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Icewine loving pigs?
This article in the Niagara Falls Review tells the tale of farmer Kevin River’s Berkshire pigs who dined on barley, soybeans and icewine (a dessert wine made from frozen grapes) for 40 days. Chef Frank Dodd of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Hillibrand winery then experimented with the results.
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.
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.
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.
They say there are no bad dogs, just bad owners.
Ouch!
In that case……..
Hello. My name is Wendi. I am a bad dog owner.
One day last week I came home from running a few errands to discover my poodle Cocoa had chewed his way into an ‘edible gift’ I’d left under the Christmas tree.
