How To Make Roasted Pork With Autumn Vegetables

Roasted Pork with Autumn Vegetables is a great dish for any time of year, it is sure to impress your guests. Not only is it a fragrant dish, it is appealing to the eye as well. This is due to the bright, vibrant colors of the vegetables. It is a relatively easy dish to prepare as well, requiring minimal preparation. The dish is perfect for holidays and a casual get together, but also as just a family meal.

To begin the dish, you will need a few ingredients:

• Two and a quarter pound boneless pork loin
• Two fennel bulbs
• One small onion
• One tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
• Two tablespoons of fresh sage
• 3/4 teaspoon of both salt and pepper
• One large rutabaga, eight baby carrots
• One bag of Brussels sprouts
• A bunch of baby beets
• 3/4 cup of reduced vegetable broth
• Half a cup of dried white wine
• Two teaspoons of Dijon mustard

Preparation:

The next step is to cut and wash your vegetables. Be sure to cut the onions and the fennel leaving the root side intact, and into 1/4 sections. By leaving the root side, you will be sure to keep them together. This makes the dish more visually appealing. Peel and cut your carrots into 2-3 inch sections. The rest of the vegetables do not need to be cut.

At this point, you want to caramelize the onions and fennel. What this means is to simply sauté them to give them a nice, brown color. This enhances the flavor, and makes them visually appealing. You will not cook them all the way through. To do this, heat some extra virgin olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Place them cut side down in the pan, cook two minutes on one side then flip to the other side. You will hear them sizzling. Once caramelized, remove them from the pan and set them aside.

To prepare the dish for the oven, place the pork loin in the middle of your roasting pan, on top of a wire rack. This is done to allow drippings to collect underneath. Then lay the roasted vegetables evenly, alongside the roast. Next, place the rutabaga, Brussels sprouts, carrots, and beets around the roast in the same manner. Once they are all placed, sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the pork and vegetables. Then sprinkle the sage over the pork in the same manner; some can go over the vegetables as well, but most of the sage should be on the pork.

Finally, it is time to cook the roast. Place it in a preheated, 400 degree oven on a center rack. Bake the roast for approximately 50 minutes. Once the roast is cooked, it should have an internal temperature of 145 degrees. The final step is to make a sauce out of the stock that drips beneath the roast. Carefully remove the pan from the oven, and use tongs or a large fork to move the roast to a platter, and the vegetables to a bowl for serving later.

To make the white wine sauce, place a sauce pan over medium high heat. Take the drippings, which are called a “fond,” and pour them into the sauce pan. Add the vegetable stock, and chardonnay of your choice, along with the two teaspoons of Dijon mustard to the pan with the drippings. Whisk it together while bringing the mixture to a simmer. You will simmer it down, or reduce it for about ten minutes. When finished, it will be about half of the amount you started with. You will want to regularly whisk the mixture while it is simmering to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

To serve your amazing Roasted Pork with Autumn Vegetables, slice the pork and place it on a serving plate, surround it with a bit of each of the vegetables, and ladle some of the white wine sauce over the top of it. Guests will think you slaved for hours, but this simple dish can be your secret! You can end the meal with a cool dessert, leaving your guests satisfied and impressed.

Image: Jolts & Jollies

Read More

Basics Of Cooking Chicken

Chicken is a convenient and inexpensive meal. It is also very delicious. Its versatility has made it one of the most popular food items in the world.

There are a variety of different ways to prepare chicken and we are going to share with you some of our favorites. Below are some guidelines that will help you create an excellent chicken meal.

Safe Food Handling

Handling the chicken should only be done while you are wearing gloves. This will prevent you from getting sick from the bacteria that is present in the chicken. After putting on your gloves, you can then remove the chicken from its package. Make sure that you immediately throw the package from the chicken away. Also make sure that you disinfect all surfaces they chicken has come into contact with once you are done.

Cutting Up The Chicken

When you buy a roasting chicken there is usually neck bones and gizzards in the carcass. Make sure that you locate these and toss them aside. After this has been done, then you can run the chicken under tap water and make sure that it is thoroughly rinsed.

You can now transfer it to your cutting board. Once there, remove the pop up timer, if there is one, and throw it away. Now we are ready to start cutting it into more manageable pieces.

Using a sharp knife, cut down the breast bone of the chicken. This will separate the chicken into halves. Now you can remove the wish bone. After that has been done you can then begin to separate the wings and the drumsticks from the body by cutting through the ball joints. If you want to leave the skin on you can, or you can peel it off at this stage. Next move on to the backbone. Using your knife, cut alongside either side of the backbone and remove it. You can then either toss it out, or save it for chicken stock.

Making A Chicken Marinade

Now we can make a basic marinade. All you will need for this step is a bowl and the ingredients below:

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Red Wine Vinegar
• Onion Powder
• Basil Garlic Powder Or Whole Garlic
• Kosher Salt

Start by placing the olive oil into the bowl and adding the red wine vinegar. Make sure that these two are mixed together well before you add the rest of the ingredients. Stir the mixture together well and then allow it to sit for about 4 hours in the refrigerator.

Making A Chicken Rub

Another thing you can do to kick your chicken up a notch is to make a basic chicken rub. You will need the following ingredients:

• Chili Powder (regular or chipotle)
• Kosher salt
• Black Ground or Cracked Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Power

Add the salt and pepper into the bowl first. If you are using cracked pepper, then make sure that you don’t add too much because cracked pepper is more potent than ground pepper. Using a spoon, mix the other ingredients together. You now have a basic chicken rub.

Baking Chicken

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Now coat the chicken with either the basic chicken rub or the chicken marinade. Cook the chicken for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. After 30 minutes, lower the heat on the oven to 350 degrees and cook for an additional 10-30 minutes. Allow the chicken to rest 5-10 minutes before serving. Internal temperature of the chicken should be at least 180 degrees.

Fried Chicken

To make fried chicken you will need a few ingredients and a deep fryer set to about 300 degrees.

Ingredients

• Chicken
• Buttermilk or Whole Milk
• 1 cup Flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pepper

Place the chicken in the buttermilk or whole milk and allow it to sit for a couple of hours. While it is soaking mix the flour, salt and pepper together in a bowl. After the chicken is done soaking, dredge it through the flour mixture and coat it well. You can then drop the chicken into the deep fryer and cook until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 180 degrees. This can be checked with a poultry or meat thermometer.

Now that you know the basics of cooking chicken, you can build on these recipes and create all kinds of fantastic chicken dishes for you and your family.

Read More

How To Make Honey BBQ Chicken Bacon Dippers

For your next get together, here is a great recipe that will have your guests begging for more. The following will include all the ingredients you need to procure as well as simple cooking directions and a few variations to suit your personal tastes. Read through this simple recipe and make it your own to really show off your cooking skills on your next get together.

First I will explain what items you should pick and how much of each you will need. You should first find some Greek yogurt. You will use 3/4 of a cup in this recipe so buy accordingly. A bottle of any brand of honey barbecue sauce will be the next item you will need. You will only be using about 1/4 of a cup for this recipe. Next you should find a deboned roasted chicken. You will need to shred this up into small pieces. 3 ounces of bacon bits will be added to the mix. A cup of canned or frozen sweet corn will be needed as well. Pick up a red pepper. You will only be using half of it. Make you seed it well and dice it up as fine as possible. Eight ounces of Monterey Jack cheese that is shredded will also be used. Flour tortillas will be the next item on your shopping list. Around ten should suffice. Ranch dressing and sour cream can also be picked up for dipping purposes.

So in short, you will need these ingredients:

• Greek Yogurt
• Honey Barbecue Sauce
• Whole Roasted Chicken
• Bacon Bits
• Sweet Corn
• Red Pepper
• Monterey Jack Cheese
• Tortillas
• Ranch
• Sour Cream

After you have collected all these items it is time to begin. You can start by preparing any items that may not be ready for the recipe. Your roasted chicken should be shredded up and all the bones removed. Half of your red pepper should be seeded and diced up as finely as you can. Shred your monterey jack cheese if you bought it as a block. When all these items are prepared you should be ready to start.

Instructions:

1. Start preheating your oven to a temperature of 425 degrees.
2. Find yourself a cookie sheet and either spray it with cooking spray or use a piece of wax paper to save yourself time later during clean up.
3. Mix up your 3/4 of a cup of Greek yogurt and your 1/4 cup of honey barbecue sauce in a decent sized bowl.
4. You will then mix in your shredded chicken, the 3 ounces of bacon bits, the cup of sweet corn, the half of the red pepper that has been seeded and diced, and the 8 ounces of shredded Monterey jack cheese.
5. After your concoction has been well mixed, spread about 1/3 a cup of it on a tortilla and roll it up inside. With the seam down, place it on your cookie sheet and spray the top of it with cooking spray.
6. Repeat the last step with the tortilla until all of your mixture is gone or you run out of tortillas.
7. Now you are ready to bake. Leave them in the oven for about 8 minutes and flip carefully flip them at this point.
8. Bake for another eight minutes after flipping and you are ready to go. Serve them with the dipping sauce of your choice and enjoy.

There are many changes to this recipe you can make. Instead of using bacon bits, you could prepare and use real bacon to add to the flavor. If you do not like peppers, you can leave this item out or change it to something that suits your tastes better. The Monterey jack cheese can be swapped for another cheese of your choice as well. For dipping sauces, you could try honey mustard or a variety of other things.

Using these ingredients you will have amazing honey barbecue chicken and bacon dippers. They have a lot of flavor and are relatively quick and easy to make. Try to perfect the recipe to your taste and blow away your guests at your next get together or even just your family at the dinner table.

Image: MonekeySee

Read More

How To Make Traditional Tamales

Authentic Tamales are a traditional Mexican dish. Tamales are cooked with masa harina flour, also known as cornmeal dough. This is the same flour that is used for cooking another Mexican fare such as corn tortillas. The tamales are generally cooked inside corn husks, which are then removed before eating the dish. In some Mexican regions, the tamales are cooked in other types of leaves instead of the corn husks.

Tamales can be made with various fillings. Common tamale fillings include pork and beef. However, other variations include chicken, beans, and cheese. The traditional tamale is usually made using meat-based products, such as beef broth and lard. However, you can easily alter the recipe to make it vegetarian-friendly by substituting in veggie-based ingredients such as vegetable stock and vegetable shortening.

Making tamales is rather labor intensive and requires a large investment of time; if you are going to be making tamales, plan on setting aside two days to complete the process. Certain ingredients need to be soaked overnight or cooked for many hours. Leftover tamales can easily be frozen and stored, therefore, if you are already going to the trouble to make this Mexican dish, consider making a larger batch and freezing the leftovers.

Tamale Dough Ingredients:
3 cups masa harina flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup vegetable shortening of lard
2 cups beef broth
Note: You can either buy store bought broth or save the broth from when you cook your meat.

Wrapper Ingredients:
36 Corn Husks, soaked overnight in water

Filling Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds pork loin (or other meat or filling of your choice)
1 large onion, chopped
1 whole head garlic
4 jalapenos
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper and chili powder to taste

Kitchenware Needed:
Large cooking pot or crock pot
Steamer
Large mixing bowl

Instructions:
Fill a large pot with water. Add your meat and the rest of the filling ingredients. Allow the meat to cook on low for at least five hours. You can also use a crock pot to cook the meat. Continue cooking the meat until it is tender and shreds easily. Once the meat has finished cooking it, pull it out of the water and set is aside to cool. Gently shred it apart using a fork.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the tamale dough ingredients together. Take one of the corn husks, and spread the dough mixture evenly around the corn husk, about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch thick. Add a couple of spoonfuls of filling. Spread the filling evenly, then wrap the dough around the filling, securing the filling inside. Continue to repeat this process. Place the tamales in a steamer to cook for about 40 minutes. Allow them to cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Optional Extra: Traditional Mexican Salsa

Ingredients Needed:
4 jalapeno peppers
1 medium onion
1 garlic clove
2 cans whole tomatoes, drained
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Kitchenware Needed:
Blender
Skillet

Instructions:
Place the jalapenos, tomatoes, and cilantro in a blender and set to pulse. Finely chop one medium sized onion and a clove of garlic. Cook the onion and garlic in a skillet. When the onions just begin to cook, add in the tomato mix from the blender. Stir everything together. Add salt and pepper to taste and other-other spices you desire. Set the heat to low and let cook for approximately 15 minutes. If your salsa is too spicy, add a dash of lemon juice to make it slightly milder.

Tamales can stand alone as a dish by themselves, or they can be served alongside other traditional Mexican fare. Other possible side items to pair up with this dish include Pozole soup, or if you want to keep it simple, a basic Spanish rice refried or black beans. You may also considering serving your tamales with some type of dip or sauce; salsa, guacamole, red chili sauce and cilantro tomato sauces are all good choices.

Once you feel confident in your tamale making skills, start branching out and experimenting with other tamale based dishes, such as Mexican tamale pies or tamale casseroles.

Image: Everydaysouthwest

Read More