Fall Dinner Menu

Pork Tenderloin, Baby Pumpkins filled with Applesauce

Here is a great menu for a tasty fall meal: Sage & Fennel Rubbed pork tenderloin, roasted baby pumpkins filled with applesauce, and fresh greenbeans. The pork tenderloin is my mum’s recipe, from Bon Appétit (April 2005). The roasted baby pumpkins are beautiful and the color contrasts nicely with green beans. Here are recipes for the pork and pumpkins:

Pork Tenderloin:

6 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 1/2 tablespoons ground black pepper

1 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons dried rubbed sage

2 teaspoons fennel seeds, ground in mortar with pestle**

2 1/2 pounds pork tenderloins (about 2 large or 3 medium), trimmed of fat and sinew

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsleyFresh sage sprigs

Spice Rub:

1. Mix 3 tablespoons olive oil, ground black pepper, salt, dried sage, and ground fennel in small bowl.
2. Rub oil mixture all over pork tenderloins; place in large baking dish and let stand 20 minutes.

Cook the Pork:

1. Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add pork and cook until browned on all sides, about 6 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to medium; cover and cook until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 150°F, turning pork occasionally, about 10-20 minutes, depending on the size of tenderloin.

Serve:

• Transfer pork to cutting board; let rest 5 minutes. Cut pork crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices; arrange on platter. Sprinkle with parsley; garnish with sage sprigs. Makes 6 servings.

** If you don’t have a mortar or spice mill, try putting the fennel seeds in a ziplock freezer bag and crush with a wooding rolling pin.

Roasted Baby Pumpkins & Homemade Applesauce:

6 small pumpkins – should fit in the palm of your hand, about 1 lb each.

Kosher Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Homemade Apple sauce

1. Cut off and save the tops of each pumpkin.
2. Scoop out seeds and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Fill with apple sauce and place tops back on.
4. Roast on parchment-lined baking sheet for 45 mins to 1 hour at 350 degrees, Pumpkins should be tender.

Poached Egg

I love to read cookbooks before bed. I note recipes that I would like to try and soak in the plethora of culinary combinations. Cooking is a great hobby because I can always learn more, whether I explore a new ingredient, cuisine, or technique. The other night I was thumbing through Kitchen Sense because I am due to try another recipe. I have several recipes tabbed, mostly of the Mediterranean persuasion. I had visions of making Cranberry Johnnycakes with pure maple syrup for breakfast, but the next day was definitely a poached egg and toast with tea sort of morning. My mum said poached eggs should not count as “making a recipe”, but hey, it’s in the book and it counts.

Poached Egg:
My mum taught me to poach eggs in fry pans with some water. The results are okay, but can be a bit rubbery, especially on the edges. In Portland, I saw my mom-in-law poach an egg in a sauce pan with boiling water. Hmmm, which is the right way?

Mitchell Davis suggests the sauce pan method. Basically, you drop a cold egg into boiling water and simmer for about 3 minutes. The egg should have a soft yolk and cooked white; it is like boiling an egg without the shell. This method works well; I will make my poached egg this way in the future.

For thought: I have had poached eggs on salads in French restaurants, try it! Tasty!

Kitchen Sense - Southwestern Baked Beans and Buttermilk Polenta

First of all, I should say that I am still waiting to receive my new cookbooks, but I couldn't wait to start cooking! I found a few recipes online from various reviews of Kitchen Sense.

Southwestern Baked Beans with Chorizo, Poblano, and Orange: The small white beans cook all day; they are a nice combo of chiles, Mexican chorizo, onion, garlic, and orange. I dumped all the ingredients in a pot and baked it all day at 250 degrees.

All the ingredients were easy to find at Food 4 Less, which carries a decent selection of Latino foods. I used Pasilla and Serrano chiles, and spicy raw pork chorizo - the pork chorizo is more traditional than beef.

The beans are tasty!! I have been working with Randy and these beans were great to come home to after working all day. I served them with cornbread and garnished them with queso fresco (fresh Mexi cheese) and cilantro. We ate them for lunch the next day, and they are even better on day two. I doubled the recipe and have a back stock of beans for nachos, taco salad, and future dinners in the freezer.

I will definitely make these again.


Buttermilk Polenta with Fresh Corn:
The polenta contains fresh corn, fresh herbs, buttermilk and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. It has a sour buttermilk flavor and the cheese is pretty strong. The fresh corn kernels add sweetness.

I received mixed reviews on this dish. I personally enjoyed it. I liked the creaminess of the polenta and sweet fresh corn, contrasting with the pungent cheese and buttermilk. Randy, the dear sweet boy, thought he was having mashed potatoes, until he took the first bite. Polenta neither looks nor tastes like potatoes. He was shocked and commented that the polenta (which he likes to call placenta...no wonder he didn't like it) was too rich and strong-flavored. My dearest sister-in-law, Alicia, found the texture disturbing, neither did the flavor of the cheese agree with her palate. However, Rob and Darrel liked the polenta. Wins:3 Losses:2

I probably won't make the polenta again. It takes almost an hour and the amount of effort is too great for a recipe with mixed reviews.

Cooking Club - Kitchen Sense

We have selected the cookbook! We will cook from Kitchen Sense, by foodie writer Mitchell Davis. It's a basic cookbook with a twist. From grilled cheese to baba ganouche, this book has a variety of recipes. I am excited to try it! Each member should try to cook 5-10 recipes in the next 6-8 weeks and we will meet for lunch or dinner in November. Everybody will bring a favorite dish from the cookbook, which we can discuss later. Feel free to write comments on the blog as you try new recipes and we will have much to discuss come November.

Each member will have the future opportunity to select a cookbook for the club, so we'll build a diverse cookbook library.

FYI:
I ordered Kitchen Sense on thegoodcook.com and joined the club (I also pre-ordered the new Barefoot Contessa cookbook coming out in October). Maybe we will cook from the Contessa cookbook next time?

Ecookbooks.com has Kitchen Sense for $21 and free shipping on orders $25 or more.

If you don't want to purchase the cookbook, give my mum a holla because you can photocopy a handful recipes to explore at home.

Happy Cooking!