beer-marinated pork tenderloin w/ red cabbage

And I don't even like beer! Apparently it makes a good marinade though. I had my doubts about this one. I won't lie, it didn't have the greatest smell when I first put together the marinade. The flavors came together in the end though, especially the cabbage. I've never made cabbage before, but after tonight, I think it'll definitely become a regular side dish. Here's what you'll need:

• 1 pork tenderloins (1 - 1.5 lbs total) 
• 1/4 cup lager (I have no idea if I even bought the right thing here)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce 
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar 
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, divided 
• 3 tablespoons olive oil 
• 2 tablespoons butter 
• 1/2 medium red cabbage, cored, cut into 1/2" strips 
• 1 apple, peeled, cored, chopped (I used a Fiji)
• Salt, freshly ground pepper 

Place the pork in a large resealable plastic bag. Whisk the lager, soy sauce, brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon vinegar in a small bowl and pour into the bag with pork and seal. Chill, turning occasionally, for at least 4 and up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven your to 400°F. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the pork from marinade, allowing any excess to drip off (reserve marinade). Cook the pork, turning until browned on all sides, 8-10 minutes.

Transfer the pork to the oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of pork registers 140°F, 10-15 minutes. I just tossed it on a cookie sheet, but if you have an oven-safe skillet, you can probably just toss that in there. When done, transfer the pork to a plate and let rest for at least 10 minutes.

Pour the reserved marinade into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until slightly thickened, 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat (I used the same one that I'd browned the pork in.) Add the cabbage, apple, and 1 cup of water and season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until the cabbage is softened, 15-20 minutes. Add remaining 1 teaspoon vinegar and toss to combine.

Slice pork and serve with cabbage mixture and sauce.

Bon chappétit!

limehouse chicken

You seriously can't go wrong with some well-made chicken. It's not the craziest dish in the world, but done right, it can be incredibly tasty. I tried a new one a few nights ago with ingredients I'd never used with chicken - mint, lime, brown sugar. It turned out great, a definite addition to my permanent rotation. Here's what you'll need:

• Chicken breast
• 1 lime, zested and juiced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• A few shakes of red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 sprig fresh mint, chopped

traditional meatloaf

Bon Chappétit actually started out as a recipe bank of sorts. It was a way for me to begin documenting and storing recipes that either my mother had passed down to me, or new ones that I'd tried and wanted to tell her about. It was a much more organized method than the random emails and newspaper clippings, Word documents (she gave me a Word doc recipe book when I'd gone to college) and the other various means we've used over the years.

That's really at the core of what this is all about - sharing recipes with those you love. Whether it be your parents, grandparents, friends back home (some of who may have blogs of their own), friends from wherever you may be now, or perfect strangers. Sometimes even more so than photographs, a meal can evoke all kinds of memories and emotions.

You may be wondering what this all has to do with meatloaf? Well, meatloaf has always been one of my favorites. I've always loved my mom's - even if it was one of the simpler dishes she made. It was hers, and it always reminded me of home no matter where I had it. Recently, I found my great grandmother's recipe buried in an email from my great aunt. I decided to give it a whirl, and even though I never had the pleasure of having the meal directly with my great grandmother, I still had nostalgic feelings while preparing and enjoying the meal. It was a true pleasure to make, and I got several meals out of it (including a breakfast, which I'll post soon). So without any additional rambling, here's what you'll need:

For the loaf:

• 2 lbs. of meat (I used 1 lb. of ground beef, and an additional lb. of beef/pork/veal combo)
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1/2 onion, grated
• 1/4 finely chopped green pepper
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup cracker crumbs (I crumbled up Ritz)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 slices bacon

salmon w/ brown sugar glaze

If you follow the blog regularly, you may have noticed some patterns developing. One of which is my growing obsession with dishes that combine salmon and dijon mustard (you can see past recipes here and here). I recently tried another one that was even more simple than most recipes on the site (which is really saying something) and quite delicious. Here's what you'll need:

• Salmon filets
• 2 parts brown sugar
• 1 part dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste

Begin by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. Next prep the glaze by mixing the brown sugar and mustard in a bowl. For one salmon filet, I did 2 teaspoons sugar and 1 teaspoon mustard. Mash it all together and let it sit for 2 minutes (it'll become nice and glaze-like while it hangs out over there).

Lightly salt and pepper your salmon and place it on a piece of tinfoil. Spread the glaze generously over top, then loosely tent the foil over the salmon. Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes covered, and another 3 or so uncovered (or until salmon flakes easily with a fork).

Presto, dunzo, you're ready to eat.

Bon chappétit!

steak w/pomegranate glaze

I'm back! Truth be told, I never left. I've still been cooking, but I haven't been trying anything new or adventurous the past few weeks - just sticking to old standbys that have already been posted. Tonight though - lo! - I was back on the foodie horse, trying out some new ingredients that haven't been featured on the blog before. As usual, it was delicious (otherwise I wouldn't post it here). Here's what you'll need:

• 1 top sirloin steak
• Peppercorn mélange, coarsely ground
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 1/2 cup pomegranate juice
• 2 teaspoons (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar, divided
• 2 cups arugula
• Salt

Begin sprinkling each side of the steak with the chopped rosemary, salt and pepper. Give each side a pat to really make them stick. Heat 1/2 teaspoon olive oil over medium-high heat in a non-stick skillet. Add the steak and cook for about 5 minutes on each side, flipping only once for medium to medium-well doneness. When finished, place the steak on a cutting board and let it sit for about 5 minutes.

While that's going, toss the arugula with the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar. Set aside.

Once the steak is done, add the pomegranate juice, remaining teaspoon of balsamic and brown sugar to the skillet to deglaze. Lightly boil for about 5 minutes or so. You want this to reduce down to a thick glaze.

Slice the steak, pile on to the arugula salad and drizzle the pomegranate glaze on top. A delicioso meal in under 20 minutes.

Bon chappétit!

peach ricotta spring rolls

Sorry for the prolonged absence. Way too much to do, way too little cooking going on as of late. In some odd twist of fate, I take a week off from blogging and make my return with ... something incredibly similar to last dish I posted! That's right, I'm back with another peachy dessert. I can't take any credit for this one though - it's lifted directly from Gabi over at BrokeAss Gourmet. Make sure you check out the site, it has tons of great looking food. As for the spring rolls, here's what you'll need:

• 1 cup balsamic vinegar
• 4 peaches, cored and diced
• 3 tbsp ricotta cheese
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• Salt and pepper
• 8 large spring roll wrappers
• Oil for frying (you should probably use vegetable; Dan and I used olive, because it's what we had on hand)

Begin by warming up the balsamic vinegar over medium heat in non-stick pan. Stir often while you're preparing everything else, until it reduces to a nice, syrupy consistency. Remove and set aside.

In a small bowl mix together the peaches, ricotta and sugar along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Then assemble the rolls by placing a healthy spoonful of the mixture in the middle of a spring roll wrapper. Tuck in the sides and roll it closed.

Place about 2 inches of oil in a deep, non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Gently place the rolls in the oil. You'll want to place them seam side down and hold them there for about a minute each until they start to harden in order to ensure that they don't just unroll (it happens really easily). Fry each for just a couple minutes until they turn crispy, golden brown. Drain on paper towels and let cool for about 5-10 minutes. Serve with the balsamic reduction drizzled on top.

Bon chappétit!

blueberry cheesecake

While home over the 4th of July, I decided to try and get a little fancy for the family picnic and take a stab at a full-on blueberry cheesecake. I'm not quite sure if this was really an actual cheesecake; however, I'm positive that it was absolutely delicious. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it, and judging by the fact that there was barely any left over, I took their compliments as genuine. Best part of it - there's really no actual baking. Here's what you'll need:

Crust:

• 9 whole graham crackers
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 3 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:

• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
• 12 ounces Philadelphia-brand cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 3 cups fresh blueberries

Topping:

• 1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 1/2-pint baskets blueberries
• 2/3 cup blueberry preserves

Before you start, keep in mind that you need to prepare the crust and filling the day before, in order to let them set in the fridge overnight. The topping can be done a few hours before serving.

For crust, preheat oven to 350°F. Blend first 4 ingredients in processor until graham crackers are finely ground. Add butter and vanilla; process until moist crumbs form. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and 1 inch up sides of 9-inch-diameter springform pan. Bake crust until deep golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool.

For filling, pour 1/4 cup water into small saucepan; sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand 10 minutes. Stir over very low heat just until gelatin dissolves. Set aside.

Blend cream cheese, cream, sugar, and lemon juice in processor until smooth. Add berries; puree until smooth (some blueberry bits will remain). With machine running, add warm gelatin mixture through feed tube and blend well. Pour filling into crust. Cover; chill overnight. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.) Run knife around pan sides to loosen cake. Release pan sides. Transfer to platter.

For topping, beat cream and sugar in medium bowl until firm peaks form. Spread cream mixture thickly over top of cheesecake. Place berries in bowl. Heat jam in small saucepan over low heat until just melted. Pour jam over berries; toss to coat. Mound coated berries in center of cream, leaving 1-inch plain border. Chill cake at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

This wasn't nearly as daunting as the length of the recipe makes it seem. Definitely give it a try. The results were delicious, and even better the next day.

Bon chappétit!

grilled peaches

So I'm finally back in action after a much-needed trip back home. Five days of nothing but wading around a glorious pool and grilling various meats, fruits and vegetables was more than I could have asked for. Up first from my travels over the 4th is...grilled peaches! I'd honestly never thought of grilling fruit before, but lately it seems like everyone's doing it - grilling watermelon (Jes - how'd that turn out?), pineapples, etc. I decided to try this recipe, and it went over pretty well (and more importantly, was super easy). Here's what you'll need:

• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 unpeeled peaches, halved, pitted
• 1/3 cup white chocolate

Mix the melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Then toss your peaches around to get them good and covered. Grill on medium, cut side down for about 5 minutes, then turn them over, add the white chocolate into the cavity left from the pit and drizzle with remaining sauce. I left these on for probably another 10 minutes. You don't want to burn them, but you want to leave them on long enough to melt the chocolate and really get that grilled flavor in there. They came out great - the family really seemed to enjoy.

Bon chappétit!

PS. It's good to be back :)

salmon w/ brown sugar & bourbon glaze

Tonight I decided to get a little crunk with my salmon and try out a recipe that included bourbon. I will say to those out there that are weary about putting hard liquor in their dinner - the bourbon cooked off pretty quickly. It really just left a hint of flavor, which was quite nice. Here's what you'll need:

• 4 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• Salmon steaks
• 1/3 cup bourbon whiskey

Begin by melting the butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar. Be sure to use the dark brown sugar. I actually used the lighter, granulated sugar and had to start over.  Word to the wise.

Next, place your salmon fillet(s) on top of brown sugar mixture. Cook for 5 minutes on medium heat. Turn over the salmon, and pour the bourbon around the fillet(s). Continue cooking for another 5 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Plate the fish, and then spoon glaze over the salmon. It will seem a bit runny for a glaze at first, but it thickens pretty quickly once it's out of the pan. It also got all over my asparagus and potatoes, giving them some nice flavor as well. Definitely try this one if you're in a pinch - over and done with in under 15 minutes.

Bon chappétit!