Day 335: A Mix of Old & New

Tonight's dinner was composed of one leftover and two easily prepared "new" elements.  Last night's leftover rice pilaf served as a bed for chipotle pork tenderloin, with roasted vegetables on the side.

I've made this pork several times before.  It's super easy and nice & spicy.  Slice the pork from end to end lengthwise - not all the way through - just enough to fold it back like a book.  Spread 2 finely minced chipotle peppers throughout the inside of the pork and fold it back over.  Tie it off on each end and in the middle with some kitchen twine.  Pat the outside dry and season with S&P.  Brown it on all sides in hot olive oil in a stainless steel pan and then place in a roasting dish.  Roast at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Our veggie side dish consisted of 1 fennel bulb and 2 shallots (both cut in eighths, keeping the knot in tact), 1 bunch of asparagus (trimmed), and a few handfuls of sugar snap peas.  All of this was tossed in a little olive oil and S&P and laid out in a single layer on a baking sheet and roasted for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

An easy and tasty meal.  Why not cook at home when it's this easy?

Day 271: Can You Spot My Secret Ingredient?

The goal tonight was to use up a bunch of items that we had on hand:  cherry tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, spinach, and a fennel bulb.  I decided to make some whole grain pasta and toss in those items and some others that we also had:  garlic, parmesan cheese, and my favorite secret ingredient - white wine!  The only thing I actually had to purchase was some spicy turkey sausage.

I mixed the tomatoes with two large cloves of pressed garlic, about 1.5T of olive oil, and S&P and poured everything into a square glass baking dish.  The dish went into a 375 degree oven.

Next, I set the pasta water to boil (with salt & olive oil, of course) and cooked the pasta until al dente.  While that was happening, I prepared the rest of the dish.

I chopped up two links of spicy turkey sausage and thinly sliced the fennel.  These ingredients went into a large saute pan that had been pre-heated with a light coating of olive oil.  I also added about 2-3T of white wine and stirred frequently, cooking the mixture until the fennel was softened up (about 10 minutes).  

Then, I rough chopped four large handfuls of bagged baby spinach and added them to the pan.  The tomatoes had burst in the oven by the time the spinach was wilted, so I dumped them into the pan with everything else and cooked the mixture for another couple of minutes.  Then the cooked and drained pasta went into the pan and I cooked everything until the pasta was heated through (the noodles had finished before my sausage and veggie mixture, so I had drained them and rinsed them in cold water to stop the cooking process).

Finally, I tossed in about 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese and mixed everything together again.  Once the pasta was plated, I sprinkled another healthy dose of cheese over the top and some chopped fresh basil leaves over that.

This was a decent recipe - not one of my favorites, but a tasty and well-rounded meal with whole grain, protein, vegetables, and calcium.  The best part was, it enabled me to use up a bunch of stuff we had on hand just in time for the weekend.  Because you know I don't "do cooking" on Friday or Saturday nights.  Speaking of that, any restaurant recommendations to share?

Day 246: Ahhh...Marketing

Despite having worked in the ad world for almost 15 years, I am still a sucker for marketing.  A funky label on a wine bottle.  A cool or catchy restaurant name.  Those kinds of things get me every time...including tonight.

A new restaurant called The Tipsy Pig recently opened in our neighborhood.  I felt an almost magnetic pull when I first saw it.

My strongest opinion is that the place is just too damn loud.  And yes - I am well aware that I sound like an 80 year old - but it's the truth and the Yelp reviews about this place confirm that.

Fortunately, the food was pretty good.  My entree, dayboat scallops with blood orange and fennel salad was absolutely delicious, as was the mixed green and arugula salad with an onion and goat cheese tart.  Our other appetizer was bruschetta with broccoli, roasted peppers, ricotta salata, and burrata.  We saw an order of it sitting at the pass when we were seated and it looked cheesy, gooey, savory, and scrumptious but in reality it was just a big disappointment.  The bread was too thick and the overall flavor was a bit lacking.  

It's always exciting to have a new joint open up in the neighborhood.  We'll give it another try - after all, they have mac and cheese on the menu.  With bacon!  I couldn't really care less if the pig is tipsy as long as it's tasty!

Day 236: Farmer's Market Room Freshener

Take a couple of fennel bulbs, the peel from one orange, a few cloves of minced garlic, and some freshly minced rosemary - throw it all in the oven - and what do you get?  The best smelling house in the neighborhood!

Tonight's dinner was garlic rosemary pork tenderloin with orange roasted fennel and it was as delicious as it was fragrant.

Pork:

I seasoned the tenderloin with salt and pepper and browned it on all sides in a pan with hot olive oil.  Once it was nicely browned, I removed it from the pan and coated it all over with freshly minced garlic (3 large cloves) and rosemary (the leaves from one large sprig).  I then placed it on a roasting rack with some OJ and chicken stock in the pan below and baked it in the oven for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

Fennel:

I cut two bulbs into 8ths, being careful to keep the pieces connected at one end, and placed them in a bowl.  Using a paring knife, I removed the skin from an orange in one-inch pieces and added them to the bowl.  These items were tossed with olive oil, S&P, and then laid in a single layer in a glass baking dish.  The dish went into the oven at the same time as the pork and I mixed the fennel and orange around every 10 minutes.

After 30 minutes, I pulled out the pork and covered it with foil (it's a good idea to allow meat to sit for 5-10 minutes after cooking to allow the juices to settle).  I cranked up the oven temperature to 425 degrees and cooked the fennel for another 5 minutes.  Then, I sliced up the pork, plated everything, and gobbled it all up.

Everything was really good and I had the added benefit of getting a great whiff of tastiness every time I opened the oven.  Who needs Febreze?

Day 204: All Hail California Wine Country!

After a full afternoon of wine tasting, I needed a hearty dinner tonight.  I thought about ordering a pizza but after just a couple of seconds, I was able to convince myself to find a healthier option.  We went with a grilled steak and roasted veggies.

I took a head of fennel, chopped off the top, and cut the bulb into wedges.  I did the same with a couple of bulbs of shallot, threw it all into a bowl, and tossed it with enough olive oil to coat and some S&P.  All of this was laid in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and placed in the oven for 10 minutes.  

At that point, I turned the fennel wedges over, added about a pound of haricot vert, mixed everything up, and placed the baking sheet back in the oven for another 10 minutes.  Then, I added about 1.5 cups of defrosted frozen peas and baked everything for another 10 minutes.

The steak was prepared simply - S&P and grilled just long enough for beautiful medium rare meat.

Of course, we had some wine.  I mean, why slow down the momentum of the day?  My husband pulled a bottle of Joseph Phelps 2005 Cabernet out from our wine fridge.  It was a great pairing and a lovely way to top off our day of wine consumption.  All hail California wine country!!

Day 191: Fennel Killer

I adore fennel - cooked, in salads - doesn't matter.  I always love it.  Tonight I cooked it myself for the first time and I nearly totally killed it - not in good, stand-up routine kind of a way.

I used an Epicurious.com recipe as a starting point but made a couple of changes.  I reduced the oil content dramatically, using only about 2 T to coat the fennel and shallots prior to roasting.  I also left out the haricot verts and added frozen peas instead.  I defrosted them and added them to the baking pan in the last 5 minutes of cooking.  Their sweetness was a perfect compliment to the fennel - but I missed the part of the recipe where it said to mix the veggies every 10 minutes.  I let them cook for a good 20 minutes before I even checked on them and so parts of the fennel were charred, as were most of the shallots.  I picked off the burnt bits and what was left was delicious. 

Our main course was also from Epicurious.com - grilled chipotle stuffed pork tenderloin.  It was fabulous.  The recipe had recommended eating the pork with store bought guacamole, but of course I made it from scratch.

Guacamole:

1 avocado

Juice of 1/2 a lime (or more if required)

1 headping tsp of lowfat sour cream

Normally, I would include a healthy dose of hot sauce as well - but since this was to be eaten with pork that had been liberally rubbed with chipotle peppers, but skipped this step tonight.

I want to give my husband credit for pairing tonight's dinner with the perfect wine:  Heitz 2005 Zinfandel.  It married wonderfully with all of the flavors of the meal.

Tonight is all about healthy cooking and we were off to an excellent start tonight.  Stay tuned for other tasty meals as the week goes on!

PS - Note my brand new food processor - purchased this weekend to replace the one that blew up while I prepared our New Years Eve dessert.  I can't wait to use it!!