recipephile

Brown Sugar, Apples and Balsamic Pork Tenderloin

My friend Tim and I are big fans of the biggest loser, so every Tuesday we get together, cook some tasty (and often fattening) food and slump on the couch to watch our favorite contestants battle to shed some pounds.

We try our hardest to eat healthy foods each k, but flavor always seems to get in the way. This week it was my turn to cook and with a big ol' pork tenderloin sitting in my freezer I pondered what to do that would be both flavorful and not ridiculously fattening.

I recently read an article in the NY Times about Maple Syrup pork chops and decided to adapt that recipe using brown sugar instead of maple syrup.  The addition of apples and balsamic vinegar made this one tasty dish and something I am sure you will love.

- 2 pork tenderloins (totaling about 3-4 lbs)

- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

- 1/4 cup brown sugar

- 3 cloves of garlic, minced

- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

- 1/4 cup Graton Ridge apple wine (you can also use Chardonnay)

- 1 apple cored and sliced into half moons

- 1 sweet yellow onion halved and sliced into half moons

Combine the brown sugar, garlic, balsamic vinegar and wine. Mix well and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350. Coat the pork tenderloins with salt and pepper (use about a tbsp of each on the loins) and brown on each side using a sautee pan. Place the pork into a baking dish and surround with the apples and onions. Pour the mixture into the baking dish and cook until your pork reaches 350 degrees.  This should take about 20-25 minutes.

Remove and let set uncovered for 15 minutes before slicing and serving with a rich and delicious Pinot Noir.

Medjool Dates and Cambozola Cheese

During my trip to New York last week I met up with my clients (who are also my friends) from casual game and advergame developer Arkadium. Kate and I have been working with Arkadium since they were founded in 2001 and we have watched them grow from a team of three to more than 80 employees in both New York and the Ukraine.

Kenny and Jess, the co-founders, love to eat and have actually brought on a number of other foodies to help run and also grown the company. Tina, the director or marketing, who is our daily contact and now great friend is another lover of all things epicurean. She and I are constantly comparing notes on recipes and new restaurants and have cooked together a number of times.

So to help celebrate the success of the year Kate and I try to do something food related for the Arkadium team. Last year we brought in sushi for the office and this year we cooked for Kenny and Jess and plan on taking Tina and her husband Jake out for some great food next time we are all in the city.

For Kenny and Jess' dinner I served an appetizer that is so simple to make it and tremendously delicious. They loved it and vowed to add it to their arsenal of favorite appetizers.

The appetizer is made with dates (I chose Medjool) and Camobozola cheeese. Cambozola is a cow's milk cheese that is a combination of a French soft-ripened triple cream cheese and Italian Gorgonzola. It was patented and industrially produced for the world market by large German company Champignon in the 1970s. The cheese, was invented circa 1900 and is still produced by Champignon. In English-speaking countries, cambozola is often marketed as blue brie.

It goes very well with sweet fruits and tastes great when drizzled with honey and served over bread. For this recipe I served the cheese with dates.

- 8-10 Medjool Date

- 3/4 lb. slice of Cambozola Cheese

Slice the dates in half length-wise and remove the pits. Place a small dollop of cheese onto the date halves and arrange on a platter.  Serve.

These dates are best served with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc. We went for a Graton Ridge 2008 Graton Ridge Estate Sauvignon Blanc. When you take a bite of the date and cheese immediately sip on the wine and you will experience a flavor explosion in your mouth.  It is truly incredible and something I recommend everyone try.

Tofu Cream Cheese...

Many of the cafes at the big corporations based in Manhattan have incredible food. Hearst Corporation is one of the best and if you ever have a chance to check it out I highly recommend you do.

This morning I arrived early for meetings and meandered into the cafe for some healthy breakfast. Most of the foods they serve are organic so I am usually assured that whatever I am eating is going to be good for me.

I settled on one of my favorite breakfast meals, a simple toasted piece of wheat bread with a little bit of cream cheese and sliced tomatoes. Among the vast selection of cream cheeses was tofu cream cheese from Tofuti.  1 Tbsp of Tofuti cream cheese has 51 calories and 5 grams of fat. I probably use about 2 tsp per piece of bread and often only have one slice. The flavor is somewhat nutty and the texture is very smooth.

This is a perfect little breakfast treat so next time you are in a natural food store give it a try.

Twitter Recipe For Roasted Whole Chicken

This is my Easy Roasted Chicken recipe that I dwindled down to 140 characters for Twitter.

RSTD WHLE CHKEN pht oven 425, slt/ppr body of bird cook chken for 1 hour. remve, top with herbs and cver w/foil for 15 mins before serving.

Twitter recipes are great, because they are fast and easy and I can post them pretty quickly. I am in the process of working on a Twitter Glossary for Cooks. As I expand on the entries into the glossary I will begin to publish.

Twitter Recipe For Queso

I just posted a recipe to Twitter.  It is a version of the Easy and Delicious Queso Dip that I posted a few days back on the site.

You can follow me on Twitter by searching my name or the handle @mikey71171.

"Queso Recipe 1 can Rotel, 1 lg. pkg of Velveeta chop into large pieces, mix in mcrowvable bowl, cook on high for 10-15 minutes, stir often"

Notes On Creativity: "Gives Peas a Chance" or "Eat It or Wear It"

As I thought about this posting I could not decide what to title it -- "Gives Peas a Chance" or "Eat It or Wear It".  Both are completely relevant and catchy. Once you give this one a read you will have to let me know your thoughts.

Over the weekend I spent time with my family celebrating my mom's 70th birthday. During our stay we enjoyed great food and great wine.  The weekend was a perfect way to celebrate my mother and this amazing rite of passage.

I noticed something very interesting about my nieces and nephews. As a family of foodies they are exposed to all types of food, but what amazes me is how their tastes vary.  Sam, my 13 year old nephew, loves stinky cheese, but shuns most other "exotic" foods. Maggie, my 8 year old niece, loves tackling the briniest of oysters, but when I tried to tempt her with my Creamed English Peas With Pancetta and then Red Abalone from Pacific's Edge she said "Ummm... I will pass Uncle Monkey" with that I smell poo look on her face.  Lucy, the spunky and adorable 4 year old, would not eat a burger from In-N-Out because it wasn't from McDonald's.

The psychology behind what kids will and will not eat amazes me, but after thinking more about it I realized that it must be a combination of nature vs. nurture. Although I have no proof behind the assertion my thought is that we are born with trained taste buds and stomachs that can handle certain types of foods.  Although I like hot sauces, they never agree with me so I rarely eat them without some Tums. My father, who loves great food trained me early on that oysters were amazing... this is the nurture part of the puzzle.  In fact, he would regularly tell us, when we refused to try something, "eat it or wear it". The thought of wearing slimy oysters was never appealing so I immediately dug in when I heard that comment.

What I am trying to say here is that although we cannot necessarily control the nature piece of the puzzle, parents, adults, uncles, aunts all play a role in expanding a child's epicurean horizons. So give them raw oysters and sushi. Turn them on to D'Affinois and Gorganzola Dolce. Encourage them to devour sweetbreads and pate.  The list of fascinatingly delicious foods is a long one, but if we ask our kids to "Gives Peas a Chance" or scare them with "Eat It or Wear It" collectively we are helping to create a society of children who realize there is much more than McDonald's and Potato Chips when it comes to food choices.

Creamed English Peas With Pancetta

My mother turned 70 today and my father brought all of us to Carmel to celebrate her amazing life.  I have written many times about my mom in the past, but one thing is very true... she is one of the best cooks on the planet.

Most of technique and insight into all things epicurean emanate from my mom and her expertise in the kitchen.  The first time I ever made marinara, my mom was on the phone with me guiding the entire process. To this day, I call her to consult when making a new dish. 

We often differ on our opinions of how something should be done (she is famous for peering over my shoulder and saying... "hmmm... that's an interesting way to do that"), but at the end of the day we share something very special.  The kitchen has brought us closer to one another and so I'd like to dedicate this post to my incredible mom.

When we arrived in Carmel my mother and I headed to the grocery store. As we perused the veggie aisle shelled English peas jumped out at me.  I always jump at the chance to work with peas that have already been shelled. Their flavor is amazing and the work has already been done for you.

So we decided that we would make Creamed English Peas With Pancetta and serve the dish with steak and a simple salad.

These are pretty easy to make:

- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

- 2 shallots minced

- 5 sage leaves minced

- 1/4 lb of pancetta, sliced thin and chopped

- 1/2 cup dry vermouth

- 1/2 pint heavy whipping cream

- 2-3 cups of shelled English peas

- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a saute pan heat the olive oil on medium and add the shallot and sage leaves. Cook until the shallots are translucent and then add the pancetta.  Cook the pancetta until crispy, this will take about 10 minutes and you will need to watch it carefully so it does not burn.  Once the pancetta is cripsy turn up the heat and add the vermouth, let cook down.

Once the vermouth has cooked down add the whipping cream and the peas.  Let cook down for about 10 more minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Slap Chop Chopped Salad

As Vince tried his best to convince me on the tube... "You are going to be in a great mood all day, because you will be slappin' your troubles away."  Hooey... At least that is what I thought until I got my hands on the Slap Chop. $19.95 + S&H and comes with 3-year warranty.

My friend Jeffrey and I were cooking away one day and just as I was about to chop some garlic he swoops in and Slap Chops my cloves.  Within seconds he had diced garlic. Stunned, I reached for an onion and was once again amazed and perplexed.  I took the thing apart, examined its technologic simplicity and played with more veggies, fruits and nuts (Vince actually says on the infomercial "You're gonna love my nuts.").

Immediately, I picked up my Blackberry and logged on to the Slap Chop WAP site.  Yes, they have a mobile site. To my surprise I could order this revolutionary device right from my phone. Within a week I received not one Slap Chop, but two. Yes two. AND... they included the little sister product Graty, a cheese grater.

My sister was the lucky recipient of the second set.  Imagine me racing to the grocery store to buy items for a salad. No really... close your eyes and think about me doing a whirlwind tour through the veggie aisle grabbing every Slap Choppable item I could for a chopped salad.

For the salad...

- 2 heads of romaine (I did not use the Slap Chop for this) chopped up.

- 1 medium red onion, Slap Chopped into bite size pieces

- 5 carrots grated (not with Graty) and Slap Chopped into bite size pieces

- 2 red peppers (seeds removed) Slap Chopped into bite size pieces

- 2 tomatoes (seeds removed) Slap Chopped into bite size pieces

- 2 cucumbers (seeds removed) Slap Chopped into bite size pieces

For the dressing

- 1 French baguette Slap Chopped into bite size pieces

- 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil

- Juice of 2 1/2 lemons

- 2 garlic cloves Slap Chopped

- 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan Cheese

- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

When the recipe says this "Slap Chopped into bite size pieces" note that you may need to cut the veggie or bread or whatever you are Slap Chopping to make it fit into the device. An onion, for example, usually needs to be cut into quarters and each quarter Slap Chopped separately.

Place all of the Slap Chopped veggies and lettuce into a large bowl and mix well.  Cover and set in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 350.  Put the Slap Chopped bread onto a cookie sheet and place in the oven. Let cook until golden brown (about 10 minutes) and set aside.

Mix the oil and lemon juice with a whisk well. Add the cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Adjust the seasoning/flavor as you desire.  You can add more oil or lemon juice or cheese or salt or pepper.

Toss the bread crumbs into the large salad bowl with the veggies and the lettuce.  Add the dressing, toss and serve immediately.