Category: Flavorful Foods

Brown Sugar Pork & Apples

Brown Sugar Pork & Apples

Easy and incredibly delicious brown sugar pork & apples is quick to fix in less than 30 minutes and has wonderful fall flavors
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 4
Calories 871 kcal

Equipment

  • Large skillet or frying pan

Ingredients
  

  • 1 1/2-2.0 LBS Pork Tenderloin When preparing a pork tenderloin, trim off any excess fat that is surrounding the meat. Once the excess fat has been trimmed off, the silverskin must be removed. The silverskin is the thin shiny membrane attached to the tenderloin.
  • Coarse salt and black pepper to taste
  • 3 TBSP Cooking oil I prefer avocado.
  • 1/2 Cup Brown sugar
  • 3 TBSP Dijon Mustard "Do you have any Grey Poupon?"
  • 1 TBSP Minced garlic
  • 2 TBSP Apple juice
  • 2 Medium Apples-sliced into wedges I prefer Granny Smith b/c they can stand up to the pan frying w/out getting mushy.

Instructions
 

  • Season pork with salt and pepper on all sides. Drizzle oil into a large skillet and bring to medium heat on the stove.
  • Stir together brown sugar, dijon mustard, garlic, and apple juice. Rub mixture all over pork using your fingertips.
  • Cook pork in preheated and oiled pan, turning every 2-3 minutes to ensure even cooking. After about 10 minutes, add apples and cook until tender. Temp it at 145, remove from the pan and allow to rest for 3-5 minutes. It will continue to cook for a few minutes after removing from the pan.
  • Serve with roasted fall vegetables.

Notes

Pork tenderloin is one of the leanest, most tender cuts of meat on the market, so it can also be a little spendy. Pork loin, on the other hand, can often be a bargain choice if you’re looking for a tender cut of meat that cooks well for a crowd. 
Can You Substitute Pork Loin for Pork Tenderloin? No. Pork tenderloin and pork loin are not easily substituted in recipes.
How to trim your tenderloin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFVYcfyd_S8
In 2011 USDA guidelines lowered the minimum cooking temperature for pork to 145 degrees with a 3-minute rest
 

Nutrition

Calories: 871kcalCarbohydrates: 42gProtein: 106gFat: 1gSodium: 402mgPotassium: 271mgFiber: 3gSugar: 37g
Keyword Pork Tenderloin
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Union Missouri Fair Meat

Union Missouri Fair Meat

A great ground beef roast recipe
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Missouri
Servings 10

Equipment

  • Dutch Oven, slow cooker, etc—something around 6-8 quarts
  • Large serving forks, strainer, heavy aluminum foil, meat grinder, large bowl, fat skimmer if you have one.

Ingredients
  

  • 4 Lbs Beef chuck roast. I had two roast at approximately 2.3LBS each
  • Coarse Salt Salt both sides of roast well
  • Coarse ground pepper Sprinkle pepper on both sides of roast
  • 2 Packets French Onion soup mix (dry)
  • 1 medium Sweet onion Optional
  • 1 Clove Garlic–diced
  • 3-4 Cups Beef broth–unsalted or low sodium

Instructions
 

  • Pre-heat oven to 300F
  • Set roast(s) out on counter (remove packaging) for about 30-40 minutes to temp the meat for cooking. You don't want to cook cold meat as it will cook unevenly.
  • Salt and pepper the roast well. Put roast into the dutch oven, stew pot or whatever you're using. You DO NOT BROWN the roast. Pour the french onion soup mix over and around the roast(s). Add sliced/rough chopped sweet onion. Add in enough beef broth to where it is about 3/4 the way up the side of the roast(s) Cover the dutch oven, stew pot, etc with a heavy sheet of aluminum foil and put lid onto of the foil to create a TIGHT seal. Put roast into the oven, turn temp down to 275 and set timer for 2 hours.
  • After the 2 hours, check roast and then continue cooking for at least another 30 minutes. It's all about low and slow cooking. Meat should be tender and around 170-180 internal temp. Remove from oven. Remove meat from pot/dutch oven and rest for 10 minutes. While meat is resting, strain out the au jus to remove all the onions, etc. Save the au jus!!
  • Grind the meat using your meat grinder. You want to use the largest setting or largest holes. See photo.
  • Add your ground meat back into the dutch oven/pot and pour some of the au jus over the meat. You DON'T want it soupy, just enough to sort of moisten the meat. Reserve any leftover au jus for later if you need it or for making a beef broth based soup/stew etc.
  • If you can let this sit in the frig for one day to intensify the flavors that's great. If not serve on slider rolls or hamburger buns.
  • I have added photos for the process below, with the exception the the salting n peppering of the meat. Forgot to show that.

Notes

Keyword Ground Beef Sandwiches
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Mexican Pot Roast

Mexican Pot Roast

An easy, flavorful pot roast that's great for tacos and burritos.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican

Equipment

  • 6 Quart pot
  • Cutting Board
  • Sharp Knife, stirring spoons, measuring cup.

Ingredients
  

  • 2-3 LBS Beef roast. I used a chuck roast.
  • Coarse Salt
  • Fresh ground black pepper
  • 2 TBSP Olive oil-not extra virgin as it might burn/smoke
  • 2 Cloves Garlic, peeled and smashed
  • 1 Large Onion, sliced
  • 1 28 OZ Canned crushed tomatoes, I like San Marzano
  • 1 TBSP Ancho chile powder
  • 1 TBSP Ground cumin
  • 1 TBSP Cayenne red pepper
  • 3 Bay leaves–remove when done cooking.

Instructions
 

  • Season all sides of the beef with a fair amount of salt and pepper. 
  • In a large Dutch oven, or other heavy pot that has a tight cover, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over moderately high heat.
  • Add the roast to the pot and brown on ALL sides to get a nice crust on all sides. Add garlic and stir around the roast for about 30 seconds. Add the onion and allow to lightly brown, about 3 to 4 minutes.
  • Add the crushed tomatoes, plus 1 tomato can of water, spices, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and add enough water to cover the meat. 
  • Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer with a lid for about 3-3.5 hours until the meat is fork tender. Remove the Bay leaves. Let meat cool in the liquid. Shred meat and set aside.
  • Serve in flour or corn tortillas with pickled onions (recipe below), lettuce, tomato or however you like your tacos.

Notes

Pickled Onions

1 cup of vinegar, white or apple cider.
1/3 Cup of sugar
1/4 Teaspoon of Salt
  • Place onion in medium bowl. Bring vinegar, sugar, and salt to simmer in small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Pour over onions and cover loosely. Let onions cool completely, about 30 minutes. (Onions can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.)
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Shannon FreiseLeave a comment
Giardiniera

Rich’s Giardiniera

Giardiniera

Rich’s Giardiniera

Richard Hianik
A Chicago Classic! Giardiniera brings your hot dogs, burgers, nachos and eggs to life. Warning – this is Hot, Hot, Hot!!!
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Course Side Dish
Cuisine Italian
Servings 4 Quarts

Equipment

  • 3 to 4 Wide Mouth Mason Jars
  • Large Non Reactive Mixing Bowl (Glass or Stainless Steel)

Ingredients
  

  • 1½ lbs Serrano Peppers Trim Stems and cut into ¼ inch piece
  • 10-12 Jalapeno Peppers Trim Stems and Dice
  • 10-12 Habanero Peppers Trim Stems and Dice
  • 6-8 Ghost Peppers Trim Stems and Dice
  • 6-8 Trinidad Scorpion Pepper Trim Stems and Dice
  • 6-8 Carolina Reaper Peppers Trim Stems and Dice
  • 2 Yellow Onions (Large) Diced
  • 1 lb Baby Carrots Cut into ¼ inch pieces
  • 1 bunch Celery Cut into ¼ inch pieces. For the larger stalks, you may want to slice them down the middle to create 2 more halves, then cut into ¼ inch pieces
  • 1 head Cauliflower (Medium) ONLY use the florets sections. Cut those into the smallest florets possible…I know this will be time consuming and tedious…but you, and the giardiniera, will appreciate it in the end!!
  • 11½ oz Sliced Green Olives Drain liquid
  • 1 Sweet Red Pepper (Large) Diced. Ok.Ok..I know this totally goes against my rule for making everything HOT…but it is for color only!!
  • 6-7 Garlic Cloves (Large) Pressed. If you don’t want to go through this process, jarred chopped garlic is fine…I would say 3-4 heaping Tbls
  • ¼ cup Oregano
  • 1½ cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil Additional EVOO will be required later for filling jars
  • ¾ cup Distilled White Vinegar Actually any Vinegar you like would be great
  • ¾ cup Sea Salt
  • 2 tbsp Ground Black Pepper Heaping
  • ½ cup Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
  • Water to Cover

Instructions
 

  • In a large Mixing Bowl combine the cut and diced Serrano, Jalapeno, Habanero, Ghost, Trinidad Scorpion, and Carolina Reaper peppers – along with the cut and diced yellow onions, baby carrots, celery, cauliflower, and sweet red peppers.
  • Cover entire mixture with cool tap water.
  • Pour in the sea salt and stir thoroughly through the mixture.
  • Cover the mixing bowl with aluminum foil and refrigerate mixture for no less than 12-24 hours (NOTE: This process is super important to the entire process, flavor and consistency of the giardiniera, so just make sure you allow enough time for the mixture to be refrigerated for AT LEAST 12 hours).
  • After refrigeration is complete, discard aluminum foil and pour mixture into a strainer and thoroughly rinse under running water for about 2-3 minutes – shaking strainer periodically to make sure all of the mixture gets rinsed.
  • Once rinsed, transfer mixture from strainer back into mixing bowl.
  • To mixture, add garlic, sliced olives, oregano, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil.
  • Stir entire mix THOROUGHLY, making sure ALL ingredients are meshed well with one another.
  • With a slotted spoon, scoop mix into Mason jar until full. Once jar is full, pour more EVOO into jar until mixture is completely covered. (This is very important as you want oil to completely cover the mix while in the jars to prevent some of the mix on top losing moisture). Note: I have found a good method for ensuring there is enough oil in the jar to cover everything, is to take a fork or knife and simply insert into the mix after the initial oil has been poured in. If the oil level drops, you need to add a bit more, if it keeps it level, you are good to go!
  • Once each jar is filled with mix and oil (wow…I know that sounds more like something you’d hear in a garage shop, but believe me, it tastes MUCH better!!), tightly screw on Mason jar lids and refrigerate all jars for AT LEAST 3 DAYS. I know you will be tempted to try it sooner, but the refrigeration process further secures the “crispness” or “crunch” that the peppers and vegetables need. In the end, you will be glad you kept them in there!
  • After the (3) days are up, you can then store the jars in any pantry, or cupboard until use. You do not have to keep the unopened Giardiniera in the refrigerator at all times. If you like, that is perfectly fine, but I find that keeping the mix in a “room temperature” environment for 3-4 weeks before use, really let’s all the ingredients blend well with one another.

Storage

  • Prior to use (unopened yet), you can keep the mix in the fridge or anywhere at room temp or slightly below. Because the mix is fully contained in EVOO, unopened jars can last up to 14-18 months. In fact, I find that the BEST tasting mix are the ones that have been sitting for 1-2 months.
  • Once a jar is opened, you can keep it at either room temperature or refrigerate. I have done both, and each way provides the same taste and freshness. Just make sure, if you do keep the opened jar on the shelf, that the oil level is always covering the mix. Once open, a jar kept on the shelf, should be consumed within a 2-3 month timeframe – while an opened refrigerated jar can keep up to 5-6 months longer.
  • NOTE: If/when you store any jar in the fridge, it is VERY COMMON for the oil to coagulate while in the fridge. This is normal and expected due to the EVOO effect. As soon as you open the jar, and scoop out some of the mix, it will immediately transfer back to its natural oil consistency

Notes

HISTORY
As you can imagine, food is a very personal thing. Every person has a different palate and different “likes” when it comes to what they prefer. What may be one person’s delight, may be another’s avoidance. For me, and hopefully for a lot of people, I simply gravitate to what I like and what I enjoy – regardless of what that food “combination” or “ingredient” may be. My affinity and love of extremely spicy and hot food grabbed me at an early age, and I have never looked back. What made me choose the “extremely spicy” path you ask?? An excellent question I wish I had an answer for!! Being primarily of Eastern European descent, with a bit of Dutch mixed in on my mother’s side, one would be fair in saying that does not exude a “spicy” heritage. As far as I can remember, my grandparents on both sides were not lovers of spicy food – let alone atomic spicy! Neither were my parents, nor is my wife and kids. Needless to say, somewhere in time, I was the only one in generations that received the extremely spicy DNA gene. So with that said, it remains, to this day, one of my biggest mysteries – but a mystery I am very thankful for!
Yes…I am a true lover of extremely spicy food. No matter where my travels have taken me, I always made a point to research what establishment has the “spiciest/hottest food”, and make every attempt to visit that establishment, and I still continue with that trend today. However (I know…I, know…there always seems to be a however!), my love of the most extreme spicy does have one catch to it…not only does it have to be extremely spicy, it has to be FLAVORFUL as well. So many times, places “claim” they have the hottest food, or the “world’s spiciest”, only to find out – at least according to my palate – it’s not that spicy at all, or, it’s so way over the top hot but with ZERO flavor. To enhance this love of extreme spicy, I have had my own pepper garden for many years – mainly consisting of a combination of extremely hot peppers, with some other veggies thrown in to keep my wife and kids happy. As the garden got bigger, and more pepper varieties became available, I was getting a tremendous pepper yield – much more than I could ever consume myself. So I thought “what could I make that I really like – and that can keep for a good portion of time?” Boom…the idea of my own Giardiniera was born! I wanted to make something that not only would have the “true” heat level I enjoy, but would offer an enjoyable flavor as well. I wanted something that I KNEW would have the spice level I prefer, and would provide flavor at the same time. So…I went ahead and gave it a go about 2 years ago. I am happy to say, that along the way, I started coming across other people who have the same love of mine in terms of “extreme heat” but wanted “flavor” as well. As a result, I committed myself (bad choice of words I know…) to make something that is HOT when it’s supposed to be hot, and that has FLAVOR when it’s supposed to have flavor. It’s a passion of mine that I love and would not give up for the world.
My goal is not to provide retail or anything for commerce.
My goal is to tell other people like myself, lovers of extremely spicy and flavorful food, my story and the hopes of one day offering them a sample for their enjoyment.
QUESTIONS/CONTACT
Should you ever have any questions about my Giardiniera, the process, ingredients, storage, usage ideas….anything…I would be more than happy to have a chat anytime!
Thank you!
Rich Hianik
(Email): rhianik@comcast.net
Keyword hot peppers, relish
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Shannon FreiseLeave a comment
French Toast

Jacques Pepin’s Ice cream French Toast

French Toast

Jacques Pépin’s Ice Cream French Toast

Jacques Pépin
A decadent breakfast treat
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Course Breakfast
Cuisine French
Servings 2

Equipment

  • Dinner plate
  • Frying pan

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2-3/4 Cup Vanilla Ice cream–use the good stuff please. I prefer Haagen-Dazs because it only has five ingredients: sugar, cream, milk, egg yolks and flavor.
  • 1-2 TBSP Butter
  • 2-3 TBSP Your choice of toppings: Maple syrup, melted chocolate sauce, sliced bananas, strawberries, etc
  • 1-2 Slices Thick sliced bread. Like 1 inch if you can locate it. I'm using french brioche.

Instructions
 

  • Melt ice cream on your dinner plate, (you can use the microwave to do this but don't cook it, just melt it). Soak bread in the melted ice cream. While that's happening, heat your frying pan to medium. Flip the bread over to soak that side in the melted ice cream for about 1-2 minutes.
    SAVE THE MELTED ICE CREAM and the dinner plate as, you'll use it when finished cooking.
  • Add butter to frying pan, once it starts to bubble and cook somewhat, add in the ice cream soaked bread. Cook about 2-3 minutes or so, until golden brown. Flip and cook about 1-2 minutes. Make sure you have sufficient butter in the pan.
  • Using the melted ice cream and plate, when French toast is done, lay it into the melted ice cream you saved. Top with fresh fruits, maple syrup or whatever you'd like. Bacon goes well with this!
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Kentucky Hot Brown Sandwich

Kentucky Hot Brown Sandwich

Been a Kentucky favorite since it was created at the Louisville's Brown Hotel in 1926
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Prep Time 14 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course anytime
Cuisine American
Servings 2

Equipment

  • Baking Sheet
  • Sauce Pan

Ingredients
  

  • 2 OZ Butter-unsalted
  • 2 OZ All-purpose flour
  • 8 OZ Whole milk
  • 8 OZ Heavy cream
  • 1/4 TSP Salt
  • 1/2 Cup Percorino cheese + 1 TBSP
  • 4 Slices Thick cut, bread toasted – crusts removed
  • 14 OZ Turkey, deli, or leftover, cooked turkey. thinly sliced.
  • 4 Slices Tomato-more if they are small
  • 4 Strips Bacon – (crisply cooked)
  • Pinch Paprika
  • Pinch Pepper

Instructions
 

  • Pre-heat oven to 350F. Center rack.
  • In a two‑quart saucepan, melt butter and slowly whisk in flour until combined and forms a thick paste (roux). Continue to cook roux for two minutes over medium‑low heat, stirring frequently. Whisk heavy cream and whole milk into the roux and cook over medium heat until the cream begins to simmer, about 2‑3 minutes. Remove sauce from heat and slowly whisk in Pecorino Romano cheese until the Mornay sauce is smooth. Add nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.
  • For each Hot Brown, place two slices of toast with the crusts cut off in an oven safe dish – one slice is cut in half corner to corner to make two triangles and the other slice is left in a square shape – then cover with 7 ounces of turkey. Take the two halves of Roma tomato and two toast points and set them alongside the base of the turkey and toast. Next, pour one half of the Mornay sauce to completely cover the dish. Sprinkle with additional Pecorino Romano cheese. 
  • Place the entire dish in the oven. Suggested bake time is 20 minutes at 350º. When the cheese begins to brown and bubble, remove from oven, cross two pieces of crispy bacon on top, sprinkle with paprika and parsley, and serve immediately.

Notes

This is the original iconic, Hot Brown Sandwich recipe, from the Louisville Hotel.  https://www.brownhotel.com/dining/hot-brown
 
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Shannon FreiseLeave a comment