Island Pork Tenderloin Salad

My parents and in-laws came over for a simple supper the other night, and this salad was the perfect thing to serve.  Not too heavy, the flavors are bright and interesting, and the fruits and vegetables provide great textural contrasts (and not to mention, lots of fiber and vitamins!)  The pork with the rub and sauce is delicious - I think any leftovers would make a great sandwich.

(adapted from Epicurious)

For pork
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 pork tenderloins (2 1/4 to 2 1/2 pounds total)
2 tablespoons olive oil

For glaze
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
2 teaspoons Tabasco

For vinaigrette
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon curry powder, toasted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

For salad
3 navel oranges
5 ounces baby spinach, trimmed (6 cups leaves)
2 cups thinly sliced cabbage 
1 red bell pepper, cut lengthwise into thin strips
1 firm-ripe California avocado

Prepare pork:
Stir together salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon, then coat pork with spice rub.  Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 F
Heat oil in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until just beginning to smoke, then brown pork, turning, about 4 minutes total. Leave pork in skillet.

Make glaze and roast pork:
Stir together brown sugar, garlic, and Tabasco and pat onto top of each tenderloin. Roast in middle of oven until thermometer inserted diagonally in center of each tenderloin registers 150°F, about 20 minutes. Let pork stand in skillet at room temperature 10 minutes. (Temperature will rise to about 160°F while standing.)

Make vinaigrette while pork roasts:
Whisk together juices, mustard, curry powder, salt, and pepper, then add oil in a stream, whisking until emulsified.

Prepare salad ingredients while pork stands:
Cut peel, including white pith, from oranges with a sharp knife, then cut oranges crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices.  Cut the slices into quarters.

 Toss spinach, cabbage, bell pepper, and oranges in a large bowl with about 1/4 cup vinaigrette. Halve, pit, and peel avocados, then cut diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick slices.

Assemble salad:
Cut pork into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Line a large platter with dressed salad and arrange sliced pork and avocado in rows on top. Drizzle some vinaigrette over avocados. Pour any juices from skillet over pork.

Classic Coleslaw

Just a basic but delicious coleslaw. I love it on pulled pork sandwiches, alongside a variety of different main dishes, and as an afternoon snack. The sweetened onions and vinegar give it an extra burst of flavor, while the mayo keeps it creamy.

1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup sugar
4 cups shredded cabbage
1/3 cup reduced fat mayonaise
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (or more, to taste)
salt and pepper

Put the onions in a mesh strainer and rinse well with cold water. Drain completely, then put in a large bowl with the sugar. Let stand 20 minutes.
Add the cabbage, mayonaise, and vinegar, and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste

Bean Thread Salad

I found a huge package of bean threads for ridiculously cheap at a market in San Francisco, and knew there would be many of these salads in my future.  Tonight I found everything I needed to create this recipe already in my refrigerator, so this was easy to throw together.  It's a beautiful mix of colors and has the quintessential Thai flavors I love so much: fish sauce, lime, mint, cilantro, and peanuts.  YUM!

4 oz bean threads

1 small carrot

1 red bell pepper

a few handfuls of lettuce, cut into thin strips

1 tbsp thinly sliced green onions

1 tbsp chopped cilantro

2 tsp chopped fresh mint

2 tbsp chopped peanuts

4 tbsp lime juice

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp sugar

Drop the bean threads into boiling water for about 40 seconds, then drain and rinse with cold water.

Cut the bell pepper into thin strips and put into a serving bowl with the lettuce.

Using a vegetable peeler, create 2" long curls of carrot, and put these in the serving bowl as well.

Stir together the lime juice, fish sauce, and sugar.  

Put the bean threads in their own bowl and add about half the lime juice mixture.  Toss well.

Put the noodles on top of the vegetables and sprinkle the green onions, mint, cilantro, and peanuts over them.  Add a little more dressing and toss well.  Taste, and add the rest of the dressing if desired.  

NOTE: Bean threads look like thin white noodles.  Here is an example of what they look like:
photo from Amazon.com

Asian Slaw Salad

A beautifully simple recipe for a mild but wonderful twist on traditional coleslaw.

I made it using just cabbage, but for variety, you could throw in bean sprouts,  julienned carrots and celery, some peanuts or sesame seeds, a squeeze of lime... Be creative! Then tell me how creative you were so I can be inspired!

You will taste the cabbage in this recipe.  It's not like eating a mouthful of raw cabbage, but the flavor is definitely there in the background.  If you have a serious dislike of cabbage, I would steer clear of this recipe.

I used about a quarter of a cup of red cabbage because it's pretty, but if you only have regular cabbage (or I'm sure Napa cabbage would work just fine also), this will still be great (just slightly less colorful).

2 to 3 cups thinly sliced cabbage 

2 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp sugar (use less if you don't like sweet coleslaw)

a pinch of salt

a pinch of white pepper

some thin slices of green onion, for garnish

Toss all ingredients well, then taste.  If it tastes really plain, add more vinegar or salt.

I like it best when it's left at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving.

Greek-inspired salad

It's painfully un-authentic, but to me anything with Kalamata olives and Feta is Greek. As you can probably conclude, I've never been to Greece and I've only had real Greek food a handful of times.

But anyway, I love this salad because it is so fresh and crisp, and the flavors are simple and wonderful.

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
2 tomatoes, seeded, cored, and diced
1/2 English cucumber, thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, cut in thin strips
1/2 green bell pepper, cut in thin strips
1/4 cup Kalamata Olives, quartered
4 oz Feta, crumbled
juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper

Soak the onion in cold water for about 15 minutes, then drain.
Combine onion, celery, tomatoes, cucumber, bell peppers, olives, and feta in a bowl and toss to combine.
Add the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and a little salt and pepper and mix well.

Platinum Chef Challenge!

Click here to read all about the Platinum Chef Challenge!

This is my first time participating in this great event that involves making up one or two dishes using five pre-selected ingredients. For this round, they were:

plums
oatmeal
eggplant
tofu
olives

Dessert incorporating the plums and oatmeal seemed like a natural. A plum crisp came to mind first, but I wanted something a little bit fancier. I've been obsessed with my ice cream maker lately, so I decided to use it to make a sorbet. I added a little port to dress it up, and served it in oatmeal-almond buttercrunch cups. They are actually really simple to make, but they give a very sophisticated look to desserts!

With that out of the way, I had a harder time figuring out what to do with tofu, eggplant, and olives.  I have been making salad dressings with silken tofu and really liked the result, so a salad seemed like an obvious choice.  I started with herbed-roasted eggplant, tossed it with some sliced olives and roasted yellow peppers, and topped it with a creamy garlic dressing.  I felt that to balance the richness of those, it should be on a bed of arugula.  For a little more color, I added some diced tomatoes over the top.

I had a great time coming up with and making these recipes, and I look forward to future challenges!

Herbed Eggplant Salad with Creamy Garlic Dressing

Salad:

2 yellow bell peppers

1 medium eggplant

8 tbsp olive oil, divided

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tbsp chopped fresh basil

2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano

2 tsp chopped fresh thyme

1/4 cup kalamata olives, quartered lengthwise

4 cups arugula

1 medium tomato, seeds removed and diced

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Slice the eggplant into 1/2" thick rounds.  Salt likely and place on a cooling rack.  Set aside for 30 minutes.

Slice the bell peppers into 1/2" strips, and toss with 2 tbsp olive oil.  Place in a small baking dish and roast at 375 for about 2o minutes, or until soft.  Remove from the oven, and stir in the olives.

Rinse the eggplant slices and pat dry.

In a shallow dish, mix together the remaining 6 tbsp olive oil, the basil, garlic, oregano, and garlic.

Rub both sides of each eggplant slice with the oil-herb mixture, and place on a rimmed baking sheet.  Place in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until soft and slightly browned

After the eggplant comes out of the oven, let cool for about 5 minutes.

Gently toss the roasted eggplant slices with the pepper and olive mixture.

Arrange 1 cup of arugula on each of four plates.  Top with two or three eggplant slices, and some of the peppers and olives.

Then drizzle some of the dressing over the top, and sprinkle with diced tomatoes.

Dressing:

6 oz silken tofu

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 tsp lemon juice

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp salt

4 tbsp olive oil

water

Puree all ingredients in a blender.  Gradually add water until thinned to the desired consistency for salad dressing.

Plum and Port Sorbet in Oatmeal-Almond Buttercrunch Cups

(adapted from epicurious.com and Mrs. Fields Best Cookie Book Ever)

Sorbet:

1 1/2 pounds black plums, quartered (pits removed)

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1/4 cup port

Mix together the sugar and water in a small saucepan.  Boil 5-10 minutes, or until reduced to one cup.  Chill.

Puree the plums in a food processor.

Pour into a strainer set over a medium bowl, and press on the solids to obtain as much juice as possible.

Add the cooled sugar mixture to the plum juice, along with the port.  Mix well, then transfer to an ice cream maker and chill according to manufacturers instructions.

Buttercrunch cups

1/2 stick (4 tbsp) butter

1/4 cup corn syrup

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup old-fashioned oatmeal

1/3 cup sliced almonds

6 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 375 F and line a cookie sheet with parchment or a Silpat.

Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.

Combine the butter, corn syrup, and brown sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.

After the mixture boils, remove from the heat and stir in the remaining ingredients. 

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the baking sheet, and bake for about 8 minutes, or until slightly darkened.

Remove the sheet from the oven and wait a few minutes until cookies can be lifted with a spatula but are still pliable.  Gently press into the muffin tin to form a cup shape, and allow to cool.

Repeat until you have used all the "batter."

To serve, place one or two cookie cups on a plate, and put a small scoop of sorbet in each.

Farmers Market Salad with Mustard Tarragon Dressing

In my quest to make better salads, I decided to branch out in the ingredients I typically use.  I feel incredibly lucky to live in a town surrounded by farms, with two amazing farmers markets every week.  Last night I picked up a panoply of different vegetables, and I wanted to use those for a salad.  For the dressing, I took a break from my typical salt-pepper-balsamic-olive oil mix, and used white wine vinegar, and a few things I found on my spice rack.  

Salad: 

4 cups sliced green leaf lettuce

1/4 cup sliced red cabbage

1/4 cup sliced red onion

2 small tomatoes, seeded and diced

1/4 cup sliced sugar snap peas

Dressing:

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp chopped fresh tarragon

1 tsp finely chopped shallot

pinch salt

pinch pepper

6 tbsp olive oil

Toss together vegetables.

Whisk together vinegar through pepper, then gradually add olive oil, whisking constantly.

Add to salad gradually, tossing several times (not all the dressing will be used).

Toss well, and serve

Cucumber-Peanut Salad

I have a glaring shortcoming as a home cook, and that is that I am salad-challenged.  It's not that I don't enjoy a good salad.  I LOVE them.  The problem is, they never turn out quite how I want them to.  My dressings end up too oily or too acidic, the proprotions of leaves to other vegetables are all wrong, or the whole salad is just downright boring.

The other day my neighbor made a fantastic salad that I loved so much I decided to make it my mission to improve my salad-making skills.  I turned to my cookbooks for a recipe and some inspiration, and I found this gem in an Indian cookbook.

Cucumber is always refreshing, and with peanuts and coconut added into the mix, the result is a crunchy and satisfying salad.  The dressing is outrageously simple and marries two of my favorite flavors, lemon and cumin.

(adapted from Bombay Cafe by Neela Paniz)

1 English cucumber, seeded and diced

1/3 cup unsalted peanuts, chopped

3 tbsp unsalted shredded coconut (or fresh grated coconut if you have it)

1 serrano chile, seeds and stem removed, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

about 6 leaves romaine lettuce, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces

In a small bowl, stir together the lemon juice, cumin, sugar, and salt.

In a large bowl, combine the cucumber, serrano, cilantro, and coconut.

Pour in the lemon juice mixture and toss well.  Set aside 15 minutes at room temperature.

Add the peanuts and lettuce and toss until the dressing is evenly distributed.

Fattoush

This is a perfect summer salad.  Green and vibrant with specks of sumac and slivers of onion, it has a bright citrus dressing and the satisfying crunch of toasted pita.

I like to use Persian cucumbers because they are less watery and more sweet than English cucumbers.  I find them at Trader Joes.

1/2 sweet onion, thinly sliced

1 tbsp sumac 

2 whole wheat pitas

2 large tomatoes, seeded and diced

2 Persian cucumbers, diced (you could use half an English cucumber instead)

4 large leaves of Romaine, torn into bite-sized pieces

2 stalks celery, thinly sliced

1/3 cup chopped parsley

1/3 cup chopped mint

2 green onions, thinly sliced

Dressing:

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

dash cayenne

Preheat the oven to 300 F.

Mix the sumac and onions well.  Set aside

Tear the pita into bite size pieces and arrange in a single layer on a Silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet.  Put the sheet in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the pita is nice and crispy.  Turn the oven off and leave the door closed.

In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, celery, green onions, parsley, mint and sumac onion mixture.

Stir together the dressing ingredients and pour over the vegetables.  Toss gently, then add the pita pieces and toss again.  Serve quickly so the pita doesn't get soggy.