Recipes

Ingredients
1 pork tenderloin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon water
3 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons sour cream

Instructions
1. Season pork on all sides with salt and pepper.  Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add pork and cook until meat is well browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. 

2. Lower heat to medium low, cover pan, and cook until the temperature of the pork reaches 145*F, about 20 to 25 minutes.  Remove meat to a plate and cover with foil.  Let meat rest for 10 minutes while preparing the sauce. 

3. Return skillet to burner set to medium and deglaze with 1 tablespoon water, scraping off any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Lower heat and add both mustards and sour cream, whisking to combine.  Cook sauce until heated through. 

4. Thinly slice pork and serve with sauce. 

Comments
This recipe is from Kalyn’s Kitchen and I thought it was very tasty.  The sauce was easy and pork tenderloin is super simple to cook in a skillet.  It was tender, moist, and full of great flavor.

Shown here with Zucchini with Basil, Pine Nuts, and Parmesan.

Ingredients
1 cup mustard (I used Dijon.)
¹⁄₂ cup balsamic vinegar
¹⁄₃ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¹⁄₂ teaspoon cayenne

Instructions
1. Mix all ingredients together and simmer over a low heat for 30 minutes. This recipe makes about 2 cups. 

No photo

Comments
This recipe is from about.com.  Sadly I didn’t take a picture since we had company over and I tend to forget photographs when people are visiting.  It was really delicious sauce.  The original recipe called for an entire teaspoon of cayenne pepper, but I reduced it to ¹⁄₂.  Even then, it was a bit on the spicy side.  Still tasty, just at the limit of my tolerance.

Internet - About.com

Ingredients
¹⁄₂ cup rice vinegar
3 tablespoons plus ¹⁄₃ cup soy sauce
¹⁄₃ cup hoisin sauce
1 ¹⁄₂ tablespoons fresh ginger, grated or minced
¹⁄₄ cup sesame oil
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
¹⁄₂ head Napa or Chinese cabbage, shredded
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced on diagonal
1 cup chow mein noodles

Instructions
1. Whisk vinegar, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, and sesame oil together in medium bowl. Place chicken in single layer in Dutch oven. Pour ¹⁄₂ cup vinegar mixture over chicken breasts; reserve remaining vinegar mixture to use as dressing. Add remaining ¹⁄₃ cup soy sauce and 3 cups water to pot. Bring to boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer chicken until cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes.

2. Transfer chicken to plate, cover, and refrigerate until cool enough to handle. Shred chicken into long, thin strands using two forks or fingers.

3. Transfer chicken to large serving bowl, toss with 2 tablespoons dressing, and season with salt and pepper. Add cabbage, bell pepper, green onion, and remaining dressing and toss to combine. Sprinkle with chow mein noodles and serve.

Note: I recommend only topping it with chow mein noodles when ready to serve.  If you top the leftovers before refrigeration, they’ll get soggy. 

Comments
This recipe is another winner from Cook’s Country 2005.  I may have gone slightly overboard on the chow mein noodles in this picture, I love them.  This salad was really scrumptious.  I claimed all the leftovers.  The sauce was very flavorful and I loved the veggies and the crunch of the salad.  It’s also really nice to see an Asian chicken salad recipe that doesn’t involve peanut butter, they’re few and far between. 

Yum.

Cook’s Country 2005

Ingredients
2 ¹⁄₂ pounds russet potatoes, scrubbed, skins left on
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup chicken broth
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
³⁄₄ cup Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded
³⁄₄ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 ¹⁄₂ cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350*F.

2. Place potatoes in large pot and add enough cold water to cover by 2 inches. Bring potatoes to boil over high heat, then lower heat to maintain gentle simmer. Cook until potatoes are just barely tender, 15 to 17 minutes. Drain potatoes. When cool enough to handle (5 to 8 minutes), shred potatoes using shredding attachment of food processor or large holes on box grater. Place shredded potatoes in large bowl and set aside.

3. Bring cream and broth to simmer in small saucepan. Remove pan from heat and stir in garlic, butter, and Parmesan. Pour cream mixture into bowl with potatoes and stir to combine. Stir in salt and pepper. Scrape potato mixture into 2-quart oval baking dish and sprinkle with cheddar.

4. Cover baking dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking until top is nicely browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Comments
This recipe is from Cook’s Country 2005.  I like creamy potato dishes, what can I say?  This one was nice due to the shredded texture of the potatoes; they still had some bite to them unlike mashed potatoes.  I left the peels on, since I see no reason to remove them, but you’re welcome to peel your potatoes if that’s what you’d like to do.  You can use any type of cheese you like as well, depending on your tastes or the flavors you’d like to pair the casserole with.  This was a fairly tasty dish and also pretty basic. 

Shown here with Garlic Roast Beef.

Cook’s Country 2005

Ingredients
4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups potato chips, crushed
2 slices white sandwich bread, torn into 1-inch pieces
6 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper
15 ounces white tuna packed, drained if necessary
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
12 ounces egg noodles
16 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 ¹⁄₂ cups half and half
1 ¹⁄₂ cups chicken broth
1 ¹⁄₂ cups frozen peas

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 425*F. Combine Monterey Jack and cheddar in bowl. Pulse potato chips, bread, ¹⁄₄ cup cheese mixture, 2 tablespoons butter, ¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt, and ¹⁄₄ teaspoon pepper in food processor until coarsely ground; set aside.

2. Place tuna in large bowl and flake into coarse pieces with fork. Microwave oil, lemon juice, ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt, and ¹⁄₂ teaspoon pepper in small bowl until bubbling around edges, about 30 seconds. Stir oil mixture into tuna and let sit for 10 minutes.

3. Bring water to boil in Dutch oven. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook until just al dente. Drain pasta and rinse with cold water until cool, about 2 minutes. Drain again and set aside. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in now-empty pot over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and ¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt and cook until liquid evaporates and mushrooms are browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to bowl with tuna mixture. Add 1 tablespoon butter, onion, and bell pepper to now-empty pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl with tuna-mushroom mixture; set aside.

4. In now-empty pot, melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until golden, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in half and half and broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until slightly thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Off heat, whisk in remaining cheese mixture until smooth. Stir in pasta, tuna-vegetable mixture, peas, ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt, and ¹⁄₂ teaspoon pepper.

5. Top with bread-crumb mixture. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Let casserole cool 10 minutes before serving. 

Comments
This recipe is from Cook’s Country 2012.  (At the time of this posting, the annual wasn’t available so I can’t link to it.)  I grew up eating a much less… refined version of Tuna Casserole, so I thought it would be nice to try out this version that included noodles and vegetables! 

For the most part, I enjoyed this.  Lance felt that it needed more topping and I think that could have been fixed in two ways.  First – more potato chips.  Second – actually transfer the casserole to a 13x9-inch pan like the original recipe says to in order to increase surface area. 

I’m not 100% sold on the bell peppers in this, but, otherwise, I thought it was super tasty and delicious.  I’ll definitely give this a go in the future.

Cook’s Country 2012

Ingredients
For the beef
8 cloves garlic, separated and peels left on
1 (approximately 4 pound) top sirloin roast

For the garlic-salt rub
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
¹⁄₂ teaspoon table salt
_
For the garlic paste_
12 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
¹⁄₂ cup olive oil
Ground black pepper

For the jus
1 ¹⁄₂ cups beef broth
1 ¹⁄₂ cups chicken broth

Instructions
1. For the beef: Toast unpeeled garlic cloves in small skillet over medium-high heat, tossing frequently, until spotty brown, about 8 minutes. Set garlic aside. When cool enough to handle, peel cloves and cut into ¹⁄₄-inch slivers.

2. Using paring knife, make 1-inch-deep slits all over roast. Insert toasted garlic into slits.

3. For the garlic-salt rub: Mix minced garlic, thyme, and salt together in small bowl. Rub all over roast. Place roast on large plate and refrigerate, uncovered, at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.

4. For the garlic paste: Heat halved garlic cloves, thyme, bay leaves, salt, and oil in small saucepan over medium-high heat until bubbles start to rise to surface. Reduce heat to low and cook until garlic is soft, about 10 minutes. Cool completely. Strain, reserving oil. Discard herbs and transfer garlic to small bowl. Mash garlic with 1 tablespoon garlic oil until paste forms. Cover and refrigerate paste until ready to use. Cover and reserve garlic oil.

5. Adjust oven rack to middle position, place nonstick roasting pan, broiler pan, or oven-safe skillet on rack, and heat oven to 450*F. Using paper towels, wipe garlic-salt rub off beef. Rub beef with 2 tablespoons reserved garlic oil and season with pepper. Transfer meat to preheated pan and roast, turning as needed until browned on all sides, 10 to 15 minutes.

6. Reduce oven temperature to 300*F. Remove roasting pan from oven.  Using spatula, coat top or roast with garlic paste. Return meat to oven and roast until internal temperature reaches 125*F on instant-read thermometer, 50 to 70 minutes. Transfer roast to cutting board, cover loosely with foil, and let rest for 20 minutes.

7. For the jus: Drain excess fat from roasting pan and place pan over high heat. Add broths and bring to boil, using wooden spoon to scrape browned bits from bottom of pan. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 2 cups, about 5 minutes. Add accumulated juices from roast and cook 1 minute. Pour through fine-mesh strainer. Slice roast crosswise against grain into ¹⁄₄-inch slices. Serve with jus.

Comments
This recipe is from Cook’s Country 2005.  I do wish I had reduced the jus more, as you can see from the picture it was very watery all over the plate!  This roast had tons of great garlic flavor thanks to the triple garlic attack of rub, paste, and studding.  I was very happy with how it turned out and how nice the roast was.  I might give this recipe another go in the future since it worked out so well. 

Shown here with Creamy Potato Casserole.

possible - had good points

Cook’s Country 2005

Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
¹⁄₂ pound bacon, chopped
3 large eggs
1 ¹⁄₂ cups Parmesan cheese, grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
¹⁄₂ cup white wine
1 pound spaghetti
2 cups frozen peas

Instructions
1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Drain bacon in sieve set over bowl, reserve bacon fat. 

2. Cook chicken in 1 tablespoon fat in now-empty skillet until well browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to cutting board and tent with foil. Let rest 5 minutes, then thinly slice.

3. Whisk eggs and cheese in medium bowl. Heat 1 tablespoon bacon fat in now-empty skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic and 1 teaspoon pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in wine and simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk wine mixture into egg mixture.

4. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta to boiling water and cook until al dente. Reserve ¹⁄₂ cup cooking water. Place peas in colander, drain pasta, and transfer pasta and peas to pot. Stir in chicken, egg-wine mixture, and bacon, adding reserved water as needed.

Comments
This recipe is from Cook’s Country 2010.  I really love the carbonara I get in restaurants, it’s creamy and delicious.  I’m always trying to replicate this and, as of yet, I’ve never succeeded.  This is also not a success in terms of restaurant carbonara replication but, at least, it’s delicious.  The leftovers went fast and we all enjoyed the dish.  My cheese did clump up a bit but I think this is because I used shredded cheese instead of grated cheese.  I’ll try grating the cheese if I make this again in the future.

Cook’s Country 2010

Ingredients
1 pound bacon, cut into pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
¹⁄₄ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 pounds tater tots
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
2 cups shredded cheese (I used Colby jack.)
Salt and pepper

Instructions
1. Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp.  Drain in sieve set over bowl.  Return 1 tablespoon bacon fat to skillet and add onion. Sauté onion until soft, about 4 or 5 minutes.  Add garlic and red pepper flakes and continue cooking until fragrant. 

2. Place tater tots, onion mixture, broth, and milk into slow cooker.  Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours.  Stir to break apart tater tots then stir in cheese until melted.  Season to taste with salt and pepper, and then serve. 

No photo.

Comments
This recipe is from Kayotic Kitchen and, sadly, I didn’t get a picture because I completely forgot.  Mine also didn’t look quite as pretty as Kay’s due to the color the bacon added to the soup.  If you like tater tots, and you like soup, you’ll probably like this.  It tastes like tater tots in soup form.  Good comfort food for a gray, rainy day.

Internet - Kayotic Kitchen

Ingredients
1 cup plain yogurt (Not non-fat.)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced
2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, minced
Salt and ground black pepper

Instructions
1. Combine first four ingredients in small bowl; season to taste with salt and pepper. Let stand at least 30 minutes to blend flavors.

No photo

Comments
This recipe is from Cook’s Illustrated 2004.  It’s a great, fresh tasting sauce to serve along with Biryani.  Sadly, I forgot to take a picture after topping the Biryani with the sauce!

Cook’s Illustrated 2004

Ingredients
12 cloves garlic, peeled
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons olive oil
¹⁄₂ cup heavy cream
¹⁄₄ teaspoon red pepper flakes or to taste
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons fresh oregano, minced, or ¹⁄₂ teaspoon of dried oregano
¹⁄₄ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and ground black pepper
1 pound linguine

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350*F.  Place garlic in medium saucepan, add milk, and bring to simmer over low heat.  Poach garlic until slightly softened, about 10 minutes.  Drain garlic and reserve milk.  Rinse garlic to remove milk residue. 

2. Place cloves in square of aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil.  Seal foil, place in oven, and roast until very soft, about 1 hour. 

3. Allow garlic to cook then mash with fork or spoon until garlic has reached the consistency of paste. 

4. Bring large pot of salted water to boil over high heat.  Cook pasta as directed on packaging. Reserve 2 cups pasta water then drain well.  Return pasta to pot.

5. Meanwhile, bring reserved garlic milk, cream, red pepper, and oregano to boil in previously used saucepan; simmer, whisking often, until milk mixture reduces by half.  Lower heat and whisk in garlic puree until sauce thickens, 2 to 3 minutes.  Whisk in Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. 

6. Pour sauce into pot with linguine and toss well to coat.  If the sauce is too thick, add some of the reserved pasta water to thin it, about 1 tablespoon at a time. 

Comments
This recipe is from Cook’s Illustrated 1993.  I thought it was super delicious.  The garlic flavor was amazing but super mild due to the roasting.  The only downside of this recipe is that we didn’t have leftovers!  You could easily make this with any pasta shape and it would be great with added vegetables such as mushrooms or broccoli or anything you like. 

Shown here with Roast Chicken with Dijon Mustard-Thyme Sauce.

Cook’s Illustrated 1993