Saturday, August 27, 2016

Easy Pork Tenderloin with Seasoned Rub

I love pork tenderloin because there are so many delicious and easy recipes used with this cut. I found this wonderful recipe on foodnetwork.com (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/pork-tenderloin-with-seasoned-rub-recipe.html). I can understand why this Ellie Krieger recipe has several hundred five-star reviews.

Since the spice mixture used to create the rub produced more rub than I needed, I later used the leftover rub on boneless pork chops, with equally tasty results.

Ingredients

1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp dried thyme
salt (I used 1 tsp)
1 & 1/4 pound pork tenderloin
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450° F.

2. Make the rub by mixing the dry seasonings in a bowl with a fork until they are well combined. Sprinkle the rub over the tenderloin. Then gently rub the seasonings over the entire surface of the tenderloin, so that the seasoning adheres well to the tenderloin.

3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the minced garlic and sauté, stirring for 1 minute. Put the tenderloin in the skillet and cook for about 10 minutes, searing each side, using tongs to turn the meat.

4. Transfer the meat to a roasting pan and bake for 20 minutes. Slice and serve.

(As I do with most recipes involving a large piece of pork or beef, I brought the tenderloin to room temperature by leaving it out for 30 minutes. Then I applied the rub. After cooking, a let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing.)

Rendez-Vous - Terrific French Bakery and Deli in Sarasota

My wife and I recently enjoyed delicious sandwiches and pastries from Rendez-Vous French Bakery and Delicatessen (http://www.rendezvoussarasota.com/) on Clark Road in Sarasota. 

We each had a sandwich for lunch and took home some pastries for breakfast. They were all delicious.

Her sandwich was La Riviera, with chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, romaine lettuce, mayonnaise, and chives on a French baguette for $7.75

Mine was Le Campagnard, with French paté, French pickles, and romaine lettuce on a French baguette for $7.95.

The sandwiches were not only delicious, but the size was generous. We could probably have split a single sandwich.

The breakfast pastries we chose were:
- Almond
- Almond and chocolate
- Apple

In addition to sandwiches and pastries, Rendez-Vous serves omelettes, quiches, salads, and soups. 

They're open from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday through Saturday; and 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Sunday. They're closed on Monday.

Can't wait to go back.

Thursday, August 4, 2016

Chicken, Artichoke, Zucchini, Corn, Onion, Tomato, Olive, Red Wine Skillet Dish

I created this easy dish in the process of figuring out how to use leftover roast chicken. I was very pleased with the results. Needless to say, you could start with uncooked chicken instead.

It should serve 4 to 6, but the two of us managed to consume about 80% of it.

Ingredients

- 1/2 leftover cooked chicken, skin removed, and chopped into bite-size pieces
- 1 zucchini, sliced in half lengthwise, and then sliced into 1/2 inch, half round pieces
- 1/2 onion,  chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 medium to large tomato, seeded and chopped
- 1 small jar of marinated and quartered artichoke hearts (7.5 oz)
- 1 small can extra sweet corn niblets (11 oz.)
- 1 cup pitted black olives, chopped
- 1/2 cup red wine - I used a Tuscan wine -Vecchia Cantina Rosso di Montepulciano
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 tbsp olive oil

Directions

1. In  a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.

2. Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes. (If the chicken is uncooked, include it with the onion. If it is leftover cooked chicken, include it in the last step.)

3. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute

5. Add zucchini and sauté for 5 minutes, turning once.

6. Add remaining ingredients, and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Za'atar Crusted Chicken Schnitzel

Za'atar is a tasty Middle Eastern spice mixture which I had mentioned in an earlier posting (http://viaggiviniecucine.blogspot.com/2015/02/zaatar-zaatar-pleasant-and-flexible.html)  It worked very nicely in this easy recipe which I found at http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/zaatar-crusted-chicken-schnitzel. 

The version below serves four and is approximately half the original recipe.

Ingredients


- 3/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
- 1tbsp za'atar
- 1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided 
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided 
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg white 
- 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breasts 
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 
- Cooking spray
- 1/2 lemon, cut into 4 wedges (optional) 

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Combine panko, za'atar, sesame seeds, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a shallow dish. Place eggs and egg white in another shallow dish; lightly beat with a fork. Sprinkle chicken with remaining 1/24teaspoon salt and remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Dredge  breast halves in panko mixture, then egg mixture. Dredge again in panko mixture.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts to pan. Cook 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned, turning carefully with a spatula. Place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.

4. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until done. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.

Maryland-Style Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes

For my wife's birthday, I decided to try my hand at making rather than buying a dish she had requested - Maryland-style jumbo lump crab cakes. We lived in Maryland for many years, and this was one of our favorites. It turned out to be fairly easy to make and we were happy with the results. I found this recipe at http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/classic-maryland-crab-cakes.aspx.

I made two small changes: I used chopped green onions instead of parsley and canned bread crumbs instead of fresh bread crumbs.

I purchased fresh jumbo lump crab from the Pinchers Restaurant in Lakewood Ranch (http://www.pinchersusa.com/lakewood-ranch-sarasota.php). The Pinchers chain has its own fleet of fishing boats and obtains the crab along Florida's Gulf Coast. The crab meat was beautiful and had only one bit of shell mixed in. Pinchers was selling the jumbo lump crab meat for $29.99 per pound and the lump crab meat for $19.99 per pound.

It is important to be careful not to break up the jumbo lump crab meat when preparing the dish. Otherwise, there's no point in buying the jumbo lump. My wife once showed me laughably idiotic instructions for a crab recipe in a major women's magazine. The instructions in the recipe called for processing the jumbo lump crab meat in a food processor!!!!!!

Some crab cake recipes call for a remoulade for the cakes. This would be sacrilegious in Maryland. We did use tartar sauce on them.

This recipe produces eight small crab cakes. Three of us easily finished them off.

Ingredients

- 1 lb. jumbo lump or backfin crabmeat, fresh or pasteurized
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1&1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1&1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning (It's sold at Publix.)
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 tsp Kosher salt
- 1&1/4 cups fresh breadcrumbs (from soft white bread such as Pepperidge farm)
- 1 tbsp chopped, fresh, flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- lemon wedges for serving

Directions

1. Drain the crab meat, if necessary, and pick through it for shells. Put the crab meat in a medium bowl and set aside.

2. In a small bowl, whisk the egg, mayonnaise. mustard, Old Bay seasoning, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and salt. Scrape the mixture over the crab, and mix gently until well combined. 

3. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs and parsley over the mixture, and then mix them in thoroughly, but gently. Try not to turn the mixture into a mash. It should be somewhat loose. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 to 3 hours.

4. Shape the crab mixture into eight cakes about 1 inch thick.

5. Heat the butter and olive oil in a 12-inch, nonstick skillet over medium heat. When the butter is frothy, add the cakes to the pan. (The original recipe says that eight cakes should fit comfortably in a 12-inch skillet. I found that they completely filled a 14-inch skillet.)  Cook until dark golden on the underside - about 4 minutes. Flip the cakes, reduce the heat to medium low, and continue cooking until the other side is well browned - 4 to 5 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges on the side for squeezing on the cakes.