Tue, 26 Nov 2019

Cooking Pork Tenderloin on a Loaf of Bread

Inspired by this recent Chef John video.

Prep a whole pork tenderloin as you normally would (I coat with a thin layer of vegetable oil and liberally apply kosher salt). Take a loaf of Italian bread (that's what my local store calls it, it's a long loaf of white bread with sesame seeds on the top), slice in half lengthwise, and coat with butter — I use one stick (1/2 cup) for a whole loaf split in two. Sprinkle on what I consider "stuffing herbs": rosemary, thyme, sage.

Put the tenderloin on top of the buttered side of the bread and press it down a bit to make it stable. Place in a hot oven and roast as you normally would. I put the whole thing on a sheet pan with a rack in it to keep the bread elevated.

When the pork comes out, the bottom side will be a bit pale. Remove the bread and reserve. Put the tenderloin back on the rack, pale side up, and put under a broiler until the top is browned. Remove and let rest before slicing.

While that's happening, roughly chop up the bread, which has absorbed all of the tenderloin cooking juices and is full of butter and herbs, and put in a bowl or baking dish. Add a bit of stock (pork or chicken) to moisten slightly until it looks like dressing. You could serve as is, or put it in a baking dish and pop it under the broiler to crisp up the top a bit.

And as always, enjoy.

Posted at: 10:56 | category: /food/2016C | Link

Tue, 26 Jan 2016

Cheesecake with Orange Sauce

The cheesecake is from a bakery, but the sauce was thrown together by me.

Put some orange juice and mandarin oranges in a glass bowl, heat in the microwave, stiring every so often, about 25 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. No need to crush the oranges, they'll fall apart. Dash in some orange bitters (I used Regan's), chill for a bit. Enjoy.

Posted at: 22:36 | category: /food | Link

Sat, 23 Jan 2016

Sriracha Kimchee Quinoa

I'm currently surviving Snopocalypse 2016 and when I'm cooped up, I cook up a storm. Today's dish is Sriracha Kimchee Quinoa.

Posted at: 20:17 | category: /food | Link

Wed, 23 Sep 2015

Leftover Stew

I had some carrots, celery and cherry tomatoes that were rapidly heading south, so I whipped up this stew tonight.

Throw the carrots in a big saucepan (I really need a Dutch oven), add a bit of water, crank on high. While that's going, chop up the celery and add. Salt and pepper. When that starts to get soft, throw in the tomatoes. I ended up throwing in a large can of Italian-style peeled tomatoes, half a small jar of capers, some dried parsley, paprika and some nutritional yeast. I chopped up some leftover Quorn turkey log and threw that in. A little more salt. Grate the peel of one lemon over the top, add the juice. Simmer until it thickens.

Serve with some quinoa. Pretty tasty. Would probably work well with baked tofu instead of the Quorn.

Posted at: 23:30 | category: /food/2015 | Link

Sun, 09 Aug 2015

Yogurt Eggs

This morning's breakfast experiment was a success, and very simple. 12 eggs, 7 ounces of "Greek" yogurt, salt and pepper. Whisk until frothy, add eight ounces of shredded cheddar cheese. Put in a nine inch baking dish, pre-greased. Bake in a 350 deg. F oven, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until set.

Good with some melon and berries on the side. Probably just as good without the cheese.

Posted at: 11:02 | category: /food | Link

Mon, 16 Feb 2015

Kefir Cornbread

Tonight's culinary experiment was a success. Last week needing buttermilk for some biscuits but not finding any at the local grocery, I grabbed a quart of kefir — figuring that one slighty fermented milk drink was close enough to another to work out just fine †

Tonight I wanted to make some cornbread, and instead of the cup of milk the recipe called for, I used some kefir instead. The difference was subtle, but pretty good.

For reference, the recipe I used, based off the one cut out of a bag of cornmeal somewhere in The Mists of Time™:

Muffin method, 425 deg. F oven for 25 minutes.

† The biscuits turned out just fine too.

Posted at: 21:12 | category: /food/2015 | Link

Thu, 11 Jul 2013

Avocado Eggs

I wish I remembered where I first came across this. Take an avocado, cut it in half and remove the pit. Scoop out the hole left from the pit a bit to make it large enough to hold an egg. Drop an egg in, dash some salt and paprika on top. Put in a low oven, cook until the egg sets how you like it.

It took a little while, but it was tasty. I remember reading that cooking avocado makes it bitter, but that didn't seem to happen here.

Posted at: 19:22 | category: /food/2013 | Link

Thu, 03 Jan 2013

Awesome Sauce

Taken from the Hoppin' John recipe from the Post Punk Kitchen Blog:

Combine everything, add enough water to get to a pleasant consistency. Amazing on rice, beans, kale, everything....

Posted at: 12:34 | category: /food/2013 | Link

Wed, 21 Nov 2012

Cranberry Sauce for Cheesecake

I'm being dragged to a Thanksgiving Day dinner with a friend, and am taking along a cheesecake. I wanted to make a topping for it, and in the theme of the day, why not make it with cranberries?

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the water, sugar, corn starch and citrus juices (if you don't want lumps, shake the water and corn starch together in a jar first). Stir over heat until you have syrup. In another bowl, plop out your cranberry sauce and stir to losen it up and break up any big chunks of gel. Add to the syrup.

Continue stirring, reducing the heat to low, until it becomes thick. Add the vodka, bitters and butter, stirring until the butter is totally melted and incorporated. Taste, and add more sugar to your liking.

Not sure how I feel about it, although it does remind me of a tart cherry sauce. We'll see tomorrow how well it goes with cheesecake.

Posted at: 21:21 | category: /food/2012 | Link

Tue, 04 Sep 2012

Oatmeal, with STUFF

I mix this up the night before, shove it in the fridge, and heat it in the microwave the next morning.

Posted at: 23:22 | category: /food/2012 | Link