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!

pork stir-fry w/ clementines & chili sauce

What motivates to choose what we eat can be very interesting. Tonight it was anything that doesn't include chicken, shrimp, tomatoes, pasta or salad. This can be a mighty challenge if you follow the blog lately. Though all delicious, my recent half dozen recipes have all include at least two items off that list. So tonight I chose a pork stir-fry. It was great - very different than my usual. I also learned that you can cook and eat clementines with the rind on! Who knew? It's actually pretty good. Give it a try. Here's what you'll need:

• 1/2 lb boneless pork loin center cut, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds, then cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 2 small unpeeled clementines (or you could use tangerines), cut (with peel) into 3/4-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup Asian sweet chili sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 baby bok choy, chopped
• 3 green onions, sliced

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

pork loin w/ tarragon cream

Now that I have over 100 recipes (!!!) and counting on the blog, I find myself longing for some past recipes, and totally forgetting about others. One of those I've been thinking about for awhile actually the very first recipe posted - the pork loin Dan and I made about a year ago. That's right: April will be the one year anniversary for Bon Chappétit! Anyways, that pork loin was effing delicious, so I decided recently to go back and try another one, and had another great success. These things are so ridiculously easy it's not even funny. Here's what you'll need:

• 2-3 lb pork loin
• 3 large cloves garlic, slivered
• Salt and pepper
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons shallot, minced
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
• Olive oil

oven-fried pork chops

Last night I made pork chops. They weren't crazy-fancy, they were just downright good. I'd never had a breaded pork chop before, and I have to say everything really does taste better breaded. Here's what you'll need:

• 2 pork chops
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup breadcrumbs (I used Italian style)

Begin by preheating your oven to 425 degrees. Melt the butter, then pour it into the bottom of a baking dish. Next, dredge your chops through the flour, then coat with egg and cover with breadcrumbs all over. Sprinkle with pepper and place them in the baking dish and bake uncovered for 10 minutes. Flip them over and bake for 10 more minutes, or until the juices run clear. I put them under the broiler for just an additional minute or two to make them crispy and golden brown.

Remove and serve. Super easy. Took me back to the good ol' days. If only I'd had applesauce to serve them with.

Bon chappétit!

italian meatballs w/simple tomato sauce

Last night I decided to betray my mom (sorry!) and try a new meatball recipe. I'm used to the basic, old school kind that's really just ground beef, breadcrumb and egg. Well, let me tell y'all, this new version really sent me for a loop. They were so succulent and tasty, I don't think I'll ever turn back. And I really don't feel that sorry Mom - once you try these you'll see what I mean :) Here's what you'll need:

For the meatballs

• 1 lb meat (I used the a ground beef/pork/veal combo in my local market)
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1/2 small yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1/4 cup of cheese (I used a pecorino romano I had, but you could use parmesan as well)
• Salt and pepper

For the sauce

• 1 large can peeled tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 small yellow onion, finely chopped
• 8-10 basil leaves, chopped
• 1/4 cup olive 
• Salt and pepper

Begin by getting the sauce going. In a medium pot, sauté the garlic and onion in oil. Once they begin to open up and brown, pour the liquid from the tomatoes into the pot, and the tomatoes from the can into a bowl. Mash them up nicely, and then add to the pot, along with the basil, salt and pepper to taste.  Let this simmer on low heat in the background while preparing the meatballs.

For the meatballs, basically just combine everything in a large bowl.  Roll into desired size (mine pictured are about the size of golfballs).  I then baked mine on a cookie sheet for about 10 minutes on 450 degrees.  You can also brown them in a skillet with a little oil if you'd prefer.  They also get a little crispier this way, which can be nice. However, I was feeling lazy and didn't want to have another pan to clean (I lined the cookie sheet with tin foil to avoid cleaning - genius!)

After they've been cooked by whichever method, add them to the sauce and let them simmer and blend while you cook your pasta. Once the pasta is done, toss it all together and you're done.  This made 16 meatballs, which could easily feed 4 people.  You may want to double the sauce if you're serving that many and want it really saucy. I kept it on the lighter side - although I ate half of this all by myself in one sitting...

Bon chappétit!

pork chops w/ pears & shallots

I seem to be noticing a trend with my recipes as of late: I'm gravitating towards meat with fruit. Perhaps this is normal to you, but it's very different to me. It's not something I was brought up eating, but it's something I'm really starting to enjoy. Today's dish mixed pork with pears. Here's what you'll need:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 2 pork chops
• 1 large shallot, chopped
• 2 unpeeled small pears (I used 1 Bosc and 1 Anjou), quartered
• 4 teaspoons butter, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 3/4 cup pear nectar

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix oil, garlic, and chopped thyme in small bowl. Rub the mixture over the pork, shallot and pears. Heat a large ovenproof non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and shallot, turning, about 5-6 minutes per side. Transfer shallot to a platter, and transfer pork to baking dish (do not clean skillet). Bake pork while you wrap up the rest of the recipe, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the pears to the same skillet and cook over medium-high heat until they brown on the cut side, turning once or twice, about 4 minutes total. Then transfer the pears to the platter (again, do not clean skillet).

Next, mix the butter and flour in a small bowl. Add the broth, pear nectar and butter mixture to same skillet, and boil until the sauce thickens, scraping up browned bits, about 7 minutes.
Remove the pork from the oven and arrange on the platter. Surround it with the pears and shallot. Finish by drizzling the sauce over the pork. It makes for a great combination of flavors that I haven't come across very often. Very hearty. I definitely recommend it next time you're in the mood for something different.

Bon chappétit!

roasted pork w/ herbs, potatoes & balsamic-marinaded asparagus

So every Sunday my best friend, Dan, and I try to get together to try a new dish and catchup on the past week. It's becoming quite the tradition between the two of us. This past weekend, we tried out a new recipe that we both loved. Super quick and easy, and only utilizing a few key ingredients.

Roasted Pork

• 1 lb pork tenderloin
• A few cloves of garlic (you can never have too much in our opinion)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
• Salt & pepper
• Potatoes (8 or so)
• Olive oil and balsamic vinegar
• Asparagus
• Parmesan

Begin by cutting 6 or so slits along the top of the pork. In each slit, insert some garlic, rosemary and sage. Then lather the whole thing in olive oil and top with salt and pepper. Toss it on a roasting pan.

While you're doing that, parboil a few potatoes (I just learned this: "parboil" means to pre-cook something by boiling it first, I guess to give it a head start). Pat them dry, then place around the pork on the roasting pan.

Toss it in the oven (center rack) for 20 minutes on 450 degrees, then 40 minutes on 350 degrees. Turn the potatoes a few times.

While that's cooking, we just doused a bunch of asparagus in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. When there were just a few minutes left on the pork and potatoes, we laid the asparagus in a flat row on a cookie sheet, pouring the marinade over top, and sprinkling with some fresh parmesan. We then popped them in the oven at 450 degrees for about 10 minutes (they're done once they turn bright green).

By the time they're done, the pork has cooled and can be cut. Bon appetit!

Honestly, this dish was pretty amazing. The flavors all worked fantastically well together, and Dan and I both went back for seconds (I may have had thirds). Definitely a good one to try if you're looking for something easy and different.

Bon chappétit!