Recipes

Roast Pork Loin with Tarragon Cream

Ingredients
1 pork loin
3 cloves garlic, cut into  slivers
Salt and ground pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons shallot, minced
¹⁄₂ cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons fresh tarragon, chopped

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 400*F. 

2. With the tip of a sharp knife, cut slits all over the pork loin.  Insert the garlic slivers into the slits then season the meat well with salt and pepper. 

3. Roast until meat reaches 135-140*F, about 55 minutes.  Transfer to cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest while preparing sauce. 

4. Melt butter in skillet over low heat.  Add shallot and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add broth and cook until almost completely evaporated, about 5 minutes.  Whisk in mustard and cream and simmer until sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.  Stir in tarragon and season with salt and pepper. 

5. Slice roast into thin slices and serve with sauce. 

Comments
This recipe is from epicurious.com.  The meat was tender and juicy, the sauce was reminiscent of Béarnaise.  Very tasty and light. 

Shown here with Chard Gratin.

Pasta with Fast Sausage Ragu

Ingredients
2 pounds pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
2 cups whole milk
¹⁄₂ cup tomato paste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded

Instructions
1. Bring large pot of salted water to boil over high heat.  Cook pasta as directed on packaging. Drain well. 

2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add sausage and continue cooking until sausage is well browned, about 5 to 10 minutes. 

3. Add milk and tomato paste and stir to blend.  Season with salt and pepper then simmer until thickened, but not dry, about 1 to 2 minutes. 

4. Serve pasta topped with sauce and Parmesan cheese. 

Comments
This recipe is from The Essential New York Times Cookbook.  This is a super simple and quick ragu sauce.  It was filling and delicious – we all enjoyed it quite a bit.  This is enough sauce for two pounds of pasta, which the recipe calls for, but you don’t need to make all the pasta at once.  You can freeze half and the sauce for later and just make the pasta when you’re ready. 

Shown here with Baked Zucchini Fries.

Another Carbonara

Ingredients
1 pound pasta, any shape
4 eggs
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
11 slices thick cut bacon, cut into small pieces
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
²⁄₃ cup frozen peas

Instructions
1. Cook pasta according to package directions and drain well, reserving two cups of the pasta cooking water. 

2. Mix eggs, Parmesan, cream, salt and pepper in small bowl until smooth. 

3. Meanwhile, fry bacon in large skillet until just crisp.  Remove from pan and drain on paper towels or in sieve set over bowl.  Pour off bacon fat from skillet but don’t clean it out.  Return pan to medium-low heat and sauté onions until soft.  Add garlic and continue cooking until fragrant, about 30 seconds. 

4. Place hot pasta in large bowl and slowly pour half of egg mixture on to the hot pasta.  Stir pasta while adding egg mixture, it will cook with the heat of the pasta. 

5. Add peas, bacon, and onion mixture to the pasta bowl.  Pour in remaining egg mixture, stirring the whole time.  Add pasta cooking water if necessary to thin out the sauce.  Serve with extra Parmesan if desired. 

Comments
This recipe is from The Pioneer Woman.  I’m still looking for that perfect carbonara recipe and, sadly, this is not it.  It wasn’t as rich and creamy as I want my carbonara to be.  So, while it’s fine, it’s not the best ever.  Back to the drawing board!

Poached Salmon with Dill and Sour Cream Sauce

Ingredients
2 lemons
2 tablespoons fresh dill, minced, plus 8 to 12 stems
2 small shallots, minced
¹⁄₂ cup white wine
¹⁄₂ cup water
4 pieces (6 ounces each) salmon
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and ground black pepper

Instructions
1. Cut one lemon into 8 slices.  Cut other lemon into 8 wedges.  Arrange lemon slices across bottom of 12-inch skillet.  Scatter dill stems and 2 tablespoons shallot evenly over lemon slices.  Add wine and water. 

2. Place salmon in skillet, skin side down, on top of lemon slices.  Set pan over high heat and bring liquid to simmer.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until sides are opaque but center of thickest part is still translucent, or until 125*F on thermometer, about 11 to 16 minutes.  Remove pan from heat and carefully transfer salmon and lemon slices to paper towel-lined plate.  Tent plate loosely with foil. 

3.  Return pan to high heat and simmer cooking liquid until slightly thickened and reduced to 2 tablespoons, 4 to 5 minutes.  Strain cooking liquid through mesh strainer into medium bowl; discard solids.  Return strained liquid to skillet and stir in mustard and remaining shallot.  Simmer over high heat until thickened and reduced to 2 tablespoons, 4 to 5 minutes.  Stir in sour cream and juice from 1 lemon wedge; simmer 1 minute.  Remove from heat and whish in butter and minced dill.  Season with salt and pepper. 

4. Carefully separate lemon slices from salmon and serve salmon with pan sauce, pass remaining lemon wedges at the table if desired. 

Comments
This recipe is from the 2008 Cook’s Illustrated Annual.  It’s a fairly basic salmon preparation and the fish was certainly tasty.  I didn’t think it was anything spectacular, though, and I don’t think it will come to mind when I’m trying to think of a salmon recipe to try out.  This is surprising since Cook’s Illustrated normally doesn’t do me any wrong.  The sauce also went well with the chicken I sautéed for Art. 

Shown here with Salt Potatoes with Butter and Herbs.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Ingredients
¹⁄₂ cup mayonnaise
¹⁄₄ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 teaspoons Italian seasoned bread crumbs

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 425*F. 

2. Mix mayonnaise and cheese together in small bowl. 

3. Place chicken on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and spread mayonnaise mixture evenly over each breast.  Sprinkle bread crumbs over chicken. 

4. Bake for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  The exact baking time will depend on the thickness of the breasts.  Season with salt and pepper before serving. 

Comments
This recipe is from The Enchanted Cook.  It’s very simple and the mayonnaise helps keep the chicken moist. 

Shown here with Swiss Chard Cheater Greens.

Sassy Sausage and Hash Brown Breakfast Bake

Ingredients
4 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
1 pound sausage, casings removed (I used sweet Italian.)
¹⁄₄ cup onion, finely chopped
¹⁄₄ cup red bell peppers, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 (12 ounces) can evaporated milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
¹⁄₂ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
Dash paprika
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions
1. Spray 9 by 9-inch baking pan.  Heat oven to 350*F if you plan to bake casserole on the same day as assembly. 

2. Cook sausage in large skillet over medium heat, breaking up with wooden spoon as it cooks.  Remove sausage to paper towel-lined plate and drain. 

3. Cook bell pepper and onion in sausage fat remaining in skillet.  Sauté 5 minutes, or until soft.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Remove to paper towel-lined plate with sausage. 

4. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in skillet and brown hash browns in batches, following package directions.  Continue until all hash browns are browned on both sides. 

5. Layer half of the hash browns in baking dish.  Top with half of the sausage and vegetable mixture and ¹⁄₂ cup of cheese.  Repeat layers to use all potatoes, sausage, and vegetables. 

6. In a small bowl, whisk together egg, evaporated milk, cayenne, paprika, salt and pepper.  Pour this mixture evenly over the casserole and cover with aluminum foil. 

7. If baking immediately, place in oven and cook 50 minutes before removing foil.  Bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes then allow casserole to cool for 10 minutes before serving.  Top as desired with things like sour cream, jalapenos, salsa, green onions, etc. 

8. If baking another day, refrigerate until ready to heat oven.  Remove casserole from fridge and allow to come to room temperature while oven heats.  Then proceed as above. 

No photo – this happens when I have company.

Comments
This recipe is from Willow Bird Baking and it was suggested to me when I was looking for something unusual to do for a company breakfast.  This is sort of like strata, but the bread is replaced by hash browns.  It was scrumptious and we all enjoyed it quite a bit!  I think I used more peppers and onions than the recipe called for, since I seem to recall making it in a 9x12 instead of a 9x9.  But looking over the recipe now, I’m not entirely sure what I did differently!

Cod with Lemon Caper Cream Sauce

Ingredients
4 pieces (6 ounces each) cod
Salt and pepper, to taste
8 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 ¹⁄₄ cup white wine
¹⁄₂ cup capers, drained and rinsed
¹⁄₄ tablespoon green onions, chopped
1 ¹⁄₃ cup half and half or heavy cream
Juice of 2 lemons

Instructions
1. Season fish with salt and pepper.  Melt butter in large skillet and cook fish for 4 to 5 minutes per side.  Remove from pan. 

2. Reduce heat to medium and whisk in flour.  Add wine and continue stirring until sauce thickens.  Slowly pour in half and half and continue to stir.  Remove sauce from heat and stir in lemon juice, capers, green onions, and salt to taste.  Pour sauce over fish and serve. 

Comments
This recipe is from The Village Cook.  I made it with cod, although any similar fish would work just as well.  I thought it was super tasty and also very simple.  The sauce makes probably twice as much as you actually need, but I served it with rice which sopped up the sauce quite well.  Super tasty and a recipe I hope I’ll remember to make in the future.

Parmesan Baked Eggs

Ingredients
1 ¹⁄₂ tablespoon butter
¹⁄₂ teaspoon olive oil
1 shallot, minced
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
¹⁄₂ tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
6 eggs
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 375*F.  Place small pat of butter, about 1 teaspoon each, in bottom of each of three ramekins.  Place ramekins in baking dish then transfer to oven until butter melts.  Remove ramekins from oven. 

2. Heat oil and butter in small saucepan.  Add shallot and sauté until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes.  Add herbs and salt then remove from heat and stir to combine. 

3. Pour 1 teaspoon of cream into each ramekin and crack 2 eggs into each.  Sprinkle the herb mixture evenly over the top of each ramekin and return to oven, still in the baking dish, and bake for about 7 minutes. 

4. Switch oven from bake to broil and turn heat setting to broil if necessary for your oven.  Sprinkle eggs with Parmesan cheese.  Broil eggs for another 2 minutes or until egg whites are just set and yolks are still soft.  Let stand 3 to 5 minutes before serving. 

Comments
This recipe is from Pinch of Yum and I thought it was truly yummy!  Sadly, I’m still working on perfecting the whole baked eggs thing, because I’m having a hard time getting the whites set and the yolks runny.  I’ll keep working on it, though, and eventually I’ll get it perfected! 

Shown here with Roasted Potatoes and maple sausage links.

Crescent Egg Puffs

Ingredients
1 tube crescent rolls
8 eggs
¹⁄₂ cup cheddar cheese, shredded
¹⁄₂ cup green onions, sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste
12 ounces bacon, cut into pieces, cooked until crisp, and drained

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350*F.  Spray a standard size muffin tin with cooking spray. 

2. Open the crescent rolls and separate into 4 rectangles.  Pinch rectangles together on seams then cut in half to make 8 squares.  Place each square into a muffin cup and press into the cup to form a bowl. 

3. Crack an egg into each crescent cup then top with cheddar, green onions, salt and pepper. 

4. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until whites are set and yolks are still runny.  Sprinkle bacon over top before serving. 

Comments
This recipe is from The Kitchen Life of a Navy Wife.  Again, I have trouble with the timing of baked eggs, but practice makes perfect so I’ll get there eventually.  Mine didn’t turn out nearly as pretty as the ones of the Navy Wife, but they were certainly delicious! 

Shown here with Pesto Roasted Tomatoes.

Mustard Crusted Tilapia

Ingredients
4 (6 ounces each) tilapia fillets
2 teaspoons spicy brown mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice
¹⁄₂ teaspoon garlic powder
¹⁄₂ teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded
2 teaspoons bread crumbs

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 375*F.  Spray a glass baking dish with cooking spray. 

2. Place tilapia in baking dish and bake for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, stir together mustard, Worcestershire, lemon juice, garlic powder, oregano, and Parmesan cheese. 

3. Remove fish from oven and brush with mustard paste.  Sprinkle with bread crumbs and continue baking another 5 minutes or until the topping is bubbly and golden.

Comments
This recipe is from [all(recipes.com](http://all(recipes.com/recipe/mustard-crusted-tilapia/detail.aspx) and, well, it wasn’t that great.  The recipe called for “fine Italian bread crumbs” so that’s what I used but, if I make this again, I suggest either making fresh bread crumbs yourself (by processing a slice of white bread) or using panko.  The dry, powdery bread crumbs just made the entire dish unappealing.

I made chicken for Art using the same preparation and had the same complaints, although it was passable. 

Shown here with Chard Gratin.