Pork Tenderloin with Apricot and Mustard Sauce - Martha's recipe

This is a very simple pork tenderloin recipe that I found by Martha Stewart, in which I can use some of my apricot preserves. I had to modify cooking time so that the pork comes out a little bit pink in the middle. Both my husband and I do not like overcooked pork. Plus I used regular Dijon mustard instead of spicy brown mustard. Here is a slightly modified version.



Ingredients:

1 pork tenderloin (a little over a pound)
1/2 cup of apricot preserves
1/8 cup of Dijon mustard
Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon of Olive Oil

Preparation:

1. Rub pork with oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Line a cooking sheet with aluminum foil and broil pork on it in the oven for 3 minutes a side.

2. In a meantime, in a small sauce pan combine apricot preserves with mustard and on medium heat bring to a boil. Stir not to burn. Once boiling take the sauce of the heat and split into two small cups. Use one half of the sauce to brush pork and the other to serve.

3. Brush pork on one side with sauce and broil for a 1.5 minutes. Take out of the oven and turn over, brush the other side with sauce and broil for another 1.5 minutes. Pork will have some blackened spots. Let the pork rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Slice and serve with some sauce on a side.

Apricot Preserves

Apricot preserves are my favorite and I make them every year once fresh apricots make an appearance in the grocery store. This is a recipe I learned from my mother, which have proven to work for me very well. Here it is.

Ingredients:

3 lbs of fresh apricots, cut in half and seeds removed
3 lbs of white sugar

Preparation:

The whole process takes about 3 days. I usually start in the evening on Day 1.

Day 1: In a large pot pour sugar over the apricots. Leave uncovered overnight for the apricots to release the juice. 

Day 2: In the morning using a large wooden spoon stir the apricots and sugar well. Put pot on a stove and turn heat on low and continue to stir until sugar starts to melt. Be very patient - you don't want sugar to burn. Once sugar has dissolved increase heat to medium and bring to a boil. Once boiling the foam will start to form. Your job is to skim the foam while preserves are boiling. Stop skimming once there is not much foam left. Total boiling time should be 20 minutes (including the foam). Turn the heat off and take the pot of the heat, let the preserves cool uncovered. I usually let them cool and sit uncovered until the next day.

Day 3: Bring preserves to a boil stiring to not burn. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes removing any extra foam that forms. Take preserves off the heat and let them completely cool. Once cool transfer into the glass jars and store in a fridge. Enjoy on a toast, yogurt or in sauces. 

Salmon with Morels in Cream Sauce

Morels are in season and I bought few at the store this weekend. Price does bite at $30 per pound! However, you don't need to buy many of them to make a nice dish. After doing a google search on recipes with morel mushrooms I came up with this creation last night. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

2 pieces of salmon cooked my usual way (the post about it is here)
8-10 medium and large morel mushrooms, cleaned and chopped to taste
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of freshly chopped thyme
1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup of white wine
3/4 - 1 cup of chicken stock
1 tablespoon of Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Preparation:

Pour olive oil in a small pan and on medium high heat saute shallot, thyme and morels for 3 minutes stirring. Deglaze with white wine and add chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low. Let the chicken stock reduce and mushrooms to cook for about 10 - 12 minutes. Next add heavy whipping cream and stir well. I let it boil a little bit stirring frequently until I got desired consistency. Salt and pepper to taste. To serve put salmon on a plate and pour morel sauce on top. I also had some elbow pasta to soak up that cream!

Nicoise Salad at Home

It is about time I made Nicoise Salad with seared Ahi Tuna. I always get it in the restaurants so why not make it at home? Two weekends in a row I have been doing just that. The salad is very easy to make however it takes some time to prepare all the ingredients. The recipe for two people is below.



Ingredients:

3/4 lb of fresh Ahi tuna
6-7 fingerling potatoes, peeled and cooked
10-12 green beans, blanched
10 green/black olives
2 hard boiled eggs, cut in half
5 cherry or plum tomatoes, cut in half
Olive Oil for cooking
Salt and Pepper

For dressing:
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1/2 of small shallot, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons of dijon mustard
1 sprig of fresh thyme, finely chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. In a small bowl whisk together all the dressing ingredients. Salt and Pepper to taste. Set aside.

2. Rinse Ahi Tuna with cold water and pat dry. I cut my piece into two pieces. Salt and pepper generously on both sides. Pour 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil in a pan and on medium high heat sear tuna on both sides for about 1-2 minutes a side (depends on how rare you want your fish to be). Transfer cooked tuna on a cutting board and slice it into 1/2 inch pieces.

3. Now it is time to assemble the salad on a plate. On each plate arrange eggs, tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, olives and tuna. Drizzle with a dressing. Salt and Pepper if needed. You can also add other ingredients such as cucumber, radishes, beats, asparagus and so on.

Shrimp with Tomatoes, Feta and Parsley

Looking through the 101 Classic Recipes of Saveur magazine I found the familiar recipe for shrimp made with tomatoes, feta and parsley. I have made something similar before and recall it was very easy to make. So yesterday I made the Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta using Saveur's recipe as a guide. I skipped hot green chile and ouzo - my husband does not like it. Here is how I made it.



Ingredients:

2/3 lb of large shrimp, peeled and cleaned
28 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes
4 oz of feta, cut in small pieces
1/2 of white onion, chopped
1/4 cup of chopped fresh parsley
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Preparation:

1. Turn your oven broiler on. In an ovenproof large pot (I use my Le Creuset) heat up 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil, add onion and on medium heat saute until soft, about 3 minutes. In a large bowl crush tomatoes with your hands and add them to the onions. Mix and salt and pepper to taste. Cook tomatoes on medium heat until sauce become thick (about 15-20 minutes). Stir once in a while. Add shrimp and cook them turning once about 4 minutes total.

2. Next sprinkle feta on top and put a pot without a lid into the oven. Broil for about 3.5 minutes. Take out and sprinkle with fresh parsley. Serve and eat.

Asparagus wrapped in Prosciutto

This is a great appetizer dish or if you want a main dish. To make it wash and trim asparagus. In a large pot heat up water until it is boiling, add asparagus and turn the heat off. Let asparagus cook in hot water for about 1.5 minutes (or a bit more depending on thickness). Take asparagus out and submerge into a large bowl filled with iced water. This is called blanching. Next wrap prosciutto around asparagus.

Risotto with Peas and Shiitake Mushrooms

The other night I found myself wondering what I could do with shiitake mushrooms and sugar snap peas. There was nothing else in the fridge - no protein and I did not feel like a stir fry. Risotto popped into my head. And I made it. It came out superb so I made it again last night and we all enjoyed it. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

For Risotto
1 cup of arborio rice
4 cups of chicken stock (I used low sodium but regular will be just fine)
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 lb of sugar snap peas, only peas!
1/4 cup of white wine
1 tablespoon of cold butter
Salt 
2 tablespoons of Olive Oil

For Mushrooms
1 lb of shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
2 tablespoons of Olive Oil

 Preparation:

1. Mix mushrooms with Olive Oil and roast in the oven at 450F for about 25-30 minutes turning once or twice.

2. To make risotto you need two pots: one for risotto and one for stock to keep it hot. In a pot heat up chicken stock until boiling, reduce heat to low. In a separate pot fry shallots in Olive Oil for about 2-3 minutes on medium heat, add arborio rice, stir and deglaze with white wine. Let cook for a minute or so. 

3. Now it is time to add chicken stock. The key is to keep the stock warm/hot. Add just enough chicken stock to cover the rice and let it cook until all stock is absorbed, then add more chicken stock again just enough to cover the rice, repeat until rice is almost done. Stir occasionally. Taste for salt. With low sodium chicken stock I had to add some salt with regular I did not. 

4. Once rice is almost cooked add peas, stir, cover with a lid and turn the heat off. Let stand for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes add cold butter to hold it together and stir. Risotto is ready to be served. 

5. To plate put risotto on a plate, add shiitake mushrooms on top and garnish with shaved fresh asparagus. If wanted, sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Enjoy!