. You can make them a day ahead if you want. I tweak the recipe a bit every time I make them, and I always start with different quantities of nuts. You can't really go wrong here if you use fresh rosemary, good salt and a chile seasoning you like. I use standard cayenne pepper, but you can use any ground chile.

If the Superbowl isn't your thing, wouldn't your Valentine love one of these treats? If he's a man who likes meat, you cannot fail with the Bacon Brittle.

Sweet and Spicy Roasted Nuts
Adapted from Nigella Bites
The nuts must be raw because you’re going to do the roasting and salting. My grocery store sells mixed bags of Brazil nuts, walnuts, pecans, cashews and hazelnuts in the produce section. Another good idea is to hit the bulk bins at a natural foods store and make your own mix. If you want more nuts to feed a crowd, scale the quantities up as needed.

Approximately 1 1/2 cups raw mixed nuts
1 tbs. finely chopped fresh rosemary (do not substitute dried)
pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
2 tbs. dark brown sugar
1 tsp. coarse sea salt
1 1/2 tbs. unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spread the nuts out on a baking sheet and roast until lightly browned and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Give the tray a shake and turn the larger nuts once or twice during roasting, watching closely so they don’t burn.

Meanwhile, combine the rosemary, cayenne, sugar, salt and butter in a bowl. Add the hot roasted nuts and toss well to coat. Serve warm or cool and store in an airtight container.

Need more snack ideas? Here are a few picks from my archives:

1) Oktoberfest Crostini - great party bites with bratwurst and sauerkraut
2) Catalan Flatbread with Piquillo Peppers, Caramelized Onions and Anchovies - the title is a mouthful, but these appetizer pizzas are really easy to make!
3) Mini Corn Cakes with Guacamole - a great munchie if you're serving chili too.
4) Phyllo Triangles with Lamb, Onions and Pine Nuts - perfect if you want to go a little bit exotic.

Golden Split Pea Soup with Leftover Ham

When it comes to Christmas dinner, does tradition dictate most of the meal, or is yours the type of wild and crazy family that changes it up from year to year? When I was growing up, we went the traditional route. Even though sides, desserts and even the location of the meal changed, we always had a baked ham for Christmas Day. Just like we always had a turkey for Thanksgiving. I have to admit that there is some comfort in cooking routines, even though I was never a great fan of the sometimes dry, sometimes salty ham.

One thing I did like about the Christmas ham, however, was the yellow split pea soup my mom made with the leftovers. To make good split pea soup, you really need to have a ham bone to flavor the broth. All those little leftover pieces of meat can be added at the end to make a substantial, creamy soup infused with the flavor of pork--serious comfort food.

Mike and I don't have a traditional meal we eat every Christmas, but this year we decided to give the baked ham another shot. But instead of having it for Christmas dinner, we baked our ham a couple weeks ago and have been loving the leftovers, especially this Golden Split Pea Soup. Ham really shines in leftovers--think sandwiches, omelets, frittatas or pasta dishes. My mom had an aversion to green split peas, and no wonder--the brownish-green color of a green split pea soup isn't exactly appetizing. The yellow ones, on the other hand, are just as easy to find and result in an inviting, cheery-hued soup.

For this recipe I turned to Cook's Illustrated and adapted a version on their website. It's easy and so, so good. You just simmer the ham bone to create a smoky broth, then cook the split peas until nearly dissolved and creamy, along with some potatoes. Caramelized aromatic veggies are added at the end, along with leftover ham pieces. It is of course even better a day or two later, as it thickens further and the flavors develop. Whether or not you usually eat ham for Christmas, it is perfectly fine to get one for the sole purpose of using the leftovers in recipes like this.

Onions, carrots, celery and garlic--caramelized and buttery.

If you enjoyed reading this article, and don’t want to miss a thing, you can sign up to receive new posts delivered to your e-mail box automatically. The service is provided by Feedburner and your e-mail address will never, ever be used for other purposes besides receiving my tasty blog posts. Just enter your e-mail address in the box in the upper right sidebar and click the subscribe button.

You can also subscribe to the RSS feed for A Mingling of Tastes through any feed reader. Here's an explanation of RSS feeds.

Golden Split Pea and Ham Soup
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated
You don't have to pick the ham bone clean. Just trim off the large pieces of fat and all the nice chunks of meat you'll want to add to the finished soup. Sauteeing the vegetables separately and adding them at the end allows them to retain their texture and caramelized flavor.

Serves 4-5

3 quarts water
Bone from a baked half-ham or ham shank
3 dried Turkish bay leaves
14 oz. yellow split peas, rinsed and picked through
1/2 tsp. dried thyme, plus a pinch
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbs. olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
3/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 tbs. unsalted butter
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 cups new potatoes cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 1/2 to 2 cups ham cut into bite-sized pieces
Optional Garnishes: fresh thyme, diced red onion and/or balsamic vinegar for serving

Bring the water, ham bone and bay leaves to a boil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Remove bone from pot and discard. Add the split peas, thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Uncover the pot and continue to simmer for 15 minutes. Add the potatoes and simmer for 15 minutes more.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrot and celery and cook, stirring frequently for 6 to 7 minutes, or until the liquid they release evaporates. Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of dried thyme. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking until vegetables are deeply browned, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add the butter and garlic, cook for 3 minutes and set aside.

After the potatoes have simmered for 15 minutes, add the vegetables and ham pieces to the soup. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Skim any fat off the surface if desired. Taste for seasoning and serve.

Cornbread Yeast Rolls

I absolutely love it when I try something new, not quite sure if it will work out, and end up with fantastic results. These cornbread yeast rolls are the perfect example. I say over and over how much I love cornbread. One of our favorite things to eat it with is super-slow roasted pork, shredded and topped with our favorite Memphis-style barbecue sauce.

The thing about my traditional skillet cornbread is that it's kinda crumbly. Doesn't really hold up as a sandwich bread, especially if you're filling it with luscious, spoon-tender pork smothered in sauce. After dealing with messy cornbread sandwiches one too many times, Mike had enough (I never really tried making a sandwich with cornbread in the first place, so I didn't much care). He asked if there was a recipe that existed somewhere in the wide world of food for cornbread that was better suited for sandwiches, but still deliciously corny.

I enthusiastically affirmed that such a thing does exist, since I've seen yeast cornbread recipes before, most recently here on a blog I read all the time. So, I set out to find a recipe that I could easily adapt to make big, sturdy sandwich rolls. I didn't have far to google before I found this recipe on FoodReference.com. I had no idea if it was reliable, but most of it made sense to me, and it contained all the ingredients I thought were needed to produce a tasty cornbread.

This bread is so delicious! The even crumb is fine and tender, yet sturdy enough that it doesn't turn to mush when it comes in contact with barbecue sauce and creamy coleslaw. Thanks to honey and plenty of corn in the dough, it's slightly sweet and full of corn flavor. Make no mistake, though--this does not have the cake-like texture of a quick bread--it's a sandwich roll through and through.

You can, in fact, bake it as two full-size loaves and slice it for sandwiches, but rolls give you more of that glossy, burnished crust to enjoy. The pork, by the way, is so easy to make, it barely requires a recipe.

Super-Slow Roasted Pork:
Season a 3-4 pound Boston butt pork roast (spice blends are handy for this), wrap it tightly in foil and place in a roasting pan. Roast at 275 degrees for 4 hours (or an hour per pound). You don't have to look at or even open the oven during cooking. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes, then effortlessly shred it up. You can't overcook it, and it's the finest pork roast you'll ever eat. We heard about this cooking method on the radio show (podcast actually), The Splendid Table, a few weeks ago and adapted this recipe on their website.

Cornbread Yeast Rolls
Adapted from this recipe on FoodReference.com
If you love cornbread, but want something different, try these rolls. The recipe is very friendly, so no special knowledge or tricks are required. I used my stand mixer, but I think you could make them by hand with a little elbow grease. When measuring your flour, lightly spoon it into measuring cups and level with a knife.

Makes 12 sandwich-sized rolls

1 cup warm water
1 tbs. sugar
1 (7 gram) packet active dry yeast
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, divided
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 2/3 c. cornmeal
4 tbs. unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup honey
2 large eggs
1 (7 oz.) can corn, drained well
2 tbs. coarse cornmeal (optional)
1 egg, beaten, for egg wash

Combine the water and sugar in a bowl. Add the yeast and gently stir. Set aside for 5 to 10 minutes, or until yeast forms a foamy layer on top of water.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 1 cup of the whole wheat pastry flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour. Add the yeast mixture and mix with the dough hook attachment on low speed until combined. Add the salt, cornmeal, melted butter, honey, eggs and corn. Continue mixing on medium-low speed until combined.

With the mixer running, add the remaining 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour. Continue mixing until you have a slightly sticky dough that pulls away from the sides of bowl. If dough is too wet, add the remaining 1/3 cup of flour slowly until the dough holds together and pulls away from the bowl. I used nearly all of the flour. Let the mixer knead the dough for about 1 minute, then transfer dough to a large bowl, coated with olive oil. Turn the dough over once inside the bowl to coat it all over with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then with a dish towel and leave it to rise in a warm place until roughly doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and sprinkle with coarse cornmeal, if using. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead for a few seconds, then divide into two pieces. You can stop here if you want to make two rustic loaves, or you can divide each piece into 6 balls to make rolls. Knead each ball once or twice and place on the prepared baking sheets with seam side down. Cover the rolls with a kitchen towel and leave them to rise a second time for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until they puff up noticeably. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Right before you put them in the oven, gently brush the rolls with the beaten egg to add a nice gloss to the finished rolls. Bake for 20 to 25, switching the positions of the baking sheets halfway through. Remove from oven when rolls are golden on top, browned on the bottom and sound hollow when tapped on the base. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then finish cooling on wire racks.

Don't miss a single recipe!

If you enjoyed reading this article, and don’t want to miss a thing, you can sign up to receive new posts delivered to your e-mail box automatically. The service is provided by Feedburner and your e-mail address will never, ever be used for other purposes besides receiving my tasty blog posts. Just enter your e-mail address in the box in the upper right sidebar and click the subscribe button.

You can also subscribe to the RSS feed for A Mingling of Tastes through any feed reader. Here's an explanation of RSS feeds.

Herb-Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Spiced Fig Compote

All the Thanksgiving editions of the food magazines are here. Food & Wine was first, followed closely by Bon Appetit. Vegetarian Times showed up next. Lagging behind, Saveur and Gourmet arrived on Thursday. I also skimmed the holiday recipes in Sunset, Better Homes & Gardens and Good Housekeeping. I get a LOT of magazines. Bon Appetit had the widest array of innovative, yet traditional recipes, and I liked Gourmet's cover best (nothing new there!). Which food maggie do you think put out the best Thanksgiving issue??

My best all-arounder award goes to F&W--the whole issue was packed with good stories, many NOT remotely turkey-centric. For example, their Well-Being section, spotlights Chef Jan Birnbaum who managed to lose half his body weight and now serves food in his restaurant that relies on healthy ingredients--not fat--for flavor. His exceedingly tasty pork tenderloin with spiced fig compote is easy enough to make on a weeknight.

The pork is coated with a blend of herbs, including lavendar. My mom recently sent me a lavendar spice blend she picked up at a lavendar farm in Hawaii, and it contained most of the herbs called for in the recipe. Don't worry if you don't have every herb on hand, and mix up a blend to suit your taste. If you can get some dried lavendar, however, I highly recommend it. I've just discovered it and love the unique flowery-savory twist it adds to roasted meats like pork or chicken.

I say not to stress over the herb blend too much because the fig compote is the real star. I used more figs than the recipe calls for because I felt the chef was a bit scanty with this nutritious and delicious dried fruit. You simmer the figs in a spiced wine and honey broth, and wow, is it tasty! I hated to discard this cooking liquid, so I saved it and stirred a little into the finished compote. Sadly, the photo does not do this dish justice, so look it up in your November issue of Food & Wine. With kale sauteed with garlic and lemon juice, this was a perfectly healthy, nutrient-packed fall meal.



Herb-Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Spiced Fig Compote
Adapted from Jan Birnbaum for Food & Wine
I eliminated some of the "chefiness" (short for "chef fussiness") from this recipe to make it faster, simpler and figgier than the original version.

Serves 4

5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. dried rosemary
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried lavendar
2 tsp. whole grain mustard
2 tbs. olive oil, divided
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lb. pork tenderloin
1 cup water
1/4 cup honey
2 tbs. lemon juice
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
6 allspice berries
6 black peppercorns
12 dried black mission figs, stemmed and quartered
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup dry red wine
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth

In a bowl, combine the garlic, rosemary, thyme, lavendar, mustard and about 1 tablespoon olive oil. Put the pork on a foil-lined baking sheet and coat it with the herb mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes, or refrigerate up to 6 hours.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium saucepan, combine the water, honey lemon juice, ginger, allspice, peppercorns and figs. Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, steep for 10 more minutes and strain out the figs. You can either discard the liquid or sip it greedily yourself.

Scrape as much of the herb mixture as you can off the pork and reserve it in a small bowl. Heat 1/2 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the pork with salt and pepper and sear on all sides until browned. Return the pork to the foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 145 degrees. Tent with foil and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

While the pork roasts, finish the compote: Heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add the reserved herb mixture and cook for 3 minutes, stirring often. Add the wine and raisins and simmer for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the spiced figs to the skillet and continue simmering until compote thickens slightly, about 4 more minutes. If you lose too much liquid, add a bit more chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over the sliced pork.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love figs? No? I guess the proof's in the pudding...or tart, or pizza....

Fig and Goat Cheese Tart, Fig-Proscuitto Pizza, Feta-Stuffed Chicken with Fig Sauce...all in this one post...what was I thinking?!
Fabulous Fig Gelato is luscious in the summer months, but how about adding some warm spices like cinnamon and cardamom for a fall treat?

Everyone loves figs:
Fig-Orange-Chipotle Pork Roast from Becks n' Posh.
Fig Bars from Cookie Madness
Prosciutto, Fig and Sage Wraps from The Laughing Gastronome
A slew of links to figgy blog posts on Simply Recipes
Oat-Topped Fig Muffins on Culinary in the Country
Sage, Walnut and Dried Fig Stuffing on 101 Cookbooks
And Fig-Almond Tartlettes on (where else?) Tartlette.


Technorati Tags: recipes, pork, healthy, fig, Main Course

Oktoberfest Crostini: Brats and Sauerkraut get Classy

Two Saturdays ago, Mike and I spent the afternoon at the Oakland Park Oktoberfest. It was very small scale, but that meant it was easy to find parking, the beer line wasn't long, and there weren't too many people blocking our view of the dachsund races. All those little weiner dogs running around were so cute, and it made for a really fun day.

One of our favorite beers for any time of year--Tucher--was on tap. We drank both the special Oktoberfest brew and the regular style. This is an excellent food beer--think slow-roasted pork with tangy barbecue sauce, lentil stew, and of course brats and sauerkraut.

The official Oktoberfest celebration in Munich is over now (it runs from late Sept. through early October), but why should we pay attention to technicalities. This is the perfect time of year for some hearty German fare, so we picked up a 6-pack of Tucher at our Whole Foods market, along with their all-natural pork brats and got to work. I wanted finger food--not a big sloppy sandwich that you have to polish off in 5 minutes because it's too messy to set it back down on your plate. So I came up with bratwurst and sauerkraut crostini. It was my idea of Oktoberfest with style, but it worked even better than I expected! It was the perfect balance of flavors, and there wasn't an excess of soggy bread taking over.

Mike cooked the brats with onion by browning them and then simmering in beer for a while. We eat chicken and turkey sausage fairly frequently, but these were a whole new taste--and so juicy! You can do everything as directed and serve it as a baguette sandwich if that works better for you, but don't let October end before cooking some brats. For us, I think it's going to be a year-round dish.

Oktoberfest Crostini
I never had a bratwurst I really liked until we tried Whole Foods Market “Whole Ranch” brand (find near the meat counter). They are extremely lean, but really juicy and of course, don’t contain any scary ingredients. For lager, we used Red Stripe ('hooray beer!') from Jamaica. It worked very well, as should any traditional lager-style beer. Do not use ale - especially not an IPA (India Pale Ale). The bitter flavor will dominate the dish.

Makes 20

1/2 tbs. oil
4 pre-cooked bratwurst sausages
1 large onion, halved lengthwise and thickly sliced
1-12 oz. bottle lager (or enough to cover sausage about halfway in skillet)
1 cup prepared sauerkraut
1/4 cup water
20 slices from a whole grain baguette, cut on the diagonal, about 1/2-inch thick
spicy mustard
chopped parsley

In a large, heavy skillet, heat the oil to medium-high. Add the brats and cook until browned on first side, about 3 minutes. Flip and brown on the second side. Add the onion to the skillet right after flipping the sausage and cook until soft and lightly browned. If you want, use tongs to brown the brats on a third side. Season onion with salt and pepper. Add lager to the skillet and bring to a simmer. Cook for 12 minutes, turning the sausage once halfway through. Remove skillet from heat.

Meanwhile, combine the sauerkraut and water in a small saucepan over low heat for a few minutes to warm it. Spread the baguette slices generously with mustard.

Remove sausages from skillet and slice on the diagonal into about 10 slices per sausage. Remove onions from skillet and discard the liquid. Layer each baguette slice with a couple sausage slices, onion, and a spoonful of sauerkraut. Sprinkle with parsley. Arrange on a serving platter and serve warm or at room temperature.



Technorati Tags: recipes, pork, bratwurst, appetizers, oktoberfest

(Healthy!) Stuffed Eggplant

I'm always lamenting that there is no regular farmer's market near my home in Fort Lauderdale. The closest thing is a little gourmet market that sets up on Las Olas Boulevard every Saturday. Hoping to be inspired to cook by fresh, local produce, Mike and I went to check it out one recent Saturday. They bill it as a "farmer's market," but there's not a single farmer in the mix. There are about 6 vendors including a guy giving Eastern-style massages; a gal hawking homemade hummus; some buttery, sugar-laden baked goods; gourmet honey and olive oil; and finally, a produce stall.

This produce stall was proudly advertising their "California peaches" and "Virginia tomatoes." It was one step above what I would find at my supermarket, but local it was not. At least we tried. One thing they did have that I never see in the supermarket were Sicilian eggplants. They are round instead of oblong, kind of like little pumpkins. All it took was this one new, yet familiar food to ignite my creative spark.

Besides ground meat (we used pork), all you need are some basic ingredients to make stuffed eggplant. This dish can involve frying the eggplant and splashing everything with lots of oil, but it's not at all necessary. This version is very healthy, but due to the meaty filling and luscious roasted eggplant, it is a filling meal. Mike and I bought some great-looking trout to cook as well, but we were so satisfied with the stuffed eggplant, we saved the trout for a late Sunday breakfast.

If you can't always buy local produce in your area, where do you get your inspiration? Any ideas for me?

Stuffed Eggplant
This makes a satisfying light meal for two. You can add bread and salad for a complete supper. Just double the recipe if you need to feed more people.

1 large Sicilian eggplant
1/3 lb. ground pork (turkey, beef or lamb would also work)
salt and pepper
1/2 white or yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
1/8 tsp. dried thyme
1/8 tsp. dried rosemary
1/8 tsp. ground allspice
pinch red pepper flakes
2-3 tbs. panko
2 tbs. grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Fresh parsley or basil for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Trim off the stem and cut the eggplant in half through the stem end. Line a baking sheet with foil, cover nonstick cooking spray and place eggplant halves face down on foil. Roast for 10-15 minutes, or until skin is a bit slack and the flesh side is lightly browned and soft when you poke it with a fork. You don't want the skin to totally lose it's shape, but the flesh must be soft enough to scoop out, so judge the roasting time based on that. Remove from oven. When eggplant is cool enough to handle, use a spoon to scoop out the flesh, leaving a thin layer of flesh inside the skin to help hold its shape. Reserve flesh. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet to medium-high and add the ground pork. Season with salt and pepper and stir, breaking it up as you go, until the meat is cooked through. Remove meat to a paper-towel lined plate to drain any excess fat. Reduce heat to medium and add the onion to the same skillet, cooking until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add the tomato, season with salt and pepper, dried herbs, allspice and pepper flakes. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the eggplant flesh. Cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes, stirring to combine all the ingredients.

In small bowl, combine the panko and cheese. Season with pepper. Fill the eggplant skins with the pork mixture. You may have some filling left over. Sprinkle the panko mixture all over the top of the stuffing and bake for 15 minutes or until the panko turns golden. Cool for 10 minutes, garnish with fresh herbs, and serve.


Technorati Tags: recipes, eggplant, healthy, italian, Main Course

Gingery Pork Tenderloin with Riesling Plum Sauce

In a classic example of the dangers of buying in bulk, I ended up with far more ripe black plums that I could eat this week. Since I can be greedy when it comes to fresh produce and because I hadn’t laid eyes on appetizing plums in several months, this came as no great shock.

Luckily, my greed is balanced by my determination not to be wasteful. The result was gingery pork tenderloin with Riesling-plum sauce, and it helped me mow through half of the plum bounty. I don’t buy pork tenderloin very often which is silly. It’s very healthy (although I wouldn’t mind if the meat was little fattier) and incredibly easy to cook. We always find it in packs of two that weigh about two pounds total, so we cook once and get a couple of meals with leftovers. In the past, we have even used totally different seasonings for each piece of tenderloin so we could have, say, spicy Cajun pork one night and garlic-rosemary pork another.

The plum sauce is open to interpretation, and if you don’t have a dry Riesling (which is a really good match for pork), use another white wine, switch it to red, or just use water as your liquid. I do not usually like to sacrifice too much good wine to a recipe, but in this case, it added notable flavor and complexity to my lightly sweetened plums.

A Quick Word on Butter
I know I don’t get into social consciousness-raising very often on this blog, but yesterday’s article in the New York Times titled, Trans Fat Fight Claims Butter As Victim, had me up in arms. Here’s a summary: butter, an essential ingredient that has no suitable replacement in many foods (like croissants) is, in fact, being replaced by trans fat free margarine (a fake food) and other dicey alternatives by companies (like Starbucks) who want to be able to say that their products are trans fat free. Butter, as well as milk and beef, contains a form of trans fat that occurs naturally in these foods (whether they are organic or not) and is different from the industrially derived, partially hydrogenated type.

In short, they are abandoning reason and throwing the baby out with the bath water by replacing butter with something entirely less wholesome. I encourage you to read the full article and come to your own conclusion on the issue. I’m off to email Starbucks and state my preference for eating scones and croissants made with real butter and milk. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming...

Gingery Pork Tenderloin with Riesling Plum Sauce
Adapted from Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2005
If plums have not yet made it to your neck of the woods, you could do the same preparation with apples or pears.

Serves 4-6

2 ½ tbs. olive oil, divided
1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced, divided
salt and black pepper to taste
2 lb. pork tenderloin (usually sold in a package of two 1-lb. pieces)
2-3 tbs. chopped shallots
5-6 medium plums, pitted and chopped
2 tbs. brown sugar
½ c. dry Riesling or other white wine
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
½ tbs. unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and cover a baking sheet with foil. Add half a tablespoon of the olive oil to a large skillet and heat to high. Rub the pork tenderloins with 1 tbs. of oil and all but 1 tbs. of the ginger. Season with salt and pepper. Sear the pork tenderloin in the skillet, turning until all sides are browned. Transfer the tenderloins to the baking sheet and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until the internal temperature is 155 degrees (slightly pink), or until done to your liking. Remove from oven, tent with foil and let the meat rest until you are ready to serve.

After you remove the pork from the skillet, switch the heat to medium, and add the remaining oil and the shallots. Cook until softened and slightly golden. Add the ginger and cook an additional 1-2 minutes, stirring often. Add the plums, season with salt and pepper to taste and cook for about 12-15 minutes, or until the plums are very soft. Add the brown sugar and stir to combine. Add the wine and the vinegar and simmer until reduced and slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the butter and remove from heat.

Cut the pork on an angle into half-inch slices. Top with the plum sauce and serve.

Technorati Tags: recipes, pork, healthy, Main Course