Maple-Mustard Pork Tenderloin with a Cranberry-Port Relish

Sweet and slightly smoky maple syrup is an easy way to add full complex flavor to both sweet and savory dishes. Here it balances the spiciness of the Dijon mustard to make a simple glaze for a lean pork tenderloin. A splash of port wine contributes to a bold sauce punctuated by sweet and sour fresh cranberries and zesty crystalized ginger.

Ingredients - 

1 pork tenderloin approx. 1  - 1  1/2 lb 
Salt and fresh ground black pepper

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 cups fresh cranberries

1/2 cup tawny, ruby port or Marsala wine

1/2 cup sugar

3 tablespoons crystallized ginger - minced

How - 

Preheat oven to 385 F

Season the tenderloin with salt and pepper.

In a large oven proof frying pan over medium high heat, melt the butter. Add the pork and cook turning occasionally until browned on all sides, about 5 - 8 minutes. Remove rom heat.

For the tenderloin glaze - 

In a small bowl, stir together the maple syrup and the mustard. Spread about half of the sauce on the tenderloin. Put the pan in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Take out and spread the rest of the sauce over the meat and return to the oven for 10 - 15 more minutes or until the internal temp reaches 165 F.

For the Cranberry relish -

Fresh cranberries

Crystalized ginger

Marsala wine

While the pork is roasting, cook the cranberries, the wine, the sugar and the minced ginger in a heavy bottomed sauce pot. We decided to use Marsala wine, but Port would work just as well. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring often. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook uncovered stirring regularly until the berries have popped and the juices are syrupy, about 10 minutes. Then remove from heat. Serve this warm with the pork. This stuff is amazing. You will want to make this at Thanksgiving for sure. It would also be good on chicken or beside fish.

Finished cranberry relish

When the tenderloin is ready, transfer to a carving board and let rest for 5 minutes. Then cut the meat crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces.

The finished roasted tenderloin with maple-mustard glaze

Divide the slices evenly and fan out on the plates. Spoon some of the warm cranberry sauce next to the slices.

We roasted mixed color baby potatoes seasoned with rosemary as a side.

Orange Glazed Stuffed Pork Chops

This is another great fall dish - Stuffed Pork Chops with potatoes and green beans. Sounds like basic fare but it can be made into a "wow" meal by building interesting layers of flavor with just a few easy cooking techniques and a couple readily available herbs for seasoning. The stuffing has bread crumbs, cranberries, orange juice, onion and fennel seeds. Serve the chops with rosemary roasted potatoes and garlicky green beans as sides. 

For the stuffing - 
Tear up several pieces of good crusty country bread and pulse briefly in a food processor so that they are in approx 1/2 inch pieces not fine crumbs. Saute chopped onion and dried cranberries in a little olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds and 1/4 cup of fresh squeezed orange juice. Remove half of the liquid and set aside for later use in the glaze. Add the breadcrumbs to the remaining juice mixture and stir together. 

For the pork chops - 
Pick good looking loin chops minimum of 3/4 inch thick, thicker is better. 
Cut a pocket for the stuffing and spoon the stuffing in. Close with a toothpick or two.
Brown well on both sides in an oven proof skillet - cast iron works great!
Add 1/4 cup of water to the skillet and put in the oven pre-heated to 375 to finish cooking - about 20 minutes. 

For the potatoes - 
Cut roasting potatoes into wedges, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt, pepper and finely chopped fresh rosemary. Roast at 375 for 30 minutes, alongside the pork chops, stiring/flipping over once. 

For the green beans - 

Clean and trim the fresh green beans, steam in a steamer for just 5 minutes then take out and saute in a frying pan with olive oil and minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper.

For the orange glaze
Add the reserved orange juice mixture set aside from making the stuffing to the pan juice from the pork chops. Add a little water or orange juice if it is too dry or if you need to make more. Stir together to blend and spoon over the chops on the plate.

Pork Belly with Rye Whiskey and Maple Syrup Glaze

Oh Boy! 

Pork Belly roasted low and slow, glazed with a mix of pure maple syrup and Pennsylvania rye whiskey. Served with roasted baby red potatoes and baked granny Smith apples.

Just three simple ingredients - Sea salt, Maple Syrup and Rye Whiskey

 Make a series of crisscross cuts through the fat cap and sprinkle with sea salt

Marinate overnight in maple syrup and rye whiskey

Roast on a rack low and slow in oven - 250 degrees for 4 hours

Slice into pieces, just about falls apart

Herb Encrusted Pork Roast and Sides

There are a few of things we always make for New Years Day - roast pork, lentils, roasted or pan fried potatoes, corn bread and some kind of greens, either collards or mustards. Trying to combine traditional southern Italian with traditional American southern New Years. Also, had prosecco, couldn't get any moonshine...

This is how I did the pork roast - The herb mixture is made up of ground fennel seeds, rosemary, lemon zest, light brown sugar, minced garlic, flat leaf parsley, red pepper flakes, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl and the add enough olive oil to make the herbs moist and spreadable. The day before cooking, score the top layer of fat and rub the herbs all over the roast and down into the score marks. 

Lisa made the potatoes, mustard greens and corn bread.  I cooked the the pork roast and lentils in the clay oven.  

Cooked the lentils in the pignata and made a dough lid. The ingredients in the lentils were minced carrot, onion, garlic, pancetta, rosemary, a bay leaf and chicken stock.

Cooked the pork roast in a cast iron skillet. 

Removed the lid and spooned the lentils into a serving dish.

Rich Pork Ragu for Pasta

Want to make your house smell so good that it makes you want to go outside and come back in just to get a fresh hit of the wonderful aroma? This slow cooked pork ragu will make you want to do just that, and you won't even feel funny about it!

Some tomato sauces are quick cook, like marinara sauce. Almost as soon as the ingredients are all in and cooked through, it can be used. They have bright punchy flavors. Some are long simmered, beef based, sophisticated and luscious like Bolognese sauce. Then there are other more rustic slow cooked sauces, that develop deep rich savory flavors with a few simple ingredients, like this southern Italian inspired pork ragu. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb pork country spareribs

2 links sweet Italian sausage

1 medium onion chopped

3 cloves garlic minced

1/2 cup dry white wine

2  28 oz cans whole peeled tomatoes preferably San Marzano

3 sprigs fresh rosemary roughly chopped

1/2 cup fresh flat leaf parsley chopped

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

1 bay leaf torn in three pieces

1 dried hot chili pepper - leave whole

Olive oil

Salt & fresh ground pepper as needed

Pecorino cheese 

Procedure

Season the pork ribs with salt and pepper and brown in a heavy sauce pot along with the sausages with a tablespoon of olive oil and the fennel seeds. 

Remove to a plate and cut the sausage into inch long pieces.

Add the onion and garlic to the pot and saute until soft and translucent.

Deglaze with the wine then add back the meat along with the rosemary and parsley. Stir together and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes by squeezing them apart with your hands into the pot. Add the can juice and enough water to cover the meat.  Add three small bay leaves or one torn in three pieces.

Cover and simmer on low for two hours or more checking back every now and then adding water if the sauce gets too thick. 

With a wooden spoon, break apart the rib meat.

Serve with a substantial pasta like rigatoni, ziti or penne, or our favorite - homemade fileja. Top with grated pecorino.

Pork Chops & Apples with Roasted Root Vegetables

Pork and apples is a food match made in heaven, just like fish and lemon, beef and mushrooms or well, peanut butter and jelly. They were all meant to be together! Pork's mild but savory flavor works well with anything that can give it a little jolt and one of the best pairing is with apples. Apples have both a sweet and a tart element, especially Granny Smiths, that really enhances a pork dish. 

Here we've pan seared a couple nice thick pork chops seasoned with ground fennel seeds - another good match with pork. Then added sliced Granny Smith apples, put the lid on, and finished cooking them together.

Roasted root vegetables for a side - carrots, parsnips and red onions.

Here it is plated up with pan drippings as a simple gravey

White Chili with Pork and Chorizo

Over the years I've come to like white chili better than red. Here is my take on white chili. So simple but so good, made in a crock pot. Don't be heavy-handed with the spices. They all play well together and you get a more rounded depth of flavor if they are understated. The chorizo really makes this - use just about 1/4 lb but the flavor infuses through the chili. We are lucky to have a good Mexican market near by that makes their own.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs boneless pork spare ribs roughly cut into 1 inch chunks
1/4 lb fresh soft chorizo sausage (not hard), casing removed
1/2 large or one medium sweet onion chopped
2 cans cannellini beans
1 large or 2 small poblano peppers, chopped
1 dried hot chili pepper - leave whole
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Salt & pepper to taste
Lime juice
1 handful of chopped cilantro
Sour cream

Directions:

Add the pork, chorizo, onion, poblano, the chili pepper, fennel seeds, oregano, cumin, chili powder and a little salt and pepper to the crock pot, cover with water and stir. Leave the beans out til later.

Set the crock pot to cook on low and walk away. Cook for 5 hours.

At 4 1/2 hours, drain and add the cannellini beans.

Serve in bowls with a squeeze of lime juice, a dollop of sour cream and some of the fresh cilantro. Serve with cornbread. Thas' right.

Enjoy!