Another Movie Night in the books! Yining played host this time and screened The Princess Bride. She turned over her kitchen to me and, as always, I was happy to cook in a venue where I could abandon the dirty dishes to someone else's tender loving care. Our menu:
Roasted Pork Tenderloin
For six people, I roasted two tenderloins. It's a pretty simple process. Season the meat generously with salt and pepper. Sear off in a skillet to develop a nice brown crust. Yining happened to have a little leftover prosciutto in her fridge, and I draped each tenderloin with a piece. Finish cooking in a 375° oven for about 20 minutes, until the internal temperature reads 145° on a meat thermometer.
The key to a properly cooked piece of meat is letting it come COMPLETELY to room temperature before you start cooking. I can't emphasize this enough. I've been guilty of violating this rule myself, and it invariably bites me in the ass. (Refer to the turkey debacle from last Christmas.) The science is simple: if the interior of the roast is cold, it will take a much longer time to come up to temp, and you will end up overcooking the exterior to achieve it.
Mustard Sauce
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 small container of Greek yogurt
salt to taste
Drain some of the liquid out of Greek yogurt. To do so, line a strainer with a few layers of cheesecloth if you're a fancy cook, or two sheets of kitchen paper towel if you're not. Let the yogurt drain for 15 minutes. In a dish, mix the yogurt with the mustard; season with salt. Done.
(I prefer the strong tang of Greek yogurt, but you can also use regular yogurt. You just have to strain out more liquid since it's runnier to begin with.)
Confetti Corn Salad
I thought the sweetness of summer corn would go great with the pork. In the fall, roasted apples with rosemary would be a nice side too.
6 ears of fresh corn, raw, with the kernels sliced off
2 red or orange bell peppers, de-seeded and diced
½ red onion onion, diced
a big bunch of cilantro, chopped
½ stick of butter
a splash of cider vinegar
S&P to taste
Sauté the corn kernels in the butter. You can cook the onion and the peppers or leave those raw for texture - your choice. Whatever you cook, let it come to room temperature before you toss in the other ingredients (to avoid inadvertently cooking them too).
This makes a gorgeous, colorful salad. Leftovers are great the next day.
Mascerated Berries
Strawberries these days are usually huge and picture perfect - and taste like nothing. For long-distance transportation, strawberries are picked early and ripened with ethylene gas in warehouses. If you cut one open and the bright red color is only skin deep, that's a sure sign. A sun-ripened berry is red all the way through.
To inject some flavor, I usually toss sliced strawberries in dark brown sugar and let them sit for a while before eating. This process is called masceration. A fancier version is below:
strawberries
blueberries
a drizzle of honey
a splash of port
Chop the strawberries. Combine with half the blueberries. Roughly mash the other half of the blueberries and add. Season with a good drizzle of honey and a splash of port. Let mascerate for at least half an hour, up to overnight. The pectin in the mashed-up blueberries with create a sort of glaze with the juices and the honey and port impart great flavor.
We served the berries with Costco mini brownies. Alternatively, spoon over angel's food or pound cake, yogurt or ice-cream.
Gerald and Mike, you're up next!
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