Recipe #120: Pork Tenderloin w/Balsamic Reduction, Grilled Peaches and Wild Rice Salad

So many great flavors in this dish.... it seems like it would be a bit to put together, but it's pretty easy!  I love putting fruit in my meals now... dried cherries in rice?  Yes please!  This is from the July issue of Cooking Light.  I've marked my changes.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced shallots
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Cooking spray
• 1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, cut into 12 slices  (I used two thick boneless chops cut through the center to make 4 thinner chops.  I couldn't find a 1lb tenderloin)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

• 1. Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add vinegar and next 3 ingredients; cook until reduced to 1/2 cup.
• 2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Place pork in pan; cook 2 minutes on each side. Add balsamic reduction; cook 1 minute, turning pork to coat.

Serve with Grilled Peaches: Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add 4 peach halves to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side. Cut each half into 3 wedges.  (I didn't bother cutting them into thirds.)


Serve with Wild Rice Salad: Cook 1 cup fast-cooking white and wild rice per directions, omitting seasoning. Stir in 1/4 cup chopped green onions, 2 tablespoons chopped dried cherries, and 2 tablespoons chopped ­pecans.  (I used an Uncle Ben's 90 second microwaveable rice pack, Wild and Long rice mix, and mixed in the other ingredients after I cooked the rice.)

Recipe #119: Salmon with Potato-Artichoke Hash

Fresh!  Hearty!  Simple!

INGREDIENTS:

8 new red potatoes, scrubbed and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts in water, drained and halved (I used 12oz marinated in a jar)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, or 1/4 teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 lbs skinless salmon fillet, cut crosswise into 4 pieces
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (I used double)
1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar (I used double)
1/2 cup packed coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I used double)
1 tablespoon water (I used double)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 475F.  In a large roasting pan, toss together potatoes, artichokes, thyme, 1/2 tsp oil, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Push vegetables to sides of pan.

Arrange salmon pieces in center of pan, and gently press them together to form one long piece.  Coat with remaining oil (I used olive oil spray) and sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper.  Roast, turning the vegetables once, until lightly browned and tender and salmon is opaque throughout, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make sauce:  Stir together mustard, vinegar, parsley, and the water; season with salt and pepper.

Gently separate salmon pieces.  Serve immediately, on top of hash, spooning parsley sauce over fish.

Recipe #118: Garden Pasta

I made this dish a long time ago, before I had this blog, and I'm wondering why I waited so long to make it again.  It's a really light, fresh tasting summery pasta.  I found this recipe in one of my Rachael Ray cookbooks.

 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium zucchini, finely diced
• 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 small carrot, finely chopped
• 2 bay leaves, fresh or dried
• 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock (a couple of splashes)
• 1 can crushed tomatoes (28 ounces)
• Coarse salt and black pepper, to taste
• A handful of flat leaf parsely, chopped
• 1 pound penne rigate, cooked until al dente  (I think I used 12oz instead- it was plenty)
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Heat a deep skillet or pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil and garlic and sauté, until the garlic sizzles. Add the zucchini, onion, carrot, and bay leaves. Cover and cook, 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the zucchini is tender and onions are translucent. Remove the cover and add the stock. Stur up any good gunk from the bottom of the pot. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper, and parsley and bring to a bubble. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until ready to serve. Combine the sauce with the pasta and garnish with chopped scallions.