The recipe came from a December, 2008 issue of Bon Appetit, in an article about the foods from the Fairmont le Chateau Frontenac in Quebec. I’m sure that’s why I stopped to read this recipe, because it came from that hotel – le Chateau Frontenac.
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Here are the tastingspoons players. I’m in the middle (Carolyn). Daughter Sara on the right, and daughter-in-law Karen on the left. I started the blog in 2007, as a way to share recipes with my family. I’m still doing 99% of the blogging and holding out hope that these two lovely and excellent cooks will participate. They both lead very busy lives, so we’ll see.
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BOOK READING (from Carolyn):
Music of Bees, Eileen Garvin. Absolutely charming book about a woman in midlife, lonely, who raises bees, also makes unlikely friends. Heart-warming and very interesting about beekeeping.
A Postcard from Paris, Alex Brown. Really cute story. Dual time line, 1940s and present day about renovating an old apartment in Paris, things discovered.
Time of the Child, Niall Williams. Oh such a good book. Very small village in Ireland, 1960s. A baby is left on the doorstep. The town all whispers and helps. I listened to an interview of the author, which made me like him and his books even more.
Sipsworth, Simon Van Booy. If you like animals you’ll swoon. An old woman who really wants to die finds a tiny mouse in her house and befriends it and finds a reason to live. Utterly charming book.
The Forger’s Spell, Edward Dolnick. True story. For seven years a no-account painter named Han van Meegeren managed to pass off his paintings as those of Johannes Vermeer.
If You Lived Here, You’d be Home by Now, Christopher Ingraham. Could hardly put it down – about a journalist who takes on a challenge to move to small town in Minnesota and write about it. He expects to hate it and the people and place, but he doesn’t. Absolutely wonderful true story.
The River We Remember, William Kent Kreuger. 1950s, Minnesota. A murder and the aftermath. Could hardly put it down. Kreuger has such a vivid imagination and writing style.
How the Lights Gets In, Joyce Maynard. An older woman returns to New Hampshire to help care for her brain-injured son. Siblings and family, lots of angst and resentments.
The Filling Station, Vanessa Miller. Every American should read this book. A novelized retelling of the Tulsa massacre in 1921. Absolutely riveting.
The Story She Left Behind, Patti Callahan Henry. Love this author. Based on a true story. A famous author simply vanishes, leaving her husband and daughter behind. She had invented a mystical language no one could translate. Present day, someone thinks he’s solved the riddle, contacts the family. Really interesting read.
The Girl from Berlin, Ronald Balson. Love anything about Tuscany. An elderly woman is being evicted from a villa there, with odd deed provenance. Two young folks go there to help unravel the mystery. Loved it.
The Island of the Colorblind, Oliver Sacks, M.D. Nonfiction. The dr is intrigued by a remote Pacific island where most of the inhabitants are colorblind. He also unravels a mystery on Guam of people born with a strange neurological problem. Medical mysteries unveiled. Very interesting.
The Bookbinder, Pip Williams. Post 1914 London. Two sisters work at a bookbindery. They’re told to not read the books. One does and one doesn’t. One has visions beyond her narrow world; the other does not. Eventually the one gets into Oxford. Lovely story.
The Paris Express, Emma Donoghue. 1895 on a train to Paris, a disaster happens. You’ll delve into the lives of many people who survived and died in the crash.
A Race to the Bottom of Crazy, Richard Grant. This is about Arizona. Author, wife and child move back to Arizona where they once lived. Part memoir, research, and reporting in a quest to understand what makes Arizona such a confounding and irresistible place.
The Scarlet Thread, Francine Rivers. A woman’s life turned upside down when she discovers the handcrafted quilt and journal of her ancestor Mary Kathryn McMurray, a young woman who was uprooted from her home only to endure harsh frontier conditions on the Oregon Trail.
A Place to Hide, Ronald Balson. 1939 Amsterdam, an ambassador has the ability to save the lives of many Jewish children. Heartwarming.
Homeseeking, Karissa Chen. Two young Chinese teens are deeply in love, but in China. Then their families are separated. Jump to current day and the two meet again in Los Angeles.
North River, Pete Hammill. He always writes such a good story. A doctor works diligently healing people from all walks of life. His wife and daughter left him years before. One day his 3-yr old grandson arrives on his doorstep.
A Very Typical Family, Sierra Godfrey. A very messed-up family. Three adult children are given a home in Santa Cruz, Calif, but only if the siblings meet up and live in the house together. A very untypical scenario but makes for lots of messes.
Three Days in June, Anne Tyler. The usual Anne Tyler grit. Family angst. This wasn’t one of my favorites, but it was entertaining and very short.
Saved, Benjamin Hall. Author is a veteran war reporter. Ukraine, 2022, he nearly loses his life to a Russian strike. Riveting story – he survives, barely.
Grey Wolf, Louise Penny. Another Inspector Gamache mystery in Quebec. She is such an incredible mystery writer.
All the Colors of the Dark, Chris Whitaker. A missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, a unique twist on each. Could hardly put it down.
Orbital, Samantha Harvey. Winner of 2024 Booker Prize. I don’t usually like those, but I heard the author interviewed and she hooked me. This is not a normal book with a beginning, a story and an end. It’s several chapters of the day in the life of various astronauts at the ISS (Int’l Space Station). All fictional. She’s been praised by several real astronauts for “getting it” about space station everyday life.
The Blue Hour, Paula Hawkins. An island off Scotland. Inaccessible except when the tide is out. Weird goings on. An artist. A present day mystery too.
Iron Lake, William Kent Krueger. A judge is murdered and a boy is missing. Riveting mystery.
Tell the Wolves I’m Home, Carol Ricks Brunt. 1980s. A 14-yr old girl loses her beloved uncle. Yet a new friendship arises, someone she never knew about.
Four Treasures of the Sky, Jenny Zhang. 1880s, a young girl is kidnapped in China and brought to the United States. She survives with many hurdles in the path.
The Boy Who Fell out of the Sky, Ken Dornstein. Memoir, 1988. The author’s brother died in the PanAm flight that went down in Lockerbie, Scotland. A decade later he tries to solve “the riddle of his older brother’s life.”
Worse Care Scenario, T.J. Newman. Oh my. Interesting analysis of what could/might happen if a jet crashed into a nuclear plant. Un-put-downable.
Song of the Lark, Willa Cather. Complicated weave of a story about a young woman in about 1900, who has a gifted voice (singing) and about her journey to success, not without its ups and downs.
Crow Talk, Eileen Garvin. Charming story which takes place at a remote lake in Washington State, about a few people who inhabit it, the friendships made, but also revolving around the rescue of a baby crow.
The Story Collector, Evie Woods. Sweet story about some dark secrets from an area in Ireland, a bit magical, faerie life, but solving a mystery too.
A Sea of Unspoken Things, Adrienne Young. A woman investigates her twin brother’s mysterious death. She goes to a small town in California to figure it out, to figure HIM out.
The King’s Messenger, Susanna Kearsley. 1600s England, King James. About one of his trusted “messengers,” and his relationship with a young woman also of “the court.” Lots of intrigue.
In the Shadow of the Greenbrier, Emily Matchar. Interesting mystery in/around the area of the famous resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
Isola, Allegra Goodman. Hard to describe, survival story on an island in the 1600s.
Save the Date, Allison Raskin. Rom-com, witty, LOL funny. Clever.
The Sirens, Emilia Hart. Numerous time-lines, Australia. Mysteries abound, nightmares, abandoned baby, weird allergies.
Red Clay, Charles Fancher. LOVED this book. Mostly post-Civil War story about the lives of slaves in Alabama during Reconstruction.
Stars in an Italian Sky, Jill Santopolo. Dual time line, 1946 and recent time. Love stories and a mystery.
Battle Mountain, C.J. Box. Another one of Box’s riveting mysteries. Love his descriptions of the land.
Something Beautiful Happened, Yvette Corporon. A memoir of sorts in Greece, tiny island of Erikousa, where the locals hid Jews during WWII. All elusive stories told by the author’s grandmother.
The Jackal’s Mistress, Chris Bohjalian. 1860s Virginia, about a woman who saves the life of a Union soldier. Really good story.
Song of the Magpie, Louise Mayberry. Really interesting story about Australia back in the days when it was mostly a penal colony. Gritty strength of a woman trying to thrive with her farm.
The Boomerang, Robert Bailey. A thriller that will have you gripping the book. About a lot of secrets surrounding the president (fictional novel, remember) and his chief of staff and about cancer. A cure. Such a good story.
Care and Feeding, Laurie Woolever. Really interesting memoir of a woman driven to succeed in the restaurant business. She worked for Mario Batali and then Anthony Bourdain. Gritty stories.
Everything is Tuberculosis, John Green. Maybe not a book for everyone. A real deep dive into the deadly tuberculosis infection, its history. I heard the author interviewed and found the book very interesting.
The Book Lovers Library, Madeline Martin. Fascinating read about Boots’ drug stores’ lending library. And the people who worked in them.
The Arrivals, Meg Mitchell Moore. LOL funny, about a middle-aged couple whose children (and their various family members) return to the family home and the chaos that ensues.
My Life as a Silent Movie, Jesse Lee Kercheval. About grief. A big move to Paris, finding herself a new life with a new set of real blood family.
Escape, Carolyn Jessop. Another memoir about a woman really in bondage in Utah, Mormon plural marriage.
Tasting Spoons
My blog's namesake - small, old and some very dented engraved silver plated tea spoons that belonged to my mother-in-law, and I use them to taste my food as I'm cooking.
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The day I made this soup it rained nearly all day. Last Saturday. A kind of day when we lit the fireplace, turned the thermostat up, and kept watching the drain lines around our house. We managed to get by without any flooding in the house, but we stayed on top of it all day. And I stayed close to the kitchen nearly all day too, working on this soup.
A hearty meat-laden and vegetable soup was what appealed to me. With a big chunk of pork shoulder from the freezer and cabbage as the mainstays, it wasn’t hard to make this, although it does take some chopping and mincing. And some slicing and sautéing. The recipe started from James Peterson’s book, Splendid Soups: Recipes and Master Techniques for Making the World’s Best Soups. Really making this began with the fact that I had not one, but two cabbage heads in the refrigerator. I had onions, celery, carrots and sauerkraut. From that, though, I weaved a bit off track with a few extra additions.
The pork (actually the original recipe called for beef, but Peterson said in his after-notes that he often makes it with pork instead) I cooked up in the crockpot for about 5 hours, until it was fall-apart tender. Once that was done I used the broth from the pork (strained of all its now spent vegetables) to start the soup. It comes together in a jiffy – you just have to chop everything (mushrooms, more onion, celery, carrots, turnips, and the cabbage). And at the end you add in some fresh sauerkraut, the cubed pork and some spicy sausage of some kind. I happened to have some imported Spanish dry (salami-type) chorizo which I cubed up to add flavor. But you do NOT want to put the sausage in earlier because it will give up all of its flavor to the soup and not have any taste.
The recipe is based on an old-world everyday soup from Russia. It’s called shchi in Russian. I went online hunting for how to pronounce the word. Some say it’s something like she, others sh-chi. But any way you want to say it, it’s a cabbage soup. With sauerkraut added in at the end too. And full of flavor. And healthy with all the veggies. It is mostly veggies. The pork I used was very lean and produced almost no fat whatsoever. You can see some of it in the photo, but I probably didn’t have 2 1/2 pounds as I’ve indicated in the recipe. Probably more like 1 1/2 pounds. But, you know, soup is very forgiving that way. I needed to add more liquid to the soup, so I added water and a dollop of Penzey’s pork soup base (a broth concentrate). You may remember that I’m a big fan of Penzey’s soup bases (I have small jars of beef, chicken, turkey, pork, ham, seafood and vegetable) that I use very frequently. You could substitute chicken broth granules or canned broth too. The soup can be made ahead – maybe even tastes better the next day.
What I will tell you – beyond the fact that the soup is downright scrumptious – is that you don’t want to omit the sour cream (I used light) and fresh dill for the garnish. As good as the soup was, it made it over-the-top, as far as I’m concerned, with the dollop of sour cream and a bit of dill in every bite. Eventually, as we ate the soup, the sour cream dissipated throughout the broth, and the dill floated on top. So, for me, just remember the sour cream and dill, okay? I think this likely serves more than 10 people – more like 12 – in 2-cup servings. I froze dinner-size portions (two of them), gave away another two-portion container, and still had enough for us for another 2 meals. So, however you pronounce shchi, just make this, okay? Hearty, healthy and comforting.
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Russian-Style Cabbage (and Pork and Sausage) Soup
Recipe: Inspired by a recipe in Splendid Soups by James Peterson
Serving Size: 10-12
NOTES: I used a spicy Spanish dry chorizo, but ordinary Polish sausage would be fine, or even ground Italian sausage (cook about 10 minutes first). The sour cream and fresh dill are the capper to this soup – don’t eliminate it as you’ll be missing some of the authenticity and flavor of this soup. The pork broth concentrate comes from Penzey’s spices (online). They produce a line of broth concentrates that are amazing, low in salt, and keep for months in the refrigerator. If you want to remove some of the fat from the pork shoulder, chill the broth and remove the congealed fat before continuing with the soup. Do not use canned sauerkraut.
PORK:
2 1/2 pounds pork shoulder — boned, trimmed
1 large onion — peeled, halved
2 whole carrots
2 stalks celery — cut in 3-inch pieces
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons dried rosemary
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 quarts water — (or more if needed)
SOUP:
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms — cleaned, chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion — chopped
2 stalks celery — chopped
2 whole turnips — peeled, cubed
1 large head of cabbage — thinly sliced, then crossways in about 2-inch lengths
2 cups sauerkraut — rinsed
1/2 pound smoked sausage — cubed
2 teaspoons pork soup base and water — (or chicken concentrate or a quart of meat broth)
salt and pepper to taste
2/3 cup sour cream
fresh dill, chopped, for garnish (do not omit the garnish!)
1. PORK: Combine the pork, vegetables and herbs in a 4-quart pot. Pour over enough cold water to cover the meat by an inch. Bring the pot to a slow simmer. Ladle off any froth and fat that floats to the top. Simmer for 2-3 hours, until the meat is completely tender so that a knife inserted into the meat offers no resistance, adding water as needed to make up for any evaporation. Allow mixture to cool for an hour, then strain out the vegetables (and discard them), reserving all of the meat and broth. When the meat is cool enough, chop it up into 1-inch pieces. (Can also be made in the crockpot for about 4-5 hours)
2. SOUP: In a large soup pot melt the butter and sauté the mushrooms for 2-4 minutes. Add the onion, turnips, carrots, celery and garlic, then add all the broth from the pork. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Add the cabbage. If there is not sufficient liquid, add some water or chicken broth (or the Penzey’s pork soup base) and continue cooking for another 10 minutes or until the cabbage is just barely tender. Then add the rinsed sauerkraut, the cooked pork and the sausage. Simmer very slowly just until heated through. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Serve about 2 cups of soup mixture in a wide bowl (heated bowls, preferably) with a dollop of sour cream on top and sprinkled with fresh dill.
Per Serving: 414 Calories; 31g Fat (65.6% calories from fat); 21g Protein; 15g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 96mg Cholesterol; 863mg Sodium.
A year ago: Chicken a l’Orange
Two years ago: Borscht with Andouille Sausage
Posted in Pork, on January 19th, 2010.
If you’re looking for a low calorie, but special kind of dinner, this is it. Pork tenderloin is a very low-fat meat – do note that there’s only 6 grams of fat per serving. And some of that comes from a single slice of bacon. But do read on. This was from a Phillis Carey cooking class for lighter and healthier meals. Phillis hit the mark here. I don’t know about you, but when I’m really trying to cut fat and calories, what often is lacking is flavor. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Pork, on December 10th, 2009.
As you can see, we’re using our Spode Christmas china. I keep those dishes stored in a closet and they’re all part of the Christmas decoration boxes (too many to number), so when I haul out the decorations, those dishes are unboxed and begin their 30 days of use per year. And in those 30 days they’re used a lot – every day. Even for breakfast. We’ll be long gone and those dishes will live on in the home of one of our children, so why not use them every day? Place settings for 8.
I finally got the dining room table decorated. But for the last few days we haven’t been able to eat in the dining room because I had decorations strewn everywhere. We eat in the dining room most nights, except in the summer when we eat outside on our patio. The other night I really felt like cooking. Not some throw-together thing (yes, I do that too), but a nice meal. I’d purchased a rack of pork ribs at Costco. Did you know they only carry the long roasts in December? So if you want some, now’s the time to get them. They’re amazingly inexpensive – about $17 for 8 ribs. I cut the ribs into 4 small mini-roasts. Two ribs per “roast.” Froze 3 of them, and ate one. I prepared the ribs as a roast, and only when it was done did we slice it into two pieces, so each of us had a rib. As I’m writing this post, we had a big storm yesterday. It was gosh-darned cold, for us. The thermometer registered 39° on our patio at dinnertime. Our mountains are covered with snow. We had the family room fireplace going for many hours yesterday. Even though we had on winter types of clothing, seemed like we couldn’t quite keep warm, even with the thermostat turned up. Anyway, back to pork.
First I brined it. I have a jar of seasoned brining salt (not specifically for poultry, but for anything). So I soaked the roast in the brine (in a Ziploc plastic bag) in the refrigerator for about 5 hours. Drained it, allowed it to sit out for about half an hour, then seasoned it up. I turned to one of my barbecue cookbooks, The Barbecue Bible by Steven Raichlen, and after looking at numerous different seasoning mixes and rubs, I settled on the Memphis Rub. A bit of sugar, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dry mustard, celery salt, cayenne among other things. No herbs, just spices. There you can see the combo in the picture at left.
After drying off the roast with paper towels, I packed that rub all over the roast. Every place I could put it. I didn’t quite use all the rub, but it will keep for a month or so. You know, of course, that once spices are combined, they tend to lose their flavor much more quickly than if stored individually. That’s why a month or so and you need to use it up. Anyway, then I browned the roast in olive oil. Because of the sugar in the rub, it blackens quickly, so be careful of the heat level. 
You can see the photo right – the redness is from the rub, not from the inherent red color of the meat.
A meat thermometer went into the roast and into a 400° oven it went. Took about 15 minutes, I think. Maybe 20, for it to reach 150°. Once removed from the oven it rested, tented with foil, while I finished up the dinner. Next time I want to take it out at about 145° I think. Any bad bugs in the meat are zapped at 138°, so you’re perfectly safe at 145°. If you like your pork medium, then the 150 is just right.
The aioli was part of the risotto cakes I made to go with the pork. If you want that recipe, click over to my post about those.
The meat was tender, juicy and very tasty. I liked the aioli with it, although I don’t suppose that’s very traditional. The Memphis Rub was just right in its degree of heat. Raichlen suggested a range of heat (cayenne) and I chose the lesser amount. I didn’t want to overwhelm the nice roast with too much chile pepper heat – it would have masked the flavor.
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Baby Crown Pork Loin with Memphis Rub
Recipe By: My own recipe, but the rub is from The Barbecue Bible by Steven Raichlen
Serving Size: 2
MEMPHIS RUB:
2 tablespoons paprika
1/2 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
PORK:
1 3/4 pounds pork loin chops — (all in one piece, like a small roast), brined for 4-6 hours
1 tablespoon olive oil
1. Brine the pork for about 4-6 hours in 1 1/2 quarts water with brining salt added. Pour out the brine and allow meat to sit out for one hour.
2. Meanwhile prepare the rub by combining the ingredients and mixing well, to remove any lumps.
3. Place the roast on paper towels and dry off well. Pat the rub mixture all over the meat.
4. Preheat oven to 400°.
5. In a large skillet heat the olive oil until it’s almost smoking hot, but not quite. Brown pork on all sides, including the end, holding it with tongs as needed. Watch carefully that it doesn’t burn as there is sugar in the rub. The rub will cook to a dark caramelized brown as you brown the meat.
6. Insert a meat thermometer in the meat and place the roast in the middle of the oven. If you want the meat to be a little pink in the middle, remove it when it has reached 145°, about 15-20 minutes. Allow it sit for about 10 minutes, loosely tented with foil, or up to 20 while you prepare the rest of your dinner. The meat will heat to about 160° as it sits. Slice the roast in half so each serving includes a bone. If you want no pink in the meat, roast until it reaches 150° and proceed as above.
Per Serving (assumes you use all the rub, so the sodium is high): 451 Calories; 22g Fat (43.4% calories from fat); 51g Protein; 12g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 125mg Cholesterol; 1568mg Sodium.
Two years ago: Chocolate Steamed Pudding
Lately I’m sounding like a broken record – seems like every recipe is a winner. Five star. This one is no exception. And it’s another one of those recipes that has nothing but ordinary food in it. Italian sausage, onion, garlic, canned tomatoes, broth, canned cannellini beans, orzo, then some fresh basil and Parmesan cheese. With the exception of the beans and orzo, it’s a lot like spaghetti sauce. But don’t forget that anything you make is only as good as the ingredients that go into it. That means, in this case, using good quality Italian sausage. Fresh garlic. Oh yes, there’s a bit of bacon in this too.
It doesn’t take all that long to prepare this soup, either. The recipe is yet another Phillis Carey one. Wow, that gal is one stupendously good cook. I liked this at the cooking class, and liked it almost more so when I made it myself. I used Niman Ranch no-nitrate/nitrite bacon. I used Italian specialty meat market sausage. I used high quality frozen beef broth and some of Penzey’s concentrated pork broth. Trader Joe’s canned beans. Muir Glen fire-roasted canned tomatoes. Real Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Fresh basil leaves. I made a double batch – made enough for entertaining friends, and two portions for freezing, and some for another meal this week. If you make this as a main course, you probably won’t get 8 servings. You’ll have no trouble getting rid of it, I guarantee.
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Italian Sausage & Tomato Soup
Recipe: Phillis Carey cooking class
Servings: 8
NOTES: You can use turkey sausage, but the pork provides a lot more flavor. If you increase the quantity, don’t increase the amount of red pepper flakes.
2 slices bacon — thick sliced, diced
1 pound Italian sausage — sweet (or hot, if you prefer)
1 cup red onion — chopped
3 cloves garlic — minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 whole bay leaf
28 ounces diced tomatoes — with juice
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup orzo
15 ounces cannellini beans — rinsed and drained
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup fresh basil — chopped
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese — grated (or more if desired)
1. Cook chopped bacon in a large pot over medium heat to render out the fat. Add the crumbled sausage and continue cooking and stirring occasionally, until sausage is browned. Add the onions to the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes and toss for 30 seconds.
2. Stir in bay leaf, tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Add the orzo and cook for 5 minutes. Add the beans and simmer until heated through and orzo is tender, about 8 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the fresh basil just before serving. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle top with cheese.
Per Serving: 456 Calories; 21g Fat (38.8% calories from fat); 31g Protein; 45g Carbohydrate; 10g Dietary Fiber; 45mg Cholesterol; 490mg Sodium.
A year ago: Chicken Hamburgese
Two years ago: Heavenly Cream Cheese Brownies (yum, makes my mouth water, guess I need to make these again soon)
Posted in Pork, on October 14th, 2009.
Pork tenderloin is a favorite of ours. It’s lean. Tender. Quick to cook. Not as much flavor as some of the more fatty cuts of the pig, but good if prepared correctly (read: not overcooked) and usually with some kind of sauce on top or a salsa/relish on the side. Phillis Carey prepares it often in her cooking classes. This recipe is a keeper. It meets all the criteria – lean, quick, flavorful, and has a sauce/gravy to go with it. An easy pan sauce using apple cider vinegar and maple syrup.
Soooo, here’s what you do: rub a bunch of Dijon mustard on the pork tenderloin, along with some salt and pepper. Into a hot pan it goes – to brown on as many sides as the tenderloin seems to have. Here’s a picture of that step.
Once browned, insert a meat thermometer in it, kind of angled in so the tip of the point is – hopefully – in the center of the thickest part of the meat. It goes into a very hot (425) oven to roast for a very short time – like 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile get the ingredients together for the sauce – some cider vinegar, more Dijon and some good (real) maple syrup. You remove the pork when it reaches 150 (for pink). If you like it cooked more, then continue until it reaches 155. The meat rests briefly (tented with foil) while you deglaze the pan with the vinegar. Then you add the mustard and maple syrup. Be SURE to use a whisk to break up the mustard – if you don’t you’ll have bunches of cooked clumps of mustard in the sauce. Not good! Slice the meat and drizzle the sauce on top.
My friend Cherrie prepared this dish a few nights ago and she made a couple of changes to the sauce – she added a bit of cream to the sauce and also a touch of arrowroot, which thickened it. I also think that when I make it again – which I will – I’ll make half again more sauce. There wasn’t quite enough, I thought, so I increased it in the recipe below.
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Pork Tenderloin with Maple Syrup Mustard & Vinegar Sauce
Recipe: Phillis Carey cooking class
Servings: 6 (or less if guests have big appetites)
PORK:
2 whole pork tenderloin
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Salt & pepper to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil — (don’t use olive oil)
SAUCE:
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup maple syrup — (the real stuff)
6 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh sage — chopped
1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Trim fork of fat and silverskin. Combine 2 T. mustard with salt and pepper and rub all over the pork.
3. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork tenderloin and brown on all sides, about 6 minutes total. Transfer pork to a parchment-lined baking sheet (or use Silpat) and roast until the internal temperature reaches 150 (155 if you want it at medium), about 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven (do not rinse the pan).
4. Use roasting pan (if it can go on the stovetop) and place on low heat. Add the vinegar and boil, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Whisk in the maple syrup and mustard and bring to a boil. Use a whisk to mix all the mustard smoothly into the sauce. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the sage and remove from heat.
5. Meanwhile, slice the pork on the diagonal, about 1/2 inch thick slices. Serve on a heated plate (it gets cold very quickly) and drizzle with the maple mustard sauce.
Per Serving: 209 Calories; 7g Fat (29.3% calories from fat); 17g Protein; 21g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 49mg Cholesterol; 291mg Sodium.
A year ago: Dinner at Bistro 33 near Folsom
Two years ago: Pumpkin Cake in a Mold (pumpkin shape)
I’m SO ready for fall weather. We’ve had a few days of cooler weather – very welcomed since October is often a warm month for us here in Southern California. As soon as I heard we were going to have a day with a high of 69 degrees, well, it needed to be a soup day. We’d offered to take dinner to our son’s home, and it needed to get cooked and finished by about 4pm, so I wasted no time at all getting this soup cookin’. I had a pork shoulder in the freezer, so that defrosted in the morning, and into the crockpot this went. No browning of the meat or onions. Just pile in all the stewing ingredients and let it burble away for a few hours.
You can see some of the nice ciabatta bread sopping up the juice.
This soup was very easy. Pork, onion, some prosciutto, some bacon, broth (I used Penzey’s pork broth, which is VERY flavorful, although you can use canned beef broth), later some rutabaga and kale or Swiss chard, and some cannellini beans. Served over a thick slice of country bread that was toasted under the broiler. See? Easy. You do need to remove the pork shoulder at some point (once it’s cooked) and shred it in coarse pieces. It gets added back in at the end just to heat through. And you do need to clean the Swiss chard, remove the center ribs, then chop it up coarsely. I used canned beans, just because they’re easier. I bought a nice loaf of sourdough bread (whole) and cut thick pieces, broiled those just to get them brown, then they went into the soup bowl. Then you just ladle the soup over the bread. The thick pieces of bread, although they soaked up the broth big time, the crispy edges still had some texture, which I liked a lot. We all thought this soup was a winner. A keeper. It should freeze well, although I don’t have enough hardly to freeze since I gave half the leftovers to our kids. We have enough for another dinner. I added some Parmesan cheese on top the 2nd time I served it (the pictures are from those seconds), although the cheese is not in the recipe.
The recipe was out of a soup cookbook I have, but I’ve changed the recipe so much, it’s not really James Patterson’s recipe anymore. But the concept is. His recipe called for beef brisket. I didn’t want to use beef, but pork. So I improvised some. Whether the Spanish really make a soup with pork shoulder, I’m not certain, but I decided to give them the credit for it – it’s called Caldo Gallego in that country. The recipe below is for stovetop cooking, but am sure you can figure out easily enough how to adapt it to a crock pot, as I did. My crock pot insert will go right on the stove, which is what I did to cook the rutabaga and the Swiss chard at the end. Otherwise in a crock pot you’d want to add those ingredients about 30-45 minutes earlier, maybe longer. So anyway, go get yourself some pork shoulder, some chard and make a soup. I’m going to be making this again soon, with fresh pork, then I’ll divide it up for freezing. For those cooler winter nights when I don’t feel like cooking. You probably think I never have those kinds of nights, but I DO.
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Spanish Bean Soup with Pork Shoulder & Swiss Chard (Caldo Gallego)
Servings: 8
NOTES: If desired, add some grated Parmesan cheese on top just before serving. It was not in the original recipe, but tasted just great!
1/4 pound bacon — preferably slab, rind removed, cut in small pieces
32 ounces canned beans — cannellini or Great Northern beans,
1/4 pound prosciutto — preferably chunk, cubed (I used some sliced prosciutto)
1 pound pork shoulder — leave whole
1 medium onion — chopped
1 bouquet garni
2 quarts beef broth — or chicken broth or water
2 teaspoons salt — (may not need salt)
2 medium rutabaga — peeled, cubed
2 pounds Swiss chard — or kale, stems removed, coarsely chopped
Pepper and salt to taste (be careful of adding too much salt)
8 slices bread — crusty country bread, thick sliced
1. Place the bacon in a 6-quart Dutch oven and add an inch of cold water. Simmer the bacon for 10 minutes to eliminate some of its smoky taste. Drain off the water.
2. Combine the bacon, the prosciutto end, pork shoulder (all in one piece), onion, bouquet garni, and broth. Bring to a slow simmer over medium heat and use a ladle to skim off any froth or scum that floats to the top.
3. Cover the pot and simmer slowly for 30 minutes. Add salt if it’s needed and simmer for about 1-1/2 hours more, until the pork is almost tender. Remove pork and allow to cool for 15 minutes, then pull it apart into small, long but bite sized shreds. Add the rutabagas and the canned beans, simmer for 15 minutes more, until all the vegetables are soft. Add the Swiss chard (or kale) and cook for about 5 minutes, then add the pork and continue cooking just long enough for the meat to heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Toast the bread under the broiler until pieces are just brown, turn and brown other side, then place in bottom of wide, deep soup bowls. Ladle soup over the top, with some of the toast visible.
Per Serving: 503 Calories; 17g Fat (31.1% calories from fat); 39g Protein; 47g Carbohydrate; 9g Dietary Fiber; 52mg Cholesterol; 3340mg Sodium.
A year ago: Traveling near Mt. Shasta
Two years ago: Anise Pound Cake (a specialty of the American Southwest)
A happy camper am I. Last week, mother nature provided us with a few days of temps only in the low 80’s. Hallelujah. And the nights have been cooler too, which makes for better sleeping. My mind had been turning to soup already even with the summer temps. So when this recipe appeared in our local paper recently, credited to Karen Collard of Anaheim, CA, it sounded so easy. And tasty. In fact, it’s so easy I almost didn’t clip out the recipe. But, I’m telling you, as simple as it is, the flavor is really good.
The other thing – this soup may not look like much, but appearance doesn’t matter. Trust me on this one. The original recipe was intended to be very low fat – just cabbage, onions, chicken broth, and a packaged gravy mix mixed with some milk. I decided to ramp it up a 
little by adding some spicy Italian sausage and some parsley for garnish. Otherwise the recipe is essentially the same. You could substitute turkey sausage (although I wouldn’t advise it as the pork/sausage provides a ton of good flavor), or eliminate it. I added a bit of olive oil too, to caramelize the onions just a little bit. This doesn’t cook a long time – in fact I think it’s better if it’s NOT cooked for hours. You still want just a bit of texture to the cabbage. But what it is, is EASY. Trust me on this. You’ll have dinner on the table in about 45 minutes.
It’s a rare day when I use any packaged mix for anything. I had to shop at a couple of grocery stores to even FIND the McCormick sausage flavored country gravy mix. Look in the big grocery stores for it. It just made the preparation so simple. It’s mixed with more liquid (milk and chicken broth instead of water) to give it a soupy consistency. So, go make this, okay? We just LUVVVVED it. I had a hard time keeping my tasting spoon out of the pot as it simmered at the end. We had leftovers two nights later and it was just as good, maybe better, the way soups often are. I gave the recipe to my friend Cherrie, who made it a night or two later. She and her husband slurped up two bowls of it the first night. More testimony that this is a keeper.
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Creamy Cabbage Soup with Sausage
Recipe: Adapted from a recipe found in the Orange County Register, 2009.
Servings: 6
1 pound Italian sausage — crumbled (hot or mild)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion — chopped
1 whole cabbage — coarsely chopped
4 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup milk — cold
2 5/8 ounces McCormick Sausage Flavor Country Gravy Mix — dry mix package
Salt & pepper to taste
3 tablespoons Italian parsley — minced, for garnish
1. To a large, heavy Dutch oven, heat olive oil and add chopped onion. While it sautes, crumble up the sausage meat and the cabbage.
2. When the onion is cooked through (10 minutes) add the sausage and continue cooking for about 10 minutes until the meat is cooked through. Add the cabbage and continue cooking for 15 minutes until cabbage is cooked, stirring frequently.
3. In a bowl combine the country gravy mix and milk. Stir with a whisk. Add it to the cabbage mixture, along with the chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and continue cooking until the sauce has thickened. Taste for seasonings (salt and pepper) and serve. Garnish with some Italian parsley, if desired.
Per Serving: 413 Calories; 32g Fat (72.6% calories from fat); 15g Protein; 12g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 62mg Cholesterol; 1497mg Sodium.
Two years ago: Drop Biscuits (delicious, rich and easy)
Posted in Pork, Veggies/sides, on September 22nd, 2009.
Some of this recipe is a repeat from yesterday. The original came from an article in Gourmet Magazine in September, 2006. Yesterday I separated the sweet and sour cabbage from the pork and gave it it’s own posting – so you (and I) can make it on its own. But if you want to make this recipe in total (it’s easy, really), then this is the one. The bacon was fried up, crumbled and drained. Then the onions were cooked, the cabbage added. While it simmered away, the pork chops were seasoned and pan fried, to get a good brown crust on them. Then they went into a 450 oven for just a few minutes (about 5, I’d say) to finish up. Really, they could have been completed right on the stovetop in the frying pan. What you DON’T want to do is overcook these. Once ordinary pork reaches its peak of cooked-ness, at 145 F. it is DONE. Past that, and it begins to dry out and become more like shoe leather. I used a meat thermometer to make sure these expensive chops didn’t even approach shoes.
These chops look huge, I know. I didn’t weigh them, but they’re not very thick – less than an inch. The pork is mildly seasoned (salt, pepper) but I wanted something more, so I seasoned them with Italian herb seasonings. The steaks were dried off well before I did that. Then they went into a hot, hot sauté pan (one that can go into a hot oven) to brown on both sides. Once they were browned, into the oven they went. Once out, I sprinkled them with some of the reserved bacon, and I added some minced Italian parsley. Ideally you put the pork chop ON the cabbage, or partly on it anyway. They go great together. An easy weeknight dinner. This was all we had for dinner and it came together in about 45 minutes if I include all the dicing and chopping. We loved the cabbage – that part of it is a real keeper. And the pork chops were very nice too.
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Sauteed Pork Chops with Sweet-and-Sour Red Cabbage
Recipe: Adapted from Gourmet, Sept. 2006
Servings: 4
4 slices thick-sliced bacon — chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion — chopped
1 small red cabbage — halved lengthwise, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch thick, or white, or mixture
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar — or Splenda
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
3 pounds bone-in pork center rib chops — about 1-inch thick
1. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Cook bacon in a 4- to 5-quart wide heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, and transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Measure fat and, if less than 2 tablespoons, add enough vegetable oil to bring total to 2 tablespoons. Heat fat over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook onion, stirring occasionally, until it begins to turn golden, about 2 minutes. Add cabbage and turn with tongs until coated with fat. Stir in red-wine vinegar, water, sugar, caraway seeds, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and braise cabbage over moderately low heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until tender, 25 to 35 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, pat 2 pork chops dry and sprinkle both sides with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper (total). Then pat both sides of chops with the Italian seasoning. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown seasoned chops, turning over once, 5 minutes total, and transfer to a shallow baking pan (1 inch deep). Season remaining 2 chops and brown in oil remaining in skillet in same manner, transferring to baking pan. Roast chops in oven until thermometer inserted horizontally 2 inches into center of a chop (do not touch bone) registers 145°F, 5 to 8 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, stir half of bacon into cabbage, then finely chop remaining bacon for sprinkling.
5. Let chops stand in pan, loosely covered with foil, 5 minutes. Serve chops over cabbage, with any pan juices spooned over and sprinkled with bacon. NOTES : You want to serve this when the cabbage is just barely tender (and not overcooked) so it still has pretty bright-purple color. Have all ingredients ready before you begin. Start bacon and onion mixture first. When you’re ready to add the cabbage, also start the pork browning. You’ll come out about on time with both dishes.
Per Serving: 612 Calories; 40g Fat (59.6% calories from fat); 49g Protein; 12g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 144mg Cholesterol; 967mg Sodium.
A year ago: Tiramisu
Posted in Pork, on September 19th, 2009.
Sorry I don’t have the full-blown crown roast photograph for you. But this was from a cooking class; I was seated at the back of the classroom kitchen, and couldn’t very well make a scene by telling them to stop the production so I could take a picture! I do that enough at home, and my DH never fails to tease me in front of anyone who will listen, about how I fix this great meal and then whisk it all over to my photo area and delay the meal by a minute or so.
At the pork-centered class early this week, the chef prepared a crown roast – half of it was made up of “commodity” pork (ordinary grocery store variety), and the other half was from Berkshire pigs. He wouldn’t tell us which was which. He knew, and told us eventually, but he made us raise our hands on which one we liked better. With only a show of 1 or 2 hands in the entire class for one type, you can guess that most of us could tell the difference. The Berkshire is just more tender (less chewy) and more tasty. The meat is better marbled, so it makes for a better taste. To the left is a web photo I found from Reader’s Digest. Really? Yup. Found it at rd.com. That’s a very fancy one, stuffed. Below is a photo of the raw racks. This photo I found online from Edgemont meats.
As for the preparation – I won’t say this recipe is off the charts particularly, but it was good. Very good, actually. I liked the pan gravy, although I might spice it up a bit more with some herbs. But I’m going to give you the recipe as given to us in the class, flavored with shallots, apple juice and caramelized apples. This would make a beautiful Christmas dinner, I think. Or Easter, perhaps. Or any other special occasion. It does serve a lot of people – I’d think at least 10. Maybe more, depending on how meaty the pork racks are. The crown roast is comprised of two full racks of rib loin chops (bone-in, standing with rib ends up). Usually they’re already prepped for you – standing up, the top ribs cleaned off (wrap them in foil, please during baking) and firmly bound in cooking twine. If you’re lucky enough to find a Berkshire crown roast of pork, by all means GO FOR IT!
This recipe is a bit more work than some – there are several steps to making the pan gravy, and you’ll have more than a few dirty pots and pans. But it’s very tasty and worth the effort.
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Crown Roast of Pork with Apple & Roasted Shallot Pan Gravy
Recipe: Stan Glenn & Chris Brill,
Iowa Meat Farms & Siesel’s Meats, San Diego
Servings: 10
10 pounds pork center loin chops — racks, crown roast
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 tablespoon thyme — crushed
Salt & pepper to taste
2 whole carrots — chopped
1 large onion — chopped
2 stalks celery — chopped
PAN GRAVY:
3/4 cup flour
4 cups chicken broth — or beef broth, low sodium if possible
2 cups apple juice
1 sprig fresh thyme
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup shallots — (roasted and sliced)
CARAMELIZED APPLES:
5 whole apples — peeled, cored, chopped (Granny Smith)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1. PORK ROAST: Preheat oven to 400.
2. Rub the roast with some olive oil, then season it with salt, pepper, garlic and thyme. If the roast is not already positioned as a crown roast, you’ll need to tie two racks together, carefully in a circle, and tie firmly (meat will shrink during baking) to keep it standing upright. Place in a rimmed roasting pan. Cover the exposed ribs with foil so they don’t burn.
3. Place roast in the center of the oven and roast for 20 minutes until it’s golden brown.
4. Reduce the oven temp to 350 and cook to an internal temp of 140 (about 1 1/2 hours or longer). (If the roast is stuffed, cook to an internal temp of 155.) Add the vegetables to the pan during the last 30 minutes of baking. Remove from the oven and transfer meat to a cutting board or serving platter. (Do not throw out the pan drippings.) Cover loosely with foil and allow it to rest for 20 minutes.
5. CARAMELIZED APPLES: While the roast is cooking, you can prepare the apples. In a large saute pan melt the butter and add the apple cubes. Stir and cook for about 8-10 minutes until the apples have begun to cook through. Add the sugar and continue cooking until the apples have just begun to caramelize and reach a golden brown color. It’s not necessary to cook them until they’re mush – you want them to still have some shape and texture.
6. GRAVY: Pour off all but 1/2 cup of the pan drippings and add that to a large frying pan. Add the roasted vegetables too (although they are strained out later.) Sprinkle in the flour (to form a roux) and cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes until the mixture has thickened and bubbles. Add the chicken stock and apple juice to the pan and whisk to incorporate the roux. Allow the gravy to simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Strain the pan gravy through a sieve (to remove the vegetables and any lumps). To that same pan add the sugar. Allow it to caramelize, then add the vinegar. Simmer for a few minutes to dissolve the sugar, then add the strained pan gravy to it. Simmer it for 5-10 minutes, then add the apples and shallots. Serve hot.
Per Serving: 907 Calories; 50g Fat (50.2% calories from fat); 71g Protein; 40g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 231mg Cholesterol; 523mg Sodium.
A year ago: A travel story, about chicken liver spaghetti in Hong Kong, 1965
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