Sweet Tooth Dinner

This past grocery shopping trip I picked up a pork tenderloin, not exactly knowing what I wanted to do with it, but figured it would be a nice long roast I could start before my daughter's dance class and come home to dinner already cooked.  Or maybe turn it into a crock pot meal.  Well, a beautiful pork butt was put in the crock pot on Monday and the lazy mother than I am, it wasn't clean by today (Wednesday) so the tenderloin needed an alternative.  A quick search online for a new recipe produced quite the variety of options.  Decisions, decisions, what to do, how to play?  School bus was coming and I had very little time to get to dance once it did... so off to the pantry I went to find what I could to toss in, cover and drop in.  Results were real good and the kids gobbled it up, with dipping sauce and all!

Ingredients
2lb pork tenderloin
salt
pepper
spicey brown mustard
honey
brown sugar

Remember, I don't measure, just toss it all in until it tastes right to you.  Heavily salt and pepper the pork.  In a bowl, combine the dijon mustard, honey and brown sugar.  Equal parts mustard and honey, then add brown sugar to make a thick paste.  Once combined well, smother pork well and coat all sides.  Place into baking dish and cover with tin foil.

Now, since I was leaving the house early, I decided to use the timer function on my awesome ovens.  I set the oven to start at 4:30 and cook for an hour at 350 degrees.  Placed the pork in the oven and headed off to grab the kid and get to dance.  After which... I stopped at a friend's house to pick up the other kid and we gabbed for an additional hour before I made it home.  Of course by then, the oven had long turned itself off.  Take note here, the pork was already in the oven as the oven warmed up to 350 and stayed in the oven until it was almost completely cooled down.  I am attributing the juiciness and tenderness that resulted to the cool down extra hour.  Checked the pork once I got home and it was at a PERFECT 165 internal temperature.  The mustard/honey/sugar paste had cooked down to an awesome juice, so I basted it a few times and let it sit while making sides.

Sides, I chose a boxed shells and white cheddar and then made candied carrots.  Yep, more brown sugar.  There's where the sweet tooth came in!  I had also mentioned carrots in conversation earlier in the day, so they were on my mind.  So what are candied carrots?  Carrots with brown sugar and butter, in a saute pan, cooked until tender.  That easy.  And I use frozen carrots, just easier.

Not a single picture did I take, sadly.  Never even crossed my mind until we sat down to dinner and the kids gobbled up the pork.

Pulled Pork

I made the most amazing pulled pork last night.
 Too bad for you that I failed to get pictures of it.

Crock pot.  Pork Butt.  Various Spices (heavy handed).  Beef broth.
8 hours later, total yummy goodness.
NO SAUCE REQUIRED (shocker right?)

Even my picky eater 7 year old went back for 3rds.  Mom win.

Quick Ribs

I failed to take a picture last night.  Busy busy and frankly just flat out forgot.  My parents were coming over to see the girls for a couple of hours before they run off on vacation for the next month, so I needed to put something in the oven that required very little work.  Something that could sit and bake in there for a while.  Something that if it overcooked, would be a good/OK thing.

At the local grocery store over the weekend I had happened upon a package of pre-sliced pork ribs.  8 of them.  I LOVE ribs.  We know this from past posts.  But the idea of keeping the oven on in this sweltering heat the past week has not been too appealing.  But what if I could cook fewer ribs, already cut, for less time?  Well then that would certainly work.  Oh, and I grabbed a bottle of my favorite BBQ sauce, knowing that this week I wasn't going to have time or patience to make my own, though I do have a great recipe for one.

I like my ribs tender and to be pullable off the bone without too much effort, but I also prefer that they not literally fall off the bone.  And this combination totally got them there.

So, into my 2.5qt CorningWare covered dish went my ribs to play.
Followed by 1/2 bottle of sauce, maybe a smidge less and.
Lid on and nto a 350 degree cold oven.  Meaning, I had JUST turned it on and put the ribs in as it was warming.
Let them get all happy until about 6:30.
I believe I turned them at least once so both sides could get wet.

Served them up with peas and buttered egg noodles.
Both girls PLOWED through them.
Success.  Will definitely be doing this again.

Ribs Revisited

This past weekend, was a 3 day weekend.  And lucky me, my youngest daughter woke up sick on Saturday morning.  We spent the day at my in-laws where she filled several diapers and I got thrown up on, as did my car on the ride home that night.  Sunday was a good day, Monday was not (for many reasons but personal and public).  While at the grocery store on Saturday, while I got a small chance to escape, I saw ribs on sale.  I get pork ribs perhaps once, maybe twice a year.  They're not always affordable , and they're time consuming to make.  But so worth it.  But I did not purchase said ribs on Saturday. No, I let them go, and went about the sick weekend yearning for that ooey goodness of BBQ sauce slathered on mouth watering pork.  Fast forward to Tuesday where I ended up at home from work since daughter was still sick and I was determined to finally purchase this delectable delight.  Hopefully, still on sale.  And they were.

Due to the aforementioned terrible sick weekend, and the tragedy at the Boston Marathon, it was important that I restore some mental normalcy, if not in the household, than at least my own brain.  And this meant putting on a spread.  Which, in my mind from the weekend, was ribs, asparagus and to appease my 5 year old, french fries.  I'm a semi-homemade mom, so the french fries this time did come out of a bag, but the ribs, oh no, I played.

I like to give my ribs a dry rub massage with their 300 for 3 bake.
And, as you know, I don't measure.  Simply shake/pour on in your desired amount.


Here are the ingredients for today's version of ribs.

• Salt/Pepper
• Garlic Salt
• Onion Powder
• Cumin
• Coriander
• Chili Powder

Sprinkle it all on at your desired taste and just rub it right in.  Get dirty, and love the meat.

 Place the ribs into a roasting pan.  I like to put a rack on the bottom, we are steaming them in the roast pan more than we are boiling them.

This gives the juice the ability to drain to the bottom and the ribs keep their spices attached.

Cover the roasting pan and place into the oven at 300 degrees for 3 hours.




Once your 3 hour timer goes off.  Take them out of the oven, keep the lid on and just let them sit inside the roasting pan on your counter.  Meanwhile, get your grill nice and hot, as hot as you can.  I kept mine about 400 degrees for this yesterday.

Slather your ribs with your favorite BBQ sauce and place them meat side down on the grill.  Cover the lid, turn your burners down to low, we are now aiming for a nice 300 degree grill.
Leave them be for about 10 minutes.
Open the lid, turn them over.  Let 'em sit for 10 more.  Apply more BBQ sauce as necessary and as wet as you like them. Repeat process until they are at the desired texture for you.  I left them on here for a total of 30 minutes, long enough to start cooking my sides and get the table set.

 

 When they're done, slice them up for your desired serving size, 1 to 2 ribs per slice.
As I said, I served these up with Asparagus and french fries.  They were oh so yummy.  Wet paper towel required.

Busted Applesauce Pork

Well, tonight I made a meal for the family that absolutely no one (other than me) liked.  It made the oldest daughter cry, the youngest daughter say "no no no" and my husband grimace at every bite.  But don't take that as meaning the meal was terrible because in fact it was really very very good.  The family just has bland, steak and potato, chicken nuggets, slather everything in ketchup, teriyaki and BBQ sauce taste buds.  And, usually I will cater my meals towards this bland culture.  But every once in a while, I just have to make a meal for ME.  And tonight I did.  And I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I was at least hopeful, someone other than myself would enjoy it.  Boy was I wrong.

It was about 3:00 today when I decided on what I was going to make.  I had fresh parsnips from our own garden, and I just happened to come across a recipe today in Parents magazine for roasted carrots and parsnips.  Now it was just a matter of what should go with it.  Well, if I'm roasting veggies, why not roast the meat.  So into the freezer I went and lo and behold I had two of the biggest boneless pork cutlets cuts you'd ever see.  Just perfect for a 45 minute roast.  So into the cabinets I went for spices.  A little of this, and a little of that, using inspiration from my Aunt in California from earlier this year based off a roast pork cutlets she did, with of course my own twists.  And.. since I was already playing with veggies and the pork, I just grabbed a box of Rice A Roni wild rice to whip up on the side.

Looks good, doesn't it?  You wouldn't have known by the sounds and looks on the faces at the dinner table tonight.  But hey, I come from a different background than hubby, he's not used to out of the ordinary spices from another part of the country, and the girls, well, what did I expect from an almost 5 year old and an 18 month old?  Regardless, the almost 5 did eat the rice, and the 18 month devoured the pork, so that was a bonus. You can't please everyone all the time, and although I was insanely hurt by reactions around the table, I take away with the pride of actually making a good meal, last minute, whether THEY liked it or not.  Oh yeah, and this pairs very well with a hearty red wine.  So, here's how I played.

Cider-Roasted Carrots and Parsnips
(from Parents Magazine, November 2012, page 178)
2/3 c apple cider
2T olive oil
2T apple-cider vinegar
2T grainy dijon mustard
2T honey
2tsp fresh thyme (I used dry)
Salt to taste
1lb carrots, peeled, cut into sticks or sliced (I sliced)
1lb parsnips, peeled, cut into sticks or sliced (I sliced)

Preheat oven to 400degrees.  Cooking spray a roasting pan.  In a large bowl big enough to hold the veggies, whisk together all the ingredients except the salt. (my version)  Add the veggies and toss around to coat.  Spread the veggies into the roasting pan, with all liquid.  Sprinkle on salt.  Roast uncovered for 35 minutes or until veggies are tender, stir once half way through.  Liquid will evaporate.

Rice A Roni
Wild & Long Grain Rice
Follow directions on the box.

Apple Sauce Pork
Carraway
Coriander
Garlic Salt
Fresh Chives
Apple Sauce (Cinnamon is what I used)
Salt
Pork (I used fat sliced cutlets, you can use loins or a roast, adjust your cooking time, watch the internal temp)

In a glass roasting pan, place your pork cutlets.  Remember I don't measure, so taste and smell these flavors prior to putting them onto your pork so you can add more of one than the other if you feel you like them.  So, on I put the caraway, coriander, garlic salt and salt.  All sides, just sprinkle it on.  I use more caraway than coriander.  Rub it in.  I only used a handful of chives, not enough to overpower, but enough to give some flavor and aroma to the dish.  Chop them up, sprinkle them on.  Then pour the applesauce over it all.  I used whatever I had left, but I would estimate it was about 1 and 1/2 cups.  Put that into a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes.  Use a meat thermometer and cook until just under 170 degree internal temp.  Let sit before slicing.

Place everything on the plates and serve.  Just don't expect everyone to love it.

I, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoyed it!

Peking Ravioli Cravings

So, last week was my sister's birthday.  Happy Birthday 'lil 'sis!  We celebrated at my parents' house yesterday.  Tradition states you get whatever you want for dinner.  She chose Lasagna.  My mom makes THE BEST.  I've played around with her recipe, I've made her recipe exact, I still can't duplicate it.  I make a mean lasagna, but hers wins hands down every time. 

Anyhow, 'sis asked for appetizers, etc.  That was my job.  I never know what I'm going to make until I start at the grocery store.  I was planing on making some kind of Italian sausage dumpling/pot sticker.  I made these spinach/garlic/mushroom ones once that were to die for and now that I know how to use Wonton Wrappers, I think that everything... let me repeat,  EVERYTHING should be wrapped in wonton and fried/sauteed/steamed in them.  But as I walked around the store I remembered the Lean Cuisine commercials I've seen lately, they make a Peking ravioli.  And I've been craving Peking Ravioli.  So I thought to myself... "self, you can do that!"  So I whipped out the iPhone did a quick Google search, looked at one recipe to find out what kind of meat went in Peking ravioli, and what spices.  Retrieved said ingredients and went to my parents' house and proceeded to cook, from memory of aforementioned" recipe".  Partly becauseI couldn't find it again, and partly because it's more challenging and fun to just toss things into a pan!
 

The ingredients are basic enough, I know what it's supposed to taste like, I'm just going to toss stuff in and play.

Ingredients:

• 1lb of ground pork (PORK!  Who knew!  I had no idea that Peking ravioli was pork)
• Sesame Oil
• Soy Sauce
• Fresh Ginger root (get the tiniest piece you can find, mine cost just 3cents!  if you can't get a little one, it DOES freeze)
• Fresh Garlic, 1 clove
• Scallions (fresh, not dried)
• 1 package of Wonton Wrappers - found in the cold aisle near the veggies, usually near bagged salad and sprouts

Now before I continue, I should state, that this isn't going to be REAL Peking Ravioli like what you get if you were to order Chinese food, but it's a damn fine substitute!  Also, these can be done 2 ways, I'll give you exactly how I made them yesterday, and then give you the slightly longer and more delicate way of how they probably should have been done as options at the end.

Steps:

• Making the Meat
• About 1/4 cup of scallions, finely chopped across the board
• 1 garlic clove, smashed and chopped into a fine "mush" so you have approx. 1T
•  1 piece of ginger, the diameter of a quarter and at a 1 centimeter thickness, sliced, smashed and chopped into a fine "mush" so you also have about 1-2T
• Non-Stick frying pan, large enough for your ground pork.
• Drizzle generously with the sesame oil, this isn't for non-stick purposes, it's for flavor infusing
• Drizzle even more generously with soy sauce
• combined, if you NEED to measure, you want the soy sauce AND sesame oil to both add up together to about 1/4 cup
• Add the pork, add the scallions, add the ginger, add the garlic
• Take a wooden spoon and start mashing and stirring all ingredients together
• Turn on Med-High Heat and fry up until cooked through, remove from heat and put aside so it can cool enough that your fingers can touch the meat without burning you.
• Making the Ravioli
• You need a small bowl of water to wet your finger with for the wontons
• Now, some might call these pot-stickers, some might call them dumplings, others ravioli.  Whatever you want to call them, they were yummy and this recipe worked.
• Prep a cookie sheet by spraying it with cooking spray, this is just an area where you can put your prepped ravioli before cooking them. The spray prevents them from sticking.
• Lay out your wontons.  I do 6 at a time.
• Put small amount of meat mixture in the center of the wonton.  Not so little that you hardly have any meat, but also not too much that you can't close and seal it.  It'll take you a couple to get the right amount and then you'll start cruising through them.
• Wet your finger and moisten 1/2 the border of the wonton.  If it's a square (usually is) then moisten just 2 sides of it, finger width. 
• Fold over the dry side onto the wet and press them together really well to seal them up
• You can leave them like this in the triangle shape or you can fold the corners back or around, or whatever.  I fold the corners back to make it look like a house with flaps.
• Anyhow, work through and finish off the pack, or the pork, whichever comes first.
• Pan Frying:
• Non-stick pan - generous drizzle of sesame oil - heat up nice and hot
• Start placing your ravioli into the pan one at a time and fill the pan, but don't fill it so much that they can't breathe and you can't get a spatula in there, you need to be able to turn them
• This is going to be a look and feel thing, you need to keep watching them.  Let them saute in the pan until golden brown on both sides.
• Once golden brown, take them out and put aside, do another batch, and repeat until they're all cooked.
• Sauce:
• I did not make my own sauce.  Next time.  
• The "Ethnic Foods" aisle actually had a "pot sticker dipping sauce" so I grabbd that.  Otherwise, I believe that Soy Sauce, Scallions, Hoison Sauce and Dark Rice Vinegar in some combo make up this sauce.  
• I did however quickly chop a few scallions and toss them into the store bought sauce.
• Put everything on a plate and serve.  Be sure you put a few aside for yourself, because as soon as you drop them to the table, they're going to disappear!!

Optional Cooking Method:
I pan fried mine because I wanted them quick, and I wanted to make sure this first time around that the pork was definitely cooked through.

• Option 1:  Rather than fry up the ground pork, put it in a bowl and mix the ingredients in like you would for meatloaf or meatballs.  Place raw meat onto wrappers and seal up.  When you seal the wontons for these, make sure there are no holes or tears, or I believe this doesn't work.  Boil water.  Drop them into the boiling water and let cook.  When they're done and cooked through, THEN pan fry them for color.
• Option 2:  Prep the raw meat the same way as option 1, but rather than boil, prep a double boiler and steam them.  Once cooked through via steam, THEN pan fry them for color.