Twice-Cooked Pork Tenderloin

1 boneless pork tenderloin, about 1 pound

 Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons butter, extra virgin olive oil, or a combination

¼ cup marsala or white wine

¼ cup cream

1 tablespoon lemon juice OR Dijon mustard

 Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish, optional

Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper. Put a large skillet over medium-high heat; when heated, add 2 tablespoons butter and/or oil. When butter foam subsides or oil dimples, add meat (cut in half to fit pan, if necessary). Brown it well on all sides, for a total of 4 to 6 minutes. Turn off heat, remove meat from pan, and let it sit on a board. When skillet has cooled a bit, proceed.

Cut meat into 1-inch-thick slices. Once again turn heat to medium-high, add remaining butter and/or oil and, when it's hot, add pork slices to pan. Brown on each side, about 2 or 3 minutes each. Turn heat to low and remove meat to a warm platter.

Add marsala or wine to pan, turn heat to high, and cook, stirring and scraping, for a minute. Lower heat slightly, add cream and cook until slightly thickened. Stir in lemon juice or mustard, then taste and adjust seasoning. Serve meat with sauce spooned on top, garnished, if you like, with parsley.

Original recipe from here.  

Upside-down Apple Pie

Don't let the caramelizing scare you.  If you're uncertain, look online for more tips or videos.   (Here is a link: Caramelize-Sugar.  Use the second method, Dry caramelization.) Otherwise it's an easy and impressive dessert or teatime treat. 

1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed

4 apples, peeled, cored, and quartered*

½ C sugar 

3 Tbsp butter
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg

Trim puff pastry to a little larger than the top of 10” pie plate.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375.

Over moderate heat, caramelize sugar in a light-colored skillet (9-10”) so you can monitor the color more accurately. 

As the sugar begins to brown, use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to move the liquefied sugar from the edges of the pan to the center.

Turn the heat lower for more control, if necessary.  Watch carefully as it can turn from golden brown to burnt quickly, if not watched carefully!

With heat turned down, when golden amber color is reached, add butter and stir until it melts and mixes together.

Add apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the caramel.  Caramel may clump up, but it will remelt as it continues to heat up.  Cook for about 5 minutes or until the caramel is smooth and liquid again.

Place apples in the pie plate with rounded side down, starting around the rim and fill in the middle using all the apples.  Pour caramel over the apples.

Place trimmed pastry on top, pushing the edges down over the apples.  Bake for 35-45 minutes, until pastry is golden.

Carefully flip over onto a platter with slightly sloped sides to catch any juices.

Serve warm with ice cream.

*You could use a variety of other fruit such as peaches or pears.  Berries would be delicious, but not as impressive looking.

Curried Lentils with Coconut Milk

This has a delicious flavor.  Including both green and red lentils with the coconut milk give it a unique taste and texture.  (But you can use all red or all green and adjust timing accordingly.  Green takes longer than red.)  This recipe barely serves 3.  Double for some leftovers.  I love Basmati rice and this recipe goes well with it.  Find it at TJ's and follow the directions on the package.  Otherwise, I mix it half and half with short grain rice and cook it in the rice cooker.

3	Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1	Tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
2	garlic cloves, minced
1	shallot or small onion, minced
½	tsp ground coriander
1	tsp cumin seeds or ground cumin
1	tsp ground turmeric
½	cup French green lentils,* rinsed separately from the red
1 ½	13.5-oz can unsweetened coconut milk cup red lentils (they're really orange, not red)
	kosher salt
	Cooked basmati rice, plain yogurt, chopped fresh cilantro,

In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the ginger, garlic, shallot, coriander, cumin, and turmeric and cook, stirring now and then, until the vegetables are softened and the spices are very fragrant, about 10 minutes.

Add the green lentils*, coconut milk, and 1 tsp kosher salt, then fill the empty coconut-milk can with water and add it to the saucepan. It will look like a lot of liquid, but the lentils will absorb it as they cook. Stir everything together, turn the heat to high, and bring the mixture to a boil. Turn the heat to low and let the lentils simmer for 10 minutes, stirring now and then.  Add the red lentils and cook until all lentils are completely soft, about 20-25 minutes more.  Just keep tasting to see when the lentils are cooked through. You may or may not need to add more water.  Season to taste with salt.

Serve the lentils hot over basmati rice. Top each serving with a spoonful of yogurt and a sprinkle of cilantro or mint. A side of naan is nice, too.

*I've found the French green lentils and red lentils in bins at Safeway.  TJs has bags of red ones.

This recipe came from here.   Food52 has been a great source for recipes lately.  Check them out.

Mississippi Roast

        The picture of this recipe looked delicious, but don't all the pictures on food blogs look terrific!  I have made a few recipes that did not live up to their promised expectations.  You won't see those recipes here.  But this one had been on my list for awhile, and I finally picked up a chuck roast and tried it.  Yum!  After reading several of the comments, I made some adjustments and we liked it fine.  The roast was 3 pounds exactly, but I trimmed off at least 1/4 pound of fat before starting.  Even though there is really NO liquid required, there was plenty as it cooked, mostly fat.  I skimmed most of it off before serving with the meat.
         One time, I tried using the sliced pepperoncini, but that didn't work as well.  Buy the whole ones and use whatever number seems right to you.  If you use the whole jar, prepare for it to be pretty spicy.

• •  1 boneless chuck roast, top or bottom round roast, 3 to 4 pounds
  •  1/2 tsp kosher salt
  •  3/4 tsp black pepper
  •  3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
  •  2 tablespoons neutral oil, like canola
  •  1 package dry Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
  •  1 package dry onion soup mix
     1 cup beef broth (optional)
  •  10 to 15 pepperoncini (or more)
  
  
  
  
  Place roast on a cutting board and rub the salt and pepper all over it. Sprinkle the flour all over the seasoned meat and massage into the meat.
  
  
  Heat the oil in a dutch oven* (or large skillet) set over high heat until it is shimmering and about to smoke. Place the roast in the pan and brown on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes a side, to create a crust. Remove roast from pan and place it in the bowl of a slow cooker.** Sprinkle the dressing mix and soup mix on top. (Pour the broth around the meat.)
  
  
  Add the pepperoncini on top of the meat. Put the lid on, and set to high for a 3-4 hours, if you will be around to turn it down later. ( I always start at high for the first hour or two.) Cook, undisturbed, for 6 to 8 hours, or until you can shred the meat easily using 2 forks. (Depends on your particular crockpot, whether it will be tender in that length of time.  May need longer.)
  
  

  Remove the meat from the slow cooker to a bowl and shred, removing any large clumps of fat.  Serve with rice, egg noodles, or roasted or mashed potatoes, or pile onto sandwich rolls, as burritos or tacos, however you like.

  
  
  *Using a pot with high sides keeps grease a little more contained and prevents getting your stove quite so greasy.
  **Or 300 degree oven for about 3-4 hours.
  
  
  
  
  This recipe comes from various sites.