I promise you, this is THE best pork loin. Don made it yesterday and it literally melts in your mouth. Get ready! Here we go.
- 2.5-3.5 pork loin roast, fat and skin removed
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
RUB
- 1 1/4 tsp. paprika (mild or smoked)
- 1/2 tsp. brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp. each garlic powder and onion powder
- 1/4 tsp. red chili powder (optional)
- 1 1/4 tsp. coarse salt
- 1/4 tsp. cracked black pepper
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
HONEY GARLIC BUTTER SAUCE
- 1/3 cup golden corn syrup
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tsp. cider vinegar
- 2 tsp. red wine vinegar
- good pinch of salt
- 1/4 tsp. cracked black pepper
ADDITIONAL
- 1/3 cup low sodium stock (beef or chicken) or broth
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
Pat dry pork with a paper towel. Combine 1 tbsp. of oil with the rub ingredients. Season pork, rubbing the mixture into the meat.
Heat remaining oil (about 2 tsp.) in a large pan or skillet over medium heat. Sear pork all over until golden brown, rotating the pork around to avoid burning the spices.
Melt butter in the same pan as the pork was in, scraping up any leftover bits in the pan. Stir in remaining sauce ingredients, bringing to a rapid simmer for 1 minute.
SLOW COOKER
Place seared pork in a 6 qt. slow cooker. Pour sauce over the pork, cover with a lid and cook on LOW setting for 4-5 hours.
Transfer pork onto serving dish and loosely tent with foil. Let rest for 10-15 minutes.
While pork is resting, pour juices from the slow cooker bowl into a pot large enough to fit the liquid. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat.
Mix 2 tbsp. of the juices with 4 tsp. of cornstarch. Whisk cornstarch slurry into sauce and let simmer for a good 5 minutes. Note: sauce will thicken as it cooks. Simply thicken to syrup-like consistency.
Slice pork and serve drizzle with the Honey Garlic sauce.
Don served with potato rostis, but you could used mashed potatoes in you prefer.
Seared Scallops with Fresh Corn and Truffle Oil
The other night, for a birthday dinner for Kelly (#2 by the way) Don made this dish. Let me tell you from the start, you could just sit down and eat the corn sauce, it is that great. but it takes all of it to really be special.
- 1 tbsp. butter
- 2 ears of whole sweet corn, kernels removed (about 1 1/2 cups of kernels)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- pinch of salt and white pepper
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 12 large sea scallops
- few drops of black truffle oil
- 1 tbsp. chopped chives
- Angel hair pasta
- butter
In a pan, heat the butter and saute the corn for about 2 -3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Now add the cream and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook a further 2-3 minutes until the cream thickens.
In a fresh pan, heat the olive oil, Add the scallops and sear for about 2-3 minutes until they have a nice sear on each side.
Cook the angel hair pasta and fold in a bit of butter. Place the pasta equally into 3 bowls, add the corn sauce on top and place the scallops over the top. Garnish with a few chopped chives.
Serve with a glass of chilled white wine and treasure each bite. OMGoodness!
Breakfast Puff Pastry Blossoms
This is what you can do when you have left over puff pastry. Yesterday I made my Pastry Straws for our company coming for a glass of wine and a visit. This was not happening when Covid hit and was a real pleasure.
But – we had half of the pastry left over and it can’t be re-frozen so Don, in his cooking wisdom, made these up. OMG! Are they ever delicious and so beautiful to look at.
- 1/2 pkg. puff pastry, thawed of course
- 3 slices of bacon, cooked crisp (very crisp) chopped
- 4 eggs, whisked well
- generous pinches of grated cheddar cheese or more to taste.
Roll out the pastry to approximately 8″ x 8″ square. Cut into 4 equal portions. Spray a large muffin tin with Pam and set the pastry in. The top corners should stand up over the top. Put some water in he two muffin sections not being used.
Whisk the eggs together until light and airy. Place equal portions of the chopped bacon on the bottom of each muffin portion. Divide the egg portions equally into the cups and top with the cheese.
Bake in a preheated oven of 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Don said adding a bowl of fresh berries/pineapple etc. was awesome.
By the way, you have no room to eat two of these. One was just super.
Rack of Lamb – Marinated With Herbs and Garlic
Don prepared this last night and really liked it. I think it was just because he wanted to use his new Christmas Le Creuset pieces.
- 1 rack of lamb
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 tsp. dried rosemary
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. pepper
- 1 tbsp. chili powder
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 lime, juiced
- 1 cup red wine. We used a lovely Shiraz
Chop the thyme and garlic together, add the rosemary and place in a large bowl. Add the salt, pepper, chili powder, olive oil and lime juice. Mix well and set aside.
Trim off the excess fat on the lamb, then cut the lamb into 2 bones each pieces. Place the lamb into the spice mixture and rub it into the lamb, using your hands. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. (The lamb, not your hands).
Heat the oil in the Le Creuset skillet and sear all sides of the lamb until the meat is dark brown and crispy. When ALMOST done, pour in the red wine and then remove from the heat. Let sit covered for 15 minutes.
Serve with roasted vegetables and enjoy. Truly a real treat.
* just use whatever skillet you have.
Scallop Spaghetti In A White Wine Sauce
Don made this for dinner one night last week and we are all still praising this dish. It is more than awesome and, trust me, you will love it.
White Wine Sauce
- 1 tbsp. butter
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
- 2 tbsp. capers, drained
- 1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- pinch of salt
8 oz. spaghetti
1 lb. medium sized scallops (about 16 and completely thawed, if frozen).
pinch of salt
2 tbsp. olive oil
In a medium skillet, heat the butter, oil and garlic on medium heat, cooking for about 60 seconds until it becomes transparent.
Add the wine and bring to a boil. Boil for a couple of minutes until the wine has reduced to approximately half.
Add the whipping cream and cheese. Bring just to the boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook this for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly until it begins to thicken.
Remove from the heat and add the capers and lemon juice, add a pinch of salt and pepper. Keep covered.
Cook the pasta to al dente. Drain and add to the sauce, stirring to combine.
Season with a pinch of salt
Heat the oil in a large skillet on high just until hot but not smoking. Oil should not be smoking, just rolling around the skillet.
Add the scallops but do not over crowd.
Sear on one side for 4 minutes until they are a golden colour. Please do not move the scallops around in the beginning.
Turn the scallops to the other side and cook for just 2-3 more minutes.
Remove from the heat immediately and transfer the scallops to a plate immediately.
Add the cooked scallops to the spaghetti / sauce and reheat gently, just to warm up. Serve immediately.
If you insist, you can lick the plate. These are sooooo darn delicious.
Mushroom Tart
Here is another way to make something new…we are supposed to be learning something while at home, so this is delicious and you will probably make it again and again.
- 2 1/2 cups flour, plus 2 additional tbsp.
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp. cayenne
- 1 cup lard
- 2-3 tbsp. ice water
- 2 tbsp. butter
- 1/2 cup minced onion
- pinch of salt/pepper
- 4-5 cups white mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tsp. chopped garlic
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 3 large eggs
- dash each of hot pepper sauce and Worchestershire sauce
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (white is preferred)
- 4 ounces Asiago cheese, shaved
- 2 cups pea shoots
- white truffle oil, sprinkle only
In a mixing bowl combine the first three ingredients. Cut in the lard until it resenbles a coarse meal.
Add the ice water and mix until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let sit for about 5 minutes. Roll out the dough on a floured board to a 12 inch round and 1//4 inch. Fold the dough into quarters and place it on a 10 inch tart pan. Roll a rolling pin over the entire surface to remove the excess dough. Prick the bottom all over with a fork.
In a medium suace pan melt the butter, add onions, salt and pepper and saute for about 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and saute for 4 minutes until they hahve wilted. Stir in the garlic and remove from the heat. Cool completely.
In a small bowl whisk together the cream annd eggs. Season with the hot pepper sauce, Worchestershire sauce and a pinch of salt and peppere. Mix well.
Pour the mushroom mixture into the pastry shell and sprinkle the cheese over. Bake until the center sets which should take about 55 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before slicing to serve.
In a bowl toss the pea shoots with the slightest drizzle of the truffle oil and garnish each slice with a pile of pea shoots.
YUM!
Seafood Risotto-Best Yet
For me, Risotto is the ultimate comfort food. When you make this one, it will probably hit number 1 on your list as well.
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 cup finely chopped small onion
- pinch of salt
- pinch each of white pepper and black pepper
- 6 cups seafood stock
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- 2 cups Arborio rice
- 2 lbs. shrimp and scallops
- 1 tbsp. butter
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup Asiago cheese, freshly grated
- 2 tbsp. finely chopped parsley leaves
In a large frypan, heat the oil on a medium heat and add the onions. Season with salt and peppers, cooking until the onions are soft. This should take about 2-3 minutes.
Add the stock and garlic, bring this to a boil and simmer for 5-7 minutes.
Reduce the heat and add the rice, stirring constantly, cook for about 12 minutes.
Lightly season the seafood and continue cooking for 6 minutes. Stir in the butter, cream, cheese and simmer a further 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat, spoon the risotto into a serving dish and garnish with parsley.
In a word: YUM, YUM and YUM. So delicious.
Swiss Shrimp Quiche
Yes, men really do eat quiche and they will absolutely love this one. Don made it twice this week, once for the girls when they came over to set the Christmas tree up for us and again, when we had special company for lunch. There were not even crumbs left over, trust me.
- 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
- 12 large shrimp, tails removed
- 1 tbsp. finely chopped celery, ribs removed
- 1 tbsp. finely chopped parsley
- 1 tbsp. grated onion
- 1 tbsp. flour
- pinch of salt
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup cream
- 1 9 inch unbaked pie shell
- grated parmesan cheese
Clean the shrimp and cut each one in quarters equally. Toss together the cheese, shrimp, grated onion, celery, parsley, flour and salt, making sure it is well mixed.
Beat the eggs lightly and gradually stir in the cream. Add this to the cheese mixture, stirring well to combine. Pour into the pie shell.
Bake is a preheated 375 degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Serve this with a beautiful spinach strawberry salad and you have a winner. You could always add a glass of chilled white wine as well.