Herb-rubbed Pork Tenderloin w Dijon-Apricot Mop Sauce

Pork tenderloin is a quick-cooking cut of meat that has less fat than beef and more protein than chicken breasts.  I’m always on the look-out for pork tenderloin recipes and this is a really good one from the New American Heart Association Cookbook. 

As stated in the cookbook, “A dry herb rub flavors the pork and makes a nice crust.  You may want to stop right there, or you can go one step further and add the tangy mop.”  I’m telling you; do not stop at the rub!  It is a great blend of herbs and does make the tenderloin crusty but, the apricot and mustard duo in the mop is magnificent.  And, adding the vinegar, honey and remaining ingredients makes it only better.

The cookbook proclaims that chicken and beef roasts are delicious with both the rub and the mop sauce. Try the mop sauce alone on its own over vegetable kebobs, beef, poultry, firm fish fillets or shrimp.  I second that with the mop sauce ~ it’s great on chicken and vegetables also, and I will be trying it on seafood soon!

Here’s the good recipe:

Herb-rubbed Pork Tenderloin w Dijon-Apricot Mop Sauce

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon dried rosemary, crushed

1 tablespoon dried thyme, crumbled

2 teaspoons coarsely ground pepper

2 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons celery seeds

2 (1-pound) pork tenderloins, all visible fat removed

Vegetable oil spray

Dijon-Apricot Mop Sauce

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon canola oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

½ cup cider vinegar

¼ cup honey

¼ cup apricot preserves

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Method:

In a small bowl, stir together the rub ingredients.

Using your hands or a spoon, rub the mixture evenly over the pork and set aside.

For the mop sauce, heat a small pan over medium-high heat.

Pour oil into the pan and swirl to coat the bottom.

Cook onion for 2-3 minutes, or until soft, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the remaining sauce ingredients and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

(You may wish to reserve ½ cup of the sauce to use as a dipping sauce for the pork.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly coat a baking sheet with vegetable oil spray.

Place tenderloins on the pan and into hot oven.

Using a brush, baste pork several times during baking time with the sauce.

Bake until 150 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, or to your liking.

Serves 6-8

ENJOY!

Joy Bauer’s Food Cures Review and Healthy Chicken Parmesan and Broccoli

I have been a fan of hers since her well-rounded doses of nutritional segments started on the Today show! 

I am referring to Joy Bauer!   I was thrilled when Kathleen, Partnership Director at Joy Bauer.com, offered to send me a copy of Joy Bauer’s Food Cures.  

Other than being the nutrition expert for the Today show, Bauer also is the bestselling author of six other books on food and nutrition, and a contributing editor to Parade and Woman’s Day magazines.  Joy is the nutritionist for the New York City Ballet and the creator of www.JoyBauer.com.  She lives in New York with her husband and three children.   

Joy Bauer’s Food Cures is a great read and an informative reference for those of us who are taking steps to be healthier.  It’s a huge book ~ 516 pages ~ full of nutritional facts and recipes; grouped into sections regarding numerous diseases and issues.  

Joy shares her knowledge of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, weight loss, arthritis, osteoporosis, migraine headaches, cancer prevention, vision issues and memory problems ~ just to name a few.

Joy Bauer says, “Life is hard.  Food should be easy.”  I agree with Joy, life can be stressful and thinking about what foods to eat, or not to eat, shouldn’t drive us crazy.  

We all know that the food we eat affects how we feel, as well as our appearance.  A healthy lifestyle should be easy and attainable, and that is exactly what Joy assists us with in this book. 

Photo credit Handout Today

Whether, you are looking to improve a health issue or you want to take off excess pounds; Joy can help you do it.  The basic format of each chapter of the book begins with an explanation of the condition; followed by what generally affects the condition, how food affects the condition, bonus points to assist in managing the condition, and ending with supplements you may want to consider in addition to the food fixes.

Interspersed through those pages are several “FAQS” sections, such as this entry from the insomnia chapter:  “When I drink coffee, I drink only decaf, but on the nights I have a cup, I notice I have a hard time falling asleep.  My friend told me that even decaffeinated coffees and teas contain small amounts of caffeine.  Is that true?  Do I need to stop drinking hot beverages at night?”  In each of the chapters of Joy Bauer’s Food Cures, we can read the examples of her clients and the issues they encountered, and how Bauer responded to them. 

Lastly, each chapter ends with a 4-Step program, which recaps all of the advice offered in that specific chapter.  Joy’s 4-Step Program for insomnia goes like this:

Step 1:  Start with the Basics:  A list of the first things you should do in trying to achieve a good night’s sleep.  One thing she says to do is:   “Avoid heavy dinners, especially within three hours of going to bed.”

Step 2:  Your Ultimate Grocery List:  This consists of a list of foods that aids sleep, including those with tryptophan and high-quality carbohydrates.  These are the best sleep-inducing fruits:  bananas, grapefruit, grapes, mangoes, oranges, papayas and plums.  And all vegetables but, especially these:  asparagus, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, celery, corn, dark leafy greens, peas, potatoes, pumpkin, spinach and squash.  Additionally, lean proteins are listed, as well as which nuts and whole grains to consume.

Step 3:  Going Above and Beyond:  Here, Joy includes various remedies you can try for a dreamy night’s sleep; like, “Try a white noise machine to block out distracting ambient sounds.”  She mentions the power of lavender.  Bauer tells us, “I’m pretty sure lavender won’t solve all of your sleep issues, but there’s certainly no downside---and you and your house will smell divine!”  I’m a believer!

Step 4:  Meal Plans:  Bauer concludes the chapter with sample menus of foods that may assist in sleeping better and offers delicious-sounding recipes.  The Warm Turkey Bacon-Spinach Salad and the Banana-Mango Parfait sound yummy to me.

Joy Bauer explains she doesn’t expect us to “eat perfectly 100 percent of the time.  Even nutritionists have days when we indulge our food lusts.  But I make healthy foods my habit and rich desserts an occasional treat.  If you really want to think like a nutritionist, start by becoming mindful of your eating habits.”  Joy exalts:  “You can do this…  Dive in!”

Bauer’s book also gives us excellent tips on what we should eat and drink for healthy skin, healthy hair and how to feed a beautiful smile.   It’s about much more than pearly white teeth!

To wrap up my review of this extraordinary book ~ if you have health issues that you believe could be cured or controlled by foods you do or don’t eat, if you want to ward off various conditions, and if you want to maybe even reverse symptoms, you can benefit from Joy Bauer’s Food Cures. It is a “must-have” reference book for good health and nutritional food choices. Bauer offers exceptional advice for restoring our damaged bodies.  Read it, practice what she preaches, and get healthier!

Go here to visit Joy Bauer’s website and here to purchase this fantastic book.  It will become your “go to” reference for healthy nutritional information!

Joy Bauer’s Food Cures is chock full of good recipes and one of them I made was her Healthy Chicken Parmesan and Broccoli.  It’s an absolute favorite from the book for Joy’s husband and youngest daughter:  “Great taste and stellar nutrition – home run!”

Healthy Chicken Parmesan and Broccoli

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 can (28 ounces) no-salted-added diced tomatoes
• 1⁄4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn, plus 1 whole sprig
• Salt
• Ground black pepper
• 1 large bunch broccoli, cut into florets
• 1⁄4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 egg whites
• 1 cup whole-wheat bread crumbs
• 1⁄4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1⁄4 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 4 large skinless chicken cutlets (6 ounces each), pounded very thin
• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1 cup grated reduced-fat mozzarella cheese

Preparation:

1. Coat a large skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Place over medium heat and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion, two-thirds of the garlic, and bay leaf. Cook, stirring, for 6 to 7 minutes, until the onion begins to soften and become translucent. Reduce the heat to medium and add the tomatoes and sprig of basil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce starts to thicken, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer on low heat while you prepare the broccoli and chicken.

2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Cover a large baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Sprinkle the remaining garlic over the broccoli, and season with salt and pepper. Wrap the broccoli tightly in aluminum foil. Set aside.

3. Place the flour on a piece of waxed paper or aluminum foil. In a shallow bowl, beat the egg whites. On another piece of waxed paper or aluminum foil, mix the bread crumbs with the oregano, rosemary, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

4. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge the cutlets in the flour, then dip in the egg whites, shaking off any excess egg, then dredge in the bread crumb mixture. Coat both sides of each cutlet with nonstick cooking spray and place on the prepared baking sheet.

5. Bake the chicken and foil packet of broccoli until the cutlets are golden and the broccoli is tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the broccoli and chicken from the oven.

6. Preheat the broiler. Sprinkle the cutlet with the mozzarella and remaining 1 tablespoon Parmesan. Place under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes, until the cheese is golden. (Watch carefully — they can burn easily!) Transfer the chicken and broccoli to a platter. Remove the bay leaf from the tomato sauce and ladle the sauce around the chicken. Sprinkle with the torn basil and serve immediately.

Nutrition information per serving: 569 calories, 59 g protein, 41 g carbohydrate, 16 g fat (4 g saturated), 111 mg cholesterol, 670 mg sodium, 7 g fiber; plus 365 mg calcium (36% DV), 86 mg magnesium (22% DV), 97 mcg vitamin K (122% DV), 1,017 mg potassium (29% DV), 113 mcg folic acid (28% DV)

Serves 4

It’s a favorite of ours too!!!

Many thanks to you, Kathleen, for sending me this superb informative book! 

Go visit my friend, Linda’s blog, @My Kind of Cooking for excellent tips and recipes. She’s having a great giveaway now---this book!

Beef & Potatoes with Rosemary and It’s a Small World!

In Valerie’s words, “this is just too weird!”

Here’s the story:

A couple of months ago, Valerie sent me an email introducing herself and telling me she was a new follower of my blog.   She explained that she stumbled over my blog while surfing the net and that she is from Reynoldsburg, Ohio and now lives in Louisville, Ky.  I thought “Wow!”  Reynoldsburg is the next town over from where our farm was located in Pickerington.  I later then moved to Louisville, KY.  What a coincidence!  We both lived in the same area in Ohio and then we both moved to Louisville.

I emailed her back and told her exactly where our farm was and my grandfather’s farm with their farm house just down the road from us.  I explained that it has all changed so much now.  Both farm houses are still there but there is a funeral home and a bank across the street from my grandparent’s house and a church by our house now.  Plus it is all built up with houses and stores now ~ not all fields as when we lived there.

She emailed back and said the house has an in-ground pool and is across from the funeral home and church with a shop near the house.  I told her yes, that was my grandparent’s house.  They built it many years ago and the pool was installed much later by Uncle Jake and Aunt Phyllis.  Her next email told me that her aunt bought my grandparent’s house years ago and the shop next door is her embroidery shop.  Her aunt lives in my grandparent’s house!  She said her aunt loved the old wallpaper in the dining room so much that it’s still there. 

Like she said, WOW!  This is just too weird!  This proves it is a small world in blogger land.  I’m so glad to have met Valerie and to see photos of the area as it looks now. 

Valerie has a great blog in which she talks about her life in Louisville with her husband and 3 cute kids.  This is Valerie’s recipe for pot roast @In His Image.  You may recall I just bought a slow cooker after many years of not having one and this is a perfect recipe for it!  It all turned out beautifully.  Cooked to perfection!  Bill really likes it when I make pot roast so check back next week to see what he does with it!  Yum!

Here’s her recipe:

Beef & Potatoes with Rosemary
This a great pot roast recipe w/ a bit of a twist. The Dijon mustard just makes it so different from your everyday roast.
1 lb medium red potatoes, quartered
baby carrots, or lg is fine too
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
salt & pepper
3 lb beef boneless chuck roast (I like shoulder)
1 small onion, chopped
2 cans beef broth

Arrange the potatoes & carrots around the edge of your slow cooker.
Mix mustard, rosemary, thyme, S&P, and spread evenly over the roast. Place beef in cooker, sprinkle onion on top, & pour in beef broth.
Cover & cook 6-8 hours.

Thanks so much Valerie for the great memories and the recipe also!

Be sure to enter my giveaway for Chef John Besh’s “My New Orleans” cookbook that was posted on October 29, 2010!

Check out my friend, Linda’s blog, at My Kind of Cooking for her great recipes and cookbook giveaway!

Mustard-Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin

You know how people brag about their great steak recipe, their great chicken recipe but, who have you heard brag about their great pork tenderloin recipe?  We love pork tenderloin and I’m bragging about this recipe ~ it’s great!

The tenderloin is the leanest and most tender cut of pork and I love the way it almost melts in your mouth.  Dijon mustard is the perfect ingredient for it.  In this recipe, the mustard is brushed on the tenderloin, and then the pork is coated with a crumb mixture for a savory, succulent meat dish for dinner.  This has become our favorite way to enjoy pork tenderloin!

Here’s a little “pork” trivia for you:

Do you know?

… How Wall Street got its name?

 Free-roaming hogs were famous for rampaging through the valuable grain fields of colonial New York City farmers. The Manhattan Island residents chose to block the troublesome hogs with a long, permanent wall on the northern edge of what is now Lower Manhattan. A street came to border this wall -- named aptly enough, Wall Street.

… Where the saying "living high on the hog" came from?

It started among enlisted men in the U.S. Army, who received shoulder and leg cuts of pork while officers received the top loin cuts. So "living high on the hog" came to mean living well.

. . . What's the origin of the saying "pork barrel" politics?"
The phrase is derived from the pre-Civil War practice of distributing salt pork from huge barrels to the slaves. By the 1870's, congressmen were referring to regularly dipping into the "pork barrel" to obtaining funds for popular projects in their home districts.

. . . How "Uncle Sam" came to represent the U.S. Government?
During the war of 1812, a successful New York pork packer named Uncle Sam Wilson shipped a boatload of several hundred barrels of pork to U.S. troops. Each barrel was stamped "U.S." on the docks, and it was quickly said that the "U.S." stood for "Uncle Sam," whose large shipment seemed to be enough to feed the entire army. 

. . . What President Truman had to say about hogs?
"No man should be allowed to be President who does not understand hogs."

 Brushed, coated and ready for the oven

Here’s the recipe:

Mustard-Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:

1½ pounds pork tenderloin

½ cup panko bread crumbs

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1½ tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon dried thyme

½ teaspoon dried rosemary

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoon Dijon mustard, divided

Method:

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick foil.

On a sheet of wax paper, mix panko bread crumbs with garlic, olive oil, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper.

Brush the pork with 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard.

Coat with crumb mixture.

Brush bottom of tenderloin with remaining tablespoon of mustard and coat with remaining crumbs.

Place on prepared pan.

Roast pork 30 minutes until crust is golden and instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 160 degrees.

Let pork rest 5 minutes; slice.

Serve

ENJOY!!!

Be sure to enter the $65 CSN giveaway I posted on Sept. 15^th!

Check out my friend, Linda’s blog, at My Kind of Cooking for her great recipes and cookbook giveaway ~ 4 cookbooks she's giving away!

Parmesan Potato Wedges

It’s satisfaction to the hilt when you bite into a potato wedge that has some crunch on the outside and then sink your teeth down into the fluffy potato inside.

I have not made French fries in years because these Parmesan potato wedges are so easy to make and delicious with hamburgers, hot dogs, ribs, steaks or about any meat.  Just cut the potatoes into wedges, add the seasonings and bake.  I made certain these were golden brown and covered well with the seasonings by turning them over in the pan a couple of times while baking.  This also ensures that they will be cooked evenly. 

These wedges are great and definitely a change from the run-of-the-mill potatoes.  Add more paprika or garlic powder or even make them using chili powder ~ there are so many options!  Lovely chunky potato wedges; they are the best!

By the way, I’m sure you can guess what shop the filet came from if you read the post before this one!  One great meal!

Parmesan Potato Wedges

Ingredients:

3 russet baking potatoes

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon dried rosemary

1/4  teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon McCormick’s Seasoned Pepper

½ cup olive oil

Method:

Scrub and dry potatoes.

Cut each unpeeled potato lengthwise into 8 wedges.

Combine remaining ingredients in a shallow bowl.

Coat wedges with the mixture.

Place wedges on baking sheet, cut side down.

Bake at 400 degrees about 45-50 minutes, turning and basting occasionally until golden brown.

They are addicitive!

Chicago-Style Italian Beef Sandwich

Living here in the Chicago area, I feel that the rest of the country is terribly deprived of a delicious thing…

Chicago is known for its excellent pizzas but, I’m telling you there is a sandwich here that beats the pizza!  If you haven’t had an Italian beef sandwich, you haven’t truly lived! 

Italian Beef is definitely one of my favorite sandwiches and I had never had it, nor even heard of it till moving here from Louisville.  It is a unique messy sandwich of thinly sliced, well-seasoned beef, sweet or hot peppers, dripping with spicy au jus, served on a dense long Italian-style crusty roll.  Al Ferreri and his family members created it in 1938.  Have a look at how it Al did it the Chicago way!

For juiciness, there are varying degrees from dry to soaked:

1.  Dry:  beef is pulled from the juice with tongs, no juice added.

2.  Wet or dipped:  the bread is quickly dunked in the juice prior to serving.

3.  Juicy:  a degree wetter than the first one.

4.  Soaked:  dripping wet, as sloppy as you can get!

Bill likes the soaked best; dripping wet with plenty of napkins for the juice running down his chin.  And when at a restaurant, he likes it topped off with an Italian sausage and then dipped.  If you should try it this way, you will probably need a knife and fork as well as extra napkins! 

None of that for me:  I like my Italian beef dry or wet, not quite as messy and easier to eat; however, I still need a stack of napkins.  The outside of the roll will retain its shape for you to hold, while the inside will be soft, absorbing the juice like a sponge. 

Italian Beef Sandwiches are great for a crowd.  It is definitely one of the tastiest savory sandwiches in America and I hope you try it!  It is spicy, it is messy, and it is absolutely the best! 

So, now that you’re hungry and wishing for the sandwich, here is the recipe which belonged to Alice, my mother-in-law:

Chicago-Style Italian Beef Sandwich

Ingredients:

5-6 pound beef roast; rump, top or bottom round

4-5 green peppers

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning

1 tablespoon oregano

1 tablespoons sage

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon rosemary

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

¼ cup Romano cheese, grated

¼ cup olive oil

Method:

2 days preparation:

Rub seasonings on roast, one at a time. 

Rub on cheese.

Pour oil in roasting pan.

Roast at 450 degrees for ½ hour.

Turn temperature down to 325 degrees and roast 15 minutes per pound.

It must be roasted rare.

Save the drippings.

Cool and refrigerate over-night.

Next day, add 3 cups water to drippings in roaster.

Core and slice peppers in strips, add to drippings.

Simmer for 45 minutes. 

Slice beef paper thin. (see note below)

Add sliced beef and heat thoroughly, adding extra water if necessary, by the half cup so as not to dilute the juice. 

Do not over-cook beef.

Do not let the mixture boil after the meat is added.

Serve on Italian-style crusty roll.

Makes about 5 sandwiches per pound.

Pam’s note:  This beef needs to be sliced paper thin!  I take the roasted beef back to the butcher and have him slice it very thin for me.  It also freezes well if you wish!

Just be sure to lean the top half of your body over the table when you eat it and have your napkins handy!

DRIP, DRIP, DRIPPINGLY DELICIOUS!

Have you ever eaten a Chicago-style Italian beef sandwich?

Zucchini Casserole

We all love mozzarella on pizza but as I have said before fresh mozzarella on vegetables is a wonderful thing.  I buy my mozzarella at an Italian market and love it because it is a sweet, delicate cheese with a slight tartness that pairs beautifully with many foods. 

It’s a little early for the zucchini explosions from the gardens and farmers markets but it is always easy to find at the grocery store.  It’s a great vegetable to serve as fritters, in a salad, with pasta or in a good loaf of bread.

This dish is just zucchini, cheese and a touch of seasonings to flavor it.  It’s delicious with meat or fish from the grill and makes a perfect side dish that is a bit different.  And now I’m thinking a little crumbled crisp bacon sprinkled on top would be wonderful also!

Zucchini Casserole

Ingredients:

1 large red onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1½ pounds zucchini, cut into slices

½ pound fresh mozzarella, shredded

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1-2 teaspoons fresh rosemary or thyme, chopped

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small sauté pan over medium heat, sauté the onion and garlic until wilted and lightly browned.

Place cut zucchini in a mixing bowl.

Add red pepper flakes and rosemary or thyme.

Stir in the warm onion mixture.

Transfer the vegetable mixture to a greased casserole.

Scatter mozzarella cheese over all.

Cover with foil.

Bake until casserole is browned and bubbly slightly around the edges, 45 to 50 minutes, removing foil the last 5-8 minutes of baking.

Serve hot.

Love that mozzarella with zucchini!