Parmesan-Sage Pork Loin

 Arrgghh. This blog is a full 24 hours late. I made the dinner last night but I got super involved in watching the season premiere of "RuPaul's Drag Race" and blogging fell to the wayside.

I f*cking love this show.

Then I woke up this morning with a horrendous cold that is threatening to ruin everything. I'm trying extra hard to get rid of it by Friday.

Remember when I said it took me 7 months to even attempt cooking pork? I am happy to say that that was the day I overcame my fear. It was not without mishaps, oh no. There were plenty of those. The biggest one being that I hadn't allowed enough time to defrost the pork and foolishly guessed that cooking it at the suggested time and temperature would take care of the rest of the defrosting. Nope. That resulted in a beautifully cooked pork roast that wasn't edible until nearly midnight (we ended up ordering a pizza for dinner, to say the least).

Now, I know better. This time I'm letting my slow cooker do the work. Luckily, this recipe is awesome because it gives you the option of doing it in the oven or in a slow cooker. So for those of you who still haven't gotten their hands on a crock pot, there is still hope!

If you do decide to do this recipe in the slow cooker, be advised it takes 6 to 8 hours. In the oven, it's only 45 minutes.

PARMESAN-SAGE PORK LOIN, courtesy of TheNest.com
YOU WILL NEED:
2 lbs pork tenderloin, trimmed of silverskin
2 cups diced red potatoes, unpeeled
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup dry sherry
2 tablespoons dried sage
1 tablespoon salt-fee garlic-and-herb seasoning
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and black pepper to taste

Mise en Place

I didn't have any garlic-and-herb seasoning, so I used plain old garlic powder.Of course, the potatoes were soaking in cold water. Because I forgot to do it the night before, I simply added a dozen ice cubes to a bowl of super cold water and let them sit for about 3 hours.

1. Arrange potatoes, onion, celery, and carrots at the bottom of the slow cooker. Pour the sherry and broth over them.

2. Season the pork all over with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with the sage and garlic-and-herb seasoning.

3. Place the pork on top of the vegetables and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese (press it into the meat). Cover and cook in crock pot on LOW for 6 to 8 hours (alternatively, follow the directions above, except arranging the ingredients in a large roasting pan. Roast at 400 degrees F for 45 minutes).

4. Let the pork rest for 10 minutes before serving. Cut crosswise in 1/2-inch thick slices and serve with the vegetables and brothy sauce

Well, what can I say about this recipe other than I LOVE MY CROCK POT?! Seriously. I spent about 30 minutes in preparation and threw it all in a crock pot for an entire day. The pork was flavorful and the cheese was not overpowering. fell apart when cut with a fork, and the vegetables were well-flavored. As you can see, I served it also with some steamed broccoli. It was a well-balanced meal.


Overall, it was delicious,  but I wasn't truly excited by it. I don't know why. I don't think I will be making this recipe again. However, the other two people who ate it - my fiance and our friend Colleen - could not get enough of it, and polished most of it off.

Coming up next week, I have two meals planned: Shredded Beef Sandwiches with Au Jus and a "healthified" version of Shrimp Scampi. Fiance surprised me with a gigantic cookbook of nothing but crock pot recipes, so expect to see way more of those on here!

Quesadilla Casserole

Normally, I am wary of any dish with the word "casserole" in the title. I don't know why. I don't associate it with anything particularly negative. Maybe it's the actual word itself. It's not a great word. "Casserole". "Casserole". "Casserole." Say it over and over again, and you might choke on it.

Okay, I don't want any negative connotation involving this dish. It was undeniably delicious; I just wish it didn't have the word "casserole" on it. Let's think of it as a lasagna, okay? Quesadilla Lasagna.

The recipe once again comes from the fine folks at McCormick and their lovely little spice packets. I mentioned the McCormick Recipe Inspirations on the Chicken Tikka Masala blog, but if you don't feel like clicking over there, I'll reiterate. 

McCormick Recipe Inspirations are little packets of spices that come with a recipe for you to use those spices in. They look like this:

and they can be found in your supermarket's spice aisle. The recipes are on the back of the packets. They list not only the spices that are included in the pack, but any other ingredients you will need to complete the dish, and are detachable so you can reuse them again and again.The recipes are easy to follow and they help beginner cooks get acquainted with their spices.

Apparently my area is supposed to get hit with snow sometime this week so I did a major, major grocery shop yesterday. I have dinners planned out for the week, two of which are left-over friendly. This is one of them. There was plenty Quesadilla Lasagna to go around, and eating it kind of eased the pain of watching the Jets go into a tailspin last night.

QUESADILLA CASSEROLE (or Lasagna), courtesy of McCormick Recipe Inspirations
YOU WILL NEED:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cans (8oz each) tomato sauce
1 (15oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (8 3/4 oz) can whole kernel corn, undrained
1 (4.5oz) can chopped green chiles, undrained
6 flour tortillas, 8" in diameter
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2 tsp chili powder*
1 tsp ground cumin*
1 tsp minced garlic*
1/2 tsp oregano leaves*
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper*

*included in spice packet

Mise-en-Place

You will also need a 13x9 baking dish and a large skillet. Also, as you can see, I did not use plain flour tortillas. I found these in my supermarket; they're jalapeno and cilantro-flavored tortillas. I thought it would add a nice flavor to the dish and make it a little interesting. They were slightly green, as expected, but once they were cooked into the dish it didn't matter.

On the side I made Spanish rice (arroz amarillo); I don't know why I included it in the mise-en-place.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Brown the beef and onion in a large skillet on medium-high heat; drain. Add tomato sauce, beans, corn, and green chiles. Mix well. Stir in all the spices except crushed red pepper. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer for 5 minutes. Add red pepper to taste, if desired.

2. Spread 1/2 cup of beef mixture onto the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish that's been sprayed with no-stick cooking spray (NOTE: I discovered that a 1/2 cup was not enough beef to cover the entire bottom of the baking dish. I ended up using 2 cups for each layer). Top with 3 tortillas, overlapping as needed.

3. Layer with 1/2 of the remaining beef mixture and 1/2 of the cheese. Repeat with remaining tortillas, beef mixture and cheese.

4. Bake for 15 minutes or until heated through. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Lovely! It came out just as good as I had hoped. I was worried about the tortillas, that they would come out too chewy, but no - they were soft and easy to cut through with the side of a fork. The cheese was perfectly melted and the beef was spiced well. Also, it wasn't until after I had put the dish in the oven that I realized I didn't add in the crushed red pepper! I was slightly disappointed, but the spice was optional and it couldn't have tasted any better than if I had added it. So, I opened the packet and emptied it into my bigger bottle of crushed red pepper. No waste! 

Okay, so I know my Jersey peeps are bummed about the Jets, but there's always next year, right? There's always next year. Everyone else - enjoy the Superbowl, no matter who you're rooting for. I'm looking forward to only one thing: the first episode of part 2, season 2 of "Glee", which airs directly after the game! =)

Yes, I am fully aware as to how lame I am. 

This week I have two new recipes I am trying out: herb oven-fried chicken and slow-cooker Parmesan-and-sage pork. Apparently we're in for more snow, so this is sure to keep our tummies warm.

Stay safe out there! <3

Super Sidekicks: Tubettini with Peas & Cream

I thought I would do a quick little post here.

Not all side dishes are created equal! It doesn't always have to be meat, potatoes, vegetables. Boring. Ho-hum. Let's zazz up some side dishes, shall we? I'm going to start introducing Super Sidekicks. Impressive, easy and above all tasty ways to pick up a meal.

Tonight I simply did not have the energy to make the chicken thighs in my freezer exciting. My brain was not working at full capacity. My fiance requested I simply use some lemon-pepper seasoning and be done with it.

"But that's boring!" I objected.
"I don't care if it's boring!" he insisted.

(For the record, I not only used the lemon pepper, but olive oil, crushed red pepper and minced garlic. I coated all the chicken thighs in this, then baked at 425 degrees F for 30 minutes)

Of course, I had to serve something alongside the chicken, so I rummaged around in my pantry and found tubettini: tiny tube-shaped pasta. Of course, I ran to my copy of 365 Ways to Cook Pasta (man, it's getting a lot of press lately!) and flipped to the chapter on tiny pasta shapes (yes, there is an entire chapter on tiny pasta shapes).

This recipe calls for farfalline (tiny butterfly shapes), but I don't see any harm in using tubettini instead.

TUBETTINI (FARFALLINE) WITH PEAS AND CREAM, courtesy of 365 Ways to Cook Pasta
YOU WILL NEED:
1 cup farfalline
1 cup frozen peas
2/3 cup heavy cream (or more as needed)
Grated Parmesan cheese
pinch of salt

mise-en-place

Please excuse any poor lighting, the bulb in my kitchen blew and I'm not tall enough to change it. I had to wait until my fiance came home!

You will also need at least a 2-quart saucepan for the sauce as well as a pot to cook the pasta in.

1. Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente, about 8-10 minutes. Drain.

2. Combine the peas and heavy cream in a saucepan; heat to boiling.

3. Stir in the pasta with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until the pasta absorbs most of the cream, about 2 minutes.

4. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top; serve alongside your meal!

There you go - an easy and nutritious side dish, something different for a weeknight meal!

What do you think? Is this something I should continue doing? I figure every so often I'll feature a special side dish, and maybe even branch out into desserts eventually! How does that sound?

Feedback is appreciated, as always.

For my brethren on the East coast, have fun with the snow tomorrow. I surely won't.

Peace!

Pesto Salmon with Black Bean & Corn Salsa

Wow, I'm late in posting this. My laptop was misbehaving last night and I got so frustrated I decided to postpone posting Wednesday night's recipe until this morning and watch "American Idol" instead. After last season's disappointing finale and the departure of my favorite cranky Brit, I'm not watching for any other reason than Steven Tyler.

Meanwhile, J. Lo can jump off a cliff.

Anyway ... I think this is the week for some good home cooking! Nothing fancy, but every bit delicious. Tuesday night was Mom's turkey meatloaf. Last night, a very excellent recipe courtesy of a lovely lady named Cate Doyle.

Cate and I know each other from a message board that we both frequent, on which members often share recipes. When Cate posted this, I could not wait to try it. It incorporated so many of my favorite foods - salmon, pesto, black beans - into one easy dish.

Cate, who got the recipe from her mother, who got it from a friend, calls it "quick gourmet":

"...It seems so fancy to serve to people, sounds impressive, but is incredibly easy and 'beginner cook' friendly."

I tried this "quick gourmet" recipe and immediately told her how much we had enjoyed it. Two more girls then sampled it and also sang its praises! Now, with Cate's permission, I am bringing it to Cogito Ergo Nom.

As a lot of you know, I link the most recent blog post on Facebook. When I posted my fish and chips recipe, a friend of mine from high school commented on the post, telling me that she had only recently started enjoying fish. I promised her that there would be more fish recipes on the way, and I kept my promise!

Many novice cooks are apprehensive about cooking fish, but I guarantee this is so easy it will help you overcome your fears!

Salmon is my favorite fish ever. Not only is it a great color (it's the new black), but it's high in protein, vitamin D and Omega-3 fatty acids. Don't let the word "fatty" make you backpedal! Omega-3 fatty acids are extracted from the tissues of oily fish and they have tremendous health benefits. It can improve your immune system, lower the risk of breast, prostate and colon cancers and reduce depression and anxiety. Also, regular intake of fish oil may even reduce the risk of heart attacks.

Plus it tastes amazing on a bagel with some shmear.

Yum yum yum.

Paired with hearty black beans, refreshing pesto and tangy salsa and lime, this dish is definitely one to impress your friends with.

This dish is topped with pesto. Pesto is one of my favorite condiments ever. It is an Italian sauce that is traditionally made from ground-up basil, pine nuts, garlic and Parmesan cheese. It tastes amazing on pasta (which is called "pasta alla genovese"). Unfortunately, I did not have any basil on hand. Fortunately, however, I have a fantastic recipe courtesy of Marie Simmons (author of my favorite cookbook, 365 Ways To Cook Pasta) for parsley pesto.

CATE'S PESTO SALMON WITH BLACK BEAN & CORN SALSA
YOU WILL NEED:
Salmon (1 pound is enough for 2 people)
Pesto
1 can of corn
1 can of black beans
1 container of your favorite salsa
Cilantro
1 lime

mise-e-n-place

In terms of equipment, all you will need is a mixing bowl and a 9x13 casserole dish.

If you have a blender, I strongly recommend making your own pesto. You can purchase it ready-made from the grocery store, but it can get a little expensive. Plus there is nothing better than making it fresh. Try making it yourself once and you will never go back.

Simmons' parsley pesto recipe makes one cup (8oz) of pesto, but if you decide to make a bigger batch, it can be frozen for future usage. However, once you defrost pesto, do not attempt to refreeze it. Use it all up once you unfreeze it or else it will oxidize.

PARSLEY PESTO, courtesy of 365 Ways To Cook Pasta
YOU WILL NEED:
2 cups of packed Italian flat-leaf parsley
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1. Chop the parsley and the garlic in the blender or food processor. Add the salt and the pine nuts and process until finely chopped.

2. Add the oil, blend until well mixed.

3. Stir in the Parmesan cheese. Use immediately, or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze.

Now you know how to make delicious, fresh pesto and you will never have to waste money on it at the supermarket again! YAY!

Onto our main course! If your salmon has skin, it would be imperative to remove it. Don't worry, this is easier than it sounds. Put the salmon meat-side down on a clean cutting board. Take the tip of a very sharp knife and run it under the skin.

You can either use the knife the entire way, or sometimes the knife can aid in peeling off the skin. Try not to take any of the meat with it! But be forewarned, this is a slow process. Take your time.

Once you've got your salmon skinned, you can get on with preparing the actual recipe!

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Drain corn and black beans, mix with salsa and pour over the bottom of a deep baking dish.

2. Lay the piece of salmon over the top, cover it with a a decent layer of pesto. Squeeze lime juice over the whole thing; top with a sprinkling of cilantro.

3. Bake for 45 minutes or until the fish flakes easily.

And there you have it: "quick gourmet"! A great fish recipe for beginners! Tasty, healthy and, most importantly, simple but impressive! Thank you for sharing this recipe, Cate - it is much loved here, and hopefully in homes everywhere else!

I was planning on not being home for most of this week, but that turned out to fall through. So, I think...I THINK...there might be one more recipe to be had. Someone recently shared a recipe for Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken that I am intrigued by, but I'm not entirely sure I have the energy to cook it. I'm not having a great week. I think I'm calling a leftovers night.

Until next time...eat well, friends!

Mom's Turkey Meatloaf with Roasted Garlic-Rosemary Potatoes

I am all about comfort food, as I mentioned in the French Pot Roast entry. The best and most ultimate comfort food is something that was just like Mommy (or Grandma or Dad) used to make. It's like in one of my favorite movies, Ratatouille ... I hope I'm not spoiling anything, but there is a scene where the harsh food critic Anton Ego is served the title dish and he immediately flashes back to his childhood. He skinned his knee on his bike and went home to his mommy, where she kissed him and served him a big bowl of his favorite food.

Do you know why comfort food is referred to as comfort food? There really is a scientific reason why. Not only can they remind you of happy times, but a lot of comfort foods like mashed potatoes or macaroni and cheese contain carbohydrates. Carbohydrates can stimulate neurotransmitters to adjust the chemical balance of our brains to release serotonin. Serotonin helps us relax and feel calm (Source: HealthMad).

So that's why when someone is having a crappy day, don't berate them when they pound down the pasta and then scoff when they claim it's helping them feel better. It's serious business.

That being said, I've been kind of down lately and I am totally a comfort-eater. Shocking, right? Anyway, what is a better pick-me-up than a dinner that reminds you of home? Especially on a night where it looks like a dirty, gray Slushie has been poured all over the courtyard of your apartment complex.

This recipe really belongs to my father and originally dubbed "Ketchup In, Ketchup On Meatloaf." It was made with ground beef and topped with bacon and ketchup. When my mother opened her vegetarian-friendly restaurant, she modified the recipe slightly to appeal to those who did not eat red meat. She changed the beef to ground turkey and omitted the bacon.

I first made this recipe while I was vacationing in Seaside Heights with my fiance and some friends. We rent a small townhouse there and discovered that it was way more cost effective if we stayed in and cooked for ourselves at night, instead of indulging in the overpriced, deep-fried, so-bad-it's-good boardwalk fare. My very first attempt was not necessarily a bad one, just not a great one. Now, I think I have this recipe down to somewhat of a science.

Along with the meatloaf, I will be making some rosemary-garlic roasted potatoes. I usually do not dress my roasted potatoes - I don't think they particularly need it - but I had some fresh rosemary in the fridge and thought it would be a nice touch. Ironically, my mother cannot stand rosemary and will most likely cringe to read that I even allowed her most hated herb to come into contact with her meatloaf!

MOM'S TURKEY MEATLOAF
YOU WILL NEED:
3 lbs ground turkey
2-3 stalks of celery
1 red or green bell pepper
1 red or white onion
2 eggs
1 cup dry oatmeal
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 tsp dried thyme


ROSEMARY-GARLIC POTATOES
YOU WILL NEED:
1 lb Yukon gold or red potatoes, cut into quarters
1 1/2 tsp rosemary
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste 

mise-en-place

As you can see, potatoes are missing. See, I thought I was going to be making this for dinner last night, so as soon as I woke up on Monday, I was in the kitchen cutting up potatoes. I threw them in an ice-water bath and stuck them in the fridge (refresher: soak potatoes in cold water prior to frying/baking to draw out the starch and therefore have crispier potatoes as an end result).

As it so happens, we decided to go out to lunch with Colleen and overdosed on sushi and udon. So we didn't even feel hungry until almost ten o'clock at night. We decided to order in from a pizza place instead. The potatoes have now been soaking in ice water for an astonishing 36 hours. Can't wait to see how they come out.

In terms of equipment, you will need a 9x13 casserole dish, a medium or large skillet, a large mixing bowl and a 10x15 baking sheet.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Dice the onion, pepper and celery. Saute in olive oil and thyme until soft.

2. Mix ground turkey, vegetables, eggs, oatmeal and ketchup in a large bowl (If for any reason the mix is too wet, add more oatmeal. If it is too dry, add more ketchup).

I prefer do this with my hands, that way I know everything is evenly mixed.

3. Form it into a greased 9x13 loaf pan. Top with ketchup if desired.

4. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour!


Now for the potatoes...
1. In a large mixing bowl, pour olive oil over the potatoes. Add the rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper.

2. Mix well until the potatoes are coated.

3. Spread in a single layer on a tinfoil-covered, greased baking sheet.

4. Bake at 425 degrees F for 30 minutes (but because I am making it with the meatloaf, I am baking them at 350F for an hour). 

The smells coming from my oven were heavenly and I could not stop the tummy grumbles. Of course, the end result was just as I had hoped. Sort of. The potatoes weren't done at the same time as the meatloaf. So I took the meat loaf out of the oven, cranked up the heat to 450F and let the potatoes cook for another five minutes and they were perfect!

Nothing is better than eating your favorite food when you're feeling down. I really needed this sort of pick me up, and the science doesn't lie - it really did make me feel better.

Coming up this week I will hopefully have either a salmon dish or a chicken dish. I am thinking I'll go with salmon, because I have only covered one fish dish so far. I know a lot of beginner cooks are apprehensive about cooking with fish, but trust me - your fears will float away once you get a load of Pesto Salmon with Black Bean & Corn Salsa!

Until next time...stay safe.