Rewind: Christmas Dinner, Main Course!

I realized that the last post would have been way too long if I also explained the main course so it gets its own post. That's how awesome this roast is!

I've only made one other roast besides this one ever, so the complexity and length of the recipe shouldn't scare you! I started it the day before to save me some time and headache, and the actual cooking on Christmas Day was really easy. The one thing that I wish the recipe had told me was: make sure you have a helper! Turning a stuffed roast to wrap with prosciutto and tie is basically impossible to do with two hands. Luckily I have a helpful and handy Dad.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Pork Loin With Roasted Apples

Barely adapted from Bon Apetit

For the Filling:

• -1 ounce (1 cup) dried whole porcini mushrooms (whole foods has them)
• -3/4 cup fresh apples, chopped
• -1 pound kale, bottom stems trimmed
• -salt and pepper to taste
• -2 T unsalted butter
• -1 cup minced onion
• -1 T finely minced garlic
• -1 1/2 t dried thyme or a few small stocks of fresh thyme, chopped
• -1 medium sprig fresh rosemary, chopped
• -2 T Calvados (or 1 1/2 T brandy+1/2 T hard cider)
• -1 pound ground pork

For the Pork:

-1 (trimmed) 2-2 1/2 lb. pork loin, butterflied (get your butcher to do this for you!)

• -salt and pepper to taste
• -3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
• -5 sprigs rosemary
• -4 medium apples (such as Granny Smith or Fuji), quartered, or 8 small apples, halved. I used 5 smaller apples I think.
• -3 T unsalted butter, divided
• -2 T extra-virgin olive oil
• -1 cup dry hard cider
• -1/2 cup low-salt chicken stock

• 
  

To Make the Filling:

1. Place dried mushrooms in a small bowl. Add 1 cup boiling water. Let mushrooms soak until very soft, about 30 minutes. Strain mushrooms. Cover and chill soaking liquid (about 3/4 cup). Finely chop mushrooms and set aside.

• 2. Blanch kale in boiling water just until wilted, about 1 minute. Using tongs, transfer kale to a rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate until cool. Remove any large, tough ribs. I used two baking sheets to spread them out in a thinner layer.
  
  
• 3. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring often, until soft and lightly golden. Add apples and cook until they begin to soften. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until flavors meld, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, thyme, and rosemary; cook for 1 minute. Add brandy/cider and cook until liquid is absorbed, about 1 minute. Stir in salt and pepper to taste. Transfer mixture to a bowl and let cool completely.
  
  
  4. Add ground pork and stir to combine well. *Note: make sure previous mixture is completely cool. In my case, I made everything up to the point where I added the ground pork, but it in the fridge, and went to Christmas Eve dinner. When I got home, I added the ground pork and returned to the fridge over night.
  
  

To Make the Pork:

1. Unroll the meat, cover with a sheet of plastic wrap, and, using a meat mallet, pound to an even thickness.

• 
  
  2. Uncover pork and season with salt and pepper. Place kale leaves on top of loin in an even layer, overlapping as needed and leaving a 1" border. I felt like I had a bit more kale than I should have but it worked out perfectly in the end. Spread filling on top of kale.
  
  
  3. (Get someone to help here) Roll pork into a tight cylinder. Wrap one layer of prosciutto around roast. Tie roast securely with kitchen twine in 1" intervals. Tuck rosemary sprigs under twine, spacing apart.
  
  
  *Note: I did this first thing in the morning, and put it back in the fridge until I was an hour away from cooking it.
  
  
  4. Preheat oven to 400°. Cut the apples and put them in a roasting pan.
  
  
  
  
  
  5. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter with oil in a large skillet and brown pork on all sides, about 5 minutes total. You aren't cooking the pork, just browning the prosciutto to give it more flavor.
  
  
  
  
  
  6. Put the pork on top of the apples in pan. Add cider and 1/2 cup water to skillet and bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits. Pour mixture into roasting pan.
  
  
  
  
  
  7. Roast pork until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of loin registers 140° (it will be cooked medium but still slightly pink), about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let roast rest for at least 20 minutes and up to 2 hours.
  
  
  8. Put roast on a platter or cutting board and put apples from roasting pan in another bowl. Spoon off the fat from the juices in pan and discard. Pour off the rest of the liquid and scrape any bits stuck to the bottom into a pan on the stove over medium-high heat and add the chicken stock. Pour in the reserved mushroom liquid, leaving any sediment behind. Cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Whisk in remaining 2 Tbsp. butter and season to taste with salt and pepper. Strain sauce.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  9. Serve pork with apples and gravy.
  
  
  
  
  
  I also served mine with the roasted red onions, a simple spinach salad with pickled red onions, root veggie anna (thinly slice potaotes, celery root, and turnip, layer in a cake pan with butter and rosemary and cook at 400 for about an hour), and cresent rolls (my brother and I are addicted).
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Rewind: Christmas Dinner

I got to make Christmas dinner this year! For me, that is a good thing. Since it was just me, my brother, and my parents, it was the perfect time to try something fancier since I was only cooking for four.

We started off the day with stockings and brunch, and then opened the rest of our presents. I started cooking and getting everything organized. We then had a sit-down appetizer of cracked crab around 4 or 5. This was a tradition that I guess my mom's family had done, and my brother thought it sounded really cool, so we figured we'd go for it this year.

My Dad's bday is in December too, so my brother and I got him this beer with an assortment of edible goodies and he waited til my brother came home for Christmas to open it (brother works/lives in NY). And yes, we each got him beer glasses from our respective colleges.

My brother's only task was to crack the crab. He did a very excellent job.

We had the crab with little bowls of shallot-butter sauce and cocktail sauce for dipping and Anchor's Christmas beer. Such a fun thing to do! Not only do people not have the chance to fill up on chips and snacks, it's an unusual enough dish that it made the evening feel extra-special.

I'd started the pork the night before, so my first plan of attack was the roasted red onions.

A friend of mine told me about this recipe from Not Without Salt which is apparently also adapted from Bon Apetit

-5 T extra-virgin olive oil
-1/4 c pomegranate molasses or syrup. I couldn't find the molasses so I went with a syrup which worked perfectly.
-2 T red wine vinegar
-1 T minced fresh rosemary
-salt and pepper to taste
-5 medium red onions, peeled, each cut into 8 wedges through core, with some core still attached to each piece.

1. Preheat to 425°F. Line a pyrex baking dish sheet with parchment paper.

2. Whisk all but the onions together in a large bowl, add onions and toss. Arrange onions close together in the pan and pour the rest of the juices from the bowl over.

3. Roast 20 minutes and carefully turn onions over. Continue to roast onions until tender and thickly coated with glaze, 20 to 25 minutes longer. If they start to get too brown, cover loosely with foil.

4. Remove when tender and cool slightly. These can be served at room temp.

Gremolata:
-2/3 c fresh pomegranate seeds
-1 T chopped fresh Italian parsley
-2 t finely grated orange peel

Combine all in a bowl and toss together. Sprinkle on the onions once they're cooked.

Rewind: Christmas Day Breakfast

This year I got to make all of Christmas dinner. This might not sound quite so exciting to some people, but I was really happy. We always do a big multi-family Christmas Eve event, and this year it was just my parents, myself, and my brother for Christmas dinner, so I figured it was the perfect time to try cooking it all.

Our family always starts with stockings and then breakfast once we've opened them. My brother and I have gorgeous stockings that my mom adds buttons to every year (yes, still). This year my brother and I decided that it was about time our parents got stockings too. They loved them!

I'd found Shutterbean's recipe for spiced orange popovers recently, and remembered that I'd found a cast iron popover pan last time I was at my Grandma's. I figured it was the perfect brunch item to make.

They're popping! So exciting to watch this happen.

Here's the recipe:

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk (and def use whole--I read up on this and the fat in the milk apparently helps the consistency or something)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted (I usually do a little less)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (or a pinch. I can never be bothered to measure salt)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 teaspoons vegetable oil*

*Note: I have a popover pan with eleven cups...yeah I dunno. I guess it's a normal thing. We tried to figure this out. Anyway, I put about a 1/4 t of oil in each and it worked perfectly.

1. Preheat the oven to 450 F. Blend the eggs, milk, flour, melted butter, salt and vanilla in a blender until smooth. Let the batter rest for 30 minutes.

2. While the batter is resting, measure 1/4 t of oil into each cup (or more if you have the bigger 8-cup pans). After the batter has rested for 20 minutes, put the pan in the oven to heat the oil for 10 minutes.

3. After the pan has been heating for 10 min and the batter resting for 1/2 an hour, pour the batter straight into the hot pan, dividing between the cups.

4. Bake for 20 minutes (don’t open the oven door) until golden brown on top. Turn out on a rack and let cool. They're really steamy inside so be wary.

For the orange cinnamon clove sugar topping:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
• pinch kosher salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

This made more than I needed but I wasn't complaining. It's amazing.

1. Mix the sugar, cinnamon, cloves and orange zest in a small bowl.

2. Brush each popover all over with the 1/4 cup of melted butter, then roll it around in the sugar mixture. Apparently they're especially awesome with coffee.

Rewind: Christmas Eve

Yes, I'm behind. But these recipes are worth it!

Last year, I received a massive hardbound copy of Bon Appetit Desserts. It is wonderful...it is also dangerous because everything in it looks amazing.

My parents hosted my dad's Christmas party and my way of "helping out" was to make desserts. Actually, I lied. Not desserts, but sweet appetizers since we weren't serving dinner and thus could not serve dessert (which implies dinner)...sure, Dad.

I made a double recipe of truffles, not realizing how much I'd made. They came in handy though, since we gave them to neighbors, took them to parties, and brought them to Christmas Eve.

Chocolate-Honey-Lime Truffles

*Note: I do not really like fruit with chocolate. I love both individually, but see no need to combine them. This recipe is an exception. Also, we have a lime tree in our backyard and can never use up the limes quickly enough, so I'm always on the lookout for new lime recipes.

-1 1/2 t lime zest, divided

-2/3 c sugar

-1 c unsweetened cocoa powder

-15 oz bittersweet or semi sweet choc (I used a combo and did my best to get close to 15 oz because that's just tricky)

-1 c heavy whipping cream

-1/4 fresh lime (I added a bit more to really punch up the flavor)

-1/4 c honey

-6 T butter at room temp

1. Finely chop 1 t lime zest and combine with sugar in a bowl, mushing with fingers until combined and moist. Add cocoa and spread on baking sheet. Let dry at room temp 1 day. *Note: I didn't do this. I made it first and then made the truffles and it was fine. Also it made way more than I needed.

2. Put chocolate in a bowl. Put remaining lime zest and cream in a pan and bring just to a boil on medium heat. Cover and set aside 10 min. Uncover and return to a boil, then pour warm mixture over chocolate, let stand 30ish seconds, and whisk til chocolate is smooth.

3. In a small pan combine honey and lime juice. Stir over low heat til honey melts/everything's warm.

4. Stir honey/lime juice into chocolate mixture. Add butter a few T at a time, stirring until the ganache is smooth. You may not use all of the butter.

5. Cover until firm. *Note: It says "at least 4 hours or overnight" and I found 5 hours to not be enough so start this early.

6. Line some baking sheets w aluminum foil and scoop the ganache into lil balls, returning it to the freezer when it gets too warm. *Note: I used a small spoon and my hands. It was ridiculously messy, but at least I got the size and shape I wanted

7. Chill/freeze for about an hour and then roll in the lime zest mixture and eat all of them.

Chive-Lime Sweet Potatoes

Happy New Year!

Yes, it's Feb already and I'm so behind on this. Luckily, even though I haven't been blogging, I have been cooking.

Here's the first of a barrage of posts:

Chive-Lime Sweet Potatoes!

This is so easy and unexpectedly delicious.

Zest a lime, chop some chives, boil agave+lime juice, roast potatoes, mix. The end!

"Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Lime Syrup and Chives" discovered on the wide, wonderful world of Epicurious and slightly tweaked:

3 1/2 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup water

1 T agave

1 T fresh lime juice

1/2 t lime zest

2 T finely chopped fresh chives

oil to coat potatoes

1. Preheat oven to 450°F and spread potatoes out in a casserole dish (or more pans as needed), sprinkle with salt n pepper, and oil to lightly coat.

2. Roast for 15-30 min, depending on your oven. They should be tender when poked with a fork.

3. While the potatoes cook, bring water, agave, and lime juice to a boil in a little saucepan, then simmer until reduced to a few Ts (3-5 min).

4. Toss the the potatoes w the sauce, add the lime zest, and finish with the chives!

Japaleño-Lime Tilapia with Coconut-Ginger Rice

Marinated Tilapia with Coconut-Ginger Rice

as (barely) adapted from The Wednesday Chef and Steven Raichlen
(Serves 4)
To Make the Fish:
-1/3 cup fresh lime juice (I mixed in Meyer Lemon juice, too)
-1 large jalapeno, with seeds, minced
-4 tilapia fillets (the original recipe calls for grouper or red snapper. Red snapper works well too, but tilapia can be easier to find and cheaper.)
-chopped fresh cilantro (or not. We didn’t use cilantro because I’m not such a fan and it was fine without it)

*Serve with steamed zucchini and sugar snap peas (or snow peas), extra lime juice, and chopped scallions or green onions (as pictured below in their individual containers, ready for steaming).

Make the rice first! (Recipe below)

Combine the citrus juice and jalapeño in a shallow glass dish. Add the fish and coat with the marinade. Let stand for 20 minutes, turning once.

After you’ve made the rice, preheat the broiler. Remove fish from marinade and put it on a baking sheet or broiler pan (oil this pan! Otherwise your fire alarm will go off according to the recipe). Broil until fish is just cooked through, about 6 – 8 mins total. Season with salt and pepper.

To Make the Rice:
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
4 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 cup rice
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup water

Sautee the ginger and garlic briefly in oil, just until not raw (like a minute or two. You might not even have to do this step…but the ginger and garlic might be overpowering)

Put the rice, milk, and water in to the rice cooker. Add the garlic and ginger. Turn on the rice cooker and cook it!

This might not be the most gorgeous meal I've ever made, but it's one of the most impressive for the amount of flavor it packs given how easy it is to make!

Freezer Burritos

Hello!

This is the second time I have made these spectacular freezer burritos from Shutterbean. They are great because 1. they actually reheat well (unlike many frozen burritos, in my opinion), 2. you can customize them, and 3. you can make them in different sizes.

Check out my assembly line above clockwise from the top:

-a mix of black beans and low-fat refried beans (1 can of each) plus a bunch of spices (cumin, salt, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and tumeric, I think)

-homemade corn salsa

(-water--for me, not the burritos)

(-remotes since I tend to watch food network while I cook)

-tortillas. I use enchilada size tortillas since I don't like eating an entire burrito at once. This way they're smaller and you can eat half for a snack or all for a meal

-nonfat greek yogurt which I use instead of sour cream

-fresh lime, tomatoes, and onion

-tin foil, 2 sheets, ready and waiting

-cheese -- this time I got a pre-shredded "mexican blend" because I hate grating cheese

-rice made with a pinch of chili powder, a can of chopped tomatoes, 1 glove of garlic (minced), and a pinch of cumin. This was the coolest thing that I learned from Shutterbean: add things to your rice cooker! SO. EXCITING. And more on that soon.

A close up. You can really add whatever you like/dislike. I don't really love cilantro, but most people would have that nicely chopped on their cutting board. Other things to add: hot sauce, veggies (I may try corn and zucchini next time), meat, etc!

Ready? Set? Go! Proportions are the hardest part of this for me--I tend to over-fill my tortillas. Still, I got the hang of it, mostly, by the time I was finished. Also: I got I think 8-10 burritos out of all of this (with bigger tortillas you wouldn't make as many) but I have lots of leftover salsa.

Burrito time! I spared you the photos of my horribly rolled burritos. I can't roll them. Sad, sad story for me. Luckily, freezing them mostly solves this problem.

Once frozen, remove tinfoil, wrap in a damp paper towel and heat in the microwave for 2-3 min. Enjoy with more nonfat greek yogurt and salsa!