Grilled steak skewers and Charred corn salad

This was one of the best dinners I have made recently. The steak was delicious, tender and flavorful. The salad was excellent also. I used a skirt steak, instead of a flank steak that the recipe called for. I used grass-fed steak, which I think makes a big difference in the texture on the steak.

A great summer meal!

From Grilling magazine

For the steak:
1 1/2 lbs beef flank (or skirt) steak, preferably grass fed
1 Tbsp each ground cumin and dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp each ground coriander, kosher salt and black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
cherry tomatoes

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
Slice steak against the grain into 1/2 inch slices, set aside.
Combine cumin, oregano, coriander, salt, pepper, and garlic powder for steak seasoning in a medium bowl. Whisk in lime juice and vegetable oil, and toss with steak strips. Place a cherry tomato on each of eight steak skewers. tread 2 steak strips on each skewer, folding stips accordion style. Spread strips along length of skewer. Place a cherry tomato on end of each skewer.
Grill skewers, covered, over direct heat for 3-4 minutes per side.
Charred corn salad Adapted from Grilling magazine
Makes 4 servings
Time: 20 minutes, (plus 30 minutes soaking time)

3 ears fresh sweet corn, shucked
3/4 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and cut into chunks
1/4 cup sliced red onion
3 Tbsp crumbled goat cheese
2 Tbsp lime juice
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Dissolve 1/2 cup kosher salt in 2 qts water. Soak corn in water for 30 minutes, remove and pat dry. Grill corn over medium heat, turning often, until kernels begin to blacken, about 10 minutes. Remove corn from grill. When corn is cool enuogh to handle, cut kernels from cob and place them in a bowl. Add tomatoes, avocado, and red onion.
Whisk together goat cheese and lime juice in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper. Drizzle goat cheese sauce over corn mixture; toss to combine. Serve with steak skewers.

Best meal of the summer so far, I think!!

Lemon Ice Cream Sandwiches with Blueberry Swirl

I seem to have a problem. I can't stop buying cooking magazines! I see them in stores, and just have to buy one. This recipe was on the cover of Gourmet magazine this month, and looked too tasty.
I made these for a group of friends that came over, and they got eaten up pretty quickly! They are a bit of work, but not too bad. You use already made vanilla ice cream. A great way to use ripe local, blueberries.
For lemon ice cream:
2 pt all natural vanilla ice cream (I used Breyers)
1 Tbsp grated lemon zest
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Transfer ice cream to a microwave safe bowl and microwave at 30 percent power in 10 second intervals, stirring until softened.
Stir in lemon juice and zest. Spread ice cream thinly in a 13-by-9 baking dish and freeze while making compote and sandwich layers.

For blueberry compote:
2 cups blueberries (10 oz)
1/4 cup sugar
2 (3-by 2 1/2-inch) strips lemon zest
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp cornstarch

Cook blueberries, sugar, and zest in a skillet over medium high heat, thoroughly crushing blueberries with a potato masher, until juices are released and sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes.
Stir together lemon juice and cornstarch, then stir into blueberry mixture. Boil, stirring, 1 minute. (Mixture will thicken.)
Transfer to a bowl and chill until cold, about 1 hour. Discard lemon zest.

Sandwich layers (Make while blueberry compote chills)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp caking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Equipment: 2 (8 inch) square baking pans (2 inches deep), a small off-set spatula)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F with rack in the middle. Butter baking pans and line with foil, leaving a 1-inch overhand on each side, then butter foil.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Beat together butter and brown sugar in another bowl with an electric mixer a medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla. At low speed, add flour mixture in 2 batches, mixing until just combined.

Divide batter between baking pans and spread into thin, even layers with offset spatula. Bake until golden brown but still tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely in pans, about 30 minutes.

Dollop tablespoons of blueberry compote all over ice cream, then swirl with a spoon. Spoon all of the ice cream over 1 sandwich layer (in pan) and spread evenly using clean offset spatula. Invert second sandwich layer over ice cream, pressing gently to form an even sandwich. Wrap baking pan in plastic wrap and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours.
Transfer sandwich to a cutting board using overhang. Cut into 8 pieces.

A variety of summer produce

Basil from our CSA!

Here are some of the random things I have been making with our produce that we picked up on Friday:

Coleslaw
I made two kinds of coleslaw in the past two days. I just love homemade coleslaw. And whenever I make it for people, there is often someone who says, "Oh, no thanks. I don't like coleslaw." I usually tell them to try it, and everyone who has said that and tried mine, liked mine! I don't think that is a major reflection on my culinary skills, but just the fact that the coleslaw you find in grocery stores is made with gross gross stuff, and the cabbage is all mushy. Fresh coleslaw is the way to go.
Variety #1
I chopped up purple and regular cabbage, 2 CSA spring onions, grated some CSA carrots, and added some CSA cilantro. For the dressing I whisked a little buttermilk, mayo, dijon, sat and pepper. Then I added a little white wine vinegar as well.

Variety#2
This was barely coleslaw. I used:
A little chopped purple cabbage
half a choppedCSA cucumber
red onion
CSA cilantro
a few chopped sungold cherry tomatoes
The dressing this time was mayo, dijon, GOAT CHEESE (major yum) and white wine vinegar, salt and pepper. I loved this. It was a snack today.

Tonight I also made: (Bur forgot to take pictures!!)S

Fusilla pasta with alfredo sauce and sauteed zucchini
Bruschetta-Easiest recipe ever
1. Toast bread. Rub each piece with a garlic clove.
2. Chop tomatoes, add a little olive oil, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and fresh basil.
3. Put tomatoes on bread.

Pesto Potato Salad

I am very proud of myself for making two brand new recipes I have never tried yesterday and today! Yesterday it was the veggie pancakes, today a new type of potato salad!
I have to admit I have made a dish that is somewhere along the lines of this potato salad last summer. It is an Italian pasta dish with potatoes, green beans and a pesto sauce. But this potato salad is my own little creation.

It is basically potatoes, home-made pesto, green onions, and a little lemon juice. It tasted good now, I hope it holds up, as I am taking it in my insulated lunch bag to the beach for lunch tomorrow!
Ingredients:
2 lbs new potatoes
2 green onions
freshly squeezed lemon juice
6 sprigs basil
1 large sprig parsley
1 snippet of tarragon (If these herb measurements sound iffy to you, take a look at the photo! Honestly, just grab what herbs you have around)
2 garlic scapes, chopped (or 1 small clove of garlic)
1/2 cup pine nuts1 pinch red chili flakes (optional)
1/2 cup grated parmiggiano reggiano
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
extra virgin olive oil
white wine vinegar

Start a large pot of water boiling for the potatoes.

My potatoes from the CSA!I cut them into fourths, then put them in the water when it was boiling.

Check the potatoes, drain them when they are tender enough to be pierced by a knife.

While the water is heating, make the pesto. First, toast the pine nuts in a small skillet on medium heat, shaking occasionally. Really watch these, I have burnt so many pine nuts . I used to put them in the toaster oven to toast them, but I find it is easier to forget them that way. They are too pricey to waste!
Anyway, it should only take about 5 minutes until they start to smell aromatic and lightly browned.
Let the pine nuts cool.

From left to right parsely, tarragon, basil. The basil and parsley are from the CSA.

Throw your herbs in a food processor with the cheese, garlic scapes, salt, pepper, and a bit of red pepper flakes, then the pine nuts.

Mix in the processor until combined. Then start to add some extra virgin olive oil in the little liquid holes in the lid of your processor. I have a confession...I NEVER measure olive oil for pesto. I just put it in until it is the consistency I like. For this potato salad, I wanted it a bit smoother. Then add in a squeeze of lemon juice. Again, no measurements again, you have to taste to see how much you would like. And in a traditional pesto there is no lemon, but I think it would be nice for the salad.

Then just throw the potatoes in a bowl, and while they are warm add some vinegar. They will soak it up right away, and add some zing.
Then mix in the pesto and the spring onions. I found the salad still needed something, so I added a few more squeezes of lemon juice, and it seemed to brighten it up.

Vegetable Pancakes with Yogurt Sauce

As part of my self challenge to blog about every recipe I cook with my CSA produce this year, I am sharing this recipe for vegetable pancakes, from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman. One of my favorite cookbooks I own, I use it a lot.

We got a lot of great produce this week. Potatoes, Swiss chard, snow peas, lettuce, basil, green onion, cucumber....definitely a lot or great stuff! So I figured I better get cooking tonight if I'm going to use up all the great produce.

There are a lot of variations you can make for these pancakes. The book says you can also use parsnips,sweet potatoes, winter squash, turnips, beets, celery root, or cooked, squeezed chopped spinach or other greens
Vegetable Pancakes (adapted from Mark Bittman's recipe)
Ingredients:
about 1 pound zucchini, yellow squash, and carrot (about 2 cups packed)
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup flour, more or less
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Half-and-half, as needed
2 tablespoons butter and/or olive oil, plus more for the pan (I used a combination on the griddle, and olive oil in the pancakes)


Here are the CSA vegetables I used, plus I decided to add in a little parsley (not pictured) Zucchini, spring onion, zephyr squash, and garlic scapes (the garlic scapes were used in the yogurt sauce)


Incidentally, here is my new kitchen island, purchased from Ikea to be my workspace. My counter is overtaken by coffee makers, other appliances, cooking oils, etc. It has storage space underneath, and hooks to hang lots of things on.

1. Preheat the oven or toaster to warm or 2275 degrees F. Grate the vegetables. I used my lovely new grater, it makes really nice thin strips.

All the veggies mixed together.

Mix the vegetables, onion, egg, and flour together. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and parmesan cheese. Then add just enough half-and-half so that the mixture drops easily from a large spoon. Stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Here is the batter, ready to go on the griddle.

2. Put a pat of butter or a spoonful of oil on a griddle over medium heat. When the butter is melted or the oil is hot, drop in spoonfuls of the batter; use a fork to spread the vegetables into an even layer.
You have to work in batches, keep pancakes in oven until all are finished.Cook, turning once, until nicely browned on both sides, about 15 minutes.

Cookin up on the griddle.

Serve hot or at room temperature with yogurt sauce (recipe below)

Yogurt Sauce (adapted from Mark Bittman's recipe)
1 cup yogurt, whole milk
1 minced garlic scape
salt and freshly ground pepper
lemon juice
freshly chopped parsley and chives

1. Combine the yogurt with the garlic, a pinch of salt, pepper, lemon juice, and herbs. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
2. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Pasta with seasonal veggies

I made a pasta dish inspired by Pioneer Woman's recipe. I received a zucchini and zephyr squash from the CSA this week.


You know those huge, gi-normous zucchinis you can sometimes find? Well, I just read that actually regular sized zucchinis actually have a better flavor. The large ones are spongy and watery.

I chopped these up, and sauteed them in some olive oil. Oh, and meanwhile started a pot to boil water for the pasta.
Here are some of the other prepared ingredients- some really thin, local asparagus I found at John Herr's, red onion, and 3 garlic cloves put through the garlic press.

Next, I cooked some onion and garlic in olive oil and a little butter. I added in some dry white wine to the pan and scraped up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.

I added some lemon zest, lemon juice, halved grape tomatoes, and thin asparagus to the pan and cooked a few minutes.

I added my half and half, I might not do this again. PW adds some real cream to her dish, but I didn't have any so I added some half and half. It seemed to not add any creaminess to the dish, so next time I am just going to leave out the dairy or go all out and use the real deal-regular cream!

Also, I made sure to sufficiently salt and pepper the sauce.

I then dumped the sauce over my recently cooked pasta, and added a bunch of fresh herbs and mixed it up. I used basil, dill, parsley and chives. Then I topped each plate with some freshly grated Parmiggiano Reggiano.

I loved the wine and fresh herb flavor! A great vegetarian dish.

Broccoli Salad

I love broccoli salad.... once I finally tried it. It just sounds too weird. Broccoli with raisins, bacon and onion? I don't even like raisins that much. And the dressing ingredients also sound strange. Mayo, vinegar and sugar.

But somehow, when you put it all together, it is really tasty. I use much less sugar than the recipe calls for, and left out the peas. The grocery store I worked at made this from scratch everyday and they never had peas!

You can click the recipe below, but basically cut up some broccoli (from my CSA share!), red onion, throw it in a bowl. Add a handful of raisins. Cook some bacon that is cut in small pieces. Then mix up some mayo, add a little white vinegar and sugar to taste then dump over the broccoli mix. Tada!
Broccoli Salad recipe
To fulfill my CSA challenge, here are the other things I made with my farm produce from last week.
Arugula- Ate a small bowl or it with white wine vinegar, olive oil and local strawberries.
Spring onions and lettuces- Chopped up the bunch and added it to chicken salad. The salad had grilled boneless chicken thighs, chopped, toasted sunflower seeds, celery, and a dressing with mayo, dijon mustard, and vinegar. Served on top of lettuces and shredded spicy cheese.

Pumpkin Polenta with Sausage and Fennel

Rach!
A morning show I used to listen to made fun of Rachel Ray all the time, especially the way the commercials for her show would always say, "Next time, on RACH!"
I have seen a few of her 40 Dollars a Day show, but not her talk show. She is strangely perky.
BUT-but, I love her magazine and I do like her recipes. And I have made a lot of them, and almost all of them have been extremely tasty.
On her website, there was a link for Fall Comfort Food. Now fall is my favorite season. And since I try to eat most foods seasonally, I get even more excited when fall food time comes around.
So this sounded really really tasty. I like sausage. And fennel. And polenta with cheese.
Some ingredient notes: Rachel always uses quick cooking polenta. I never see this at the grocery store. I see pre-made polenta which won't work, or the regular stuff which is corn grits/polenta. You are supposed to cook the regular stuff for 30 minutes. So if you use the real stuff like I did, you should probably start that before the sausage mixture.
Also, I just used freshly grated nutmeg for the first time! I grated it on my micro-plane which is really fast and easy.
And lastly, I used basil instead of parsley to garnish.
So try this out. Have it with some apple cider and watch the leaves fall.

Rachel Ray's Pumpkin Polenta with Italian Sausage and Fennel
1 Tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 14-oz can pumpkin puree
1 cup polenta (quick cooking or regular)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme (I left this out)
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup shredded romano cheese
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley (or basil) chopped
1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (Rach says to eyeball it!)

1. Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and brown the sausage. Transfer the sausage to a paper towel-lined plate. Add 1 tablespoon of EVOO (1 turn of the pan) to the skillet and then the onion and fennel. Cook the vegetables over moderate heat until tender but not brown. Add the wine and return the sausage to the skillet. Cook the wine away, a minute or so.
2. 2. In a large saucepan, bring the chicken stock and butter to a boil and stir in the pumpkin. Return to a boil, whisk in the polenta and stir until it masses together, 2 minutes. (Watch out for splatters.)
*For regular polenta, start first and cook stirring frequently for about 30 minutes.*
Remove the polenta from the heat and stir in the nutmeg, thyme, salt, pepper and Pecorino Romano cheese. Top the pumpkin polenta with the sausage and fennel. Garnish with the chopped parsley and serve.

Barefoot Bloggers: Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup

So this is the sad state of my life right now. I am way too busy to blog!! This summer I loved to blog my recipes, now work and other commitments keep me so busy. This is why I am grateful for being a part of the Barefoot Bloggers group. It makes me take the time to blog!
I also liked the recipe this week, because it is not something I would have picked out to make myself. My husband doesn't like mushrooms, and while I like mushrooms a lot more than I used to I wouldn't have just decided to make this for dinner normally.
This was a great recipes for a cool fall day. I really enjoyed it. And my friend Jocelyn liked it too yay!
Note: I halved this recipe, since it was basically me eating it for dinner, and then leftovers, myself.

Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup
Source: The Barefoot Contessa

5 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms (I used dried)
5 ounces fresh portobello mushrooms
5 ounces fresh cremini (or porcini) mushrooms (I used dried porcini)
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1/4 pound (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 carrot, chopped
1 sprig fresh thyme plus 1 teaspoon minced thyme leaves, divided (I used dried lemon thyme.)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 leeks)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Clean the mushrooms by wiping them with a dry paper towel. Don't wash them! Separate the stems, trim off any bad parts, and coarsely chop the stems. Slice the mushroom caps 1/4-inch thick and, if there are big, cut them into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

To make the stock, heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large pot. Add the chopped mushroom stems, the onion, carrot, the sprig of thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.

Here are my stock veggies cooking away! I didn't add the thyme yet. I used dried lemon thyme I got from the Spice man at Central Market.

Add 6 cups water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Strain, reserving the liquid. You should have about 4 1/2 cups of stock. If not, add some water.

Here is the stock later, before I strain it. It smelled um-um good.

The pretty mushrooms! I did not have all fresh mushrooms. The porcini and the shitake were dried (again from the wonderful spice man at market). So I soaked them in water for a about 25 minutes then cut them.I like how the baby bellas and the other mushrooms make it look like there is a shadow.

Meanwhile, in another large pot, heat the remaining 1/4 pound of butter and add the leeks. Cook over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the leeks begin to brown. Add the sliced mushroom caps and cook for 10 minutes, or until they are browned and tender. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the white wine and stir for another minute, scraping the bottom of the pot.
They left out this part of the recipe. "After adding the cup of wine to the soup, it is necessary to pour yourself a small glass of wine to drink as you finish the recipe."
I think this is crucial. :)
And also, in case you are wondering, I used a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

Add the mushroom stock, minced thyme leaves, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Here is the soup pre-cream. Doesn't look quite as pretty yet, but still smells AMAZING.

Add the half-and-half, cream, and parsley, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and heat through but do not boil. Serve hot.
What a nice earthy flavor. I think next time I personally would chop the mushrooms smaller. I like the flavor of mushrooms, but the chewy texture on the big pieces wasn't my favorite. But the wine, the leeks, the cream, everything together with them was great!

Barefoot Bloggers: Grown-Up Mac and cheese

I just joined the barefoot bloggers, a group of foodie bloggers who all make two Barefoot Contessa recipes each month and post them. I am very excited to join! I like the fact that someone else picks a recipe and you make it. Seems like a great way to try new things and make things you might not pick yourself.
This first recipe (for me) is a delicious mac and cheese with a more grown-up cheese taste. I enjoyed the blue cheese, there wasn't too much to be overpowering. My husband and I both had to have seconds of this. We loved this meal with green beans and a very oaky chardonnay.
The modifications I made were to use panko bread crumbs instead of slices of white bread and I used nitrate-free bacon which unfortunately does not come thick-sliced. I just feel a lot better eating bacon that is more natural.
4 ounces thick-sliced bacon
Vegetable oil
Kosher salt
2 cups elbow macaroni or cavatappi
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated
3 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated
2 ounces blue cheese, such as Roquefort, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch nutmeg
2 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
2 tablespoons freshly chopped basil leaves

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place a baking rack on a sheet pan and arrange the bacon in 1 layer on the baking rack. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the bacon is crisp. Remove the pan carefully from the oven - there will be hot grease in the pan! Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels and crumble when it is cool enough to handle.

Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don't boil it. Melt the butter in a medium pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or 2 more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, blue cheese, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and crumbled bacon and stir well. Pour into 2 individual size gratin dishes.

Place the bread slices in a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until you have coarse crumbs. Add the basil and pulse to combine. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the top of the pasta. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.

Just out of the oven....ymm
Tada!

Lamb Salad by Jake

While I do most of the cooking, my husband is a great cook. Things he cooks really well include: any meat on the grill, pizza, insanely hot salsa and gourmet salads.
Since I had to work on a Saturday, Jake was given the task of making dinner. It was super yummy gourmet salad.
Some notes about the ingredients-
The lamb is from a Mennonite-type farm in which the lambs eat real grass and roam about freely. So it is always very very good. We get it from Central Market here in Lancaster. If you can get natural lamb you should.
The cherry tomatoes are Sun Golds. They are sweeter than regular cherry tomatoes, and have a thinner skin. They are amazing, and you should go out and try to buy some NOW, before summer is over.
The amounts aren't exact here. I used enough lettuce for 2 people, probably 4 cups total. You can put on the olives and feta to taste. Jake says not to use too many olives, or the flavor will be too strong. He knows gourmet stuff like this. This serves 2 people.
Gourmet Lamb Salad
Ingredients:
1 lamb shoulder steak
Dry red table wine
Arugula (rocket)
Some romaine or other favorite lettuce
4 green onions, sliced diagonally
1 cup of Sun Gold tomatoes
Kalamata Olives
Feta Cheese
Your favorite vinaigrette, homemade or store-bought.

Put the lamb steak in a skillet. Add enough red wine to simmer the steak in. (Amount isn't real crucial, since it is just to give the lamb flavor and it cooks off anyway.) Keep an eye on it as you get the salad ready and remember to flip it once, after about 7-8 minutes.
While it is cooking, slice the olives and green onions. Cut the Sun Golds in half. Wash the arugula and lettuce, and put on two plates. Sprinkle the onion, olives, and tomatoes on the lettuce. Crumble the feta and sprinkle on as well.
The lamb will take about 15-20 minutes to cook. Jake says to make sure it isn't overdone. You don't want tough lamb. You want pretty lamb, still a little pinkish inside.
Take the lamb out of the pan onto a cutting board. Slice into nice little pieces and pile it on top of your salad.

Ooooooo. I felt like I was in a fancy restaurant. And it tasted great. The sweet tomatoes, the creamy salty cheese and the onion went together so well. So did the arugula. And listen. Liking and eating arugula isn't being elitist. Arugula is just good. It is a tasty tasty salad treat. So eat up!

Spicy Pork Tenderloin

I love pork tenderloin. If I want to make pork, 9 times out of ten I made tenderloin. I usually cook it in the oven or grill it. I have also made it for stir-fry. Sometime I would like to stuff it or butterfly it. Once I had a dinner party and made a pork tenderloin recipe from Under the Tuscan Sun, which has lovely Italian recipes in it. But I digress.

So here is what you need: a pork tenderloin, some seasoned salt (that is the Spike), ground mustard, chipotle chile powder, five-spice powder, garlic, red onion, and olive oil.

Here are the spices. I hate measuring when I'm not following recipes. The middle is seasoned salt, yellow is mustard, red is chipotle and the brownish is five spice. You can use a few teaspoons of each, I used a good amount of chipotle to make it spicy!

Smash a few garlic cloves with the side of your knife! It helps get your aggression out. Oh yeah and you can peel the papery skin off much much easier too.

Mix the spices and put them in a food processor with the garlic.

Chop your red onion and add it to the food processor. It looks so pretty!

Pour some extra virgin olive oil in there.

Blend it all up.

Put the pork tenderloin in a pan and pour the marinade on top. Spread it out evenly all over the tenderloin, and get the bottom too. Then stick a lid/silverfoil on and stick it in the fridge for a few hours.


After the pork has marinated for a while start up your grill. My husband is a firm believer of charcoal grilling, so that is what we use.( Especially since he does all the grilling.) It has such a nice smoky flavor. But use your gas grill if you must. Use a meat thermometer so you can see when it is done. It should be 160 degrees, so make sure you don't overcook. It doesn't take too long to cook.

Not the best picture...we were hungry! I served this with the Cheesy Sausage Potato Cups I had made earlier in the day, and some coleslaw.
It had a great spicy flavor, and the outside was nice and crisp, while it remained very moist and tender. I have to give my husband credit for the grilling, and myself the flavor credit! Ha