Showing posts with label Pork. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pork. Show all posts

A Recipe That Is Quince and Easy

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Some recipes really come out by accident, don't they?

I was recently asked by a cooking school coordinator to think of a recipe with quince paste because they have so much of it in stock. Quince paste. Before I go on, I will admit that I was not entirely familiar with this fruit but I have tried it as a kid. But certainly during my time at George Brown it was never brought up. Suffice to say, it is a rare fruit with a distinct flavour.

Without getting really boring, quince is a yellow shaped, pear looking fruit that can be eaten raw, but not entirely recommended unless very ripe. It is extremely sour and very hard to even bite into, so it is best if it is cooked. Once cooked, it takes on an orange hue. You can try buying the fruit but it is rare and it can be difficult to find. However, you can buy it often in a paste form. Or even sometimes in jams. If you can't find quince paste or jam, you can use marmalade as a substitute for this recipe.

In fact, I learned that the origin of marmalade comes from quince jam (the Portuguese word for quince is marmelo, leading to the now famous preserve) that was made in Portugal and sent to England. I imagine there has been changes to the classic jam but whatever. You get the idea.

Here is a simple recipe that I found several years ago but altered over time. I have never served this at the golf course I work at, but at home I do.

Quince Glazed Pork Chops


Handful of mustard seeds
Juice of 2 Lemons
200 ml or about 2/3 of a cup quince paste
100 ml Dijon mustard
100 ml White wine
1 Red Onion, diced
A Few Twigs of Rosemary or Thyme
8 Pork Chops


Preheat an oven to 350°F.

Combine the mustard seeds, quince paste and lemon juice and whisk until quince is broken up. Add mustard, white wine, onion, rosemary, salt and pepper. Pour half of the mustard concoction on the bottom of some kind of baking dish. I don't know your inventory so use whatever you got. Lay the chops in da dish and cover with remainder of the glazey glaze.

Then bakey-bake the pork for about a half an hour. If you bought the chops bone in,it takes another 5 - 10 minutes to cook them. However, I like a little pink in pork chops, but you can cook them to whatever doneness you desire.

Serve with some kind of starch. Like Herb Roasted Potatoes!

Serves 8.

Variation: use marmalade instead of quince.

A Humble Chef's tip: you can cover the pork for half the cooking time to speed it up. Then uncover to caramelize the glaze.

Putting On The Schnitz

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Before going to culinary school, I knew I enjoyed cooking but I really didn't know much about different techniques. However, the three stage breading station was something I pretty much grew up on. I've never really thought about it until recently. It turns out that the breading station is used throughout most of the world. It seems to be just as common as making a sandwich.

The breading station is a three step process where you dredge whatever it is in seasoned flour, then covered with plain egg wash and then coated with seasoned breadcrumbs. A classic technique that has been used for a very long time.

The recipe today is a simple Schnitzel with a slight variation. But, even here in Canada, I'm not always sure what to call it. I suppose some days it's a scallopine or even a cotoletta alla milanese. But here we get into little details that even I find very confusing. Schnitzels and scallopines are usually made with an escalope rather than cotoletta alla milanese which uses a cutlet. What's the difference between an escalope and a cutlet you ask? Ummm, glad you asked. Let me pull out my old textbook and let me see. Aha! Found it. A cutlet is a slice of meat that usually comes from either the leg or the rib and is usually very thin. An escalope is boneless slice of meat, often from a loin, and is pounded out to make it thin. Got it? I'm sure many of you reading this will forget everything I've written anyways. Not exactly life changing material. Nevertheless, you can now strike up a conversation with your favourite butcher. I find it very awkward talking to butchers. Seems like I'm always trying to break the ice with them. But it's very hard. They can be quite intense. Maybe it's just me but when a gentleman who maintains eye contact while covered in blood, holding a cleaver, surrounded by dead animals and talking about municipal politics (and is hopefully not missing any teeth), I am slightly intimidated.

Anyways, no more silliness. Here's a recipe! You read it. You make it. You serve it. You eat it.

Pork Schnitzel


8 Thin Pork Cutlets
150 g Flour (about 1.5 Cups)
4 Eggs, whipped
150 g Seasoned Bread Crumbs (about 1.5 cups)
2 Lemons, zested then cut into wedges for garnish
100 g Cheddar Cheese, grated (about three quarters of a cup)
Drizzle of Honey Dijon
Salt and Black Pepper to Taste
Canola Oil for searing

In a bowl, combine bread crumbs with zest and grated cheese.

Dredge cutlets in seasoned flour. Drizzle mustard and spread evenly. Place in egg wash and then in bread crumbs. Repeat with remaining cutlets.

In a large skillet, pour generous amounts of oil and heat well. Sear both sides until brown, If not quite cooked, place in oven at 350 until cooked; about 5 minutes.

Serve with zested lemon wedges and Not Just Any A Humble Chef's Farinaceous Salad Made In the Style of the Germans

Serves 6.

Variation: you know, virtually every country in the world has a variation on this recipe. Ask your mom or grandma and I'm sure they can give a variation from their own country.

A Humble Chef's tip: these can be made in advance and refrigerated. However, do not allow them to touch other too much or they'll stick to each other. Then you'll have to peel one off the other.

Apple of My Eye

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Number 50. So far, so good. I do hope you enjoy my writing and I truly wish that you have tried some of these recipes with success. It is an odd thing to follow a recipe: to trust some guy you have never met (or maybe you have) and spend the money on some method that may or may not out as well as you hope. I suppose such is the case for any cookbook. It is disappointing that the last comment made was October 20 but I suppose I can let that pass.

For a commemorative post, I have decided to offer a multitude of recipes. This was a menu I did for a cooking class recently. A local law firm decided to have a staff party at the cooking school and spend a couple of hours watching me cook up some food and anecdotes. It turned out well in the end.

The menu was titled "Apple of My Eye" and after reading the recipes, I hope you can locate the re-occurring theme.

I won't be offering any variations or helpful hints; since it was a paid class, it is possible that the class may feel ripped off if the chef went ahead and simply gave away all the hints and tricks. I suppose they could have paid to listen to my playful banter and witticisms. Yeah. Right.

Sweet Potato and Roasted Apple Soup

1 large Red Onion, cut in chunks
2 Cloves of Garlic, crushed
4 Macintosh Apples, cores removed
7 Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks
Pinch of Allspice
Pinch of Dried Ginger
Pinch of Clove
Pinch of Cinnamon
Drizzle Canola Oil
2l Chicken Stock
Salt & pepper, to taste

In a sauce pan, heat oil. Add onion and cook for two minutes. Add apples and garlic. Cook for two minutes. Add potatoes and spices and cook for two minutes or until potatoes are little brown.

Add stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

Using a blender, liquefy soup. Season to taste.

Serves 10 – 12.

Gorgonzola and Apple Rolls

450 g pecans, finely chopped and toasted
4 Golden Delicious Apples, grated (make sure they’re delicious!)
12 Sheets of Phyllo
400 ml Unsalted Butter, melted
400 ml Gorgonzola Cheese
1 Sprig of Rosemary, chopped

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

In a bowl, combine apples and cheese.

Lay out pastry and lightly butter with pastry brush. Sprinkle rosemary. Lay another sheet and repeat. Sprinkle half the pecans and half of the apple mixture. Roll tightly and place onto baking sheet.

Repeat and use whatever remainder of the filling there is.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden.

Cut into medallions and serve with salad of your choice.

Serves 10 – 12.

Pork Tenderloin with Sour Dough Stuffing with Cranberry Leek Sauce

4 Pork Tenderloins, butterflied and flattened
1 Sprig of Fresh Sage, chiffonade
1 Large Loaf of Sour Dough Bread, cut into squares
100 g Dried Cranberries
4 Granny Smith Apples, grated
Splash of Rum
Dab of Butter
200ml White Wine
1 Small White Onion, finely diced
4 Cloves of Garlic, Crushed
1 Leek, julienne
500 ml Whipping Cream
50ml Maple Syrup
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Preheat oven to 350.

In a sauté pan, melt butter on medium heat. Add half the garlic onion and cook for 1 minute. Add apples and cranberries. Cook for 2 minutes. Add bread and half the wine. Remove from heat and soften bread. Season to taste. Let cool.

Lay out tenderloins flat with presentation side down. Distribute stuffing evenly in the tenderloins. Roll over tightly.

In a frying pan, sear pork in oil. 1 Minute each side. Place on a baking sheet and cook in oven for 15 minutes.

For the sauce, in a frying pan, melt remainder of butter until frothy. Add remainder of garlic and leek. Saute for 1 minute. Add remainder of wine and let reduce by half. Add whipping cream and reduce by one third. Season to taste.

Serves 10 to 12.


Hmmm. I think that's enough. The starch was Apple Potato Pancakes but maybe I'll save that for another day.

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