Announcing- “Show Us Your…” a blogging event!

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The beautiful Ilva of the absolutely gorgeous blog Lucullian Delights  has graciously allowed me to pick up the reins of her original blogging event “Show Us  Your…” !

Ilva hosted two events: “Show us your… kitchen” and a “Show us your…apron” before turning her attention to her other hosted events: The Heart of the Matter and Paper Chef.

I had been long been thinking of this very premise too. I am always interested in seeing little bits of my fellow bloggers kitchens or their ingredients. As Ilva has given her blessings for me to move forward with this I’d also like to add a dish component to the event. So for our first new round the subject will be …  “Show Us Your…Spice Collection!”

To participate post and include a picture of your spice collection with a link back to this post, tell us what you love or don’t love about your herbs and spices -how you store and use them and then prepare a dish (include a photo of it too)Â using a spice (or spices) from your stash. It can be sweet or savory, fancy or simple-use a spice you haven’t used in a while or your favorite.

Send me your posts by Wednesday May 7th, 2008 and I’ll post a roundup on Saturday May 10th, 2008. A random participant will be chosen to receive a gift basket including some unusual herbs and spices and a small hand made pastry rolling pin made by yours truly. You must post before midnight U.S. mountain time on May 7th to be eligible.

So come on- Show Us Your Spice Collection!

Please send your entry including:

  • your name
  • your blog name
  • the URL to your post
  • a small picture under 300×300 pixels of your collection and the dish you prepare

Email the above to gabi(AT)thefeastwithin(DOT)com by the above date.  If you don’t have your own blog but wish to contribute-email me at the above address and we’ll work it out.

Rootbeer Braised Pork Tenderloin and Quinoa with Pistachios

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Okay I know this sounds a bit quirky- kind of like the old ham in cola recipe (which  BTW is yummy)- but these flavors also work very well together. What you want to use is the very best root beer you can find because you reduce it down for the sauce. Normally I would use homemade root beer made with Zatarain’s root beer extract but I was pressed for time so I used Virgil’s – which is an excellent hand-crafted root beer. I originally came across a recipe for Root beer Roast Tenderloin in a fun cookbook called “Romancing the Stove: Celebrated Recipes and Delicious Fun for every Kitchen Goddess”  I modified it a bit so here is my version which I like to serve with the following quinoa dish and a green salad of Romaine, Spinach and Watercress with Avocado and a simple dressing of olive oil, sherry vinegar, Dijon and shallot- throw in a handful of pine nuts and a twidge of Parmesan and mmm:

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Root beer Braised Pork Tenderloin

  •  1 pork tenderloin, silver skin removed
  • 1 Tablespoon crushed garlic
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil for marinating plus a little extra for searing the tenderloin
  • 1  12ounce bottle of Virgil’s Root beer
  • 1 white onion chopped
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 Tablespoons Port Balsamic Vinegar

Remove the silver-skin from the tenderloin. Place in a shallow pan or a Ziploc bag and rub with the olive oil and garlic. Let marinate in the fridge for an hour or so. Remove from  the fridge and let warm up a bit while you prepare the root beer sauce. Place the root beer and the onion in a small heavy bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let simmer until reduced by half. Heat a cast iron skillet or other heavy oven-proof skillet over medium high heat. Add a little olive oil to the pan and then try to remove any garlic clinging to the tenderloin so it doesn’t burn and sear the tenderloin on all sides. Brush a little root beer from the sauce pan on the tenderloin and cover and place in a preheated 300F oven for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile add the mustard and vinegar to the reduced root beer onion mixture. After the 10 minutes remove the skillet from the oven and add the root beer to the pan, replace the cover and return to the oven for about 25 minutes or until the interior temperature of the pork tenderloin reaches about 155F- it will reach the safe temperature of 160F while it rests. Remove from the oven and let rest for a few minutes. Slice into medallions and serve with the sauce from the pan.

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Quinoa with Pistachios

  • 1 cup Quinoa
  • 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1/2 minced onion
  • 1 small can sliced mushrooms or 1/2 cup sautéed mushrooms
  • pinch salt
  • 1 cup chopped shelled, roasted salted pistachios
  • the zest of one lemon, wash before zesting

Rinse the Quinoa to remove the saponins that coat it by rubbing it between your fingers in a fine meshed sieve under cold running water. Let drain. Heat a medium sized heavy bottomed saucepan over medium high heat. Place the quinoa in the saucepan and stir until it dries and pan roasts a bit. Carefully add the stock- it may bubble and spurt – to the quinoa and add the onion and mushrooms. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes. Take off the heat, remove the cover and fluff with a fork. Add the chopped pistachios along with the zest before serving.

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Hope you give it a try and enjoy!

xoxo

Spinach Pasta Lasagna

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Sorry- this picture was taken after the hungry horde descended! 🙂

One of our regular standby meals is Spaghetti with Italian Sausage pasta sauce. We have it often enough that I like to use the leftover sauce to make different pasta dishes.  This week I made homemade Spinach Lasagna Noodles and then layered the noodles with sauce and 5 cheeses. I didn’t go too deep in the layering- about 3 layers of noodles but it seemed to turn out well. I like to top it off with a layer of prosciutto for a bit of a salty crunch on top.

Spinach Pasta

  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • about a half pound of fresh spinach, steamed and chopped to make 1/3 cup
  • pinch of salt
  • approximately 1-1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

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Wash the spinach well, shake some of the excess water off and place in a microwave safe bowl.  Place a piece of parchment or a paper towel on top of the bowl and microwave for about a minute just until the spinach wilts. Remove and cool, enough to handle. Press the spinach in a sieve or a stack of paper towels, chop it finely and press again to remove the moisture. Mix the eggs, salt and spinach in the bowl of a food processor, pulsing until mixed. Add the flour a little at a time until a dough forms and pulls away from the walls. Turn out onto a floured board and knead for a few minutes until smooth. Cover the dough with a bowl and leave to rest for about a half hour.  Knead a bit, the dough should be a little moist but not sticky- you can add a little water or flour to achieve a workable dough. divide the dough into 4-6 portions and run it through a pasta machine on the plain roller starting with the widest setting and working down to the thickness you like – I usually go to the 5 setting for lasagna. Cut the noodles or leave them in larger sheets and let rest for about 30 minutes. You can cook them for just a minute in boiling water and drain or if your dish is very saucy and you will be cooking it for at least an hour, you can add them directly to your dish. If you don’t precook them or cook them long enough in a sauce though, they will be raw and unpalatable -so take care.

Spinach Lasagna with Italian Sausage and Five Cheeses

  • Italian Sausage Pasta sauce
  • Spinach Lasagna noodles
  • 2 cups Ricotta
  • 2 Tablespoons Basil Pesto
  • 1 egg
  • 4 cups Mozzarella
  • 2 cups mixed cheeses- Asiago, Mizithra, Parmesan
  • 5 or six thin slices of Prosciutto

Put a coating of sauce on the bottom of your baking dish. Add a layer of noodles, more sauce. Mix  2 cups of ricotta cheese with an egg and a large spoonful of basil pesto. Spread over the sauced noodles, Add some shredded Mozzarella, Asiago, Mizithra and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat with layers until you reach near the top of your dish or you run out of ingredients. End with a layer of cheese and then top with thinly sliced prosciutto to cover. Bake in a 350F oven for 45 minutes to an hour depending on how deeply you’ve layered your lasagna.

Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce

  • 1-1/4 pound sweet Italian sausage
  • 1/4 pound hot Italian Sausage
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large Onion, diced
  • 3 ribs celery diced
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 large spoonsful of basil pesto
  • 1 teaspoon dried Oregano
  • pinch of dried Thyme
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 of a large carrot, finely grated
  • 32 ounces of tomato sauce, homemade is best but jarred is okay
  • 1 small can of tomato paste

Roast the sausages and cut into slices or crumble 1/2 of the sausage after removing the casings and slice the rest with the casings on and brown in a large heavy bottomed pot. Remove and drain. Remove most of the grease from the sausage, leaving the browned bits sticking to the bottom and add a little olive oil. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes, then add the celery, peppers and carrot. cook until the onion is translucent and the vegetables are softening. Add the garlic and spices, cook a few minutes. Add the tomato sauce and paste. Taste and adjust the seasonings- adding salt and pepper or more herbs to your taste. Stir frequently and cook over medium low heat until bubbling. Add the sausage back in and cook some more. At this point I usually remove it to a crock pot and let it simmer for a few hours, but you could serve it immediately or cook stirring occasionally over low heat and covered for an hour or so. It gets better with longer cooking and is even better the next day.

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Enjoy!

xoxo

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