Pork Tenderloin Marsala

So it started like this...

After we got past the holidays, you know the insane time at work, my middle daughter visited for a week (snow painting adventures of my previous post)  things just started to settle just a bit.  Then my boss calls this meeting and announces that, "all of you are going to work harder over the next couple of months than you have ever worked in your lives."

My first thought was something along the lines of. "well color me inspired."  We had just come off of feeding around 2200 guests Prime Rib, Crispy Tilapia, Butternut Squash and buckets full of Lemon Basil Orzo.  That was on top of all of the parties and what not that the holiday season brings us.  Well it has been a couple of weeks since that meeting and things are settling down a bit.

Ok enough about my job, I have some new toys...

My beautiful wife Kris bought me a new camera for Christmas, the old one was just a little beat up, note the lens pointed in an odd direction and yes that is duct tape holding it together.

Oh, here is Kris' work with the new camera... Mr. Man and I were going to watch just one episode of Batman and what do you know... and who falls asleep in a chef's coat? I am such a dork!

I finally bought an ice cream maker, it is the cutest little thing, I have only used it once but have a good list of recipes to start with... Say didn't they made lobster ice cream on Iron Chef a couple of weeks ago?  I guess I am saying that I have some stuff in the works so be sure to stick around I'll get to it soon!  I had to use the catalog photo because I left my table so messy this weekend.

Anyway this post isn't about my new stuff it it really about an old favorite...

Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Marsala.

1 pork tenderloin (about a pound)
4 TBS butter (I use unsalted) divided
1 medium onion diced
about half a pound of Portabella  mushrooms, cleaned
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1 cup chicken broth
fresh parsley to garnish

Melt half your butter in a heavy skillet, I pulled out my favorite, the iron skillet, when hot but just short of smoking, brown the pork on all sides, set that aside while you do the rest.

Add the onions and mushrooms to the same skillet and saute together until the liquid that the mushrooms give is evaporated (maybe 10 minutes).  Then add the Marsala and cook until it is almost evaporated (about another 10 minutes.  Add the chicken broth then put the Pork Tenderloin in the same pan and cook until it is to your liking, medium rareish to me, (another 10 minutes at a low simmer) then pull the pork out and put it on your serving platter to rest.  Turn up the heat on the sauce add the rest of your butter and reduce to about 3/4 cup.

Slice the pork tenderloin into medallions and serve.  We picked pasta, but I really love this with potatoes too.  For as simple as it is to make this is wicked good... good enough to get Miss Lu up for seconds.

Beef Tenderloin a Holiday Classic

But er... for what Holiday?

For most people there are normal holiday food equations for example:
Thanksgiving = Turkey
Christmas = Beef
Easter = Ham

Our house is a little different our equations are:
Thanksgiving = Beef Tenderloin
Christmas = Ham

Kris can't stand turkey, me being the foodie nut that I am I tried everything to get her to agree that she liked the bird when we met... one year I brined a turkey in honey, garlic and tarragon; another year I slathered one in cranberry chutney and baked it in a bag.  After about three years and eating most of a turkey myself I realized that maybe my wife knows exactly how turkey tastes, she just doesn't like it.  Now we have come to enjoy our non traditional food equations.  It also gives me the advantage of posting my Thanksgiving recipe in time for you to see it before Christmas.

If you read my blog you will see the recurring theme... I can work a recipe to death to get exactly what I want; this one has been done five or six times with some setbacks.  This Thanksgiving we got it right!

Beef Tenderloin in Red Wine Reduction:

The Sauce:
2 TBS vegetable oil
2 small onions
3 cloves fresh garlic
2 TBS brown sugar
2 TBS balsamic vinegar
1 750 ml bottle of Merlot
1 cup chicken broth
1 14 oz can beef broth
2 sprigs fresh thyme
10-12 peppercorns
1 bay leaf

1 TBS Flour

1 TBS Butter

Heat oil over medium heat in a large saucepan then add onions and garlic sauté until tender (about 10 minutes).  Add the brown sugar and sauté for about 4 more minutes, until it is deep brown.  Add vinegar and stir for about a minute more until it is almost evaporated.  Then add your bottle of wine (minus a sip or two... you are the cook you get a little extra) simmer until reduced by half...

Here is the cool way to check that, put a rubber band around the handle of a wooden spoon then dip that into your sauce.  Roll the band down to the line left by the liquid then you know where you started... when your sauce pan has half of the liquid you know you are done.

Add the rest of your ingredients and simmer on low heat for about half an hour.  Strain through a fine strainer into a large bowl and set aside. Give your saucepan a quick rinse then mix your butter and flour to make a roux.  Put your sauce back in and cook for 5-10 more minutes.  This can be done a day ahead and reheated.

The Beef
2 1/2 to 3 pound Tenderloin trimmed

Salt, pepper

1-2 TBS Olive oil

Sprinkle salt and pepper on beef then let it set on the counter (covered with an upside down pan if you are the owner of one or more cats) for about half an hour until it is room temp.  Then heat up the oil in your pan and sear beef on all sides then transfer to the oven and cook uncovered for about 20 minutes until done the way you like.  I did mine in the Iron skillet so I only used one pan for this part. 

When the meat is just slightly under done pull it out and let stand at room temp for a few minutes.  Doing that lets the juices settle so they stay in your beef and not all over the counter.  When it is done slice and serve with the red wine reduction!  At the top if this page it is pictured with

 

5 Day Chicken and 20 Minute Beets

OK I have a bit of a foodie confession... I rarely plan a weeknight meal, usually I come home from work then run through the house like a madman on a episode of Chopped looking for my ingredients to make dinner.  This has a couple of disadvantages (1)  I can get into a cooking rut, how many ways can you grill chicken really? and (2) Mr. Man and Miss Lu don't always realize that they are hungry until they are starving... then the melt downs begin about the time that I start cooking.  I made an attempt to work on the planning this week so like a good little menu planner I got up at 3:15 on Monday morning and along with the other stuff that I do I pulled 2 pieces of chicken out of the freezer and put them in a buttermilk marinade to soak (a Martha Stewart recipe by the way).  I know better but I thought to myself, "The chicken will thaw by dinner time right?  I mean it is 15 hours away..."

Wrong! when I came home that night they seemed even more frozen, not only were the chicken breasts as hard as two chunks of wood, there was a layer of buttermilk frozen to them, OK so Monday night we ordered Pizza.  That was fine we could have the chicken on Tuesday the longer soak will help and since the chicken will actually thaw the flavors will work better.  Then on my way home from work on Tuesday I get the call... the school book fair is tonight, Miss Lu has a book that she needs and is panicking that someone will get it before her.

Her school (marketing geniuses that they are) lets each class tour the book fair during the day then sends them home to bring the parents back, only after threatening that if the book they want sells out the children may have to wait as long as 3-4 DAYS to order it in!  Obviously this works. I am instructed to leave the car running when I get home so we can make an immediate break for the school.  We race to the school and then spend about 45 minutes looking around.  Really, Kris and I are so happy that the kiddos like books we can't put a damper on that.  OK so Tuesday Night we picked up Steak and Shake.

Wednesday I promised to leave work on time so that I could pick up the kiddos from day care and take them to the park to play before we had Miss Lu's Parent Teacher Student conference.  I left work an hour later than planned so Kris rushed from work to day care to get them before the police arrive.  When I got home I slowed the car in front of our house so every one could jump in then we raced to the park by the school to play before the conference.  After we play in the park we meet Miss Lu's teacher then we go to the book fair again.  On Wednesday night we had leftover pizza from Monday.

It wasn't until I got off work (late again) on Friday that we had the dinner that I planned for Monday evening, actually the kiddos were already fed so it was just Kris and I.  Then, as if I haven't expressed my planning skills enough already I set my chicken on the counter and Kris asked what else we were having...   In 5 days I hadn't even considered a side dish at all.

"Jeez what do we have?"  I dig through the fridge and pull out the golden beets that I was going to pickle this weekend.  Completely embarrassed, I finish making dinner for Kris and I at about 9:30.  I am sure that you are asking how the first weeknight dinner that I have planned turned out in a word, "OK"

The chicken had soaked so long that it tasted more like buttermilk than any of the flavors that I added, it was as tender as can be and moist.  This one is worth trying again but I think just way to long in the marinade.  The beets, were wonderful, but I think that I have said before that anything cooked with heavy cream has got to be anyway here are the recipes:

The Chicken Marinade:
1 Cup of buttermilk
Juice from one Lemon
a couple of sprigs of Thyme
1 tsp of seasoning salt
a little sprinkle of Cayenne Pepper

Drop in the chicken breast and marinade, I am guessing for 1-2 days not 5.  Cook on the grill 4-5 minutes per side.

The beets
Cut 3-4 beets into bite bite sized pieces put in a small saucepan and cover with cool water add a couple of sticks of thyme, bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes pour off about half of the water then add half a TBS butter and heavy cream to cover.

Yes I am aware that it is a sin but I always have heavy cream in the house.

Cook for another 10 minutes and you are all ready.

Dinner for Two

My beautiful wife Kris and I agree on most things, or are close enough that our difference makes more for a conversation than a disagreement.  As politics go we are extremely close on the spectrum, religion I happily walked into the folds of the church she was raised in.  When it comes to food... well sometimes we have our differences.  Steaks are one of those differences, the difference being I like Strip Steak, Ribeye Steaks, Skirt Steaks, Flank Steak, Lamb Chops, Tri tip, Flat Iron Steaks basically every cut of meat from every animal that ever set foot on a farm.  Kris likes the Tenderloin it is a texture thing, Tenderloin is well... tender, where I don't mind the fight that Skirt Steaks give me (admittedly they have a bit of texture to them but I just love the flavor)  Kris isn't always up to the battle that dinner could be.

Anyway, I wanted steak for dinner on my last day off so I was at the store considering my options, I saw a bunch of good ideas but just couldn't come up with a good "sell" really how many ways can you try to talk someone into a skirt steak?  Then I looked at the tenderloin... $20.99 a pound, that was just out of the question, for God's sake I am a Chef, I can't pay $30.00 for a dinner that I cook!  Then I saw it at the edge of the meat case looking kind of lonely... it was a Porterhouse Steak about an inch and a half thick and I thought "God was really thinking here..." Strip Steak on one side, Tenderloin on the other, a bone to carry the heat through for even cooking and a full bodied flavor.  That was it! get the bigger Porterhouse ($6.70 by the way) and split it.

When I got home I put a little salt and pepper on the steak and put it into the fridge while I did the rest.  I topped the steak with a Roasted Garlic Gorgonzola Butter... Ooh this is good and it can be made several days ahead

The Butter
Take one clove of garlic and cut the top off, drizzle with a little olive oil and loosely wrap with foil and put it into a 350 degree oven for about an hour.  When that is done squeeze that out into a bowl with one stick of softened butter and about 1/2 cup of bleu cheese.  Mix these ingredients together until soft then wrap in plastic wrap and freeze.

The Steak
Couldn't be simpler let it temper for about an hour at room temperature sprinkled with a little bit of salt and pepper then toss on the grill until done to your liking (medium rare for me).  Take the steak off the grill and set aside tented with foil (with some of your butter on top) until you finish up any of your side dishes, at least 5 minutes,

For us I cut along one side of the bone and gave Kris the Tenderloin then along the other to get my full bodied strip.  The flavored butter melts through the steak and soaks into the meat so every bite has the garlicy buttery goodness.  It is pictured above with the last of my Rainbow Chard before I cut it up.

Shrimp in Paper

This is one of my favorites,when I was updating the menus at a little Italian restaurant that I friend of mine owned this is one that I put onto the menu. When the package of dinner comes to your table it is like opening a present. You tear open the parchment and and the scented steam pores out it is a fun experience. It is really a beautiful dish too I couldn't do it justice in my pictures, I may have to sign up for a photography class... anyway the effect in real life is cool you open up the parchment and think something like "wow that is cool... it smells great" you see the picture and think "bag of garbage" sorry.

It it really simple to make, on the bottom is Cous cous that is really simple for the two I made:

3/4 cup Cous cous
3/4 cup boiling chicken broth

Put the dry Cous cous in a bowl add the chicken broth cover and let sit for about 5 minutes then fluff with a fork.

Take a 12x12 inch piece of parchment, spray the bottom with a little pan spray then, on each sheet put:
3/4 cup Cous cous
2 TBS Diced Onion
2 TBS Diced Bell Pepper
5 ounces of raw peeled Shrimp
2 TBS Pesto Sauce (I just bought some at the grocery store, I like to make it myself, but that wasn't happening this week)Pull up the sides like a big Hershey's kiss tie it up and put into a hot oven for 20 minutes. The shrimp is perfectly done, everything is infused with the Garlic and Basil flavor and odor, The cous cous comes out with a little bite to it but flavorful and light. It is great.

It makes me a little sad, because it really is
a cool dish, I just couldn't get the right picture

Poached Salmon

While I have been going on with my piles of comfort food and other things that have no business being on my plate after the holidays (Sweet Potatoes cooked in bacon fat, yummy but I do have a waistband to think about too). Many of my fellow bloggers have been highlighting delicious light recipes (Shrink my Ass series, Vegan Month and recipes like this come to mind). I feel kind of like a smoker at a red cross convention. I thought I would lighten things up this time, have a little fun and poach salmon. This looks like a lot of stuff is going on but really was easy to prepare plus it is an impressive looking and tasting dish.

Start by making the poaching liquid. To do that start with Mirepoix, if you aren't familiar with that term, simply put mirepoix is a mixture of coarsely chopped Onions, Celery and Carrots (two parts onion, one part carrot, one part celery). It plays an important part in many sauces and stocks. As an added bonus when you say Mirepoix people really think you know what you are talking about.

The liquid has:
1 qt water
1 cup red wine
1 cup mirepoix
2 cloves garlic
1 stem of tarragon (I like tarragon, you can use whatever aromatic herb(s) you like.
Some of the trimmings from the vegetables that I served with this dish
Salt and pepper

Bring it to a boil then turn to medium heat and let it cook for about an hour, by the way the house will smell great! When it has reduced by half strain it off so you just have the dark flavor filled liquid left, keep that at a simmer until you are ready. I topped this with Baby Bok Choy, Yellow Squash, Green Onion, and Baby Portabella Mushrooms. I sauteed these in about 2 tsp of Sesame Oil and 2 tsp of Corn Oil (Sesame Oil can be pretty strong) then added a few Sesame Seeds. When the vegetables were all chopped I put them into the hot saute pan for about 5 minutes tossing often. As soon as the vegetables went into the skillet I put the the salmon fillets into the lightly simmering liquid. Depending on how thick your salmon fillets are this will take 3-5 minutes to cook. In the end, the salmon was tender and flaky with nice subtle flavors to it. The vegetables just can't be beat they are great!

Baby Bok Choy, isn't it cute?

Pistachio Crusted Chicken with Clementine Ginger Glaze

I just got a new toy! nothing big it is a food chopper, in the past if I had to chop something I would either chop chop chop away with a french knife or, if I am feeling all Iron Cheffy, two knives. When I do that it is a good time to stand back, a couple of times I have chopped a little more than I wanted to. I picked up my new toy Monday on my way home from work and wanted to use it immediately so once I got home I tried to talk everyone into something chopped for dinner. "Chicken? How would you like that chopped?"

I decided to make pistachio crusted Chicken with Clementine Ginger Sauce. I had pistachios (I love pistachios!) so the crust was an easy idea. I have seen pistachios served with Asian inspired sauces before so that was my inspiration with what was really a refrigerator cleaning journey. Clementines were $1.98 for 3 pounds at my store so I had good base, I will start with that:

Juice from 8 Clementines (I used a lime juicer)
2 cloves of fresh Garlic coarsely chopped
1 tsp fresh Ginger peeled and minced
1 1/2 tsp Soy Sauce
2 TBL Triple Sec
1 tsp Chili Sesame Oil
1 tsp Rice Vinegar
Salt, Pepper
1 1/2 TBS Brown Sugar

I put everything except the Brown Sugar into a small sauce pan and let it simmer on low heat while I prepared the chicken (about half an hour) I wasn't in a hurry the ingredients:

3 Chicken Breasts
Crust
1/2 Cup toasted Bread Crumbs (Panko Bread Crumbs if you have them)
1/2 Cup Chopped Pistachios
To chop the Pistachios put them in your new chopper and pulse until they are the consistency you want, mostly pretty fine with some chunks left for texture.
Mix them half and half with bread crumbs
Egg Wash
1 Egg
1/4 cup milk (I used Cream this time... Again cleaning fridge)

Flour mix
Flour
Salt Pepper
Garlic Powder
Chili Powder

Really I don't measure the flour part it is just to make glue. Turn your oven on to 350, set up your Flour, Egg Wash and Crust then put enough vegetable oil into a pan to cover the bottom and start heating that up. Take the Chicken Breasts and put them into a freezer bag (freezer bags are pretty sturdy) then get the best kitchen tool ever the kitchen mallet and beat the snot out of them. I use the flat side of the mallet because I am not interested in tearing the bag to shreds and splattering Chicken juice all over the kitchen. Take the now thin Chicken Cutlets out of the bag and coat them in Flour, then Egg Wash, then the Pistachio Bread mixture and throw them in the hot oil.

Quick Break here to say... I have been told no fewer than 500 times that it is so easy to do this part, "all you have to do is keep one hand for the wet ingredients and one for the dry." However for me I end up with two hands coated in goo and when giant chunks fall off into the hot oil I get splashed. I just set this mess up on the edge of the sink so I can rinse my hands often.

Back to work now, cook the chicken cutlet for a minute or so on each side to get that nice crust then put them on a cookie sheet and into the oven to finish. While they are in the oven take your sauce and strain then put back into the saucepan, add the Brown Sugar and cook for another 10 minutes until the chicken is done. Put the Chicken down and drizzle with the sauce.

Seriously this sauce is wicked good, look at it!

Happy Christmas Everyone

About two and a half months ago Kris' best friend Rochelle got Pneumonia it was a bad case. She ended up in the hospital with it, the first two weeks in a medically induced coma. She is much better now but just got out of the hospital on Christmas Eve so it was a long fight for her. Up until about three weeks ago she couldn't eat at all, then she was on the "mechanical soft" and "ground" diets in the hospital. Can you imagine eating pureed bread? On top of that every day that she could eat she had chicken or turkey in some form that is hospital cooked chicken or turkey understand. When she decided that she was getting out of the Hospital on Christmas Eve Kris and I decided that we were going to make her and her family Christmas Dinner.

The menu was easy to plan; she had a tough couple of months so she needed comfort food, not just your regular comfort meal, but one on steroids. The menu:

Glazed Ham and Gravy
Sweet Potato Hash
Scalloped Potatoes
Mashed Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Bourbon and Brown Sugar Cranberries

I will probably pick at a few menu items above in the next couple of weeks... today however it is Ham and Ham Gravy that I want to talk about. I have found that a lot of people have never made or even tried ham gravy, which is a crime. Even if you have never had it there is something so warm and wonderful about the thick, salty, silky, slightly sweet sauce that makes you want to just curl up on the sofa and not let anyone near.

"Comforting, How much so?" you ask. Here is a true story, when my ex wife and I were getting to the end of our marriage both of us had found separate places to live, the court papers were about to be filed. She called her best friend and the following conversation took place:

Ex Wife R: "Mrs. A, it is over... Bryan and I are getting a divorce, it is for real this time, there is no way to fix it."
Mrs. A: "I don't believe it, you have ruined Easter!"
Ex Wife R: (not expecting that) "What?"
Mrs. A: "Who is going to make Ham and Gravy at Easter now? We might as well have bologna sandwiches."

I heard this story, more or less the same from both parties involved, I kind of always thought thought it funny that the conversation didn't go something like "Thank God... I don't know why you didn't leave that jerk years ago!" or "What, are you crazy? He is Mr. Wonderful." The conversation went right to my cooking... at least I do something well.

All that being said here is how it is made:

One ham, this time I used a bone in spiral sliced ham but whatever ham I have used the gravy has always rocked.

2 TBS Grey Poupon Mustard
3/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup Honey
Juice from 2 Oranges
3 cups Chicken Broth

Put the ham, open side down in a roasting pan, mix the next four ingredients together into a slimy mixture and pour/spread over the ham. Poor the chicken broth into the bottom of the pan. Cover tightly with foil and cook, this was a nine pound ham so it was in a 300 degree oven for an hour then a 375 degree oven for another hour. I basted about every half hour. When it is all done take some of the drippings off the bottom of the roasting pan and put into a saucepan (I did about 2 cups) add a little bit of roux and bring to a simmer until thickened.

Taste then just try to put the spoon back for your guests... it takes willpower but once they taste it you will be the cooking superhero that you always wanted to be.

Tenderloin with Black Pepper Cream Sauce

It is one of those things that I do sometimes, it was a Thursday evening, nothing special but I made some Beef Tenderloin. Yes, on an average Thursday evening I made some good old Filet Mignon with a Black Pepper Cream Sauce. It is the kind of sacrifice that my family and I are willing to make for you, my loyal readers.

Ingredients:
2 cups of Beef Broth
3 TBS Butter

1 pound of Beef Tenderloin this was actually medallions so I cut 4 Steaks about 3 inches around and 1 inch thick from the tail end of a well trimmed tenderloin

1 small Onion diced
2 cloves of Garlic minced
1 cup heavy cream
3 TBS Brandy
Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
Salt to taste

This was actually pretty easy, I started by simmering some beef stock for about half an hour (yes it was a store bought stock, low sodium... I need control of the salt) until the two cups reduced by half. When that was almost done I melted the butter in a saucepan then sauteed the Onions and Garlic then I put the Steaks into the hot pan and cooked for about 3 minutes on each side when they were RARE I took them off tented with foil and put then in a plate in the warm oven while I made the sauce.
Deglaze the pan that the steak was cooked in, to do that poor the cup of hot beef broth into the pan and use that liquid to get all the yummy crumbly bits off the bottom of the pan. Then add the Heavy Cream, Brandy and a good amount of Black pepper, how much? I don't know... how much do you like pepper? and a little salt. Let that cook in the skillet over medium heat until it thickens to a nice sauce consistency I think it took a 7-8 minutes; stir very often so that it doesn't burn. When it is as thick as you want poor through a strainer, to get all of the bits of stuff out. This is like liquid silk put a little on your plate then add the steaks. In the background is a stuffed baby artichoke.

Dont' Forget... DUCK!

This was on my computer when I got back from a meeting last week. Don't Forget, Duck! Ominous warning? or just a helpful tip to a forgetful co-worker? This post actually begins about two years ago, my Co-worker Scott and I were eating lunch and talking about thanksgiving plans. I was planning to try to cook turkey another way to convince Kris that she liked it, Scott was planning on going duck hunting with his dad. I am not a hunter, I love animals, they are delicious, I have just never had what it takes to get up before dawn and sit in a tree in the freezing cold until a tasty critter walks, flys or scampers by and then do what it takes to take that critter from his happy scampering to my dinner plate. I thank God that other people do.

Anyway Scott started talking about the difference between the ducks that he and his dad got and the domestic guys that I am used to and said that he would bring me back a duck from his trip that year. He didn't... he said that he forgot. He went on hunting adventures a few more times and never remembered to bring one back. Until this year! he did bring back a wood duck that he got. The note on my computer keyboard was to remind me to bring it home before someone else took it from the freezer.

I looked around for some recipes for wild duck that would bring out the natural flavor, most of them seemed to be focused on hiding the flavors. Look at this recipe it is like Mole on Crack it has so many steps, could there be more stuff on it? If you want to cover up the flavor so bad why not get the chicken. Ok, I am a bit of a hypocrite here, the last time I made duck breast I spent two days making a sauce to go with it, but this time I wanted to keep it simple, you know new dish real flavor.

I made it as simple as I could:

1 small Wood Duck killed and cleaned by your friend

1 Apple sliced

1 Onion sliced

1 handful of Cranberries

1 cup of Red Wine

Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 then rinse the duck off and stuff most of the Apple, Onion and Cranberries inside what doesn't fit put in the bottom of the roasting pan (in this case a loaf pan) rub the outside with salt and pepper place the duck, breast side up, in the pan and then poor wine over it all. Roast for about an hour basting every few minutes until done.

I was going to make wild rice for this but found I was too lazy to go to the store and get some so I took the drippings from the roasting pan and tossed them with pasta... Actually this might have been better. It went well with the duck with out taking anything away.

I was the only one in the house that was willing to try this one, well me and the dog (on the plus side I think she will love me forever now). I have to say that Scott was right wild duck has almost nothing in common with it's domestic counterpart. The meat more firm (this guy actually flew around) and you could really taste the North woods of Michigan. Would I make it again? In a second, well more likely in two years when I can get another duck out of my friend.

The Pork Tenderloin

While my in laws were here I made the Risotto that I talked about recently, here is the Pork Tenderloin that I made to go with it. Pork Tenderloin is one of my "go to" dishes for company it is quick, easy and inexpensive and like chicken it takes on the flavors that I decide to give it. I never cook it past medium then it is juicy and pink inside so the texture is great. This time I marinated the Pork Tenderloin in a Balsamic Vinegar Glaze then cooked it on the grill.

This is exactly the reason that Kris and I went on the hunt for a gas grill in the fall. So that I could step outside on a day when the high was lower than 20 degrees and still make a good dinner for all.

Marinade:
2 Cloves of Garlic Minced
1/2 cup of Balsamic Vinegar
1 cup of Olive Oil
splash of dry Red Wine
some Fresh Thyme
1 TBL Honey

I marinated for about 1 hour in the refrigerator then another half hour on the counter while I made the Risotto. When it was time to cook I did the two Tenderloins on the grill for about a total of 10 minutes turning twice. I took them off and let them rest (tented under foil) for about 5 minutes while I got out the serving dishes. I sliced them about 3/4 of an inch thick and served.

I have been trying to take a good picture of this dish during the cooking process for a while, I would take the pictures... Look at them, edit them but I couldn't quite figure out why they were unusable they just were. Like I said this is one of my "go to" dishes so I have made some variation of it 8-10 times since I started this blog and haven't talked about it because I didn't like the photos. A couple of weeks ago a blog that I read regularly said the reason clear as a bell (I have changed it a little to fit my situation) they look like grilled poop. I decided on this picture instead of the others it is a little more dramatic anyway.

Thanksgiving at our house pt 1

I may have mentioned before that my wonderful wife Kris is a bit picky about what she will eat, while we were dating she told me some of the foods that she just doesn't like; all seafood (smells bad) most pork (too dry and not much flavor) most casserole dishes (too many things in one pan) turkey (too dry, too gamey) were all on the list. I am a pretty good cook so I have convinced her to try some new things or old things prepared well and she has changed her mind about some of them. Still on the list; all seafood (I usually cook any fish outside, I have to admit it does have an odor) and Turkey. I have tried Turkey in every way shape and form and she just doesn't like it.

Add to the fact that Kris isn't a big fan of Turkey, Thanksgiving is usually the Holiday I have to work so Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday I will be getting up at 3:15 so that I can be on the South Side of Chicago by 4:45 to open up. We decided to do two things different than most. First, Thanksgiving took place on Wednesday in our house. Second, this year Turkey and Stuffing were off the menu completely they were replaced by Beef and Polenta. I recently read a statistic that suggests 90% of Americans eat Turkey on Thanksgiving day, really I don't know how that statistic was arrived at or if it was just made up but I am going to run with it for now. If you figure 90% of us are eating Turkey on Thanksgiving then take into account that about 5% of Americans are Vegetarians that puts me and my family in the small 5% of us that forsake the bird on this day. So the Thanksgiving menu in our house was:

Beef Tenderloin with a Red Wine Reduction

Mashed Potatoes

Green Beans

Grilled Polenta

Brown Sugar and Bourbon Cranberries

The Sauce:

1 TBL Vegetable Oil

6 Green Onions Coarsely Chopped

2 Portobello Mushrooms Diced

1 TBS Brown Sugar

2 TBS Balsamic Vinegar

2 Cups Red Wine

1 Cup Beef Broth

1 Cup Chicken Broth

2 sprigs Fresh Thyme

2 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary

1 tsp Peppercorns

1 tsp Flour

1 tsp Butter

Heat oil in sauce pan the add the Onions and Mushrooms and saute over medium heat for about 10 minutes then add the Brown Sugar stir until that has melted then add the Balsamic Vinegar and Saute until all the liquid has evaporated (a minute or two).

Add wine, both broths, herbs and peppercorn and cook over medium/low heat for about 45 minutes. When the sauce is done put the butter and flour in another saucepan and make a roux then strain the sauce into that pan cook until thickened (maybe another 1o-15 minutes)

The Beef

1 1/2 pounds of Beef Tenderloin

2 TBS Olive Oil

2 Cloves minced Garlic

1 very small Onion diced

Salt

Pepper

a little bit of Butter

Preheat oven to 350 then heat the olive oil, saute the garlic and onions for a couple of minutes then brown the beef on all sides (I deglazed the pan with chicken broth and cooked my green beans in that liquid) Place beef on baking pan and top with salt, pepper and about 3 pats of butter then put in the oven for about 35 minutes. Until it registers 120-125 on a thermometer for medium rare, or if your daughter "looks at" your thermometer for only a few seconds and returns it broken into several pieces, guess. Let it rest on a cutting board for about 10 minutes then slice 3/4 of an inch thick and top with a little sauce. You can see in the picture that we were having a little fun with edible flowers

The Visit part 1

When my In-laws came for their visit last week; we were waiting for them to arrive, not quite sure when they would get here or what they were planning. Oddly we (really Kris) is expected to know what they are planning before they arrive and act accordingly. We were discussing what we should have ready for them for dinner that night.

The first option and my favorite was Pasties. Pasties, if you are not familiar with them, are one of the world's most perfect foods it consists of Beef, Onion, Rutabaga, and Potatoes wrapped in a pie like crust and baked golden brown. I have wanted to make pasties for quite a while but it is one of those dishes that I want to learn from a master (read Kris' mom) before I do. I am pretty sure that Kris is afraid that I will try to "improve" on them one day which would be a crime, Salmon and Poblano Pasties would upset the balance of the universe. By the way this was my favorite option for the evening because it only involved turning on the oven.

The second option was spaghetti with meat sauce, nothing exciting, just like your mom made it. Spaghetti, with ground beef and red sauce from a jar . Kris usually makes this one so I am not sure what she doctors the sauce up with but it is good. This was my least favorite option because Kris would be making the sauce while I discussed the first three in-law topics.

The third option that we had come up with was ordering Pizza. After all we live in Schaumburg, a Northwest Suburb of Chicago... the Pizza Capitol of the world (if you are from New York just shut up, you know it is true). I was pretty good with this option too since I was getting home from work about 25 minutes before they arrived.

When they came into our house and the three dinner options were laid out I discovered that there was another option, the one that we should have known to begin with. "We hoped that Bryan would come up with something... we really like the good potatoes."

"No problem!" I said, "let me see what we have..." The good potatoes were easy that is the foil wrapped cheesy potatoes that I cook on the grill but meat? Ok I had some chicken so I would work from there:

Grilled Chicken Breast with a Bourbon, Apple Cider Glaze:
"Marinade" In quotation marks because there wasn't really enough time to marinade.
1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 cup Olive Oil
1 1/2 TBS Honey
5 Chicken Breasts (thawed)

Put the Chicken Breasts in the marinade while preparing all side dishes then put the glaze on the stove and cook for about half an hour until it reduces by half.
Glaze
1/2 cup Bourbon
1 cup Apple Cider
1/2 cup brown Sugar

Put glaze on medium heat while preparing potatoes Once potatoes have been on the grill for about 5 minutes take chicken out of the marinate and soak in the warm glaze for a few minutes then put on the grill. Grill over medium heat for about 3-4 minuted then dredge through the glaze and put it back on the grill. Do this once more then serve.

The Chicken came out tender and sweet, the dinner came together pretty fast and kept everyone a bay for an evening. Tomorrow the real work would begin.