Jalapeño Poppers

I'm not usually the kind to crank out hors d'ourves, actually these were Karen's idea...I liked these so much I think we'll be making these a lot. They're hot without being brain-melting painful (well, perhaps the odd one is if you don't seed it with care), crunchy, and savory. Easy to make too.



* 2 sprays olive oil cooking spray, divided
* 2 oz light cream cheese
* 1/2 cup low-fat shredded cheddar cheese
* 1 Tbsp fat-free mayonnaise
* 8 small jalapeño pepper(s)
* egg whites from two eggs
* 3/4 cup cornflake crumbs

Instructions

* Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

* In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, cheddar cheese and mayonnaise; mix well and set aside. Halve jalapeños lengthwise and remove seeds. (Don’t rub your eyes.) Stuff jalapeño halves with cream cheese mixture.

* Place egg substitute in a shallow dish. Place cornflake crumbs in a separate shallow dish. Dip stuffed jalapeño halves into egg substitute and then roll in cornflake crumbs to coat.

* Transfer jalapeños to prepared baking sheet and coat with cooking spray.

* Bake until filling is bubbly, about 30 minutes. Serve hot. Yields 2 poppers per serving.

For you WW freaks, each popper is 1 point.

Roasted Pork Loin with Maple-Mustard Crust

Cider Brine:

4 cups apple cider (or apple juice I guess)
1/2 cup pickling or kosher salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cloves garlic, smashed
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 pounds (or so) of pork loin

Bring the brine ingredients to a slow boil, stir until everything is dissolved, then cool to room temperature. Put the pork into a large ziploc and add the brine, press the air out so the pork is in constant contact with the brine. Put in the fridge for 8 to 18 hours.

For the roast:

1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbs grainy Dijon mustard
2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450 F. Combine the crust ingredients. Pat the pork dry with a paper towel. Brush the pork all over with the mustard mixture. Roast the pork for 15 minutes, then reduce to 350 F and continue cooking until internal temp (thickest part) is 145 F.

Served with the Brussels Sprouts from the previous post, and some finely chopped potato and carrots that I had in the roasting pan, with the pork loin on top of them.

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon & Thyme

First, here's the recipe.

Ok, so, what's with the bad reputation of Brussels Sprouts? It's one of those "yuck foods" you see in children's stories. They're great. Like cabbage only sweeter and seemingly less sulfurous...although that only comes from overcooking anyway. Certainly more elegant-looking then cabbage. I've just had these for the 1st time in my life, seriously. I don't know how I made it to 35 without having these. Will be making them a lot now.

Any why boil them? This method has got to be much better.

Toasted Flour

This is a new trick I've only just picked up while browsing Slashfood. A contributor named Marisa made a Thanksgiving post that I recalled and looked up for Christmas turkey use.



Now, of course, you can just go read her post (please do, otherwise I'd just be copying everything she said), but her and I e-mailed back and forth a few times and a few things came up worth mentioning. I've used uncoated pans (the new saute' pan that Karen just picked up for me, pictured, is great for containing the potential huge mess) while Marisa, I found, used a nonstick pan. I'm pretty sure this is the reason my flour toasted so quickly (12-15 minutes vs. 30 to 60). Also, I just have to say if you have a badass flat whisk you'd normally use for deglazing...that's what you should use.


So, true to the original story, the gravy we made for Christmas dinner was fantastic. With so much flavorful, colored flour, you can expand your turkey juices more and have more gravy then you normally would, and the pre-cooked flour required little cooking to remove the "doughy" flavor that you normally need to work out.

This 2ed batch I just did is for some shrimp gumbo I'll be making tomorrow. A nice dark roux is a tradition of this dish, and this should give me a nice head-start.

Fries

Yes, you likely are thinking this is one of those things anyone can do. And you're right...anyone can make fries. Badly. You see, there is a little bit of technique to this, and many times it isn't done. You know the local fry truck (if you're in Ontario) you hit up all the time? Some do it right, but most of them do it wrong. There are three trucks here in Almonte, and they're all on the wrong side of technique. You can tell not from taste (they taste fine) but texture. If you snack down on the fries and they're tasty-but-limp and even soggy feeling, you know they cheated.

The "thing" is cooking them twice. Once at about 280 F for about eight minutes, then setting them aside to cool. Make a few batches so you have enough. Then you cook them again for about 3 minutes at 375 F. That's it. The first cooking does all the "cooking" and the 2ed does all the color, flavor, and crispiness. If you do the whole step in one go at 375F, see above for cheating = soggy + limp.

Now, leave the skins on. They make the fries look home-made, and the skin has flavor. Same with cutting...just use a knife. If you peel the potatoes and then use some device to make perfect fries, then they just look like they came from a bag which is lame. Yes, I used a mandolin for this batch but it was for five people so I did a pretty large amount and I was in a bit of a rush. :)

Beer-Braised Beef Short Ribs

I'll be a bit lazy and just link to the recipe, but man...this was good. You can serve with mashed potatoes, or as I did, with hot buttered broad noodles.

Pork Medallions with Garlic

The sauce obscures it, but this is actually a stuffed pork roast, the center of the medallion has a little surprise of bacon and, obviously, garlic. The pan sauce with wine and shallots was amazing.

1 bulb of garlic, minced into a paste
2 slices of bacon
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbso butter
flour, salt, pepper

2 shallots, diced very finely
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp of demi glace (I'm sure you have this lying around)

Butterfly the pork roast (you could also use two pork tenderloins and sandwich them) and spread the entire inside with the garlic paste, then lay the strips of bacon inside also, lengthwise. Tie up the roast with string, spacing your string for future individual servings. Dust the outside of the roast with the mixture of flour, salt, pepper. Preheat your oven to 400 F.

Heat a oven-friendly frying pan (no plastic or wooden handles) and add the olive oil first, then butter (the oil raises the smoking temperature of the butter). Sear and brown the roast on all sides. Thow the pan in the oven for 20 minutes or so, don't worry about when it's "done" as this is just to make the outside nice and crusty for flavor.

Remove from the oven, and set aside the roast under foil to rest for a while. Discard any extra fat from the pan you roasted in, and add 1 tbsp of butter, and the shallots. Cook over heat for a couple minutes until softened. Deglaze with the wine + stock and scrape up all the yummy bits with a wisk. Add another tbsp of butter. Add the demi glace if you have it. Add the drippings from the plate you're resting your roast on. Reduce until it coats the back of a spoon. Keep warm.

Put a cast iron pan on, get it hot. Really hot. Carve the roast into the medallions, and sear both sides until browned a bit, this will finish the cooking process for the inside of the roast (so not too thick, eh?). Serve with mashed potatoes, veg of choice, and spoon the warm sauce over.

Recipe is blatently stolen from Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles cookbook, and altered just a touch. :)