Roasted Pork Loin with Root Veggies

As I become more and more concerned about the quality of the food I eat and where it comes from, I find I am eating less pork and beef and more wild caught seafood and organic vegetables. Organic pork is difficult to find unless you get it from a local producer, and by local, I mean within a 200 mile radius of L.A./Orange County, and I honestly don’t love grass-fed beef. I am so glad to see the stores carrying more grass-fed options. Clearly that means that there is a demand for it. That people are asking for it and the stores are sourcing it for us. It’s easier with beef, but I’m still having trouble finding pork that I am ok with.

That said, last week I found a brand of pork at the market that’s (supposedly) humanely and ethically raised, so I bought it, thinking “now’s my chance”. I do want to do further fact-checking into this company to find out exactly how “natural”, “humanely and ethically raised” their products really are.

Since it was sort of an impulse purchase, I hadn’t thought a recipe through yet, so I improvised when I got home, thinking of what I had on hand and how I wanted the final product to taste. I love pork with fruit or something sweet. Things like maple syrup, apricots, prunes, cherries, even sweet veggies like carrots and squashes go particularly well with pork.  I had some of these things at home and this is what I came up with. It’s perfect for cold evenings when you want comfort food. We loved it.

Roasted Pork Loin with Root Vegetables

Preheat the oven to 375F.

What you’ll need:
Pork Loin about 3-4 lbs.

Quantities of the following are approximate. Use more or less of an item as you see fit.

Make a paste out of the following:
2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dry mustard
2-3 Tbsp. maple syrup

Rub this paste all over the pork.

Grab a Dutch oven or large covered casserole type dish that you can both use on the stovetop as well as place inside the oven. Turn on the heat to medium high and warm up on your stove top for about a minute. Now add some fat, in the form of bacon fat, butter, or olive oil. Sear both sides of the pork loin until nicely browned all over.

Remove the pork but leave the pot on the heat and add 1 large sliced onion, getting it nice and golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Add the following veggies, all chopped into medium-sized chunks, to the onion:
1 sweet potato
1-2 apples depending on size
3 carrots

Give it all a good stir for about a minute and then make a little well for the pork in the center. Return the pork back into the pot nestling it in between the veggies and cover. Place pot in preheated oven for approximately 40 minutes. Starting at the 30 min mark, remove lid and insert a meat thermometer. Continue cooking until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 145-150F. Do not overcook! A little hint of pink is ok. We want it to be juicy. Keep cooking uncovered for the next 10 minutes or so, or however long you need until the meat reaches the appropriate temperature. The veggies are going to be pretty soft, almost mashable.

Recent find: serve with Trader Joe’s apple cider jam, if they still have it. Last time I checked they were out. If it’s a seasonal thing and they are permanently out, not to worry, the dish has plenty of flavor so you don’t need it, but it’s pretty awesome with a little bit of this on the side.

Wine recommendation: your favorite red. Pinot Noir is mine. It’s lighter and therefore goes well with the fruity nature of the vegetables.

Pulled Pork for Cold Weather

When colder weather hits, it’s only natural for us to want to make dishes that are warm, hearty and satisfying. Soups, stews, braised meats and vegetables are all good this time of year. The kind of food that “sticks to your ribs”, as my mother would say.

One of my favorite things is pulled pork. I don’t eat it very often because it’s higher in sugar than I like, so it’s a cheat meal we enjoy now and again. Best of all, it’s rich and warming on a crisp, cool evening.

The recipe I originally started with was a lot spicier than my version, calling for an entire can of chipotle peppers! Little did I know how immensely hot that was going to be. My husband and I could barely get it down, our esophaguses engulfed in flames. Unfortunately, we had to toss it. The next time I made it I made modifications, using barbecue sauce instead, but it lacked a bit of punch and all we tasted was the cloyingly sweet taste of BBQ sauce. The third time I made it (this is sounding like a Goldilocks story) I used chipotle BBQ sauce, combining, I hoped, the best of both worlds. Sure enough this added just enough spice without torching our lips and intestines. I think it’s just right the way it is now.

It’s a super simple recipe to make. All you need is time, as in all afternoon (5 hours) so it’s best made on the weekend. You could try it in a slow cooker and therefore have it during the week, but it won’t be the same. You could brown the meat before adding it to the slow cooker, but still you won’t end up with the caramelization you can achieve in the oven. Slow-roasting the meat in the oven is key.

Pulled Pork

Ingredients
1 large or 2 small onions, peeled and sliced
1 pork butt (pork shoulder roast), bone-in, about 4-5 lbs
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 to 1 can real cola with sugar (not diet)*
1/2 bottle chipotle barbecue sauce

Directions
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Place the onion slices in the bottom of a roasting pan with a lid. Trim roast of some of the fat but leave it whole and if it has a bone, be sure to leave that in. Sprinkle the roast all over with salt and pepper, and then placed it on tope of the onions. Your in just enough of the cola so that the liquid comes up to about 1/4 -1/3 up the sides of the roast. You don’t want it to swim in too much liquid. The add the BBQ sauce over the roast, rubbing it over the top and sides.

Cover the pot, put it in the oven and cook for at least 5 hours, depending on the size of your roast, For a 4-pounder, this is enough time. Turn the meat 2 or 3 times during the cooking process. The last time you turn it, leave the lid partially off in order to get that caramelization I was talking about. If you don’t want the caramelization (what is wrong with you?), put the lid fully back on.

When it’s done, the meat should be fork-tender and easy to shred. Do so completely with 2 forks while the roast is still in the pot. Leave the meat in the juice until you serve it. 

This is super easy and again, all it takes is time. Time you’re going to be spending watching a movie or reading a good book anyway. Maybe doing chores or taking a nap.

Pulled pork would go quite well with a bottle of Grenache. This lighter red wine would be perfect with the sweetness of the pork and its sauce. I’ll usually service this with coleslaw, but you could drain some of the liquid or maybe reduce it to a thicker consistency and serve it as a pulled pork sandwich. Or you can serve it stew-like along with the juice and put it over some boiled and slightly mashed potatoes to soak up the liquid. Yum!

*Note: you need the sugar in the cola to help with the caramelization process. 

What to Cook this Week

Where I live, it was just 108 degrees last week and now it’s 68. Crazy. And very much welcome, I might add. So, it’s official: Fall is here! And as you may know, Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the transition (albeit a fast one this time) from the heat of summer, to the cool, crisp evenings and mornings of Autumn. I especially love the way the light changes. I just noticed this the other day, while I was out for my daily walk. Where the light is harsher and brighter in summer, ambient light becomes warmer and richer and more golden in Fall. The sky is just different. Clouds are different. It’s an amazing transition.

With the shorter days now, Fall is the time to start making stews and nourishing broths for soup, for casseroles, braising vegetables and meat, and of course baking!

At some point, despite all the recipes on the internet, we can sometimes find ourselves fresh out of ideas. So I’m here to help. “What to Cook this Week” is a new feature, meant to provide you (and me) with a few ideas for things to put on the menu this week.

I look to what’s currently in season to help inspire me. This time of year it’s not hard to come up with the usual fall-themed ingredients: apples, artichokes, broccoli rabe, Brussels sprouts, grapes, kale, parsnips, pears, pomegranates, pumpkins, rutabagas and winter squash, to name a few.

Today I want to cover apples and I have 2 recipes for you to consider.

Apples are good so many different ways. They can be, and usually are, made into something sweet (like the apple oven cake that I simply love), but they can also be used in savory dishes, like alongside a pork loin. In fact, fruit is often used with pork. I’ve seen apricots, as well as berries, used. Fruit tends to offset the gaminess of the meat a bit. If you’ve never had this combination and think it might be weird, try it anyway. You might be pleasantly surprised.  Here is a recipe I usually make this time of year.

Pork Loin with Apples, Prunes and Mustard Cream Sauce

Ingredients:
1 (4-lb) boneless pork loin roast
1 3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Granny Smith apples
1 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup packed dried pitted prunes, quartered
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp coarse-grain mustard
1/2 cup dry white wine

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F.
Heat oil in an oven-safe heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot, then brown the pork on all sides, 6-8 min per side. Transfer skillet to oven and roast the pork until the thermometer inserted diagonally at least 2 inches into the meat registers 150F, about 40-50 minutes.

While pork roasts, peel, quarter and core apples, then cut into 1/4 inch thick wedges. Add a little butter to a pan and cook onion over moderate hear, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3-5 minutes. Add apples, prunes, broth and water and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally until apples are tender and prunes have plumped up and softened, 10-12 minutes. Stir in cream and mustard and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and keep sauce warm, partially covered. Transfer pork to a cutting board, cover with foil, and let stand 10 minutes. Add wine to skillet, stirring and scraping up brown bits, until reduced to about 1/4 cup, 2-3 minutes. Stir pan juices into cream sauce along with remaining 3/4 tsp salt and 3/4 tsp pepper and heat sauce over moderate heat, stirring, until hot.

Serve the pork and sauce alongside potatoes, ideally mashed, but you could also roast them if you wish, and tender green beans or roasted broccoli. Serve with one of the following wines: Dry Riesling (not a sweet one, a dry one), Viognier, Malbec, Grenache or Nero d/Avola.

Now for something else with apples. Next time you head to Costco, or buy a ton of apples at the farmer’s market because they simply looked so good, make applesauce. This is a super-healthy version, without sugar, and honestly 100% better than anything store-bought.

Applesauce makes a great snack, and if you have a baby or toddler to feed, you’ve gotta try this sometime. It’s soooo easy! And what’s nice is you can control the spices that go in. Let’s say you want to add the complexity of pumpkin pie spice, or any of those spices individually, like maybe just the cinnamon and nutmeg, you can do that. Experiment each time you make it until you dial the spices in just the way you like ‘em.

Cinnamon Applesauce

Ingredients:
4 pounds tart apples, cored, peeled (optional) and sliced
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup water

Place everything into a slow cooker bowl and stir. Cook on low for 6 hours.

For a smooth applesauce, place in a blender or food processor and, in batches, puree until smooth.

That’s it for this week. I hope you make the pork and applesauce and feel free to leave a comment below with the results, or how you changed it up, if you did, and what you thought.

Vegetable Saute made better with Sausage

One of my favorite things lately is Italian sausage. The mild, or sweet, variety is the one I like best. I’m finding ways to get it into just about everything. It’s kind of like bacon - everything is better with bacon. Sausage is sort of the same thing.

Italian sausage is made with pork and usually contains seasonings, of which fennel seeds reign supreme. Fennel is a great addition to pork. They are really fantastic together.

I usually buy the uncooked variety of Italian sausage that’s in a casing, and simply squeeze it out like I’m milking an udder! I always laugh when I do this because that’s the visual I get. You can also buy the meat loose (not in a casing) but sometimes that’s hard to find. If you can find it loose, save some work and get it, otherwise get the sausage in the casing.

Italian food has always intrigued me. There’s something about that cuisine that speaks to me. It’s as if it calls my name. Pasta and sauce doesn’t do it for me though. The meats and the vegetables are by far so much more interesting and flavorful, not to mention healthier. So it’s no wonder that I ended up putting these ingredients together. 

I was looking through the fridge and saw that I had a TON of vegetables I had to use up soon. I decided to put this combination  together and see what would result. I have to say that I simply loved it. I ate it 3 days in a row! It makes a lot. I’d wager it made about 5-6 servings.

Sausage and Veg Saute

Olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 eggplant, peeled, and chopped into small chunks
1 lb. Italian sausage, casings removed
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch of kale, tough stems removed, and chopped*
1 package brown crimini mushrooms, sliced**
15-20 Kalamata olives, pitted

You’re going to need two sauté pans going concurrently. I use one regular stainless steel pan that gets meat nice and brown, and the other is the non-stick variety for the veggies.

Start with the non-stick pan and heat a Tbsp of olive oil in it. Once that’s warm, add your chopped onion and cook about 10 minutes until soft. Add your peeled and chopped eggplant. Make sure the eggplant isn’t a small dice but isn’t too large a chunk either, or it will take too long to cook. Keep that going while you start the stainless steel pan. Don’t forget to stir that every so often so the eggplant doesn’t burn. A little color on the veggies is a good thing though. Adds flavor.

Put just a little oil in your second pan and get this one really nice and hot. Add your sausage meat and turn it when it is nice and brown on one side. Reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking until the meat is done. Turn off the pan just before it gets too done. Since the pan is hot it will continue cooking a few minutes longer as it cools down.

Back to the veggie pan (you can do this simultaneously while the meat is cooking): add the garlic to the eggplant and cook about 1 minute. Add the chopped kale (or chard) and cook that down until it wilts (about 10-15 minutes). Add the mushrooms and sauté another 8-10 minutes. If you like a little spice, you could add a few red pepper flakes at this point. Otherwise, just add salt and pepper to taste and then the olives. No need to cook those. We only need to warm them up.  Taste it and make sure all your veggies are cooked to your level of doneness and add more seasoning if it requires it.

Give it all a good stir and enjoy!

Notes on ingredients:

* There are a few varieties of kale to choose from. Those that I most often find are (1) curly kale, (2) Lacinto, (3) Redbor, and (4) Russian (Siberian) kale. I am not fond of the Redbor. I find it scratchy and tough. My favorite is the Lacinto (sometimes called Dinosaur kale). In the absence of Lacinto, I usually buy the curly kale.

** Crimini mushrooms are a little more earthy and flavorful than the regular white mushrooms you usually see. I tend to buy these for that reason. Don’t wash in water. Simply wipe them clean and slice off the stems.

How not to hate Brussels Sprouts

I always hated Brussels sprouts, mostly because of the way they smell when they cook. They have this acrid, malodorous scent that I find simply disgusting.  Then one day, my sister tells me she roasts them and that parboiling them for a few minutes beforehand in boiling water helps with that nasty smell. Since I love anything roasted I tried it last year and made them for Thanksgiving. They were pretty good and since then I’ve made Brussels sprouts from time to time trying to love them. But it wasn’t until I tried them from a food truck that I thought, wow, these are incredible!

Nearly every Thursday, a food truck comes to my office building during lunch. Being a foodie, I usually go online and check the menu of the truck in question. Usually it's the usual, tacos and burgers, so I pass, but one day I saw this dish, Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, and thought, mmhhhh, that sounds pretty good. I mean, really. Bacon makes everything better, so how bad could this be, even if it WAS Brussels sprouts? A co-worker ordered it and let me taste it and it was unbelievable, although the drizzle on top was a little too sweet for my taste. 

Since then I’ve been trying to get my hands on a recipe that comes even remotely close to duplicating the complexity of this fabulous creation. No go. Everyone’s recipe for Brussels sprouts with bacon simply reads, “Brussels Sprouts, bacon, salt and pepper.” You’re kidding, right? And this from celebrity chefs you’d really expect more from.  Other recipes add just the weirdest ingredients.

Realizing I was on my own, I got out a book of mine called the “Flavor Bible” and looked up Brussels sprouts. Under the heading, a list of all the flavors that go well with Brussels sprouts. I wrote down the ingredients I thought would marry well and went into the kitchen.

What resulted from this creative process was a dish that I not only went back for seconds for, I went back for THIRDS!! I was stuffed!  It was all I wanted for dinner that night. “To die for” good, it was. I am planning on bringing it with me to Thanksgiving. I hope the family likes it, too.

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, etc.

1 stalk Brussels sprouts, cut larger ones in quarters,
smaller ones in half, tiny ones you can leave whole

1 pound bacon, cut into lardons (little
bite-size strips, see photo, right)

1 red onion, sliced into thin slices

Leaves from several sprigs of fresh thyme
(I use lemon thyme from my garden)

1 basket mushrooms, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup hazelnuts, cut in half

Salt and pepper to taste

Honey mustard thinned out with a little mayo

Bring a pot of water to a boil and drop in the Brussels sprouts. Cook for about 5-8 minutes. They should be slightly undercooked since they will continue cooking later. Drain.

Heat a large non-stick sauté pan and when hot, add bacon pieces. Brown for 5-8 minutes. Add onion slices and brown. Add thyme leaves. Add Brussels sprouts and brown those as well. Add mushrooms and sauté for about 5 minutes.

Now you can add the remaining ingredients in rapid succession, since all you need to do is basically heat them (the garlic and hazelnuts). Cover and allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes until everything is hot. Add salt and pepper and give it another good stir.

Meanwhile, blend a little honey mustard with a little mayo. If you have a squeeze bottle, put it in there.

Dish up a generous serving (trust me, you’ll want seconds, so just put enough on your plate now) and before serving, drizzle a little bit of the mustard/mayo sauce over the mound. Nice alongside roasted chicken. Or do like I did and forget the chicken - just eat seconds, or (ahem) thirds, of this. YUM!

Foeniculi, foenicula...or is it funiculi, funicula?

Do you remember that song, "Funiculi, Funicula"? I remember it from my childhood and I vaguely recall my mother singing it. It had happy lyrics with a sing-songy melody. I thought the tune was about fennel, but research reveals it's actually about an Italian cable car. What does this have to do with fennel? Apparently nothing. Except that the Latin for fennel is foeniculum vulgare, which sounds similar. Confused? Never mind.

Actually, fennel is a plant species in the genus Foeniculum. It is a hardy perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves, indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean. But it has become widely naturalized in many parts of the world, especially on dry soils near the sea coast and on riverbanks. Fennel is a highly aromatic and flavorful herb with both medicinal and culinary uses. 

Medicinal Uses

Fennel is widely employed as a carminative, both in humans and in veterinary medicine (e.g., dogs), to treat flatulence.  It is often made into a tea to help soothe the digestive system. I love fennel tea for when I'm feeling queasy.

In the Indian subcontinent, fennel seeds are said to improve eyesight. Ancient Romans regarded fennel as the herb of sight.

Fennel may be an effective diuretic and a potential drug for treatment of hypertension.

Syrup prepared from fennel juice was formerly given for chronic cough. As an antispasmotic, fennel acts on the smooth muscle of the respiratory passages as well as the stomach and intestines; this is the reason that fennel preparations are used to relieve bronchial spasms. Since it relaxes bronchial passages, allowing them to open wider, it is sometimes included in asthma, bronchitis, and cough formulas.

Culinary Uses

The bulb, foliage and seeds of the fennel plant are widely used in many of the culinary traditions of the world. The small flowers of wild fennel are the most potent form, and also the most expensive. Dried fennel seed is an aromatic, anise-flavored spice. The leaves are delicately flavored and similar in shape to those of dill, and thus make a lovely garnish. The bulb is a crisp vegetable that can be sauteed, stewed, braised, grilled or eaten raw.

Though fennel is available year-round, it’s at its best from fall to early spring and is usually considered a winter crop. So right now is the best time to eat this vegetable.

If you haven't been brave enough to try fennel because it looks weird and you didn't know what to do with it, give it a try.

Wash the whole thing and cut off the stalks and leaves. What you now have left is the bulb, which tastes delicious roasted, and despite what some recipes say, needs some cooking first. Simply popping the raw fennel into the oven just doesn't cut it in my opinion, so I boil a pot of water and drop in a fennel bulb that’s been quartered, cooking it for about 10-15 minutes to soften it up. With a slotted spoon I then remove the fennel from the water and dry it off with a kitchen towel. Then I place it in a small baking dish brushed with a little olive oil, sprinkle on a bit of salt, pepper and a generous helping of grated Parmesan cheese, and roast it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, until the cheese just turns golden brown. It’s a delicious side dish to roasted chicken or sauteed fish.

I use fennel seeds (that I buy as an herb in the spice section of the market) as a crust for meat, especially pork tenderloin. In fact, my favorite way to prepare pork is to take a few sprigs of fresh rosemary from my herb garden, finely chop the leaves along with a tablespoon of fennel seeds, add kosher salt and pepper and blend all these on a cutting board where I then roll the tenderloin in the mixture until completely covered. The pork goes into a sauté pan and gets browned on the stovetop for a few minutes on each side. Then I pop the saute pan in a 350 degree oven and roast it for about 45 minutes. Easy and unbelievably tasty. The herbs and salt create a lovely crust for the pork and provide assertive flavor. You could do this with beef or lamb as well.

Fennel is also delicious with a mild, white fish and a nice way to marry these together is to use the feathery fronds. Place some chopped leaves under a fish fillet on a piece of aluminum foil, add a pat of butter, salt and pepper, and wrap up. Either bake in the oven or place on a medium grill until done (a thin enough piece of fish shouldn't take but 10-12 minutes). Steaming in this way allows a subtle fennel flavor to infuse the fish. Serve roasted fennel and mashed potatoes alongside it.

My mother has a delicious recipe where she quarters the bulb, cooks it in a little vegetable broth in a sauce pan on the stove top, and then makes a sauce for it out of Boursin cheese and cubed ham. If the sauce needs thickening, she adds a little corn starch to the broth. Once the fennel is mostly cooked, she pours the mixture into a baking dish and pops it into the oven for about 10 minutes. This would make a lovely lunch with a mixed green salad.

Fennel has been calling my name at the farmer’s market lately and I could no longer resist, so I picked one up for myself this weekend. I might try something new with it. I found a recipe for roasting it with olive oil and balsamic vinegar that sounded interesting. If the warm weather we've been having continues, I might chop it up raw and make a salad with it.  Or when I find that recipe from my mother, I'll make that. 

There is so much you can do with fennel. If you're getting bored with the same old vegetables you normally eat, be adventurous and try it.

Pulled Pork

When Fall hits, it’s only natural to want to make dishes that are hearty and satisfying. Soups, stews, braised meats with vegetables are all good this time of year. The kind of food that "sticks to your ribs", as my mother would say.

One of my favorite things is pulled pork. It’s rich and warming on a crisp evening. I described it to a friend of mine and when she said how good that sounded, I decided to make it for her when she came over next. Which is what I did last night.

The recipe I originally started with was a lot spicier, calling for a can of chipotle peppers. My husband and I could barely get it down, it was so hot. The next time I was in the mood for pulled pork, I made modifications, using barbeque sauce instead, but it lacked a bit of punch. The next time I made it, I used chipotle barbeque sauce which added just enough spice without torching our lips and intestines. I think it’s just right the way it is now.

It’s a super simple recipe to make. All you need is time, as in all afternoon, so it’s best made on the weekend. You could try it in a slow cooker, but it won’t be totally the same unless you brown the meat before adding it to the slow cooker. This is the oven variety.

Pulled Pork

Ingredients

·         2 onions, peeled and quartered

·         1 whole pork butt (pork shoulder roast), bone-in

·         Salt and freshly ground black pepper

·         1/2 to 1 can real Coca-Cola, with sugar (not diet)

·         ½ bottle chipotle barbeque sauce

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Place the onion quarters in the bottom of a pot. Trim roast of some of the fat but leave the roast whole and if it has a bone, leave that in. Sprinkle the meat all over with salt and pepper, and then place on top of the onions. Pour just enough of the cola so that the liquid comes up to the middle of the roast. You don't want it to swim in too much liquid. Then add the chipotle barbeque sauce over the top.

Cover the pot, put in the oven and cook for at least 5 hours, preferably 6, depending on the size of your roast. Turn the meat 2 or 3 times during the cooking process. The last time you turn it, you might want to leave the lid partially off in order to get some carmelization on the meat. Otherwise, put the lid fully back on.

When it’s done, the meat should be fork-tender and easy to shred.  Shred the meat completely (either inside or outside of the pot) but return pork to the juice until you serve it. This is delicious and super easy.

It would go quite well with a bottle of Grenache. This lighter red wine would be perfect with the sweetness of the pork and its sauce. I'll usually serve this with potatoes, but you could drain some of the liquid or maybe reduce it to a thicker consistency and serve it as a pulled pork sandwich.

Bacon-wrapped Asparagus

Who would have ever thought that Disneyland could be the inspiration for a dish we’ve been making ever since we discovered it?

It was during a trip to the Magic Kingdom about 10-15 years ago that my husband and I discovered bacon-wrapped asparagus. We were in Adventureland and wanted to board the Jungle Cruise. (Side note: ever since I was little, we always started the park on the left and went around it in clock-wise fashion. The first “land” is Adventureland and it’s always been my favorite. It's tradition to go to the Tiki Room first and listen to the birds sing (my husband rolls his eyes every time. Well, I'm sorry - this is just the way it has to be!). Anyway, I digress. 

The line for the Jungle Cruise was (surprise, surprise) a mile long. But before entering the queue, since we were a bit hungry, we decided to eat first, then get in line. We turned around and there it was: the Bengal Barbeque - a casual counter type of eating place.

On the menu (and according to this link it’s still there): bacon-wrapped asparagus. Intrigued, we ordered it. It was incredible, and you can’t say that about much of the food at Disneyland (another side note: this reminds me of another visit to the Park when we contracted food poisoning and threw up all night long – good times).  This was an interesting combination of vegetable and bacon. It made such an impact on my husband, that he offers to make it for nearly every occasion when friends come over. It’s super easy, and though it does take a little time to prepare, it’s well worth the effort. We just made it again over Memorial Day.

All you need are: wooden skewers, bacon, and asparagus. That’s it. Not even seasoning. It can’t get any simpler. Here’s how to make them at home.

Bacon-wrapped Asparagus

Serves 2.

Wooden skewers

Bacon (1/2 package is enough for 2 people), I like the applewood smoked variety, but any kind will do

½ bunch of thick-stalked asparagus

Break the skewers in half, and soak them in water if you wish. Some people claim this prevents them from burning on the grill, but we don’t bother. Take your long bacon strips and cut them into 3” long pieces. Wash your asparagus, trim off the very ends (about ½” from the bottom), and peel the lower third. The asparagus should be the thicker variety – none of those skinny asparagus. You need these to hold up on the grill, so the thicker, the better.  

Cut your asparagus stalks into thirds. Take a piece of bacon and wrap it around an asparagus stalk. Once you have 4 of them wrapped, skewer them as indicated in the photo. Make sure to slide them close together; you don’t want any gaps between stalks. Continue until all your asparagus is wrapped.

Grill for about 7-8 minutes per side on medium-low. It’s important to keep an eye on them while they grill because it’s easy to get a flare up when the bacon fat starts dripping into the flames. You don’t want to end up burning your bacon to smithereens. Move them around on the grill as needed to avoid the flames. Asparagus should still have a little crunch while bacon should be thoroughly cooked.

These make an excellent appetizer or first course. I’d bet your dad would love them on Father’s Day.

Restaurant Review: Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ

Saturday night I had the pleasure of visiting a new restaurant. A neighbor of ours gave us a gift certificate for having done something nice for him. It was a good excuse to finally try this place out.

Because I've never done a restaurant review before (mostly because we haven't been eating out much lately), take note: this place made enough of an impression on me to warrant writing about it.

At first glance, Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ looks like any other family restaurant. We walk in and the first room is small with a counter and the staff are busy filling take-out orders, which apparently is a brisk business for them, from the looks of all the bags awaiting pickup. The next room leads us to the hostess station. Upon rounding the corner to her, the alluring, sweet aroma of barbeque sauce hits me, envelops me like a warm blanket. Ah.........you have to understand, I have a love affair with BBQ sauce. I could eat it by the bucketful.

We are seated, given menus, etc. The staff is terribly friendly and helpful, but I'm not going to go on about the service. I cannot complain - the staff was attentive. But I'm here to tell you about the food. The only thing that's really important, in my opinion, when dining out. I can ignore bad waitstaff, leave a bad tip, or complain to the manager to get it rectified, but if the food is bad, there is no fixin' that!

We peruse the menu. Meanwhile we receive biscuits in a basket. Much to my surprise, they are sprinkled with sugar and served with a semi-sweet apple butter. I didn't care for it. I don't like starting my meal with something sweet (ending it that way is another matter entirely). Anyway, we decide that we are both in the mood for pork. My husband orders the full rack of the Baby Back Ribs, while I order a platter with assorted meats: chicken, pulled pork, and (pork) spare rib tips.

No sooner were we sipping on our beverages, the food arrived (that was fast!) and we began to salivate. First, the aroma of the BBQ sauce alone was enough to get the juices flowing, but the plates were HUGE and I knew that if it was good, I'd be enjoying about 1/2 of it for lunch the next day. We dove in. The table suddenly got very quiet and remained so until my husband finally had to ask if I liked it. As if the moaning and lip-smacking sounds I was emitting wasn't enough of a clue. YES, I love it. Now, don't interrupt me!

Baby Back Ribs - the full order

The baby back ribs were most definitely the best of all the meats we had before us. They were so tender, you could have pried them apart with a fork. They were the perfect blend of just enough meat, the right amount of sauce, and the right amount of carmelization. It is the process that makes these so fantastic: slowly smoked in this enormous smoker which you can see by the kitchen, and then finished on a grill. It was perfection. They were, my husband said, absolutely the best ribs he's ever had. And I, never before a real pork or ribs lover for that matter, absolutely loved them. My dish was also very good. It was the BBQ Half Chicken & Two Meat Platter, where I chose the pulled pork and spare ribs as my two meats. Though my ribs were not as tender as the baby backs, they were extremely savory. The chicken was also fall-off-the-bone tender. I must say everything was seasoned well and all the BBQ sauces used were fantastic.

Red Velvet Cake at Lucille's

It was a great dining experience and if you are a ribs and/or BBQ lover, we highly recommend Lucille's Smokehouse. I wished I had room for their Red Velvet Cake. Someday we'll have to go back and try it.

For more information on the restaurant's menu and locations, click here. They also have family size meals and as I mentioned food to go for families or parties.

If you go, let me know what you thought.

Pork Tenderloin with whole grain mustard sauce

Lest you think I am vegetarian, I'd better get a meat recipe in here! With all the veggies, photos of veggies, souffles and the like, it was looking a bit vegetarian around here. Not that that's bad.....heaven knows, most of us aren't eating enough of them! In fact, the cookbooks I've acquired recently are vegetarian because I needed some inspiration to make more interesting veggie dishes.

Pork is a strange ingredient for me to select for my first meat recipe, because I'm not really a pork eater. I made this mostly for my husband and a friend who was coming over for dinner Saturday night. They both loved it. Super easy. Try it sometime.

It's Pork Tenderloin in a zesty Dijon Mustard Sauce over Egg Noodles. The noodles soak up the sauce which is really key to this recipe. I also prepared steamed broccoli alongside it.

Pork Tenderloin with whole grain mustard sauce

2 cups uncooked medium egg noodles
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut crosswise into 12 (1-inch-thick) slices
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Cook noodles according to package directions, drain.
While the noodles cook, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the pork with pepper and salt. Place pork in pan; cook 5 minutes, turning once.

Combine the wine and mustard; pour into pan. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Remove pork from pan; keep warm.

Combine water and cornstarch in a small bowl. Stir cornstarch mixture into pan; bring to a boil, and cook 1 minute or until thick. Serve pork with sauce and noodles.

Recipe courtesy of Cooking Light Magazine, October 2001.

Serves 3-4.