Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

What a terrific idea.  From the good folks at Bon Appetit Magazine comes this easy way to cook your whole dinner on one sheet pan.  The timing for this recipe to appear couldn’t be better.  Most of my remaining kitchen supplies are in boxes sealed and ready to accompany us back to North Carolina.  It was so convenient to turn the oven on and cook the whole dinner in one pan.

Saltimbocca is Italian for “jumps in the mouth”.  Usually it is made with veal that is pounded thin, wrapped in prosciutto with a sage leaf underneath, sauteed in butter and then simmered in dry white wine.  This unconventional treatment starts with potatoes and onions seasoned with lots of sage and olive oil and cooked in a hot oven.  The boneless pork chops topped with the prosciutto are then added to the pan to continue cooking until they are done.  I also added asparagus.

This was a flavorful dinner with very little effort.  We are headed back to North Carolina with a small u-haul trailer.  I am proud that I can include that word “small”.  We will miss our Florida home but are looking forward to the different travel opportunities we now have.

SHEET PAN PORK SALTIMBOCCA

• 2 1-inch-thick slices boneless pork loin (6–8 ounces each)
• 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
• 2 onions, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound small (2-inch-diameter) Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
• 1/8 cup chopped fresh sage leaves
• 4 thin slices prosciutto
•  Asparagus spears drizzled with olive oil, optional
  • Preheat oven to 450°.  Pierce pork slices all over with the tip of a paring knife. Place in a dish just large enough to hold pork in a single layer. Pour wine over and let marinate at room temperature while preparing other ingredients.
  • Place onions in a medium bowl, drizzle with 1 Tbsp. oil, and season with salt and pepper. Toss gently to coat without breaking up slices. Transfer onions to prepared baking sheet, spreading out in an even layer. Combine remaining 2 Tbsp. oil, potatoes, and sage in same bowl; season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Place potatoes on sheet, tucking in among onions.
  • Roast onion-potato mixture until potatoes are beginning to brown around the edges, about 20 minutes. Remove pork from wine and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper and top each pork slice with 2 prosciutto slices. Place pork on baking sheet atop potatoes and onions. Add asparagus spears if desired. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally into center of pork registers 135°, about 15 minutes.   (After 10 minutes, I turned pork chops over to brown more evenly.  I lifted the prosciutto , turned the chops and placed the prosciutto back on the chops.)  Remove pan from oven and let rest, covered with foil for about 10 minutes.  Serve.

Printable Recipe

I love working with pork tenderloin.  You can usually find them two to a pack on sale at your local markets.  Recently I made my pork schnitzel with one of the tenderloins in the pack and had to come up with a use for the other one.  Stuffing one is always a good idea.  It is easy to butterfly them and fill them with any number of flavorful combinations.  The Fresh Market and Friends Cookbook had an interesting recipe using dried cherries and pecans, so that is what I did.

The only thing different I would do with this great recipe is make some kind of sauce to go with it.  I found this recipe online using bing cherries, ruby port and balsamic vinegar.  I know it would be perfect with this pork tenderloin.  Next time I will give it a try.  I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday at The Comforts of Home.

PORK TENDERLOIN WITH CHERRY PECAN STUFFING

1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups dried cherries
1/4 cup pecans, toasted
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin
Salt and pepper, to taste
Butcher’s twine

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees F.  In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring water to a boil.  Add cherries and immediately remove from heat; let rest for 1 hour then drain.  Transfer cherries to a food processor and add pecans, cinnamon and cloves; pulse until coarsely chopped.  Transfer to a bowl and stir in cilantro.

Preheat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat.  Cut tenderloin in half lengthwise 3/3 of the way through and unfold like a book in front of you.  Place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top and, using a mallet, flatten slightly.  Remove plastic, season with salt and pepper to taste.  Spread cherry stuffing over tenderloin and fold back together; secure with butcher’s twine.  Sear tenderloin in saute pan for 5 to 6 minutes then transfer to a baking dish and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes before slicing into medallions to serve.  Serves 4 to 6.

Printable recipe

Melissa Clark, staff food writer for The New York Times has a new cookbook out called Dinner; Changing the Game.  I do not own the book yet, but it is one that I will probably purchase.  The premise is to make dinner interesting with a spin on traditional dishes. It also tries to make those meals doable in a reasonable amount of time.   Many of the recipes can serve as an entire meal.  Sheet pan meals have become very popular; all of the components cooked on one pan.  I made one on the blog last year.  But the chapter that had me interested was one called The Grind.  All of the recipes used ground meat.  These Marmalade Meatballs were delicious.

The orange marmalade glaze was sweet and sour and added a nice punch to the meatballs.  Once the meatballs are formed it only takes 15 minutes to have them on the table.  So if you mix and form the meatballs ahead of time, dinner is quicker than calling for take-out.   I don’t know why I have never broiled my meatballs before. Before munching on your food, you can play games like 안전놀이터.

You can serve these slightly sweet meatballs over mashed potatoes, polenta or coconut rice.  There is a recipe in the book for the coconut rice that sounds very good. Melissa Clark has done a great job of making weeknight dinners inventive and exciting.

MARMALADE MEATBALLS

1 lb. ground chuck
1/2 cup panko crumbs
4 oil Packed anchovy fillets (optional)
2 scallions, chopped
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp Kosher salt
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1 tbls cider vinegar
1 tbls soy sauce
1/4 tsp red chili flakes
Fresh chives, for garnish

Set an oven rack at least 4″ from the heat source and heat the broiler.

In a large bowl combine the beef, panko, anchovies, scallions, egg, salt, garlic, ginger, pepper, and allspice and mix gently but thoroughly.

Form the mixture into 1 1/4″ balls.  At this point you can cover and refrigerate them overnight before cooking.

Arrange meatballs an inch apart on a rimmed baking sheet.  Broil until meatballs are golden all over and cooked through; 5 to 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the marmalade, vinegar, soy sauce and red chili flakes and bring to a simmer.

When meatballs are cooked through, brush them with the marmalade glaze and return them to the broiler.  Broil until glaze is bubbling, 1 to 2 minutes.  Serve with the chives scattered on top if desired.

Printable Recipe

This is a quick meal that brings back memories of an earlier time.  And a more simple time.  Most people equate salisbury steak with the TV dinners that were popular in the ’50’s and ’60’s.  We have come a long way since that time.  Even though that time was known for TV dinners, it was also the era of simple meals of meat and potatoes.  My Mother was known for her pork chops, meatloaf and mashed potatoes.  We never had such exotic food from other countries like pizza pie.  Technology and Julia Child changed all of that.  With the advent of cooking programs on television, many people were introduced to food from other nations.  Now with the internet, we can even cook the same food that is currently being prepared in home kitchens all over the world.  Social media has introduced us to quinoa, chia seeds and hemp hearts among other things.  I have been adding hemp hearts to my morning oatmeal.  Who would have thought?

But sometimes, an old-fashioned meal like this “updated” salisbury steak with French onion gravy is most welcomed.  Instead of potatoes it is served with  toasted slices of sourdough bread with Swiss cheese.  The gravy is a riff on French onion soup with beef broth, lots of onions, a little wine and a touch of tomato paste.  I enjoyed this combination.

Hope you enjoy this blast from the past.  To be honest, I am glad that we now have so many options, but still love the classics.

FRENCH ONION SALISBURY STEAK  (Adapted from Cuisine at Home )   

1 1/4 ground chuck
1/4 cup fresh minced parsley
2 Tablespoons scallions, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Black pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 cups onions, sliced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 Tablespoon garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups beef broth
1/4 cup dry red wine
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
4 teaspoons minced fresh parsley for garnish
4 teaspoons Parmesan cheese, shredded
Cheese Toasts – Recipe follows

Combine chuck, parsley, scallion, salt, and pepper.  Divide evenly into 4 portions and shape each into 3/4-inch-1-inch thick oval patties.  Place flour in a shallow dish; dredge each patty in flour.  Reserve 1 teaspoon flour.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add patties and saute 3 minutes on each side, or until browned.  Remove from pan.  Add onions and sugar to pan; saute 5 minutes.  Stir in garlic and tomato paste; saute 1 minute, or until paste begins to brown.  Sprinkle onions with reserved flour; cook 1 minute.  Stir in broth and wine, then add the salt and thyme.

Return meat to pan and bring soup to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 10 minutes.  Serve steaks on Cheese Toasts with onion soup ladled over.  Garnish with parsley and Parmesan.

CHEESE TOASTS

4 slices French bread or Sourdough baguette, cut diagonally (1/2-inch thick)
2 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
Pinch of paprika
1/4 cup Swiss cheese, grated
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Place bread on a baking sheet.  Combine butter garlic, and paprika, and spread on one side of each slice of bread.  Combine cheeses and sprinkle evenly over butter.  Bake until bread is crisp and cheese is bubbly, 10-15

PRINTABLE RECIPE

I have been in a cooking funk lately.  Nothing I have made has been blog worthy.  I just burned some honey glazed pancetta that was supposed to go on a salad.  Other dishes that I have made were just plain boring.  We are back in Lake Lure.  The weather is cold and windy and the cottage is in need of all kinds of fluffing and repairs.  Squirrels chewed the wires to the steam bath and made themselves a nest under the tub.  David was looking forward to satisfying his Finnish blood with a hot steam bath and was dismayed to discover what the critters had done.  They even feathered their nest with paint brushes from the basement.  I guess they were planning on remodeling.   We are planning on evicting them.  So when dinner time rolled around last night, I was in no mood to get creative with the salmon.  David said “Have you ever blogged about my salmon cooked in parchment paper?”  Needless to say, I was more than happy to turn the kitchen over to him while I snapped the pictures.

Here are the main ingredients.  It is important that the vegetables you use are sliced thinly because the salmon cooks for only 15 minutes.  You can use what you have.  I had carrots, peppers, onions and some cooked baby broccoli from another meal.  You could also use thinly sliced broccoli, scallions, snow peas or asparagus.

David is proud of this fillet knife that he got at an estate sale last year in our hometown of Dowagiac, MI.  It is engraved with the date and Trig Lund’s name.  Trig was an executive with the Heddon Lure Company a maker of fishing lures sold around the world. I wrote a whole post about the estate sale last summer.

We always remove the skin from our salmon before we cook it.

Each piece of salmon is placed on a piece of parchment paper and covered with the vegetables and seasoning.

You can actually see the salmon in this shot.

A little wine for moisture is always a good thing.  Also note that David has brushed the edges of the parchment paper with an egg wash to help seal the packets.

The packets are sealed.

The packets ready to go into the oven.  Notice he has also included pats of butter, along with some lemon juice.

After a brief time in the oven, dinner was served.  Along with the salmon I made a rice pilaf and a salad with that burned pancetta.  It actually wasn’t bad.  I will experiment with it again and give you a recipe when I figure it out.   David had no trouble figuring out a great salmon dish.  Here is his recipe.

SALMON EN PAPILLOTE WITH JULIENNED VEGETABLES

This is a very simple, delicious and fool-proof way to prepare salmon with vegetables. And, it looks fancy and festive, but it is so easy. You can use any combination of vegetables that suits your fancy. Listed below are some of the ones we commonly use, but you can substitute or include others such as, leeks, and snow peas, anything that can be cut into thin pieces so that it cooks rapidly. You can also substitute any other type of fish fillet that you might have on hand or can find, and you also might want to experiment with other herbs and spices.

Here are one possible set of ingredients per packet, i.e. per serving

one 8 oz salmon filet
¼ cup julienned carrots
¼ cup julienned green onions
¼ cup julienned broccolini
¼ cup julienned red or green pepper
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp olive oil
2 Tbsp dry white wine
basil ½ tsp dried or 1 tsp chopped fresh
2 lemon slices
3 pats of butter
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg beaten-to seal the packets

Place a salmon filet to the right of the center of a 15” square of parchment paper. Salt and pepper the filet to taste. Sprinkle the olive oil, garlic, and basil over the salmon. Arrange the julienned vegetables on top of the filet. Place two lemon slices and three butter pats on top. Sprinkle the wine over the top and add a little more salt and pepper to the top of the vegetables. Use a brush and the egg wash to paint the edge of paper all the way around to help seal the packet. Fold the left side of the paper over the fish and vegetables and start at the top left corner making small overlapping folds all the way around the three open sides. When you get to the final fold, turn it under to help keep it from unfolding. Prepare as many packets as you want servings and place on a baking sheet in a 400 deg oven for about 18-20 minutes. The fish will actually be done in about 15 minutes, but the veggies will benefit from the extra time, and the fish will remain moist and tender from the cooking method. To serve, place a packet on each plate along with whatever starch you are serving, and cut the packets open with a sharp knife so the contents can be removed to the plate.  Enjoy.

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