Herb Crusted Pork Roast

I've mentioned before that the hubby's most requested meal is this pork roast. When he once again requested it the other day, I took the opportunity to try something new. As much as I love the go-to pork roast, I have a fear of over using it and getting to the point of never wanting it again. So when I saw this recipe I figured it would be a good one to try, although the flavors ended up being a little similar.

This recipe comes together relatively quickly, and does not require any marinating time. The breadcrumbs give it a nice crust while the herb paste keeps it juicy and tasty. I'm going to have a hard time deciding which roast to make next time it's requested!

Herb Crusted Pork Roast
Source: Adapted from Joelen's Culinary Adventures, originally from Cooks Illustrated

Ingredients:
2-3 lb pork loin roast
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
1 medium shallot, minced
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup packed basil leaves
2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves (or 1/4 tsp dried)
2 garlic cloves, minced

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire rack in the middle, set aside.

In a flat dish combine the panko breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, minced shallot, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pinch of pepper. Using a fork, toss the mixture until the breadcrumbs are evenly coated with oil.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the basil, thyme, rosemary, garlic, remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, garlic, 3 tablespoons olive oil and a pinch of salt and pinch of pepper. Process until smooth.

Rub the outside of the roast with the herb paste; coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Place the roast on the prepared wire rack and baking sheet.

Bake in the preheated oven for 50-75 minutes or until the thickest part of the roast registers 145 degrees on an instant read thermometer. Allow the roast to rest for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Pork Chops with Dijon Herb Sauce

A very simple and healthy meal that takes no time at all on a busy weeknight. These pork chops have a lot of flavor and were great served with simple buttered egg noodles.

Pork Chops with Dijon Herb Sauce
Source: Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes

• 1 tsp butter
• 4 pork chops, 1 inch thick, trimmed of visible fat
• 1/2 tsp salt
• fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 3/4 cup fat free/low sodium chicken broth
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (parsley, chives, tarragon)

In a large saute pan heat the butter over moderately low heat. Season pork chops with salt and pepper. Raise heat to medium, add the chops to the pan and sauté for 7 minutes. Flip and cook until pork chops are browned and done to medium, about 7-8 minutes longer. Remove the pork chops and tent with foil to keep warm.


Add the onion to the pan and cook, stirring until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken broth and boil until it reduces to 1/2 cup, about 3 minutes. Stir in the mustard, herbs, and 1/8 tsp pepper. To serve, spoon sauce evenly over pork chops.
Enjoy!

Island Spice Pork Tenderloin

Now that it is grilling season, I strongly urge all of you to make this meal ASAP. Pork tenderloins can grill up in about 15 minutes and you can essentially flavor the meat any way you want. This was actually our first time having pork tenderloins, as we usually stick to the larger pork loin roasts, and I was incredibly turned off in the past by those packaged, already flavored pork tenderloins you can buy (seriously, the one time we had one of these I was totally grossed out.) However, I am now a fan of good quality pork tenderloins and can't wait to try more ways of preparing them.

Back to the recipe at hand; this pork is like a flavor explosion in every bite. Honestly, with every bite you get the faint sweetness from the brown sugar, a hint of garlic and cumin, and then a burst of heat from the cayenne pepper and hot sauce. And my favorite part, the hint of cinnamon lurking around the corner of each bite. I actually almost could not make this because the hubby explained to me that he does not like cinnamon unless it's on his toast. Seriously, how can you not be intrigued and in love with cinnamon? So we compromised by adding cayenne pepper.

Every bite of the pork tasted a little different, depending on where the glaze ended up during the grilling process. The glaze carmelizes and creates a nice crust on the outside, so don't mistake this for burnt meat! I think we'll be having this again soon! The original recipe roasts the tenderloin so I adapted it for the grill.

Island Spice Pork Tenderloin
Source: Adapted from Annie's Eats, who adapted from Pennies on a Platter

Ingredients:

For the spice rub:
2 tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tbsp. olive oil

2 pork tenderloins (about 2-2½ lbs. total)

For the glaze:
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1½ tsp. Tabasco or your favorite hot sauce

Directions:
Combine the salt, black pepper, cumin, chili powder, cinnamon and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Stir together with a fork to blend. Pat the mixture over the pork tenderloins. Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate 4-8 hours, or as long as you want.

Prepare a medium-hot grill. Remove meat from refrigerator and let rest 15 minutes to take the chill off. Combine brown sugar, garlic and hot sauce.

Grill the pork for 12 minutes, turning a quarter turn every 3 minutes. Top tenderloin with 1/3 brown sugar glaze. Continue to cook pork, turning every minute or so, topping twice more with glaze. Cook pork until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the tenderloin measures 145 degrees or the meat is slightly pink at the center. Let the pork rest 5 minutes before slicing.

Enjoy!

Manchego Stuffed Pork Chops with Roasted Red Pepper-Pepita Sauce

I'm always on the look-out for ingredients I've never had/used before, and this recipe really hit the jackpot. Pepitas? Basically pumpkin seeds, but something I've never cooked with. Manchego? A salty, slightly tangy cheese that opened a new door in my cheese-lover's heart. Roasted red peppers? Sure I've had a jar hanging out on the shelf for-ev-er, but I have to admit I'm not sold on these yet.

I figured I would love the pork chop aspect of this meal, because honestly, anything stuffed with cheese has to be pretty good. And I was not disappointed with that part. The sauce, however, did not sit well with me. I do think that was my own fault because I think I used too much balsamic vinegar, and I ended up scraping all the sauce off my pork. I think it could be a good sauce, and the hubby seemed to enjoy it, but not quite up my alley yet.

Another plus to this meal is how fast and easy it all comes together. Served with mashed pinto beans, it was an all-around new tasting experience for us!

Manchego Stuffed Pork Chops with Roasted Red Pepper-Pepita Sauce
Source: elly says opa

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 pork chops
thinly sliced manchego cheese
2 Tbsp. pepitas
1/2 cup sliced roasted red peppers
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350.

Using a paring or utility knife, slice pockets into your pork chops, or nearly butterfly them. Stuff the chops with thin slices of manchego (about 1/2 oz. for each chop). Season the pork chops with kosher salt and fresh pepper.

Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet or saute pan over medium heat and then add 2 tsp. of the oil. Once hot, add the pork chops and brown on each side, about 1-2 minutes (don’t cook them through). Move the pan to the oven and allow the pork chops to finish cooking (8-15 minutes, depending on thickness and whether chops are boned).

Meanwhile, make the roasted red pepper sauce. Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the pepitas. Toss a couple of times and let them heat until fragrant and they start to turn golden brown. Combine the pepitas, roasted red peppers, vinegar, remaining 1 tsp. olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste in a mini food processor and process until smooth. Serve the red pepper sauce over the pork chops.

Pork Carnitas

Growing up, tacos made a regular appearance on our dinner table. Tacos are also one of my dad's most requested dinners, if I'm not mistaken. I know you should never mess with a good thing, and nothing can really compare to a regular taco, but sometimes it's nice to try something new. That's where these carnitas come in (along with a 6lb pork shoulder hanging out in the freezer that I just had to buy because it was on sale.)

These were actually really good! I have a little food crush on cinnamon, and I love that you can taste a hint of it in this pork. This pork is really juicy and full of flavor, and it makes A LOT. We served ours on corn tortillas with pepperjack cheese, jalepenos and tomatoes. This would also make a great filling for enchiladas, so our leftovers are hanging out in the freezer until it's enchilada time.

Pork Carnitas

Source: Homemade by Holman, adapted from Allrecipes.com

1 pork shoulder roast, 6-8 pounds
2 T chili powder
2 T ground cumin
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 T coarsely ground salt
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups apple cider
1 cup chicken stock

Put pork roast into a large crock pot, cutting into smaller pieces if necessary to make it fit. Mix spices in a small bowl and pat on top and sides of meat. Pour cider and stock around the sides of the roast, making sure to not wash off spices.

Cook on low for approximately 10 hours. The fat will easily pull off the top of the meat with a fork or spoon. Use 2 forks to shred the meat and remove the bone. Skim off some of the excess liquid, leaving about 1/2 - 1 cup in the crock pot and turn to warm until ready to serve. If you prefer you can also remove the roast before shredding the meat and add back into the crock pot.

Serve on tortillas with whatever toppings you want.

Spicy Korean Pork Loin

I found this recipe in my Cooking Light Complete Cookbook, and it was SO good! We've been eating a lot of pork loins lately, (guess that's what happens when I stock up on meat sales) so I wanted to find something with a different spin on it. The brown sugar carmelizes while baking and creates a nice crust on the pork. This was really spicy too, almost too spicy for the hubby I think, and he adds cayenne pepper to everything. We served this with asian couscous and it was a perfect pairing.

Spicy Korean Pork Loin
Source: Adapted from Cooking Light Complete Cookbook

Ingredients:
2 lb pork loin
2 tbls. brown sugar
1/4 c. low-sodium soy sauce
1 tbls. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp. ginger, minced
2 tsp. dark sesame oil
3 garlic cloves, minced

1 c. low-sodium chicken broth

Directions:
Combine pork and all ingredients through garlic in a large ziplock bag. Marinate in refrigerator for 1 hour, turning bag occasionally.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Take pork out of refrigerator and let sit at room temperature while oven preheats.

Place pork in oven proof baking dish. Pour half the chicken broth into pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until internal thermometer reads 145-155 degrees. Let sit for 5-10 minutes to let juices settle back into meat.

Enjoy.

Italian Buttermilk Pork Chops

I have never used buttermilk before, but now that I have tasted its glory when it comes to marinating, I may have to use it more often. Buttermilk seems to be used most often in baked goods but when marinated with chicken or pork it yields a wonderfully juicy piece of meat.

When marinated overnight, this meal comes together in a matter of minutes and we will definitely be having this again.

Italian Buttermilk Pork Chops

Source: Joelen's Culinary Adventures

4 pork chops

salt & pepper to taste

1 1/2 - 2 cups buttermilk
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
2-3 cloves minced garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil

Season your pork chops with salt and pepper; place chops in a gallon sized zip top bag.

Add the remaining ingredients and place in the fridge for 4 hours to chill (or you could chill overnight too.) Remove the pork chops from the bag and pat dry.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a hot skillet with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, brown your pork chops on both sides. Once browned, place the pork chops on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 7-10 minutes. Don't over cook otherwise it will result in dry, tough pork!

I served this with parmesan & parsley orzo

Pancetta-Wrapped Pork Roast

(ugh, excuse the horrible photo, taken on my iphone since my other camera stinks, thought this might be better)

We eat a lot of chicken here in our humble Georgia Avenue home. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are just so easy, and there are seriously so many ways to make chicken! When it is brought to my attention that all we eat is chicken, I try to expand our menus a bit. Normally, I wait until I find some good deals on pork, and occasionally I'll stock up on steak and tilapia at Costo. One item that I always look for though are boneless pork loins. When I buy one, this is my go-to recipe for pork roast. I guess someday I should try something else, but this is SO good, and it makes the hubby happy:)

One thing I don't like about the recipe is that it is supposed to be roasted in a roasting pan, and I have not acquired one yet. It still turns out great, but makes me wonder what the difference would be (and it just furthers my 'need' for a roasting pan.)

Another helpful hint regarding the pancetta: I have normally found this by the 'gourmet' cheeses in the grocery store, but on my recent trip to Rainbow it was nowhere to be found. I ended up having the deli counter slice me some, and since I forgot how much the recipe called for I got 8 thin slices and it worked out perfectly.


Pancetta-Wrapped Pork Roast
Source: Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients
8 large garlic cloves
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (3 1/2 to 4-pound) tied boneless pork loin roast (I always use the pre-packaged one's in the meat section, about 3 pounds, and is not tied)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces thinly sliced pancetta
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups dry white wine

Directions
Blend the garlic, rosemary, thyme, and oil in a small food processor, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally, until the garlic is minced.

Sprinkle the pork roast generously with salt and pepper. Arrange the pancetta slices on a work surface, overlapping slightly and forming a rectangle. Spread half of the garlic mixture over 1 side of the pork and between the 2 loins that meet in the center of the tied pork roast. Place the pork, garlic mixture side down, in the center of the pancetta rectangle. Spread the remaining garlic mixture over the remaining pork. Wrap the pancetta slices around the pork. Place the pork in a roasting pan. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Pour 1/2 cup of broth and 1/2 cup of wine into the roasting pan. Add more broth and wine to the pan juices every 20 minutes. Roast the pork until a meat thermometer inserted into the center registers 145 degrees F for medium-rare, about 1 hour. (since mine was only 3lbs it took about 50 minutes) Transfer the pork to a cutting board. Tent with aluminum foil and let stand for 10 minutes. Pour the pan drippings into a glass measuring cup and spoon off any fat that rises to the top. (I also did not do this, and did not use any of the juices. I feel the roast does not need the extra juice, but again, a roasting pan may change my mind.)

Using a large sharp carving knife, cut the pork into 1/4-inch-thick slices and serve with the pan juices.

Enjoy!

Pork Potstickers

A few months ago I had an assignment at school to attend a 'cultural event.' After my first attempt at an event turned out to be a bit disappointing, I found plan B. Plan B took me to my first Asian grocery store, United Noodles, and it introduced me to Dr. Lo. Dr. Lo works with my mom, and she taught me how to make traditional Pork Potstickers, as well as the history behind how these dumplings came to be called 'potstickers.'

This is the first time I have made potstickers since meeting Dr. Lo, but I was surprised by how much I remembered! These are definitely fun to make, but a bit time consuming. Next time I think I'll invite someone to join me (my mother-in-law has already requested I teach her!).

Here is a shot of the potstickers during the pan-frying stage:

Here is a shot during the final, steaming stage:

Pork Potstickers

Ingredients:

1/2 C. finely chopped Bok Choy leaves

1/2 C. finely chopped Sui Choy (Napa cabbage)

1/4 C. finely chopped green onion

1/4 C. finely chopped shitake mushrooms

1 Tbls. finely chopped ginger

1 lb. ground pork

1 tsp. soy sauce

2 tsp. Chinese rice wine

1 tsp. sesame oil

dash of black pepper

1 egg yolk

1 package wonton or gyoza wrappers

water for sealing wrappers and steaming

vegetable oil for pan-frying

Combine all ingredients through egg yolk (easiest to use your hands.) Place a heaping teaspoon of filling in the middle of a wrapper, being careful not to overfill or get too close to the edge.

To fold the dumpling, moisten the edges of the wrapper with water. Gently fold the wrapper up over filling and crimp edges to seal tightly. Cover dumplings with a slightly damp paper towel until ready to cook.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tsp. vegetable oil. Add 8-10 potstickers, being careful to not overcrowd the pan. Fry 2-3 minutes, until the bottom is browned. Add 1/3 cup water, cover and let steam until all the liquid is absorbed, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from pan and cook the rest of the potstickers.

Serve alone, or with the following simple dipping sauce:

4 Tbls. soy sauce

1 Tbls. sesame oil

2 tsp. finely minced ginger

2 tsp. chopped green onion

pinch of sugar, to taste