One Pot Meal: Cranberry Onion Stuffed Pork Loin

I would like to find a stew that will give me heartburn immediately, instead of at three o'clock in the morning. – John Barrymore

Cranberry stuffed, moist and delicious.

This is a recipe that I made on the weekend that I thought I would pass along. And for the record, I did not get heartburn. Actually I never get heartburn from stew...

This is the cranberry and onion. I suppose it's sort of
cross between stuffing and chutney.

This recipe gives you one more way to add the great antioxidants in cranberries to your diet in an interesting way. The interesting part is that they're inside a stuffed “pot roast.” That also means everything is cooked together in just one pot on top of the stove. You know how I love my one pot meals...

Intrigued? The roast get browned before braising, and some of the “stuffing” comes out and flavours the vegetables. In effect it helps “thicken” the broth and adds a wonderful flavout.

Pork loin is notoriously dry and if you’re not extremely careful it can turn to leather. Braising with the vegetables helps that somewhat. What also helps is the stuffing. It’s a combination of cranberries, onions and butter. The butter adds a little “missing” fat back into the loin.

The trick to rolling the roast is to cut it into thirds butterfly-style. This is one more cut than the usual two and is something that I saw recently on a PBS cooking show. Once butterflied open and flat you can spread the cranberry mixture over more surface area. Roll it up and away you go.

As the roast cooks some of the filling mingles with the vegetables imparting a sweet onion taste. Magnifique! (I can use the French word – the recipe uses herbes de Provence…)

The victim. Show it no mercy.

Cranberry Onion Stuffed Pork Loin

Prep: 45 min  |  Cook: 1 hour  |  Serves 4

2 lb pork loin roast

1 cup sweetened dried cranberries

1 medium onion

2 cloves garlic

1 cup bread, cubed

1/4 cup butter

1 tsp Herbes de Provence

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, sliced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

250g white mushrooms

4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/4 cup red wine

salt and pepper to taste

Reconstitute the dried cranberries in enough boiling water to cover for 15 minutes. Drain and reserve the liquid.

Place the cranberries, onion, garlic and bread in a food processor. Process until fairly fine in consistency. The idea is to make sort of a cranberry -onion rough paste. You should still have some chunks though.

Cut the rost into 3 equal thicknesses, all still attached.

Heat the butter in a frying pan and fry the cranberry mixture for about 5 minutes. Add some salt, pepper and 1/2 tsp of the Herbes de Provence. Remove to a bowl and set in the refrigerator until cooled. The butter will re-solidify a bit and the mixture will stiffen somewhat.

Roll the stuffing up into the roast...

Take the pork loin and butterfly it in three, but STILL attached. Usually butterflying is simply cutting something to half thickness. This is 1/3 thickness.

Cut the first piece by slicing 1/3 of the thickness but leaving it attached; then slice the second by starting where the first cut ended and going the other direction to make a single rectangle of meat. All three pieces should be of equal thickness (or close) and still attached. If they’re not you can even them out with a meat tenderizer

and tie it well with butcher's twine.

Season the meat, cut side up with salt and pepper. Take the cranberry onion mixture and smooth over the surface of the meat. Roll up the roast like a jelly roll. 

After browning the roast and sautéing the onions and mushrooms
add the roast and surround with the vegetables. Then add the liquids.

Tie with string to secure the filling and season the surface with the remaining Herbes de Provence and more salt and pepper. Refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.

Heat a little olive oil in a Dutch oven. Brown the roast on all three sides. Remove to a plate.

These are the vegetables after the 1 hour.

Add the onions, garlic and mushrooms and fry until the onions and mushrooms are softened. Add more oil if necessary.

Add the chopped carrots, potatoes, 1/4 cup of the cranberry soaking liquid and the red wine. Season with some more Herbes de Provence, salt and pepper.

Nestle the roast back into the pot. Cover and let simmer on medium low for 1/2 hour. Check periodically and add more cranberry liquid if needed so it doesn’t dry out. It probably won’t need it.

After the first 1/2 hour place the cover askew on top of the pot so some steam can escape and let cook for another 30 minutes or until the roast measures 160°F on a thermometer.

Remove the roast and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with the vegetables and juice from the pot.

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Home Baking: Cardamom Sweet Rolls

Behave so the aroma of your actions may enhance the general sweetness of the atmosphere. – Henry David Thoreau

Warm from the oven. The best way...

Nothing says lovin’ like something from the oven. Or so the saying goes…

Before rising the first time.

I can see why. Not only do home baked goods take time to make that demonstrates love, but they also fill the house with homey scents sure to make fond memories for all.

Bread is one baked good that creates remembrances of hearth and home in those we love. Sweet rolls ratchet it up a notch, in my lowly opinion.

This recipe, a delicious twist on cinnamon buns, is no exception. Think about a light, moist dough – flavoured with sugar, eggs, milk and cardamom – wrapping a spicy sugary filling with more cardamom. Mmmm…

Doubled in size.

Best served still warm from the oven, they’re good cooled too, if they last that long. 

One word of advice. Sweet rolls really should be eaten within 2 or 3 days of baking because, like any dough, they loose that freshness we value so much.

Grocery store baking, complete with preservatives, will last for much, much longer. I guess that’s the price we pay for having the care to bake for our families.

Try these. You won’t regret it.

Roll the dough out to 16" x 10". Spread with butter and
sprinkle the spice mixture evenly on top.

Cardamom Sweet Rolls

Prep: 3 hrs 15 min  |  Bake: 35 min  |  Yield: 12 large rolls

4 cups flour

2 tsp yeast

1 cup milk, at 110-115°F

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/3 cup butter, melted (or margarine)

1/2 tsp cardamom, ground (or mace)

Spice Filling

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cardamom, ground

1/4 cup sugar

melted butter for brushing tops

Roll up with the longest side facing you. Cut into 12 buns.

Confectioner’s Icing

1 cup confectioner’s icing

2 tbsp milk

2 tsp white corn syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

Proof the yeast in the warm milk and sugar until creamy. Add to a large ceramic bowl. Add the salt, eggs, melted butter and cardamom. Mix well and then add the flour. Bring the mixture together and knead the dough for five minutes. 

Place the dough back in the bowl. Cover with plastic and a tea towel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

Place the buns in a buttered baking dish and let rise until doubled again.

Mix together the sugar, cinnamon and cardamom. Roll out the  dough to 16” x 10”. If you like thinner dough (and more spiral) roll the dough out to 16" x 16".

Rub the flattened dough with the butter then sprinkle with the sugar mixture. Roll up along the 16” dimension and slice into 12 equal pieces. Arrange, cut sides up in a well buttered 10” x 14” oven proof dish.

After rising.

Cover with plastic and a tea towel and let rise again until doubled, about 1 hour. 

Bake for 35 minutes until golden.

Bake at 375°F for 30-35 min. Let cool 5 minutes and then drizzle with the confectioners icing.

Revenge may be a dish best served cold, but these are not. Mmmmm....

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Ingredient of the Day: Shiitake Mushrooms

Falling in love is like eating mushrooms, you never know if it's the real thing until it's too late. – Bill Balance

Fresh shiitake mushrooms. Photo: Building Blocks Show, Flickr ccl

I realized yesterday in writing my post that I haven’t talked about shiitake mushrooms. They’re in my cupboard, I grab what I need, and forget about them. That is a real oversight, as shiitake mushrooms have the potential to be recognized as a super food.

Shiitake mushrooms have been used both culinarily and medicinally in Asia for many thousands of years. Much more recently their delicious taste has begun to enter the consciousness of North American consumers and they have become far more common to acquire. 

Dried shiitake (sometimes called "Chinese mushrooms") are
far cheaper than fresh and readily available at Asian groceries.
Photo: k.segars, Flickr ccl

These exotic mushrooms are now readily available at better grocery stores all year long. Sadly they are a little on the pricey side when purchased fresh. 

Dried shiitake are a different story all together. They’re very affordable in comparison. Dried are commonly available in Asian groceries, where they are considered a staple.

Description

Shiitake mushrooms are fungi, an organism that has no roots, leaves, flowers or seeds. They mushrooms have brown, slightly rounded caps that range from about two to four inches wide and a stem that can range from an inch to 4 or 5.

The common name , "shiitake," is Japanese in origin. "Shii" refers to a type of wood on which shiitake mushrooms naturally grow. "Take" means "mushroom." Hence shii-take...

Reconstituting shiitake mushrooms in hot water. Don't throw
out the liquid. Use it! Photo: kattebelletje, Flickr ccl

History

Shiitake mushrooms have grown wild since before recorded history. Their therapeutic and medicinal value has been known in Asia for thousands of years. Shiitake mushrooms are important in Asian medicinal traditions and were described thousands of years ago in some of the first books on herbal medicine.

Medicinal Benefits

Immune Support

Shiitakes are fascinating in their effect on our immune systems because they seem to “regulate” our body’s immune responses. Studies have shown they have the ability help prevent excessive immune system activity in some cases. On the other hand studies have shown they help stimulate immune system responses when needed (under certain circumstances). Strange, eh?

Cardiovascular Benefits

Cardiovascular benefits are in three basic areas. The first of these is cholesterol reduction. The second is in protection against cardiovascular diseases (including atherosclerosis). The third area is in antioxidant support.

Anti-Cancer Benefits

Based on preliminary research, adding shiitake mushrooms to your diet is likely to offer anti-cancer benefits, especially with regard to prostate, breast and colon cancers. A certain type of cells (called macrophage cells), are responsible for identifying and getting rid of potentially cancerous cells from the body. Research shows shiitake mushrooms are able to help these macrophage cells activate and do their job. 

Nutrients in Shiitake

Non-animal Source of Iron

Vegetarians take heart! Shiitake mushrooms have long been recognized as an excellent, non-animal based source of iron. A recent preliminary study also found the iron in dried shiitake mushroom was equally as bio-available (able to be used by the body) as ferrous gluconate iron supplement. Ferrous gluconate is a very commonly used low-dose iron supplement. 

Sustainable Crop

While the majority of shiitake mushrooms produced worldwide have been grown on sawdust block in a non-natural setting, some are being produced on natural hardwood logs in a forest setting as if they were growing wild. This is called "forest farming" and it has become an especially popular way of growing shiitake mushrooms in the U.S, where there are now more than 200 shiitake mushroom growers.

Could you imagine if all of our food was grown in sustainable ways? What a different world we would live in! You can do your bit by making smart choices, and supporting local growers who grow in responsible ways. It will help us all in the long run.

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Recipe: Orange Pork with Shiitake and Bok Choy

When you squeeze an orange, orange juice comes out – because that's what's inside. When you are squeezed, what comes out is what is inside. – Wayne Dyer

Always remember if "it's out there" you can find it via Google.

Today I’m posting a Chinese-style recipe that was a solution to a problem. I had pork, white mushrooms and some bok choy left over in my refrigerator. What to do, what to do…

Well, when in doubt consult the google-orium. Here’s a good tip – if you have certain ingredients you need to get rid of google them together with the word “recipe” in your search. Just because you don’t know what to do with them doesn’t mean nobody “out there” does.

This is just before the sauce comes to a boil.

It works like a charm, and you get the most amazing unexpected ideas. Many of my recipes begin life like that. You do need to be a little daring in the kitchen, have knowledge of what works and what doesn't, and some understanding of what makes a dish a certain “ethnicity.”

I found a recipe for Chinese-style pork with mushrooms and garlic that sounded like a good place to start. Of course what I ended up making bears little resemblance to the original. In fact the recipe I found sounded a little boring… but it did answer my query.

I think the original came from a site that offered “North Americanized” Chinese recipes. I decided to bring it back closer to what was intended.

My changes? The hoisin, orange, bok choy, five spice, chillies, green onions… I think you get my drift. It’s far and away from where it started. I also opted to substitute the white mushrooms for dried shiitake I had on hand. They're more in the Chinese vein.

Of course you always have your pantry staples to rely on. Hoisin (always in my 'fridge) and orange are a fantastic combination and five spice powder (in the spice cabinet) is unmistakably Chinese. Despite the chillies this recipe isn’t very hot. In reality I would say this is more “Cantonese” style as opposed to the much more fiery Sichuan.

It was quite tasty. If you like your Chinese a little more on the subtle side this dish is for you.

Orange Pork with Shiitake and Bok Choy

Prep: 20 min  |  Cook: 15 min  |  Serves 4

And this is two minutes later. Yum....

1 lb pork, cubed

8 dried shiitake mushrooms

4 cups sliced bok choy

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 cup orange juice (fresh) 

1 tbsp soy sauce 

1 tbsp white wine vinegar 

1 tbsp hoisin 

4 cloves garlic, chopped 

1" ginger, peeled and shredded

3 hot green finger chillies, sliced 

1 tsp cornstarch, mixed with 2 tbsp water

1/2 tsp five spice powder

6 green onions, sliced

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Reconstitute the mushrooms in enough hot water to cover them for 20 minutes. In the meantime, prepare all the other ingredients.

Mix the soy sauce with the vinegar, hoisin and orange juice and set aside. It’s best to get the most flavourful oranges you can.

Heat the oil in a wok until sizzling and fry the pork until just no longer pink. Salt and pepper the pork while it fries. Remove and set aside.

Add the chopped garlic, ginger and chillies. Fry for about 1 minute. Drain and chop the shiitake mushrooms. Add to the wok and fry for another 2 minutes.

Put the pork back into the wok and add the orange juice mixture.

Stir the cornflour /water mixture to ensure it’s dissolved, then add to the stock. Bring to a boil and when the sauce thickens add the bok choy.

Toss for about 2 minutes until the bok choy starts to soften a little. Sprinkle with the hoisin and toss again. Then add the green onions and cilantro and toss well. Taste for salt and adjust.

Serve over rice.

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18 Minute Recipe: Shrimp with Artichoke Hearts and Spaghetti

Man is flying too fast for a world that is round. Soon he will catch up with himself in a great rear end collision. – James Thurber 

Shrimp, artichokes, garlic, tomatoes...and FAST. What's not to love?

Here’s a recipe to make if you’re in a real rush. From pan to plate it’s 18 minutes. That’s probably the fastest recipe I have in my culinary repertoire.

Don’t think speed sacrifices taste either. This is full of delicious fresh tomatoes and succulent shrimp, spiked with marinated artichokes and the herby taste of vermouth. It’s a true delight.

This is what the tomatoes look like just after the artichoke
hearts have been added.

It’s funny that I don’t think to make it more often. It always springs to mind when I’m pressed for time.

I don’t know for sure where this recipe originated. I make it from memory and this is the first time I’ve ever written it down. I know I have been making it for at least 15 years, and probably longer.

There’s one step you may find strange if you’ve never done it. At the last minute stir in butter as a binding agent. Adding the butter gives the sauce a creaminess you can’t get any other way. It only works with butter though, not margarine. It’s all about the fat. Mmmmm….

If you’re interested, I posted a homemade vermouth recipe yesterday. Mind you, it takes 6 weeks to make so the “quick” aspect of this dish wouldn’t be quite so quick if you counted that time period!

By the way, cooking spaghetti – including boiling the water – should take about the same length of time as the sauce.

This recipe is satisfying and speedy. I’m sure you’ll agree.

Shrimp with Artichoke Hearts and Spaghetti

Prep: 5 min  |  Cook: 18 min  |  Serves 4

Cook the shrimp until just pink – no longer. This picture illustrates
after the butter has been added. Note how creamy the sauce is.

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, cut into eighths

2 garlic cloves

3 sun dried tomato halves, chopped

2 lg Roma tomatoes

6 tbsp vermouth

4 marinated artichoke hearts (or 1 small jar)

2-3 tbsp butter

salt and pepper to taste

parmesan cheese

linguine for 4

Heat the oil in a frying pan set on medium high heat. Add the onion, garlic and sun dried tomato and sauté until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.

Chop and add the Roma tomatoes and 3 tbsp of vermouth. Sauté until the tomatoes start to break down, about another 5 minutes. Chop and add the artichoke hearts. 

Continue to cook and stir until the tomatoes are quite broken down, another 3 minutes.

Add the shrimp, remaining vermouth and some salt and pepper. Let the shrimp cook until just done, about 5 minutes. Do not overcook the shrimp.

Take the sauce off the heat and stir in the butter until just blended.

Serve on linguine with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

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Booze of the Week: Vermouth “No. 5”

One martini is all right. Two are too many, and three are not enough. – James Thurber 

The finished product: Vermouth No. 5

I don’t drink martinis but I do have a bottle each of white and red vermouth. I guess I’m just one to be prepared…

The ingredients.

I’m afraid I’m now a little over-prepared, because I just made a full 800 ml of homemade white vermouth. Homemade you say? Why yes – and it was very easy.

Essentially vermouth is fortified wine, that is wine to which liquor (usually brandy or cognac) has been added. From there herbs and spices are mixed with the wine and you allow it to steep. That’s literally how difficult it is. Mix, mingle, wait and enjoy.

Common herbs and spices used in vermouth can include cloves, cinnamon, ginger, star anise, citrus peel, coriander, sage, basil, thyme, chamomile, quinine, juniper berries and hops. Other herbs like gentian, mugwort and wormwood are used for a little bitterness, which vermouth needs. 

As you can imagine, it’s quite easy to make a vermouth that is unique to you. In reality you can throw anything you like into a vermouth to make your own custom blend. Just let your imagination run free.

After steeping for four weeks.

The name "vermouth" comes from wermut (German for wormwood) that has been used as an ingredient in vermouth there since the 1500s. Around the same time it began to be made in Italy as well. By the mid-1600s, the drink, now called vermouth, was popular in England. The name is most likely a bastardization of the German name.

Fortified wine using herbs and roots is thought to have started in ancient Greece around 400 BC. The probable reason was to make a “medicinal” drink while at the same time masking the flavour of wine that was past its “best by” date.

Today there are three categories of vermouth: Southern French (usually dry and white), Savoie (also from France) and Italian (usually red and sweet) such as Martini Rossi and Cinzano. It is not always the case though as some whites are sweet and some reds are dry. It all depends on what you add to the mix.

My white vermouth is more flavourful than the white Noilly-Pratt and a slight golden colour from the herbs and peel, but I don’t mind in the least. All of my vermouth ends up in the cooking pot where the herb notes are needed. The flavour is a little more citrusy than Noilly-Pratt and a little less "medicinal." It's pretty good actually... I may even try a martini. (Remember  – potato vodka has less "after burn"...)

Why the name Vermouth No.5? It has nothing to do with the esteemed Chanel parfum. My recipe is a combination of ingredients from what I thought would be the best of four different recipes – hence the “No. 5.” Try it. You may just be inspired to never buy vermouth again.

Much of the colour leeched out of the orange peel during
steeping. I'm assuming that is where the golden colour originated.

Vermouth No. 5

Time: 6 weeks  |  Yield: 800 ml

750 ml Pinot Grigio

1/2 cup Cognac

1/2 tsp dried wormwood (or French tarragon)

1/2 tsp angelica root

2 tbsp green tea

1/4 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp rosemary

1/4 tsp sage

4 juniper berries

4 green cardamon pods

1 whole nutmeg

1 tsp whole black peppercorns

1/2" vanilla bean

peel of 1 orange

Combine all ingredients in a large jar. Cover and let age for one month. 

Strain and bottle, then let age for a further 2 weeks before use.

2 x 375 ml, plus enough to "try it"...

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