Italian Herb Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Crabapple Mustard Glaze

Pork tenderloin is one of my favourite dishes to make.  The meat is mild, tender and cooks up very fast in the oven.  Hubby and the children really enjoy it.  This is one of my quick and easy recipes that can be comparable to a restaurant meal.

Super easy recipe!  I trimmed all the connective tissue and fat from the meat, massaged the pork tenderloins with olive oil, rubbed the herbs and seasonings into the meat and threw it in the oven for 30-40 minutes.  I use the same ingredients for roast beef too, but somehow it tastes completely different. 

This recipe was inspired by Pioneer Woman's Herb Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Preserves.  She uses the French Herbs de Provence.  I can't get that here in my little rural BC town, so I improvised.  Being a mother of three little monkeys, I'm getting really good at it!  

Instead of French herbs, I used Italian seasoning (I think it is a blend of oregano, basil, rosemary and thyme).  I got it in the bulk section of my grocery store.  Instead of salt and pepper, I sprinkled Montreal Steak Spice since it has salt, pepper, garlic and other spices.  For fun, I also sprinkled some Old Bay seasoning.  I saw it at my local supermarket and bought it out of curiosity.  

This is a forgiving recipe and I don't measure my ingredients.  I just sprinkle the ingredients on top until it "looks good".  For my children's sake (when they read this entry in a few years), I should put approximate amounts!

The glaze is my creation. I used homemade crabapple jelly but any preserves will do. I will try apricot next. The crabapple jelly is very sweet, so I only used 1/4 cup.  I thought it would be a variation of the popular pork/apple combination.  I kept tasting it and adding ingredients until it was yummy.  I added a bit of thyme, a bit of balsamic vinegar and a few small squirts of mustard.  Boiled it up and thickened it with a slurry of cornstarch and water.  In the end, it tasted a lot like Asian sweet & sour plum sauce!  The children, especially my 3 year old, loved the pork and glaze. 

Italian Herb Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Crabapple Mustard Glaze

2 Pork Tenderloins

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (can use more or less)

1 tsp Montreal Steak Spice

2-4 Tbsp Italian herb seasoning

sprinkle Old Bay seasoning (optional)

Glaze

1/4-1/2 cup preserves (I used 1/4 cup crabapple jelly. Will try apricot next)

1/2 cup water

1/4 tsp thyme

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp mustard (yellow or Dijon)

1/4 cup water + 1 Tbsp cornstarch 

Preheat oven to 425F.  Trim the outer fat and connective tissue from the pork tenderloins..  Drizzle and massage pork tenderloins with extra virgin olive oil.  Season with Montreal Steak Spice and then rub with Italian seasoning.

Place the pork on a rack or pan and roast in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes (I needed 30-40 min) or until no longer pink.  Remove from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes.

While the pork is resting, combine preserves, water, thyme, mustard  and vinegar in a small pan and bring to a simmer.  To thicken, make cornstarch slurry (water and cornstarch) and mix it in the simmering sauce.

Slice pork and spoon the glaze over the meat.  

- Adapted from Pioneer Woman's Herb Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Preserves

Everyone enjoyed this dinner.  I am in awe that 3 year old LOVED this!  

Enjoy!

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Whiskey Rum Barbecue Ribs

The past few weeks, pork ribs were on sale at the supermarket.  Baby back ribs cost a little more since they are very tender and meaty.  They were about CAN$5.49/lb, roughly $9 per rack. Last week, I was able to score CAN$1.99/lb for regular side pork ribs which were about $4 per rack!  Very delicious!

I love ribs.  I love getting my fingers messy.  I love the sweet and sticky rib sauce... I love that  "fall of the bone" experience when you take a bite and the meat simply falls apart... 

I was never able to get my ribs to "fall off the bone" until I removed the tough back membrane behind the bones.  This membrane is very tough and takes a long time to break down in cooking.  Doing this step made the ribs very tender.  Yes, it is extra work, but so worth it!  

I used a small sharp knife and trimmed the membrane off.  You can also rip this slippery membrane off with your hands and paper towel.   

In a rush?  You can also perforate the membrane with a knife so it can cook down better.  If I have the time, I prefer to cut away the membrane. 

Some people swear by boiling ribs.  My problem:  my pot is not big enough to boil several racks of ribs for an hour or so.   Instead, I use the oven and slowly roast them over low heat in aluminum foil.  While the fat melts out of the ribs, the flavour stays in the meat and not in the boiling water.  I can easily make ribs for a large crowd with this method.  

Double wrap the ribs in foil and bake for 2 1/2 hours at 275F.

Put the sauce together while the ribs are baking.   The original recipe calls for rum. When I ran out of rum, I used tequila and whisky with no complaints. A nice dark ale or beer (Guinness) would be tasty too.  The possibilities are endless!  Also, you can use your favourite salsa. We prefer mild salsa.  If you like medium or hot/spicy salsa, feel free to use it!

Let the sauce sit for a bit so the brown sugar can dissolve. 

After 2.5 hours in the oven, remove from foil and transfer the ribs to a container or pan.  

Coat the ribs with sauce and marinate at room temperature for 1 hour, or overnight in the refrigerator.  I usually make this the day before and marinate overnight.

You can use the BBQ to finish the ribs.  I usually use the oven for easy cleanup.   Place the ribs on a parchment lined pan and bake for 30 minutes.  Baste with the marinade every 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and let the ribs rest for a few minutes.  They will be easier to cut when they cool down a little. 

Whiskey Rum Barbecue Ribs

The original recipe makes a lot of sauce for 4lbs, so I scale it down a little and it makes just enough sauce for basting in the oven or BBQ.

4lbs pork spare ribs, or 2 racks baby back ribs

1 cup brown sugar (I use 3/4 cup)

1/4 cup ketchup (I use 3 Tbsp)

1/4 cup soy sauce (3 Tbsp)

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce (3 Tbsp)

1/4 cup rum (3 Tbsp rum.  I like a combination of 2 Tbsp rum, 1 Tbsp whiskey)

1/2 cup chile sauce (I use 1/2 cup favourite salsa)

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon dry mustard (I use 3/4 tsp)

1 dash ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (175 degrees C).  Cut spareribs into serving size portions or leave rack whole.  Wrap in double thickness of foil and bake for 2 1/2 hours.  

In a bowl, mix together brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, rum, chile sauce, garlic, mustard and pepper.  

Unwrap and drain drippings.  Place ribs in large roasting pan.  Coat ribs with sauce and marinate at room temperature for 1 hour, or refrigerate overnight.  

BBQ method:  Preheat grill for medium heat.  Position grate four inches above heat source.  Brush grill grate with oil.  Place ribs on grill, and cook for 30 minutes, basting with marinade every 10 minutes.  

Oven method:  Preheat oven to 350F.  Bake for 30 minutes, basting with marinade every 10 minutes.  

- Adapted from Allrecipes.com:  Barbecue Ribs

MMmmmm.... My dinner:  a nice green salad with chicken and RIBS!  My youngest couldn't get enough of them! 

Enjoy!

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Oven Roasted Bacon

Whew!  What a wonderful Easter holiday!  A lot has happened the beginning of the month and I didn't expect April to be so busy.  First, Baby has started half-day preschool from Mondays to Fridays.  From 8:30am to 11:30am, she is hopefully improving her communication skills from screeching to *calmly and nicely asking* for whatever her heart desires.

When I had this free time in the mornings, did I relax?  Well... before I get to relax, I had to tackle a list of things to clean around the house.  Neglect around the house after three kids can get to a really disgusting state.  So I feverishly cleaned the house nonstop for 2 mornings straight. 

I got behind in documenting some recipes.  I had also meant to take pictures of our Easter dinner, but we got so hungry and devoured it before I even thought of getting out the camera!  I'll try again next Easter. 

Last week, I cooked bacon while I was cleaning the house.  Rather, I baked bacon!  I stumbled across this technique last year from Food Network's Barefoot Contessa and had to try it.  Our family LOVES bacon but I must admit, I find it a tedious task of slaving over the stove and being splattered with bacon grease.  I worry about Baby getting splattered with hot bacon fat.  It's bad enough while she is screaming for my attention, but even worse if she is screaming in pain from the splattering grease.  

This is the only way I will make bacon, as it is so EASY!  I wish I discovered this technique earlier.

I used a 500g or 1lb package of bacon and put it on a parchment-lined pan.  I bought a huge commercial sheet pan (16" x 22") at my local kitchen store and it worked perfectly for 1 package of bacon.  Before I bought my huge pan, I used 2 cookie sheets. 

The slices of bacon were placed side-by-side.  It's OK to have the edges touch as bacon shrinks while it cooks.  Bake at 400F for about 15-20 min. 

I usually turn on the oven and then put the pan of bacon in the oven before it hits 400F. 

After about 15 minutes, I check on the bacon.  The recipe doesn't say to flip them over but I do it anyways and check every 5 minutes until desired crispiness. 

A few more minutes and it's almost done!

Barefoot Contessa's Oven Roasted Bacon

1 500g (1lb) package of your favourite bacon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place a sheet of parchment paper on a sheet pan.
Lay the bacon on top of the parchment paper.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the bacon is really crispy.
Drain on paper towels and serve.

- Adapted from  Food.com: Barefoot Contessa's Oven Roasted Bacon

MMMMmmmmm....  YUMMY!  

Enjoy!

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BBQ Pork Fried Rice

I have not had a full night's sleep in the last three weeks!  With three kids, there's always someone waking us up for a myriad of reasons... middle child had a nosebleed at 2am the night before, Baby had a nosebleed last night at 2am... Baby realized that she was able to open her bedroom door at 2am and come to our bedroom 3-4 nights in a row last week... 

Today, it finally caught up with me...  When McDreamy came home from work, I told him that undead zombies have more energy than me!  Looking at the fridge, I only had enough energy to whip something out of leftovers *in zombie mode*:  BBQ Pork Fried Rice.

  
My father taught me this recipe and it is genius how a recipe that uses good, basic ingredients can make something so incredibly delicious.  Thank goodness he taught me this recipe or else it would be forever lost.  

Lately, I have been having an atrocious time trying to find recipes for certain honest, home-cooked Cantonese dishes.  Instead, I have found 5 completely different versions of the same recipe.  Asking friends and family members was also entertaining:  I got very vague amounts for ingredients and equally perplexing instructions!  OR the classic response "Go buy it from T&T!".  Ummm.... I live 6.5 hours away from the nearest T&T Asian Supermarket and I really do want to make these classic dishes from scratch.

Because of this frustrating experience, I vow to document my family recipes and hand it down to further generations. Now the irony:  I normally *guestimate* this recipe in true Chinese cooking fashion because this dish is so forgiving.

I am not usually so organized but this recipe is pretty easy to get the stuff together in no time:  leftover rice, beaten eggs, frozen veggies, diced cooked meat. 

  
Preheat wok or large 6L/6qt pot to medium-high heat and add canola oil.  Add just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. The bottom of my wok is 7-inches, so I used about 1 Tbsp oil.  For my 6L/6qt pot, about 1-2 Tbsp.  This is a rough estimate, as you need just enough to cover the bottom so the beaten eggs don't stick to the pan.

Boy, I am so lucky to get lovely farm fresh eggs!  These eggs were from a friend that lives just 5 minutes away. 

Add the beaten eggs to the pan and cook 1-2 minutes.  It will spread out and look like you are making an omelette.  

When the eggs are half-cooked, dump the cold (and hardened) day-old rice into the undercooked eggs.  I used about 8 cups of cooked rice.  With a spoon or spatula, mix the rice and eggs up occasionally.  The eggs will break up and distribute into the rice evenly.  The rice will soften as well.    

My tip:  use cold, day-old rice.  If the rice is too freshly cooked, then the fried rice will get mushy and break up.  A lot of Asian food is based on texture, so unless you like mushy fried rice, day-old rice straight from the fridge is best.  

I have used leftover white rice, brown rice and a mixture of both.  It's all good... use what you like.

Let the rice and egg mixture cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Notice how the cooked egg is nice and golden and already in little pieces?  Beautiful!  

Now you can add the thawed and precooked (microwaved) peas and stirfry for another 2-3 minutes.  I noticed that my father and authentic Chinese restaurants used only green peas.  Our local Chinese/Western restaurant used mixed frozen vegetables and I thought it was a great way to get those extra veggies into the kids. The beauty is that I don't have to wash, peel and cut any veggies! 

Since most of the ingredients are already cooked, it is just a matter of warming them up in the wok.  Next goes 2 cups of BBQ pork into the mixture.  My father was so creative in his fried rice. His ability to adapt it to different kinds of meat shaped how I change other recipes to my needs.  He has made different versions with deli black forest ham, diced hot dogs, grocery store rotisserie chicken, BBQ pork, spam...well, whatever we had in the house. 

The dish is almost finished.  Now it's time to season it.  I grew up using Lee Kum Kee's Premium Oyster Sauce Brand.  I'm sure there are other brands but my family has always stuck to this one and I know that my dishes are going to taste like "Dad's".  There is also a vegetarian stir-fry sauce and I think Lee Kum Kee had originally labelled it as vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce many years back. 

What I normally do is add 1 Tbsp oyster sauce at a time.  2 Tbsp max. as there is a strong oyster flavour nuance.  With the right amount, it gives the dish umami, or that "je ne sais quoi" pleasant savory flavour that one can't exactly pinpoint.  Then add salt in 1/4 tsp increments until it tastes just right. I usually add about 1/2 tsp kosher salt and it is flavourful and salty enough.  Some people are watching their salt intake, so seasoning is very subjective.  Some may need more or less. *Disclaimer - so that people won't say this dish is too salty or too bland!*

Garnish with finely chopped green onions (toss it about) and serve.   I usually omit this for the children, but the green onions add a bit of freshness to the dish. 

Mmmmm... Almost like Dad's!  

 OK, here's another shot since it looks yummy...   

Woody's BBQ Pork Fried Rice

1-2 Tbsp canola oil (I use 1 Tbsp oil for my 7-inch bottomed wok)
8-10 cups cold, cooked rice (white, brown or both, preferably from the night before)
2 large eggs, beaten
2 cups frozen peas, thawed, cooked (I used mixed frozen vegetables, thawed in microwave)
2 cups diced BBQ pork or char siu, or any kinds of cooked meat or extra-firm tofu. 
2 Tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
1 stalk green onion, finely chopped (optional garnish)

Heat oil in wok or large 6L/6qt pot under medium-high heat.  Use barely enough oil (1-2 Tbsp) to cover the bottom of the pan so the eggs will not stick.  

Add the beaten eggs to the hot oil and cook 1-2 minutes. When the eggs are half cooked, dump the cold rice into the eggs and mix well with spatula or large spoon for 2-3 minutes.  During this time, the eggs will quickly cook and distribute evenly.  

Then add the precooked vegetables and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Mix the diced cooked meat or tofu into the rice and cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Season with oyster sauce and salt, accordingly to your taste.  Garnish with finely diced green onion, if desired and serve.  

Dinner is served!  Some kiddies (like mine) don't like their food touching, so I bought these divided Corelle dishes.  I got them at our local hardware store, but I've seen them at Walmart.  It's a huge dinner sized plate. Instead of fighting their quirks, I work around it. At least the kids know that their main food groups are covered.  

My children's dinner:  sliced BBQ pork tenderloin, Greek salad and BBQ pork fried rice. My 7 year-old had 2 helpings of Greek salad and 3 helpings of rice! 

Enjoy!

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