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Pork Tenderloin with Brandied Cranberry and Thyme Reduction
Smashed Sweet Potatoes
This was on the menu for dinner last night. Sweet…and simple!
Pork Tenderloin with Brandied Cranberry and Thyme Reduction
(Makes 4 servings)
If you wish, oven roast unsliced tenderloin at 400F (200C) until meat reaches an internal temperature of 155 to 160F (58 to 60C), about 20 to 25 minutes. Prepare sauce as directed. Slice tenderloin and serve sauce alongside.
1 cup (250 mL) chicken broth or stock
1/3 cup (75 mL) brandy (or additional chicken broth)
1/2 cup (125 mL) dried cranberries
1 lb (500 g) pork tenderloin
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon (15 mL) butter
1 tablespoon (15 mL) cooking oil
2 teaspoons (10 mL) chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) dried thyme
In a medium saucepan, combine broth, brandy (if using) and cranberries. Cover and simmer until cranberries are plumped, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
Meanwhile, cut pork into 3/4-inch (2 cm) slices. Cover with plastic wrap or waxed paper; with a meat mallet, flat side of a cleaver or bottom of a small frying pan, pound slices to flatten to about 1/2-inch (1 cm) thickness. Season pork with salt and pepper.
Heat butter and oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add pork to frying pan; cook for about 3 minutes per side. Remove pork from pan; cover to keep warm.
Add cranberry mixture to frying pan, stirring to loosen any browned bits on bottom of pan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until sauce has reduced slightly and thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in thyme. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Return pork to pan; cook until pork is heated through and glazed with sauce.
According to Welsh researcher Dr. Cliff Arnall, this week was supposed to be the most depressing week of the year. (I guess we should all be glad it’s just about over!) Monday, January 21 was actually the saddest day of the year. Arnall devised a formula to calculate this which took into consideration things like the weather, debt loads carried by many of us post-Christmas, failure to keep our New Year’s resolutions, and motivational levels in January.
What made my week particularly depressing was that I spent an inordinate amount of time in my vehicle commuting to work in Missauga and to meetings in Toronto. Snow and cold weather, at times less-than-optimal road conditions, and traffic accidents that created chaos on the highways resulted in me wasting too much time behind the wheel of my car this week.
On the bright side, if this is as depressing a week as I’m going to have this year, other than some long commutes, the week really wasn’t that bad. And at least it’s almost over and done with!
Thankfully the commutes were made bearable by having something to listen to on my car’s radio. In the morning, I generally tune into CHYM FM for the music, traffic reports and entertaining banter between the hosts. For the drive home I like to find out what’s gone on in the world around me while I’ve spent the day concentrating on the world of eggs, so I dial up CBC’s Here and Now and As It Happens for news, interviews with interesting people doing interesting things, and current events.
During what stretched from an anticipated 1-1/2 hour drive to an over 3 hour commute from Kitchener to a meeting in downtown Toronto on Thursday morning, CHYM’s morning show hosts George and Tara talked about the development of a prototype for a transparent toaster. The toaster was applauded for its potential to end the trauma of toasting. The toaster’s transparency would allow you to see your bread while it was toasting. The toast could then be removed when it was done to your liking – eliminating burnt or under-done toast.
Before you rush out to look for the toaster, be advised that it is still in the concept stage. The idea for it was developed by the Innovations Concept Studio.
Here’s how the toaster would work.
Cheese Biscuits
Sorting through some Creative Cooking columns I wrote for The Record and Guelph Mercury, I happened across one from March ’06 which made me smile as Murray and I had just enjoyed a few meals of homemade Hamburger Soup (see post from Jan. 19) and made-from-scratch biscuits. (The biscuits in the photo are actually small cheese biscuits I made in a mini muffin/tart baking pan. They took about 9 minutes to bake.)
When the column was initially published, apparently Murray endured a little teasing from a few friends and colleagues who read it.
Read on to learn why. And for a good basic recipe (with variations) for biscuits.
I will admit it may have been a less than stellar supper that appeared on our kitchen table a few nights ago. But at that point in what had been a busy week and a particularly long day, I figured I had done well to produce something edible at all.
When my hungry husband sat down to a supper of hot biscuits and soup, and then spied the empty soup can on the kitchen counter (I had neglected to recycle it immediately after opening it), his response to that night’s menu was “at least we’re having biscuits.”
To be fair to canned soups everywhere, there are many good varieties that come in a can. This was a thick, stew-like soup to which I had added some frozen vegetables. But my husband is just not a big canned soup fan. Fair enough. That’s why I lovingly prepared some biscuits to serve with the soup. From a box of Bisquick, mind you.
Hamburger Soup
Thick, rib-sticking, hearty, beefy soup to warm you from the inside out! On a cold day like today in Kitchener, a bowl of homemade Hamburger Soup is a welcomed comfort food in our house.
You could probably complete this soup in about 50 minutes, adding uncooked pasta, barley or rice in the last 15 to 20 minutes. I prefer to leave the soup lazily simmering on the stovetop for a couple hours to allow the flavours of the simple ingredients (ground beef, canned tomatoes, broth, carrots, celery, onions and seasonings) to meld and turn into a thick and delicious melange.
One might question whether the end result is really a stew masquerading as a soup, and meant to be eaten with a fork rather than a soup spoon. And if you make the soup with crushed tomatoes instead of diced tomatoes as I have on occasion, you will end up with an even thicker soup! Call it Hamburger Stewp and dig in with a fork, or add broth to thin the mixture a little.
Instead of thyme, Italian seasoning can be used to flavour the soup. Once fully cooked, check the soup for overall seasoning, adding salt and pepper if you find it necessary.
Serve Hamburger Soup with bread, buns or biscuits, and add a salad, if you wish. It’s a simple meal perfect for a cold January day.
This soup freezes well, and as with many soups, it tastes even better the next day!
Hamburger Soup
(Makes 8 servings)
1 lb (500 g) extra lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 carrots, thinly sliced (about 1-1/2 cups/375 mL)
3 ribs celery, thinly sliced (about 1-1/2 cups/375 mL)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon (1 to 2 mL) dried thyme
1 can (28 oz/796 mL) diced tomatoes
1 cup (250 mL) tomato sauce or 1 can (10 oz/284 mL) condensed tomato soup
4 cups (1 L) beef broth or bouillon
1/2 cup (125 mL) uncooked barley or broken spaghetti
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)
Cook beef, onion, garlic, carrots and celery in a large frying pan or soup pot over medium-high heat until meat is thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently; drain off any fat.
Stir in thyme, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes to 1-1/2 hours.
Stir in pasta; simmer until pasta is tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
Serve garnished with parsley, if desired.
Funnies for Foodies #2
On the head table in the cafeteria, one of the nuns set a big bowl of large, shiny, bright red apples. Beside the bowl, she placed a note which read, “Please take only one. Remember, God is watching.
At the other end of the table was a bowl of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, still warm from the oven.
Beside the bowl was a note scrawled in a child’s handwriting. It read, “Take all you want. God’s watching the apples.”
Since putting up the last post, I’ve been craving fondue!
Here’s a favourite cheese fondue recipe which I demonstrated on the cooking stage at the Total Woman Show in Kitchener last February. (This year’s show takes place at Bingemans on February 9th and 10th.)
Cheese fondues are typically cooked on the stove top, then poured into a fondue pot for serving. Make sure you regulate the flame below the fondue pot so it doesn’t overheat the bottom of the pot – and burn the fondue! (You want the smokey flavour to come from the bacon in this recipe, not burnt cheese.) If you occasionally give the mixture a stir with your fondue fork as you dip you should be able to prevent it from badly sticking or burning on to the bottom of the pot. (Some consider the cheesey bit that inevitably sticks to the bottom of the fondue pot as a tasty treat.)
If you wish to leave out the bacon, go ahead, but it does add a crunchy texture and a smokey, salty flavour.
Although bread is always a winning dipper for cheese fondues (and there is likely a tempting selection of bread available at your local bakery!), for variety, reach for some of these great dipping options as well: chopped celery and apples; cooked mini potatoes, sausages, tortellini or perogies; and/or button mushrooms.
Cheese and Bacon Fondue
(Makes 4 servings)
1 cup (250 mL) sour cream
1/4 cup (60 mL) milk
250 g (8 ounces) Gruyere cheese, grated
125 g (4 ounces) old Cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon (.5 mL) ground nutmeg
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Dippers: cubed bread; cherry tomatoes; chopped celery; cooked mini potatoes, tortellini, and mini sausages; and/or chopped apples
Heat sour cream and milk in a medium saucepan over low heat until smooth and warmed through, stirring frequently.
Meanwhile, combine Gruyere and Cheddar cheeses in a bowl until well mixed. Add cheese a handful at a time to sour cream mixture, whisking or stirring well after each addition, until all the cheese is melted.
Add Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard and nutmeg; mix well. Transfer mixture to a fondue pot. Sprinkle bacon over top. Serve with dippers.
Tip:
* If fondue mixture is too thick, whisk in additional milk, a tablespoon (15 mL) at a time.
Over the Christmas holidays, Murray and I enjoyed a three course fondue meal with his sister Lorna at The Melting Pot Restaurant in Winnipeg, Manitoba. All that dipping inspired us to buy a new tea pot.
What? You don’t see the connection between fondue forks and tea pots? Well, let me explain. But I’ll start at the beginning and describe our meal in case you get a chance to visit this fondue restaurant.
We started with a salad (a Sunshine salad for me – mixed greens, feta cheese, red onion, olives and pecans, drizzled with a sun-dried tomato dressing). Salads were followed by a classic cheese fondue made with Gruyere and Swiss cheeses, wine, kirsch, and a medley of spices that included a wonderful punch of nutmeg.
We continued our dipping with a “surf and turf” bouillon fondue of scallops, prawns, chicken, beef and pork with three sauces (seafood sauce, a dill sauce, and a chili sauce, if memory serves). This fondue was accompanied by rice and Thai-style vegetables.
A chocolate fondue with fruit dippers finished the meal on a very satisfying note.
Along with the dessert fondue, Murray ordered tea. It was served in a see-through tea pot that housed an infuser for the tea leaves. The word “BrewT” was stamped on the tea pot.
The pot was a little taller and larger than the one shown on the left.
We were intrigued by the pot with its pronged feet. Although we had all seen clear tea pots before, this one appeared to have no pouring spout.
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Here’s how the pot works.
Tea leaves and boiling water are placed in the pot (1 teaspoon (5 mL) tea leaves and 1 cup (250 mL) water per cup of tea). The tea is allowed to steep for a few minutes.
After the leaves have steeped, the pot is set on top of the cup. This pushes the release valve open which allows the tea to pour into the cup.
The three of us were impressed by the pot’s efficiency, probably because most restaurant tea pots pour so badly you usually have tea everywhere but in your cup.
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Of course the trick with this pot was knowing when to lift it off the cup so it would stop “pouring”, otherwise the tea could overflow the cup.
But judging when the cup was nearly full proved to be not that difficult. You just had to lift the pot for a look, and to immediately stop dispensing tea.
Once we were back home, Murray was on a hunt to find a similar tea pot.
An online search revealed that BrewT was available through Cornelia Bean Ltd. in Winnipeg for $24.99.
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We decided to check a local tea shop to see whether they sold anything similar. Sure enough, Distinctly Tea in Waterloo (Ontario) carries three different styles and sizes of this type of tea pot. Each comes with a round coaster on which the pot sits to catch any drips.
I received a couple helpful kitchen gadgets for Christmas that I’ve been able to put to good use.
The utensil pot clip is a stainless steel clamp that fits saucepans with edges less than 3/8-inch thick. Attached to the side of a pot, it holds a spoon or spatula at the ready. The silicone-coated hook is heat resistant to 600F (315C). It’s a great way to keep your counter and stove top clean, and the utensil handy when needed. Approx. price – $8.75 (Cdn)
If you’re tired of wondering whether food in your house is past its prime or safe to heat, here’s a gadget that will help you keep track of the number of hours and days a food has been in your refrigerator or opened and in your cupboard. The days agoTM digital counter counts up to 99 days and is reuseable. Its suctioned and/or magnetic base enables it to adhere readily to almost any surface. The one I have is magnetic, but with a small piece of masking tape rolled over onto itself and stuck to the back, the counter will readily adhere to plastic or glass.
Funnies for Foodies #1
A tour bus driver is driving with a bus load of seniors down a highway when he is tapped on his shoulder by a little old lady. She offers him a handful of peanuts which he gratefully accepts and enjoys.
After about 15 minutes she taps him on his shoulder again, and she hands him another handful of peanuts.
She repeats this gesture about five more times.
When she is about to hand him another batch, he asks her, “Why don’t you eat the peanuts yourself?”
“We can’t chew them because we have no teeth,” she replies.
Puzzled, the driver asks, “Then why do you buy them?”
The old lady replies, “We just love the chocolate around them.”
Feeling a little down in the dumps now that the holiday season is over and life has returned to normal? A long year stretches ahead. The calendar pages are mostly blank. Life is just plain boring.
It’s time to lose the attitude and get a life. There is much to celebrate – if you have the right calendar.
