Ad Hoc Brined Pork Tenderloin

We're cooking our way through Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home...

This tenderloin has to be the simplest of the recipes in the book we've tried so far though it does require some advance planning. Actually you need to plan two weeks ahead of time to make this in order to cure the lemons, not that curing the lemons was hard or anything. You just slice the lemon thin & let it sit in an airtight container covered in a salt & sugar mixture for two weeks in the fridge. You need to make sure the lemons are completely covered so they won't get moldy.

The lemons get quite soft & have a salty flavor but to tell you the truth next time I make this pork recipe I'll just use thin slices of fresh lemon. The brine makes the pork salty enough & I think it's the tart lemon flavor was the important part.

Ok, so you've cured your lemons & now two weeks later you are ready to make your pork. First you must brine it for 4 hours. The book says do not brine it any longer as it will get too salty (believe this do not let your pork brine too long!). To be completely honest I have to tell you we only brined ours between 3 - 3 1/2 hours.

Pork Brine
(from Ad Hoc at Home)

3 T honey
6 bay leaves
2 fresh rosemary springs
1/4 oz fresh thyme sprigs
1 oz fresh flat leaf parsley sprigs
6 cloves garlic, crushed with the skin left on
1 T black peppercorns
1/2 c kosher salt
4 c water
1 pork tenderloin, silverskin removed)

Bring all the ingredients to boil. Stir & boil for 1 minute, until the salt is dissolved. Cool completely before adding the pork. (If you want to cool your brine quickly put the pot in a large bowl of ice & it'll do the trick.) Put the pork tenderloin & brine in a bowl just big enough to hold them. Let sit in the fridge for 4 hours.

Enough to brine one tenderloin.

Ok, your pork has sat in its briny goodness for 4 hours now its time to cook!

Brined Pork Tenderloin
(from Ad Hoc at Home)

1 T canola oil
salt & pepper
1 T unsalted butter
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 fresh rosemary sprig
4 - 5 slices cured lemon slices
sea salt

Remove the pork from the brine, rinse it & pat it dry. Let the pork sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Salt & pepper the pork. Put the pork in the hot skillet & cook until golden brown on all sides, about 6 minutes. Add the butter, garlic, thyme, rosemary & lemon slices. Cook for another two minutes basting the herbs, lemon & garlic with the juices in the pan.

Move the pork to a roasting pan with a rack set in it. Lay the lemon slices across the top of the pork, overlapping them a little. Top with the thyme, rosemary & garlic. Roast for 20 minutes, until the pork registers 135-140 on & instant read thermometer.

Here the recipes tells you to sprinkle the pork with sea sat. We didn't & believe me it did not need more salt.

Let the pork sit for 15 minutes before slicing to serve.

4 servings

So, how was it? It was amazing! This pork was so tender it just melted in your mouth. Plus you can really taste the flavors from the brine & cooking. All the flavors blend together really well without any of them overpowering the other. It was also wonderful the next day sliced thin for cold sandwiches. We will be using this method to cook pork tenderloin again.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.
© 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski

Weekly Menu 3/8 - 3/13/10

I went to a birthday party at one of our favorite local restaurants, Corner Table, this weekend. All the wonderful food had a Southern flair with brisket, ribs, pulled pork sandwiches & parsnip spoonbread with red eye gravy. The hit of the party had to be that bright red jar of Kool-aid picked eggs.

I'd heard of Koolickles, pickles made wit Kool-aid but never Kool-aid pickled eggs. The color is just out of the world.

I was actually surprised how everyone was so daring & willing to try these. As for the taste. It was like a pickle with real sweet side to it. The richness of the egg yolk was a good counterpoint to the sweetness. I liked the way they tasted at first but the fruity sweetness actually started to be too much towards the end of the egg. It was certainly interesting to try but I don't think I'll be searching them out again.

On to Menu Planning Monday...

Kind of a comfort food menu this week.

Rosted Carrot Pasta

Chorizo, Potato & Kale Soup

Sausage & Spinach Lasagna

Ad Hoc Grilled Cheese Sandwich & Tomato Soup

Italian Meatloaf

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.
© 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski

Chai-Brined Chicken

We are big fans of brining. It's such an easy way to keep meats like chicken, turkey & pork, that often go dry when cooked, really moist. The right brine can also bring a lot of flavor to the meat.

When I was making the brine for the Molasses-Brined Pork Chops earlier this week I noticed a recipe for a Chai Brine. I had a chicken to roast thawing in the fridge & thought this would be a nice change of pace. Plus ever since we got back from India we've really been into drinking chai so why not cook more with it too.

I wish you could send smells through the computer because this chicken smelled amazing! And the taste was just as wonderful. Often when we roast a chicken all the flavor stays on the skin but the meat is still pretty bland. That is not a problem when prepared like this, the spicy/sweetness of the brine penetrates the whole bird. If like us you are trying to watch what you eat a little bit you know how bad that skin is for you so its awful nice to have the meat taste so good you don't miss the crispy skin (well, not too much anyway).

Chai-Brined Chicken
(from Mastering the Grill: The Owner's Manual for Outdoor Cooking)

1 c fruit juice (we used peat nectar but apple, pineapple or other juices would be great)
1 c chai concentrate
1 1/2 T kosher salt
1/2 t freshly ground pepper

Put all the ingredients into a resealable bag. Close the bag & shake to dissolve the salt. Add the chicken. Seal the bag removing as much air as possible. Rub the brine into the meat a little. Put into a bowl that just fits the chicken. Let sit in the fridge for 2 - 8 hours, flipping once, the longer it sits the more flavor the chicken will absorb. Remove the chicken from the brine, discard brine & cook chicken.

Makes 2 cups brine

We brined a whole chicken but you could brine chicken pieces with or without the bones. This was great as a roast chicken but I think would be equally good done on the barbecue or sautéed in a skillet.

Just a note about the cookbook, Mastering the Grill: The Owner's Manual for Outdoor Cooking, we got this brine recipe from. It is one of out favorite cookbooks & a lot of the recipes are good for more than just grilling. I noticed today it is bargained priced on Amazon for $6.20 & I just wanted to highly recommend it to you all. For the price it is hard to pass up.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.
© 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski

Linguine with Pears, Prosciutto and Blue Cheese

Seems like this is the week for me to make dishes inspired by other food bloggers. This dish was inspired by the Penne with Roasted Pears & Goat Cheese on A Nod is as Good as a Wink to a Blind Horse.

Oh, was this a fabulous light meal. The blend of flavors is wonderful; sweet roasted pears, tangy blue cheese & balsamic & salty prosciutto. Then there is the mix of creamy, chewy & crunchy textures. Other than using linguine instead of penne, our main changes were to add the prosciutto & change the goat cheese to blue (just because we had some on hand).

This is the kind of dish that makes me feel like we need a new category on this site called "Fabulous but Easy." I would totally serve this at a dinner party & I think guest would be impressed by it but it really takes almost no effort at all.

Linguine with Pears, Prosciutto & Blue Cheese
(adapted from A Nod is as Good as a Wink to a Blind Horse)

1 Bosc Pear, cored & cut into wedges
2 T olive oil
4 slices prosciutto, roughly chopped
4 - 5 oz whole wheat linguine (I messed up & only used 2.5 oz when I made it & it was still filling so if you are trying to cut back on pasta use less in this)
3/4 T balsamic vinegar
dash of lemon juice
handful of baby spinach
1 oz blue cheese
chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Put the pears into a roasting pan. Add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil & stir to coat. Put in the oven & roast for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile cook the linguine according to directions.

Mix the remaining olive oil, balsamic vinegar & lemon juice together. Set aside.

When the pears have roasted for ten minutes, add the prosciutto to the pan & return to the oven for another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven & cut the pear wedges in half.

Drain the pasta & return to the pan. Stir in the oil/vinegar mixture & spinach. Add the pears & prosciutto. Divide between two plates. Top with cheese & walnuts.

2 Servings

By the way, our thought are with George from A Wink is as Good as a Nod... whose mother is having major surgery. He's being a good son by helping her out right now instead of bringing us new recipes.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.
© 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski

Baked Potato Soup with Cheddar and Broccoli

We're having quite a warm-up here in Minneapolis with temperatures reaching 40 F (yes, people here consider 40 warm, we are actually starting to see people in shorts). But we know that March is also the snowiest month of the year so we aren't ready to give up our winter soups yet.

I bookmarked this Quick Broccoli Potato Soup for Two at Fake Food Free at couple weeks ago as a way to use up bag of frozen cut broccoli in the freezer. When I mentioned I was going to make this to Matt he wanted me to add some cheddar cheese too it. The original recipe had added smoked paprika to the soup to give it some smokiness & I have to say I really liked that flavor in here, especially with the cheese. By puréeing the potatoes into with the broth, the soup turned really creamy with very little milk added. We served it with some hard pretzel bites which were great crumbled into the soup for a little crunchiness plus, cheddar & pretzels, yum!

Baked Potato Soup with Cheddar & Broccoli
(adapted from Fake Food Free)

4 large russet potatoes
1 T olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 t salt
pepper
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
3/4 t smoked paprika
4 c vegetable or chicken stock
1 c frozen chopped broccoli, slightly thawed
2 oz cheddar cheese, grated
1/3 c milk

Bake the potatoes either in the oven or microwave until soft. Let cool & then peel off the skins.

In soup pot heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions & garlic & cook until the onions are translucent. Stir in the salt, pepper, red pepper flakes & paprika. Add the chicken stock and potatoes. Purée either in the blender or with an immersion blender until creamy.

Chop the broccoli to small pieces. Add to the soup & cook until heated through. Add the cheddar cheese & milk. Heat while stirring until the cheese is completely melted & the soup is hot.

4 - 5 servings.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.
© 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski