Pork Fried Rice with Pineapple

Before we left Knoxville, I was working my way through two stacks of recipes from America’s Test Kitchen cookbooks.  We had a lot of success with several recipes and they were relatively fast and easy.  I have amassed a huge stack of recipes to work down (which will never happen since I add to it pretty much daily), but the Test Kitchen/Cook’s Illustrated recipes are usually so good that it won’t be long before I’m adding another cookbook to my list…

The only change I made here was I’m realizing I’m not an enormous fan of hoisin sauce, so I had decreased the quantity and replaced it with additional soy sauce, brown sugar, and a little additional sesame oil.  If you like hoisin, leave the recipe as is.

Initially I wasn’t sure about the pineapple even though pork and pineapple go well together, but it made the dish so don’t leave it out!

 

Makes 4 servings

• 2 boneless center cut pork chops (about 1 pound), cut into ½-inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Asian chili-garlic sauce
• 4 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 6 scallions, white parts sliced thin, green parts cut into ½-inch pieces
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• ¼ cup hoisin sauce
• 1 8-ounce can pineapple chunks, drained and chopped, 3 tablespoons juice reserved
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 (8.8-ounce) packages Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice (see note below)

Combine pork, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and chili-garlic sauce in bowl.  Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking.  Add pork mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned, about 3 minutes.  Transfer to bowl.

Add remaining oil to pan and cook scallion whites until just softened, about one minute.  Add eggs and cook, stirring vigorously, until scrambled, about one minute.  Transfer to bowl with pork.

Add hoisin sauce, pineapple chunks, reserved pineapple juice, sesame oil, remaining soy sauce, and rice to empty pan and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.  Stir in scallion greens and pork and egg mixture and toss until heated through, about 1 minute.  Serve.

Test Kitchen Note: Two cups of leftover white or brown rice can be substituted for the Uncle Ben’s.

Recipe source: America’s Test Kitchen The Best Simple Recipes

Honey Pecan Pork Chops

This was an incredibly easy dish to put together especially with so few ingredients.   My only change for next time is that I forgot to tenderize the pork which I think would have made the pork itself more flavorful and upped the “topping” to pork ratio.

• 4 pork cutlets, tenderized, 1/4-inch thick
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

In a shallow dish, combine flour with salt and pepper.  Dust the surface of the pork with seasoned flour.

Melt butter in large heavy skillet over medium-high heat.  Brown the cutlets on one side and then flip to brown the other side.  In a small bowl, combine honey and pecans; then add to the skillet, stirring gently.  Cover and simmer for 7-8 minutes.

Serve pork with the sauce.

Recipe source Spark Recipes / Found at Sugar & Spice

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Herbs and Red Wine Vinegar

I’m always amazed at how easy pork can be to prepare.  Somehow it doesn’t end up being one of my “top-made” meats, but I am always glad to add a new easy and tasty recipe to my repertoire!

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Herbs and Red Wine Vinegar

• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves
• 2 teaspoons fresh oregano leaves
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat and membrane removed

Combine the ingredients in a large ziploc bag to make the marinade.  Add the pork to the marinade, massaging gently into the meat.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes but up to several hours.

Grill tenderloin until meat thermometer registers 160-165, turning once. Remove from grill and cover with a foil tent for 15 minutes. Slice and serve.

Recipe found at: Pink Parsley marinade adapted from Cook’s Illustrated, Summer Grilling 2009

Turkey & Pork Meatballs/Orecchiette Pasta/Pesto

So the amusing thing is that I just looked up this recipe to share it, and Bravo has already changed several of the things we marked to change for the next time we made it.  Our original recipe didn’t include any oil in the pesto which we ended up adding, but you can see our sauce was more paste like than sauce.  I have adapted a hybrid approach between the sauce they have on the website and the sauce as we adjusted it, so this recipe could potentially be tweaked again.

My mom, Corrie, and I all love Top Chef, so we’ve all made and enjoyed eating this dish!

Meatballs:

• 1/ 2 pound ground turkey
• 1/ 2 pound ground pork
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon minced onion
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons white wine
• 1 large egg, beaten lightly
• 1/ 2 teaspoon red pepper chile flakes
• 1/ 2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed

Veggies & Pasta:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cups cauliflower florets
• 1 cup baby carrots
• One 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, each cut in half
• 1 packed cup fresh spinach leaves
• 1 tablespoon white wine
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound orecchiette pasta, cooked al dente

SPINACH-ALMOND PESTO:

• 1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
• 1/ 2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/ 2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
• 4 ounces fresh spinach leaves, plus more as needed
• 1/ 2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more as needed
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more as needed
• 2 tablespoons white wine
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

MEATBALLS:  In a large bowl, stir together all the meatball ingredients except the oil and form into meatballs about 3⁄4 inch in diameter.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking and cook the meatballs, in batches, turning them as they cook, until browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add more oil to the skillet with new batches as necessary. With a slotted spoon, transfer to a wire rack to drain. Set aside.

VEGETABLES AND PASTA: In a large sauté pan or skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the cauliflower, carrots, and artichokes and sauté until softened but al dente, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach and cook for 1 minute, or until just wilted. Add the wine and cook until evaporated. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook orecchiette pasta according to the manufacturer’s directions until al dente.

PESTO:  In a food processor, add the garlic, almonds, spinach, cheese, lemon juice, wine, and salt and pepper to taste and puree. Drizzle in olive oil while food processor is running until it just turns into a sauce from a paste.  Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed. Set aside until you’re ready to assemble the dish.

Add the orecchiette and meatballs to the vegetables and stir to combine. Add enough pesto to coat, then heat to warm through. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary. Serve immediately.

Recipe adapted from Bravo’s Top Chef

Orange-Chipotle Glazed Pork Tenderloin

The only downfall of this dish is that it creates a lot of dishes.  Other than that, it was delicious!

Orange-Chipotle Glazed Pork Tenderloin

• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp. frozen orange juice concentrate
• 2 Tbsp. bourbon
• 1 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, finely minced
• 2 teaspoons adobo sauce
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. salt
• 2 Tsp. ground pepper
• 2 pork tenderloins (1-1 1/2 lbs each), trimmed of fat
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and adjust oven rack to middle position.

Combine 1/2 cup maple syrup, bourbon, orange juice concentrate, chipotle, and adobo sauce in a small bowl, and set aside.

In a separate small bowl, whisk cornstarch, sugar, salt, and pepper together, then transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Pat tenderloins dry with a paper towel. Roll in cornstarch mixture to coat evenly on all sides, and brush off excess.

Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until it is about to smoke.  Reduce heat to medium and place both tenderloins in skillet, at least 1 inch apart. Curve them around if necessary to fit them in the skillet. Cook until well-browned on all sides, 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer them to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet.

Remove the excess fat from skillet and return to medium heat. Add syrup mixture to skillet, and scrape up the browned bits with a wooden spoon. Cook until reduced to about 1/2 cup, about 2 minutes. Transfer 2 Tablespoons of the glaze to a small bowl and set aside.

Using the remaining glaze, brush each tenderloin with about 1 Tablespoon of glaze. Roast until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 130 degrees, 12-20 minutes. Brush each tenderloin with another tablespoon of glaze and continue to roast until the thermometer registers 135-140, 2 to 4 minutes longer.

Remove the pork from the oven and brush each one with remaining glaze. Allow to rest, uncovered, about 10 minutes.

While the tenderloins rest, add the remaining 1/4 cup maple syrup to the reserved 2 Tablespoons of glaze and whisk to combine.  Then, slice and serve!

Adapted from Pink Parsley, originally from Cook’s Illustrated

Guest Post: Carnitas with Pickled Red Onions and Chilies

Pork shoulder is an amazing thing. It’s relatively cheap, extremely flavorful, and incredibly forgiving on the wannabe chef. I’m pretty sure you could throw lawnmower clippings into a Dutch oven with three pounds of Boston butt and some vinegar for four hours, and you’d be OK.

But this recipe takes pulled pork to a wonderful place. The key is definitely the citrus, especially the orange. I find many slow-roasted meats that don’t use a lot of tomato product can be overwhelmingly earthy, so the kick of acidity and sweetness is a welcome touch.

The last step—broiling the pulled meat coated in the reduced sauce—adds a little noticeable texture, but honestly I’m usually too hungry to show that kind of patience and restraint. The point where the sauce is reduced and the pork coated is usually where I get off the train.

The quick pickled onions and chiles chip in some sweetness beyond the heat you’d get from adding them raw. I like using red wine vinegar, red onions, and red Serrano chiles for the monochromatic effect, but any white or yellow onions and really any chiles with spice would work just fine.

Last word of advice: I prefer these with corn tortillas for their subtle interjection of flavor, but if you slum it with generic flour ones I won’t hold it against you.

Carnitas with Pickled Red Onions and Chilies

Note: You need an oven safe pot for this dish.

• 1 (3 1/2 – 4 pound) boneless pork butt, fat cap trimmed to 1/8 inch thick, cut into 2-inch chunks
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 small onion, peeled and halved
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 2 Tbsp. juice from 1 lime
• 2 cups water
• 1 medium orange, halved and juiced (remove the seeds)

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees.  Combine all the ingredients in a Dutch oven, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.  Cover the pot and place it in the oven.   After one hour, flip the meat, and continue cooking for one additional hour until meat is soft and falls apart when prodded with a fork.

Remove from oven.  Transfer just the pork from the pot to a bowl.   Remove the orange halves, onion, and bay leaves from the cooking liquid and discard.  Place the pot over high heat (pot will be hot!) and bring to a simmer.  Simmer, stirring frequently, until thick and syrupy and a heatsafe spatula leaves a wide trail when dragged through,, 8 to 12 minutes.  You should have about 1 cup of reduced liquid.

Turn oven to broil.  Using two forks, pull each piece of pork in half.  Fold in reduced liquid and add salt and pepper to taste.  Spread the pork on a wire/cooling rack on a baking sheet or broiler pan.  Broil the meat for 5 to 8 minutes on each side until well browned and the edges are crisp.  Serve immediately.

Recipe from Cooks Illustrated (May & June 2008)

Pickled Red Onions and Chilies

• 1  red onion,  sliced into 1/8-inch half-moons
• 3 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar (or enough to cover the onions in the container)
• 1 small serrano chili, sliced into very thin rings

Bring the red wine vinegar to a simmer in a small saucepan.  Dissolve salt and sugar in the vinegar.  Place the chili and red onion slices in a small container.  Pour the vinegar mixture over them so that they are submerged.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Crockpot Pulled Pork

This was super easy to make, and since Corrie shredded the remaining pork for me (I just don’t like the feel of the fat, ugh!); I would definitely make this again!  I was initially concerned that it was going to be too spicy, but the crust tends to be more of the fat and is thrown away so it turned out just fine.

Crockpot Pulled Pork

Recipe found at The Way the Cookie Crumbles; Spice rub from Cooks Illustrated

• 2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1  1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
• 3 tsp. dried oregano
• 3 Tbsp. paprika
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. table salt
• 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp. ground white pepper

• 1 (5-6 pound) bone-in pork shoulder
• 1/2 tsp. liquid smoke, optional
• 1/4 cup water
• barbecue sauce

Combine all the spice rub ingredients  (everything up to the pork) in small bowl.  Then massage the rub into meat, and wrap tightly in double layer of plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or longer for stronger flavor.

Remove the plastic wrap and put the pork into your crockpot (with a slow cooker liner if you have it).   If your using it, add the liquid smoke along with the water.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours, until meat is fork-tender.

Pull the pork out of the slow cooker onto a cutting board and discard the cooking liquid.  Pull the pork into thin pieces using either two forks or your fingers.  Throw away the fat.

(I didn’t do this.) Put the shredded meat back in slow cooker liner, and toss with 1 cup barbecue sauce.  Heat on low for 30-60 minutes, until hot.

Panko-Crusted Pork Chops with Creamy Herb Dressing

At first I thought the herb dressing might be a little strange with the pork chops as it wasn’t a combination I’d ever had before, but I enjoyed it!  These were super easy to make and healthy (a Cooking Light recipe) to boot!

Panko-Crusted Pork Chops with Creamy Herb Dressing

Recipe found at: Taste and Tell; Originally from Cooking Light

ALERT: THIS IS ONLY FOR TWO SERVINGS. I may have realized this as I started to cook four pork chops…so I just doubled the dry ingredients; the egg was enough for all four.

• 2  teaspoons  all-purpose flour
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  onion powder
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground cumin
• 1/4  teaspoon  chili powder
• 1/8  teaspoon  ground red pepper
• 1  teaspoon  low-sodium soy sauce
• 1  large egg white
• 1/3  cup  panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 2  (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)
• 1  teaspoon  canola oil
• Cooking spray

• 1  tablespoon  chopped green onions
• 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2  tablespoons  fat-free sour cream (I used reduced-fat.)
• 1  tablespoon  fat-free milk
• 1  tablespoon  reduced-fat mayonnaise
• 1  teaspoon  cider vinegar
• 1/4  teaspoon  garlic powder

I didn’t change anything so these directions are directly from the website.

Preheat oven to 450°.  Combine first 6 ingredients in a shallow dish.  Combine soy sauce and egg white in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Place panko in a shallow dish.

Dredge pork in flour mixture; dip in egg mixture. Dredge in panko. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork to pan; cook 1 minute on each side. Place pork on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 6 minutes or until done. (I don’t like any pink, so I cooked probably an additional 8-10 minutes.)

For the dressing, combine onions and the remaining ingredients. Serve dressing with pork.

Crockpot Pork Tenderloin

I stumbled across this recipe when Jessica said she was making it.  It was super easy to throw together, and Corrie really liked it.  I was a little torn as to my feelings about it; a traditional meal that probably should have been served with potatoes.

Crockpot Pork Tenderloin

Recipe from allrecipes

• 1 – 2 pound – pork tenderloin
• 1 – 1 ounce-  envelope dry onion soup mix
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup red wine
• 3 Tbsp. minced garlic
• 3 Tbsp. soy sauce
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Put the pork tenderloin and soup packet contents in your crockpot.  Then add in the water, wine, and soy sauce; turning the pork to coat. Put the garlic on top of the tenderloin taking care to keep as much as possible on top of the pork during cooking.  Add the pepper on top; then cover and cook on low for 4 – 4 1/2 hours.  You can use the cooking liquid as an au jus if desired.

Sausage and Cleveland Peppers

As I mentioned in a previous post, a wonderful neighbor from Cleveland sent down some peppers, and I figured I needed to make sausage and peppers right?  I will have to ask next time I go home, but I think they were somewhere in the banana/italian pepper variety and had a bit of a kick to them, so I mixed in bell peppers.  I don’t care for most sausage, but we used sweet italian sausage, and I enjoyed it blended with the other flavors.

Sausage and Peppers

Recipe adapted from: My Italian Grandmother

• 6 pieces Sweet Italian Sausage
• 2 red bell peppers, sliced into thin strips
• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 large onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 (28 oz can) crushed tomatoes
• Crushed red pepper flakes, just a dash unless you like it spicy!
• 2 Tbsp. fresh basil, julienned
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a large deep-walled skillet, brown the sausage in extra virgin olive oil.  Once browned on all sides, take it out of the pan and set aside.

To the pan add the onion, garlic, basil and crushed red pepper, and saute for a minute until onions begin to soften at which time add the peppers.   Continue cooking for another 5-10 minutes until the peppers soften.  Then add the sausage back to the pan along with the crushed tomatoes, salt, and pepper.  Cover and cook  for about 45 minutes or until the sausage is cooked through on medium heat.