Rosemary Garlic Pork Loin Roast

Around the holidays pork loin goes on sale and I usually get one. I couldn't find the recipe that I usually use but I am very pleased with this one that I came up with. I used very few and ingredients to make this yummy juicy pork.

Ingredients

3-4 lb pork loin ( that was what I bought to feed 7 adults)
1 TBS minced garlic
1 TBS Rosemary (chopped small)
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
Pepper
1 TBS olive oil
some water

Preheat the oven to 475• F.
Rinse and pat dry the pork.
Rub the pork loin with 1 TBS olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and peeper.
Make a paste using rosemary, garlic and 1 tsp olive oil.
Cut small slits all over the pork loin and stuff put the herb paste into them.

Bake the pork uncovered for 15 min. Then reduce the heat to 425•F and bake about 40 more minutes or till the meat thermometer reads 150•F.

Add a little bit of water (1/4 cup ) into the pan while baking and do not let the pan burn.

Let the pork sit for 15 minutes before slicing.

Smothered Pork Chops

I love southern food and this is one of them. I recently got a dutch oven as a gift and it is perfect for for making tender thick cut pork chops browned and smothered ( slow cooked in gravy). I just love gravy and this dish is perfect over white rice. Basically, you will be eating rice and brown gravy with a bonus, tender pork chop. I will not be giving you the exact measurements of the ingredients but will walk you through the basic smothering steps with pictures and all. so enjoy and feel free to email me with questions and comments.

Ingredients (Approximate)

1.5 to 2 lb pork chops of your choice ( I used bone in, thick cuts)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 Tsp Cajun seasoning powder, optional (salt and peeper will work too)
2 TBS soy sauce
4 Cups stock/broth/ or water
2 TBS oil
3/4 Cup flour

Rinse and dry the pork with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper or Cajun seasoning powder.

Heat the oil the Dutch oven or big skillet.

Put the flour in a plastic bag and shake the pork chops one by one and add to the hot oil and brown them on both sides. Take them out and set aside.

Add the onions and peppers to the pan and saute them till tender about 5 minutes. Then add the soy sauce. Cook for a minute or two.

Then add your choice of stock ( I used turkey stock I made after Thanksgiving. Bring to a slow boil.

Add your pork chops back into the boiling gravy and cover. Let simmer till pork is fork tender. (this will depend on your pork and the cook ware you use) I did about 2 hours. Taste the gravy and season as needed.

The final results looks like this. Serve with rice.

Galbi Tang ( Korean Beef Short Rib Soup): The Daring Cooks’ September 2011 Challenge

Peta, of the blog Peta Eats, was our lovely hostess for the Daring Cook‟s September 2011 challenge, “Stock to Soup to Consommé”. We were taught the meaning between the three dishes, how to make a crystal clear Consommé if we so chose to do so, and encouraged to share our own delicious soup recipes!

Being a soup lover, this challenge gave me so many ideas of what I wanted to make. I picked this Korean Beef Short Rib Soup because my family requested it and also I found a great deal on the short ribs.
I am not Korean but I LOVE Korean food and learned to make many Korean dishes mainly from blogs, sometimes friends and from eating out. Galbi Tang is simple to make if you have some time to make the stock and let the beef become tender. Tang in Korean means soup. This website lifeinkorea has a great list of Korean soups, the meanings, and even how to eat them.

Wiki also has some good information on this dish including how to prepare too.

Here is how I make mine.

Ingredients

2 LB Beef Short Ribs (in big chunks)
1 Large Onion
5 Garlic Cloves
1 TBS whole Black peppercorns
1 tsp salt
5 Green Onions (white part only)
1 6 inch piece of Daikon Radish
2 eggs

Seasonings for the Beef:

2 TBS Light Soy Sauce
1TBS Ground Toasted Sesame Seeds
1 tsp Sesame oil
1 TBS Minced Garlic

Garnish:
chopped green Onions
Sesame seeds

To get rid of some blood from the bones, soak the ribs in a cold water for at least 1hours changing the water a couple times.

Place the ribs in a pot and cover with new cold water and boil vigorously for 5 minutes. There will be scum /foam on the top. Remove the pot from the heat and strain the ribs. Wash the pot and the ribs so there is no more scum.

Place the clean pieces of beef back in the clean pot and fill the pot with 10-12 cups of water. Add salt, Daikon Radish, onion, green onions, peppercorns, and whole cloves of garlic.

Bring to a boil, and then simmer over low heat till the meat it tender ( about 2-3 hours. You want the meat to be falling off the bones when you eat. Must simmer over low heat or the stock will be cloudy. )

After about an hour, take the radish out and slice the radish and keep aside to put back into the soup later.

When the meat is tender, strain the meat and veggies. Discard the veggies. Season the meat with seasonings above.

Let the stock cool in the fridge for several hours or overnight so the fat will come up to the top and you can skim and throw away the fat. This step is necessary to obtain a good Galbi Tang that is not oily. If you are in a hurry, you can also scoop out the oil that comes up to the top as much as you can.

Bring the broth back to a boil along with Daikon and seasoned meat when ready to eat.

If everyone likes eggs in your soup, crack the eggs directly into the boiling broth before serving and break the egg up in the pot. Otherwise, you can make a thin omelet, slice it up and add that to the individual bowls.

Sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds. Serve very hot with rice. Hope you have yummy kimchi to go with it too!

Step by Step Jambalaya Recipe

Jambalaya! What is Jambalaya? Where is it from? How many types of Jambalaya are out there? Well according to Wiki , "Creole jambalaya originates from the French Quarter of New Orleans, in the original European sector. It was an attempt by the Spanish to make paella in the New World, where saffron was not readily available due to import costs. Tomatoes became the substitute for saffron. As time went on, French influence became strong in New Orleans, and spices from the Caribbean changed this New World paella into a unique dish. In modern Louisiana, the dish has evolved along a variety of different lines. Creole jambalaya, or red Jambalaya as it is called by Cajuns, is found primarily in and around New Orleans, where it is simply known as 'Jambalaya'. Creole Jambalaya includes tomatoes, whereas Cajun jambalaya does not."

There is always more than one way to make a dish and YES there are a millions ways different people make their Jambalaya. After a few times of trial and error and some experimenting with different Jambalaya recipes, I came up with the one that is best for my taste and my family's. You can use my recipe as a guide and adjust it to your taste and what you have available in your kitchen! There is no rules, but just have fun and enjoy cooking this flavorful filling dish!

Here is how I make my Jambalaya:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced into rounds
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, boiled and cut into 1 inch pieces
(Note: I sometimes boil a whole chicken, use both the broth and the meat)
1 pound peeled and divined shrimp, raw
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup bell pepper, diced
1 cup celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, (more or less depending on your taste)
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 cups uncooked white rice
4 cups chicken broth (or water)

Optional: If you want a red (tomato based) Creole Jambalaya, throw in a can of small tomato sauce or Rotel or Italian crushed tomatoes, etc. Use what you have in your pantry!



The Holy Trinity (Onion, bell peppers, and celery)















Heat the oil on medium heat and sautee the garlic and bay leaf for about a minute till fragrant.















Add the Holy Trinity, salt, and Caynne pepper.














Cook till all the veggies are almost tender for about 5-6 minutes.















Add the rice.














Mix well so that the rice will cook without sticking and lumping together.















Add the Cajun seasoning powder, thyme, black pepper.















Add the broth and the rest of the seasoning sauces (hot sauce etc). Stir once. cover and let it simmer over low heat for about 20-25 minutes.















Add the chicken, saussage, and raw shrimp during the last 10 minute of cooking.















Mix and taste. Rice should be fully cooked, but not mushy or very wet. You can now enjoy Jambalaya!!

Yummy Mini Turkey Patties

Today I decided to put this post up for my daughter who loves these little turkey patties. I usually use ground pork to make meat patties since we don't eat a lot of ground beef in our house. One day I decided to use ground turkey instead and we loved it more than the pork so since then I have been using turkey. I think this is going to please your children as well. I usually make a soup and rice to go with these (being an Asian house hold, you know we LOVE RICE!). I have bought meat patties from the Korean gerocery store I go to but they are not my favorite. I think they add mashed up tofu or something and I can barely taste any meat. So, here is how I make mine just the way we like it in our house:

Directions

1 lb ground turkey (lean)
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 TBS soysauce
1 tsp sugar
2 TBS Korean pancake flour (use regular flour if you can't get korean pancake flour)
salt and pepper

Combine the above ingredients well and make small patties.

1 egg, beaten
some Korean pancake flour

Dip the patties one by one in egg then flour (shake the excess off) and pan fry with a little bit of oil till they are golden on both sides.

Rosemary Garlic Roasted Leg of Lamb

Lamb was on sale everywhere for Easter and I had to get it. I love lamb chops but I like leg of lamb as well. Lamb has a distinct flavor and it isn't for everyone but I think it is delicious if prepared right. I used Emeril's Recipe from food network as my guidance and made a few changes. His recipe called for bone in leg but I used boneless.

Ingredients

1 leg of lamb, boneless(about 4 pounds)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
8 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
2 tablespoon cumin powder (I added this)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Using your hands, rub the lamb all over with the lemon juice. Pat the garlic and rosemary evenly all over the surface of the meat. Season the meat with the cumin, salt and pepper and place the lamb in a roasting pan. Place the lamb in the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue to cook for about 1 hour longer for medium-rare, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the center of the roast registers about 145 degrees F to 150 degrees F (be careful that the thermometer does not touch the bone.) Remove lamb from pan and allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before carving.

Sauce: (I didn't make this)

1 cup chopped fresh herbs (combination of rosemary, chives, and parsley)
2 cups diced onions
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup red wine
Position the roasting pan over your stove burners. Add mixed herbs and onions to pan, and stir to combine with pan drippings. Add chicken stock and wine to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon to release any fond. Reduce over high heat until sauce consistency. Strain before serving, if desired. Slice lamb and serve with sauce drizzled over the top.


My rosemary bush. It's 2 yrs old.













Have your ingredients ready.













Rub lamb with lemon juice.













I also pushed rosemary and garlic in in slits of lamb. If you are using boneless leg of lamb, you can use your fingers to locate the slits.




Delicious!

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

My favorite pot roast is one that is made in a slow cooker. To me, it is just more tender and moist than one made in the oven. This easy recipe can be prepared ahead of time in a slow cooker, so frees up your time for other things. I like that pot roast already has vegetables and I don't have to worry about making side dishes. We usually eat it with steam rice (we love rice) at my house. Here is how I make mine.




You'll need:
2-3lb Roast (I like rump or chuck)
1 bay leaf
2 TBS olive oil
3 stalks of celery
3 medium carrots
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
4 medium potatoes ( I like Russet)
4-5 cups beef broth
salt and pepper
Heat up the oil in a pan and add garlic. When it sizzles, add the meat that has been salted and peppered and brown both sides well. Take the meat out and out aside.
In the same pan add your vegetables that have been chopped roughly except potatoes. Potatoes should be peeled and halved. Cook the vegetables for about 5 min.
Transfer the vegetables into your slow cooker,and add the meat.
Add potatoes and broth.
Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.
Enjoy!