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By BakedOuttaMyMind, September 23, 2012 10:33 pm

I love that everything in the world inspires me, in some shape or form, to create a culinary treat.  This recipe came to me while shopping in a professional only beauty supply store. I was purchasing something for my sister while on the phone with her. She had asked me to get her some Black Cherry Nutmeg body lotion. “That stuff smells so good, I wanna eat it!”

Naturally, being a fat girl inside a skinny girl’s body, my mind instantly thought “How can I make this an edible endeavor?!”  I thought to myself; pork is usually really good with fruit, let’s try that. I went to the store, and Lo and behold, pork tenderloin was on sale. I thought, I can totally make a glaze from some cherry juice, cherry preserves, and nutmeg. This is gonna happen.

The first venture ended up pretty well, with the exception that I should have waited just a teeny bit longer to put the glaze on, since it had burned a little in the oven. No big deal. The second time I made it, was to show my appreciation for room and board at a friends house in NYC. They liked it so much, “the sauce went on everything”.  Here’s to inspiration from body care!!

• 2-1.5lb pork tenderloins
• 1T canola oil
• heavy pinch of salt
• 1/2C cherry preserves
• 1/4C cherry juice
• 2T honey
• 1T ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Rub tenderloins down with canola oil and sprinkle with salt. Sear all sides to golden brown and place in a  baking dish and roast for about 15 mins*. While tenderloins are in the oven, make glaze. In a medium sauce pot over medium heat, add cherry preserves, cherry juice, honey, and nutmeg, stirring until the preserves have broken down into the juice. It will still be chunky, but you don’t want a big blob of preserves. Then, bring to a simmer and lower the heat. You will notice the glaze begin to thicken slightly. Take off the heat. Pull the tenderloins out at the 15 min mark, pour 1/2 of the glaze over and put back in the oven for 5-10 more mins. This should be right around the time when the pork temps at 155 degrees. Pull the pork out, cover loosely with foil and let it rest for 10 mins to let the residual heat bring it up to 165 degrees. After the pork has rested, slice thinly into medallions, and drizzle remaining glaze over the slices as served. I usually serve this with Steamed green beans tossed with toasted almonds and straight up mashed potatoes. It’s definitely an easy recipe that sounds more gourmet and complex than it really is

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By J.Ho, June 5, 2006 11:49 pm

Probably the most prominent dishes in German cuisine is the schnitzel. I lived in Germany for four years and I can tell you there isn’t much to choose from when it comes to good German cooking. However, what they do well, they do REAL well. I ate schnitzel every chance I got.

There are three basic varieties of schnitzel: Schnitzel is a thin pork cutlet, breaded and fried. Weinerschnitzel is a thin veal cutlet, breaded and fried. Jägerschnitzel a thin pork or veal cutlet smothered in a rich brown mushroom gravy.

When I was a kid, I wasn’t too fond of jagerschnitzel since I didn’t like mushrooms all that much. Luckily my taste buds grew up along with me. When my family and I went out to a German gasthaus (neighborhood restaurant) I would usually order a weinerschnitzel smothered with krauterbutter (a German garlic-herb butter) and a side of fries. Schnitzels were also often served with spaten (German noodle dumplings) or potato croquettes.

I’ve tried jägerschnitzel in several German restaurants in the US, but most places I’ve been to really suck. The only good German restaurant I’ve been to in the US is the Zum Rheingarten. It was just down the street from where I lived near MCB Quantico. It is a GREAT restaurant. Innovative menu, awesome selection of rare German beers & wines all housed in a quaint Bavarian-style building. I ordered the jägerschnitzel but it wasn’t breaded. Every restaurant I’ve ever been to in Germany breaded their jägerschnitzel. I’ve read up on it and “traditional” jägerschnitzel isn’t breaded. Culinary tradition is usually for the birds anyway.

Jägerschnitzel is German for the “hunter’s cutlet.” Served with potato pancakes, jägerschnitzel is the typical meal the hunter would have the night before an early morning hunting excursion. Of course it’s always good with a few swigs of Jägermeister!

Last year I was thinking how much I missed out on good jägerschnitzel while I was there. I figured it couldn’t be that hard to make. After several trials and errors, here is the recipe I’ve come up with:

4 boneless pork or veal cutlets
½ cup light olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
2 8oz packages fresh white mushrooms, stemmed & sliced
2 ½ cups beef broth
2 eggs
¼ cup milk
2 heaping tablespoons flour
¾ cup heavy cream
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 teaspoons liquid Maggi seasoning
Small handful flat leaf Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 cup plain Progresso brand bread crumbs
Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat oven to 200. Place the boneless cutlets in a large zip-up plastic bag and pound thin with a meat mallet. Mix the eggs and the milk in a wide, shallow bowl. Place the bread crumbs in another wide, shallow bowl. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan. Dredge the cutlets in the bread crumbs, then in the egg wash and then in the bread crumbs again. Place the coated cutlets in the hot oil and sauté for 5-7 minutes on each side or until they are golden brown. You may only be able to cook one or two cutlets at a time depending on how large of a pan you have. Add a little more oil if the pan gets too dry. As they are done, transfer them to the oven to keep warm.

When all the cutlets are done add the minced onion to the pan and sauté for a couple minutes then add the minced garlic, salt & pepper. Sauté for another five minutes or until the onions begin to appear translucent. Add 1 cup of the beef broth and turn the heat up to high. Let the broth boil down for about 10-12 minutes. Add the mushrooms, the other cup of beef broth, the cream and the Maggi seasoning. Let it boil down for a few minutes while stirring. Take the three teaspoons of flour and mix it with the last ½ cup of beef broth in a small bowl or measuring cup. Mix it well with a fork till it is all dissolved. Slowly stir in the flour/broth mixture while the pan is boiling. This will thicken the sauce up pretty good. Use your judgment on how thick you want it. It will continue to thicken for a minute or two after you stop pouring in the flour/broth mixture. Reduce heat to medium and cook slowly for five minutes while stirring.

Take the cutlets out of the oven and transfer to your serving plates. Smother them with the mushroom sauce. I typically make this with egg noodles & boiled carrots. Enjoy and let me know how it turns out! Yankees suck!

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By J.Ho, April 18, 2006 12:44 am

Ham in a rich cream sauce – a French thing …

Alright, here’s something I think you’ll like. What are you supposed to do with the extra tonnage of ham you may or not have left over from Easter?

My father bought a French cookbook while we lived in Europe. I loved the stuff he made from this cookbook. I thought he would give me this cookbook since he loved me ‘n stuff. He refused to give it to me. He gave me his 70-inch screen Sony television, but sweet feathery Jesus, not his French Provincial cookbook. Thank the culinary gods for eBay. I went online and got the same cookbook my father bought in 20 years ago for $6.67! They even threw in a cookbook titled “Traditional English Cooking” for free, like I am EVER going to read that!! Puuuulllease! Bangers suck, by the way!

This French cookbook is one of my bibles. Below is one of the better recipes in the book. The first time I had it was when my father made it when we lived in Germany. Only he made it with pork chops instead of ham. I figured this would be a good time to introduce it since some people may have a slab of ham leftover from this weekend.

Jambon à la crème de Saulieu

10oz white mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
4 tablespoons butter
¾ cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons finely chopped spring onions (scallions)
2 cups cream
10oz Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded & chopped
1 tablespoon of flour
10 fairly thick slices of cooked ham
½ cup freshly grated Pecorino-Romano cheese
Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 425°. In a large sauce pan, sauté the mushrooms in 1 tablespoon of the butter for about 3 minutes, until they are softened and slightly cooked. Season them with a SMALL amount of salt & pepper. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside. Add the wine and the spring onions to the pan; boil till it has reduced by half. Add the cream & tomatoes and boil gently for about 5 to 6 minutes. In an oven-proof pan combine the remaining butter with the flour, stirring constantly until you’ve created a slightly thick sauce. Arrange the ham slices in the oven pan and sprinkle with the mushrooms. Cover the ham and mushrooms with the cream sauce. Sprinkle all of it with the fresh Pecorino-Romano cheese. Bake till it looks done.

I only made about half of the full recipe, since I’m cooking for myself, but you get the idea. It was a bit salty, so be careful how much salt you add. Ham is salty by nature, which is why it’s called ham. The picture doesn’t do it justice since I’m no expert in food photography. Chesha … where are you?

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By J.Ho, March 6, 2006 9:18 pm

Jeez-Louise — this is one of the bestest dishes I’ve ever had the pleasure of cooking. I love pork. Let me say that again. I LOVE PORK !!! Pork barrel projects, no so much. That’s Ted Kennedy’s department. Thanks Tyler!

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 porterhouse pork chops, ¾-inch thick, bone-in
¼ cup olive oil + one more tablespoon
1 cup chicken broth
½ cup buttermilk
1 medium white onion, peeled, halved and sliced thin
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

Put the flour in a shallow platter and add the onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly. Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels to remove any moisture and then dredge them in the seasoned flour; shaking off the excess.

Heat a large sauté pan or cast iron skillet over medium heat and coat with the ¼ of the oil. When the oil is nice and hot, lay the pork chops in the pan in a single layer and fry for 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove the pork chops from the pan and add a little sprinkle of seasoned flour to the pan drippings.

Add the onions and another tablespoon of oil to the pan and sauté for 5 minutes stirring frequently. Mix the flour into the fat to dissolve and then pour in the chicken broth in. Let the liquid cook down for 5 minutes to reduce and thicken slightly. Stir in the buttermilk to make a creamy gravy and return the pork chops to the pan, covering them with the sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes until the pork is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.

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By J.Ho, March 6, 2006 10:49 am

Often served as tapas, croquetas are most well known as a Spanish dish. This recipe comes from my Cuban influence. The best Cuban ham croquettes I’ve had on the west coast were at Felix Continental Cafe in downtown Orange, California. Dip these into a side of Cuban mojo and you’ll be in heaven.

Filling

4 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, minced
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups room temperature milk
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 tablespoon finely chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
4 cups of smoked ground ham, about one pound
1 cup dry bread crumbs
Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Coating

2 eggs, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
1 cup dry bread crumbs
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil

In a large pan sauté the butter and onions until the onions are translucent. Slowly stir in the flour and make a roux. The roux needs to be very smooth with all the flour dissolved. Add more butter if necessary. Gradually whisk in the milk. Continue cooking until the sauce thickens. The sauce needs to be very thick. Add the nutmeg, sherry, and parsley. Fold in the ham and bread crumbs. If you can’t find ground ham, you can finely mince it yourself or grind it in a food processor. Allow the mixture to simmer for five minutes on low heat. Taste the mix and season with salt and pepper if necessary. The ham has quite a bit of salt in it already, so be careful. Spoon the mixture into a baking pan and refrigerate at least one hour. The mixture needs to be firm enough to form into rolls. If your mixture is too soft or sticky, add some additional bread crumbs.

Shape the ham mixture into three inch long logs, ¾-inch thick. Make an egg wash by beating the eggs with water until frothy in a small bowl. Combine the bread crumbs, flour, salt and pepper in a second bowl. Dip the logs in the egg wash and roll the logs in the seasoned bread crumbs. Dip the rolls in the egg wash a second time and re-roll in bread crumbs. Cover logs with plastic wrap and refrigerate for two to three hours. This is very important!

Sauté the croquettes in hot vegetable oil, a few at a time, for three to four minutes, turning occasionally until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. You can also deep fry them if you like. Serve immediately.

One variation of these croquettes is making them with chicken. You can easily substitute a pound of cooked chicken for the ham, white or dark meat, or a combination. Finely mince the chicken or grind it in a food processor. Add a dash of fresh lime juice to the chicken. You can also grind in a small handful of chopped cilantro instead of the parsley for a nice flavor twist.