Entrees

Apple-Stuffed Pork Loin

Serves 4

 

 

Ingredients:

1.5 lb. pork loin

Salt

Pepper

Cinnamon

1 tablespoon chopped sage

½ shallot, sliced

½ large or ¾ small apple, sliced

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon butter

 

Equipment:

Cutting board

Boning knife

Waxed paper

Meat pounder

3-12” pieces of cooking twine

Large sauté pan

Meat thermometer

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place meat on a cutting board and butterfly the loin. (Technique: Envision an imaginary line along the longest side of the loin. Place your non-dominant hand on top of the meat and with the other hand, take a boning knife(or paring knife if you don’t have one) and cut along that imaginary line, from one end to the other, leaving one side intact. (Repeat the cutting motion as many times as necessary.) It will look just like a hot dog bun sitting on its side. Open up the meat like you would open a book.) Place waxed paper on the meat and pound it so it flattens out. If the meat starts to tear, stop pounding that section and move on to the next so the meat is evenly flattened.
3. Sprinkle 3 generous pinches each of salt and cinnamon and 2 generous pinches of pepper all over one side of the meat. Cover with sage, shallots and apples and starting at one long end, tightly roll the meat, keeping the shallots and apples inside.
4. With the 3 pieces of cooking twine, tie up the loin on both ends and in the middle. (Technique: When tying the knot, loop it twice before pulling the ends for a tighter knot. Repeat.)
5. Sprinkle 3 pinches of salt and 2 of pepper all over the outside of the meat (Technique: When sprinkling, keep your hand high so the salt and pepper disperse evenly and over a wide range.). Coat with flour and set aside.
6. Heat the butter in a large sauté pan over medium/medium-high heat. Cook loin on all sides for 3-4 minutes per side, or until golden-brown on each side. Once the loin is turned to the final side for browning, place the pan in the oven and cook until a thermometer in the center reads 140-145 degrees, 25-30 minutes.
7. Rest for 10 minutes, slice and serve.

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Risotto with Mushrooms

Serves 1 adult, 3 children

*Gluten Free*Vegetarian/Vegan Options*

 

 

Ingredients:

Risotto:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 ½ cups Arborio rice

½ cup white wine, such as Pinot Grigio

Around 3 cups low-sodium, gluten-free chicken stock or broth

¼ cup parmesan or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for garnish

½ teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning

¼ teaspoon pepper, plus more for seasoning

 

Mushroom Mixture:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

¼ pound or 4 ounces shitake mushrooms, sliced

¼ medium red onion, sliced

1 small clove garlic, chopped

1/8 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning

1/8 teaspoon pepper, plus more for seasoning

1 teaspoon chopped herbs (such as half thyme, half sage)

¼ cup white wine

 

Equipment:

Medium saucepan

Measuring utensils

Wooden or bamboo spoon

Chef’s knife

Cutting board

 

Procedure:

Risotto:

1. Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add olive oil and then rice. Cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Pour in wine and stir frequently until it absorbs. Add chicken broth, ½ a cup at a time, stirring frequently, and adding more after each addition absorbs. The risotto is done once the rice is al dente. At that point, stir in salt, pepper and cheese.
2. Check for seasoning (salt and pepper) and adjust if necessary.

 

Mushroom Mixture:

1. While the rice is cooking, heat large sauté pan over medium heat. Add oil and then mushrooms and onions. Spread them out in the pan and then let them sit for 3-5 minutes, or until they begin to brown. Give the mixture a light stir and then cook some more, moving things around occasionally. When the mushrooms shrink and the onions are limp, add garlic and cook a minute or two more.
2. Add the salt, pepper, herbs and wine and stir to combine, cooking until the wine is absorbed. Check seasoning and season with salt and pepper to taste.

To Assemble:

1. Scoop around 2/3 of the risotto into a bowl, reserving remainder for the kids.
2. Top with the mushroom mixture and garnish with a sprinkle of fresh parmesan cheese.
 
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Steamed Mussels With Whole Wheat Pasta

Serves 1

 

 

Ingredients:

1 small shallot

1 clove garlic

¼ pound whole wheat spaghetti

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Pinch of red pepper flakes

½ bay leaf

¼ cup white wine such as Pinot Grigio

¼ cup clam juice

Zest of ½ lemon

½ dozen mussels, scrubbed and beards remove

1 plum tomato, diced

1 teaspoon chopped parsley

1 tablespoon fennel fronds

½ tablespoon butter

Salt and Pepper to taste

Equipment:

Cutting board

Chef’s knife

Microplane Grater/Zester

Strainer

Large pot

 

Procedure:

1. Chop shallot. (Technique: Trim off non-root end. Make 1-3 cuts toward the root, holding the knife parallel to the cutting board. Make a few cuts toward the root again, this time cutting toward the cutting board with the tip of the blade pointing toward the root. Root should remain intact the whole time. Turn knife 180 degrees and cut toward the root until you can’t cut anymore.)
2. Chop garlic. (Technique: Trim off root end of garlic with a large chef’s knife. Place the flat part of the knife on the garlic and smash the knife with the heel of your hand. The skin will slide right off so you can chop.)
3. De-beard the mussels. (Technique: Pulling in a side-to-side motion, remove the fibrous material that hangs from one side of the mussels. It will not be visible in some.)
4. Cook pasta in plenty of salted, boiling water.
5. Meanwhile, heat the medium pot over medium heat. Add oil and cook red pepper flakes, shallots and garlic for about two minutes, stirring frequently.
6. Add wine, clam juice, bay leaf and lemon zest and increase heat to medium-high. Once it boils, add mussels and tomatoes, cover and cook until mussels steam open, 3-5 minutes.
7. Toss in parsley, fennel fronds and butter. Check seasoning (by this I mean get out a spoon and taste a little) and season with salt and pepper if needed.
8. Pour over pasta and serve with crusty bread.

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Easy Roasted Chicken

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 lemon

1 medium onion, ends trimmed

1 4-5 pound whole chicken

6 sprigs fresh oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

Equipment:

1 medium skillet, large enough to fit the chicken

1 cutting board

1 pairing or chef’s knife

Paper towels

Meat thermometer

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and set rack in middle of oven.
2. Pour olive oil into skillet. Score lemon 4-5 times from end to end so juice will release. Slice onion into three thick rounds. Set aside.
3. Remove chicken from packaging and discard insides. Rinse under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Place in skillet and roll around to coat with oil. Separate skin from breast, being careful not to tear the skin. Place ½ of oregano sprigs between each breast and the skin. Season entire chicken, inside and out, with pepper and inner cavity with salt (The salt will prevent the skin from crisping properly.). Place lemon in the cavity and onion rounds underneath chicken so it is perched on top.
4. Roast until the thickest part of the thigh registers 155-160, approximately 1 ½ hours. (My oven is always exactly 1 hour and 35 minutes for a 4 ½ pounder.) You will also notice that if you grab a leg and twist it, the meat will come away from the bone when it’s ready. That’s the old-school way to tell the chicken is done!
5. Set aside for 15 minutes before carving.

 

To Carve:

• First cut between the breasts, on both sides of the cartilage that separates the two.
• Then make slices parallel to the cutting board from the top down.
• You can also cut a whole breast out.
• Don't forget the two oysters on the back! My husband and I always eat one before we even sit down because they are the BEST part of the chicken.