So I'm sitting here trying to figure out what to share with you first. I have been cooking a lot, helped a friend set up his kitchen from the ground up (a lot of fun) and I've spent the last week in Chicago tasting all they have to offer! I would love to go on and on but I will bore you so I'll tell you about my the most recent adventure, risotto and pork tenderloin. To be exact, a Dijon Garlic Pork Tenderloin with a Sauvignon Blanc reduction sauce and a Parmesan and Red Pepper Risotto. Give your stuff fancy names and simple things can impress! Wendy has always wanted to try risotto and it took me to watch a Good Eats episode on rice to realize what a cool thing it is. What you do is take Arborio rice (short grain, starchy), toast it in oil then slowly simmer it adding stock as you go. It results in a creamy texture that tasted like it has about a cu cream in it when it really only has about 2 tablespoons. Add Parmesan cheese, possibly some veggies like asparagus and it doesn't get better. Try looking up a recipe and give it a try! The star of the evening was the pork though.
I found a great recipe online how to roast it. Take a tenderloin in your favorite marinade (mine was Dijon mustard and garlic with oil) and saute it in an oven safe pan, taking 5 min. browning all sides. Then toss the pan in a 425 degree oven for 25 min or so until the internal pork temperature hits about 155. Try using a digital thermometer. Slice it up, then here comes the best part. See all that brown gook on the bottom of the pan? (you used a stainless steel saute pan right?) The French call that "Fond"...its great stuff. Toss the pan on the stove again on med-high and then our about a half cup of stock or white wine and scrape all that fond up. Reduce the sauce by about 2/3 and swirl in some butter. Add salt and pepper if needed and our over the sliced pork. AWESOME! The same process can be used for steaks, just use red wine and its turns out great. I could give about 10 variations but that's your job:)
The second big thing this week was the discovery of Creme Fraiche. The French use it all the time, thats a good enough excuse for me. Its a thick, tart version of sour cream. Here was the thing though, buying it at the store is ridiculous. It costs about $4.50 for a cups worth. I saw online that you could simply make it yourself by taking a cup of heavy cream and stirring in two tablespoons of buttermilk. Let this sit on the counter at room temp(I know, wierded me out too) for 8-24 hours until its thick. Throw it in the fridge and it will keep for about a week.
Try it with recipe and make the pasta yourself!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-at-home/fresh-tagliatelle-with-sprouting-broccoli-and-oozy-cheese-sauce-recipe/index.html
To follow up on my last post, my roast duck, the terror of the home kitchen, was tamed. I had some issues thinking it was done when it wasn't, but I finished cooking it without setting the smoke alarm off. It was good, however I would recommend serving it with some sort of cherry or orange sauce. I just made a gravy from the drippings which was good, but i was surprised how gamy it was. But give it a shot!
Until next time, have fun!
I found a great recipe online how to roast it. Take a tenderloin in your favorite marinade (mine was Dijon mustard and garlic with oil) and saute it in an oven safe pan, taking 5 min. browning all sides. Then toss the pan in a 425 degree oven for 25 min or so until the internal pork temperature hits about 155. Try using a digital thermometer. Slice it up, then here comes the best part. See all that brown gook on the bottom of the pan? (you used a stainless steel saute pan right?) The French call that "Fond"...its great stuff. Toss the pan on the stove again on med-high and then our about a half cup of stock or white wine and scrape all that fond up. Reduce the sauce by about 2/3 and swirl in some butter. Add salt and pepper if needed and our over the sliced pork. AWESOME! The same process can be used for steaks, just use red wine and its turns out great. I could give about 10 variations but that's your job:) The second big thing this week was the discovery of Creme Fraiche. The French use it all the time, thats a good enough excuse for me. Its a thick, tart version of sour cream. Here was the thing though, buying it at the store is ridiculous. It costs about $4.50 for a cups worth. I saw online that you could simply make it yourself by taking a cup of heavy cream and stirring in two tablespoons of buttermilk. Let this sit on the counter at room temp(I know, wierded me out too) for 8-24 hours until its thick. Throw it in the fridge and it will keep for about a week.
Try it with recipe and make the pasta yourself!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-at-home/fresh-tagliatelle-with-sprouting-broccoli-and-oozy-cheese-sauce-recipe/index.html
To follow up on my last post, my roast duck, the terror of the home kitchen, was tamed. I had some issues thinking it was done when it wasn't, but I finished cooking it without setting the smoke alarm off. It was good, however I would recommend serving it with some sort of cherry or orange sauce. I just made a gravy from the drippings which was good, but i was surprised how gamy it was. But give it a shot!
Until next time, have fun!
Comments
oh - and also - it sounds like you and wendy need to take a fancy vacation to france! you seem to be quite enamored with their cooking. ;)