Category Archives: main dish

Marinated Pork Chops with Fresh Plum Sauce

On my grandparents farm on Long Island, they had a full orchard of fruits trees. I would help my grandfather with tending the orchard from pruning to netting the trees to hanging little wooden snakes to scare off the birds. One of our favorite crops were the italian plums. We would gather the plums and my grandmother would made her close friend Mitzi’s plum cake. This recipe is a wonderful yellow cake that envelopes the plums. It’s easy to make and delicious to eat. We would just feast on those tiny jewel like fruit! I’m also including one of my favorite barbecued pork chops recipes served with a wonderful plum sauce. Hope you enjoy this food as much as we all do here by the bay!
From by the bay wishing you the plummiest of food memories!
Maryann

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Marinated Pork Chops with Fresh Plum Sauce

Serves 4

4 boneless ¾ inch think center cut pork chops

Marinade

¼ cup honey

¼ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

Directions

Place pork chops and all marinade ingredients into a sealed plastic bag and mix well. Place in refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours up to overnight. Remove from marinade and grill pork chops on a hot grill for approximately 8 minutes per side to be well done.

Fresh Plum and Merlot Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons shallots, chopped

6 Italian plums, stoned and chopped

2 tablespoons honey

½ cup merlot wine

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

½ teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil and add shallots, sauté for 2 minutes until soft. Add the plums and simmer for 15 minutes, add honey, wine,  balsamic vinegar and ground ginger and continue to simmer until the liquid is reduced in ½ and thickened. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Serve warm fresh plum sauce on top of the grilled pork chops.

Goat Milk Braised Pork Loin

Goat Milk Braised Pork Loin

This recipe is adapted from a meal I shared at a friend’s home outside of Florence many years ago. It started my love for the herb rosemary. I had never had meat braised in milk before and  as an inexperienced american it seemed odd to me, but it was so delicious. The milk creates a lovely gravy after braising. Over the years I have evolved the recipe by adding onions for another dimension of flavor and by trying goat milk . Although this dish works great with cow’s milk, I find the results with goat milk to be slightly sweeter and makes for a creamier gravy. This is probably a matter of personal preference.  Either way this is recipe that is simple to make and big on taste.

From by the bay, wishing you milky food memories,
Maryann

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Goat Milk Braised Pork Loin

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

3 lb boneless pork loin roast

2 mediume vidalia onions, peeled and thinly sliced

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

2 cups organic goat milk or cow’s milk

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
optional: garnish with gremolata – recipe below

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. In dutch oven heat butter and oil on stove until hot, add the pork loin and brown on all sides. Remove from pan and place to side. In same pot please add the onions and sauté until soft, add back the pork, add rosemary and milk. Cover and place into the oven for two hours, stirring occasionally. Let pork rest slice and serve with onion and milk gravy. Garnish with gremolata.

Gremolata

Ingredients
1/2 cup italian parsley, finely chopped
1 lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Directions
In a bowl add parsley and minced garlic. Into this bowl finely zest the lemon. Add salt and mix. Refrigerate until ready to use. This can be used to compliment veal, pork or fish.

 

Goat Milk Braised Pork Loin

 

This recipe is adapted from a meal I shared at a friend’s home outside of Florence many years ago. It started my love for the herb rosemary. I had never had meat braised in milk before and  as an inexperienced american it seemed odd to me, but it was so delicious. The milk creates a lovely gravy after braising. Over the years I have evolved the recipe by adding onions for another dimension of flavor and by trying goat milk . Although this dish works great with cow’s milk, I find the results with goat milk to be slightly sweeter and makes for a creamier gravy. This is probably a matter of personal preference.  Either way this is recipe that is simple to make and big on taste.

From by the bay, wishing you milky food memories,
Maryann

Goat Milk Braised Pork Loin

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

3 lb boneless pork loin roast

2 mediume vidalia onions, peeled and thinly sliced

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

2 cups organic goat milk or cow’s milk

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
optional: garnish with gremolata – recipe below

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. In dutch oven heat butter and oil on stove until hot, add the pork loin and brown on all sides. Remove from pan and place to side. In same pot please add the onions and sauté until soft, add back the pork, add rosemary and milk. Cover and place into the oven for two hours, stirring occasionally. Let pork rest slice and serve with onion and milk gravy. Garnish with gremolata.

Gremolata

Ingredients
1/2 cup italian parsley, finely chopped
1 lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Directions
In a bowl add parsley and minced garlic. Into this bowl finely zest the lemon. Add salt and mix. Refrigerate until ready to use. This can be used to compliment veal, pork or fish.

One Pan Roast Chicken and Vegetables

I love the holiday season, but with that we are all rushing to get so much done. The days are already filled with work, family and friends. When the holiday season arrives there are the extra activities of shopping for gifts, decorating the house and extra entertaining. So with that I love when I have a recipe that is easy, simple and delicious. This one pan roast chicken and vegetables is just so easy to assemble and it looks and tastes just amazing. My recipe suggests certain vegetables to surround the chicken, but you can easy use other vegetables if you like such as carrots, asparugus, scallions, cauliflower or sliced peppers and onions. If  any of the vegetables seemed to have cooked too quickly, just take them of the pan , cover with foil and put the pan back into the oven to finish roasting. The dish is not only easy to make, it’s all a quick clean up. Especially, if you use a nice non stick pan such as scan pan, it’s about a 1 minute to clean up. So find yourself some extra time for the holiday acitivities with this quick dish.From by the bay wishing you speedy food memories!
Maryann
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One Pan Roast Chicken and Vegetables
Serves 4 
 
Ingredients
1 organic chicken – 3 to 4 pounds
2 thick slices of bread, such as sourdough
2 heads garlic, sliced across the middle
2 bay leaves
6 – 8 shallots peeled
4 ounces brussel sprouts
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and sliced
4 small purple potatoes, sliced
5 strips of thick bacon
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon maple syrup
salt and pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F . Drizzle the bottom of the baking pan with olive oil. Place two slices of bread in pan. Bring chicken to room temperature and season with salt and pepper inside the cavity and outside. Place chicken on top of the bread in the baking pan. Wrap the chicken with bacon, drizzle with maple syrup and top with butter. Add the remaining vegetables around the chicken. Drizzle with remaining olive oil and season with salt  and pepper. Place in the oven and roast chicken until the bacon is crisp and the chicken is 175 degrees F and the juices run clear, approximately 1 1/2 hours. If the vegetables look dry add a little water or white wine. Let chicken rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. Serve with the roasted vegetables and bread from the pan.
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Spiced Pomegranate Molasses Glazed Turkey

 

The leaves are falling, their is a definite chill in the air and it will soon be time to gather loved ones around the table to celebrate Thanksgiving and kick off the holiday season for 2013. I can’t think of a better centerpiece for your Thanksgiving than this spiced pomegranate molasses glazed turkey. One of the most important aspects of making this recipe is in the shopping for the turkey. I suggest first and foremost that it’s fresh and second if possible organic. Preparing a fresh turkey makes a big difference in the end result and I find it’s definitely worth both the cost and the effort. The brining process works best with a turkey that has no additives since the additives often include salt solutions. I have found the a fresh turkey such as Bell and Evans works deliciously. I’ll be posting additional recipes all month so that you have a perfect Thanksgiving meal to share with friends and family when the big day arrives!

 

From by the bay wishing you pomegranate glazed food memories!

Maryann

 

 

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Spiced Pomegranate Molasses Glazed Turkey

1 16-18 lb. turkey, preferably organic

Brine

16 cups cold water, or more to cover turkey

1 cup fine sea salt

1 cup light brown sugar

4 cloves garlic

3 oranges

2 tablespoon black peppercorns

2 onions , peeled and quartered

3 sprigs rosemary

To roast turkey

2 oranges, cut in half

1 pomegranate cut in half

1 bunch rosemary

2 tablespoons fine grey sea salt

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

To baste

8 tablespoon unsalted butter at room temperature

¼ cup pomegranate molasses

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Directions

Prepare brine by combining water, sea salt, sugar and peppercorns. Stir to dissolve the salt and sugar. Then add to the brine the garlic, oranges, onions and rosemary. Clean turkey with cold water removing any giblets and or neck. Keep giblets and neck in the refrigerator to use later for gravy base.  Place turkey and brine into a resealable plastic bag or into a large non reactive bowl covered with plastic wrap. The turkey should be covered with the brine, if not add more water. Refrigerate over night.  The next day remove the turkey 40 minutes before planning to place into the oven. Preheat oven to 425F. Remove turkey from brine and pat dry with paper towels inside and out.  Season the turkey cavity with salt and pepper.  Fill the cavity of the turkey with the oranges, pomegranate and rosemary. Tie turkey legs together and place into roasting pan. In a small sauce pan melt butter, mustard and pomegranate molasses together on a low heat. Use this to baste turkey once before placing into the oven. Roast the turkey at 425F for 30 minutes then lower the oven to 350F.   For an 18lb turkey cooking time will be approximately 3 hours. Use a meat thermometer to check that the meat registers 175F at its thickest part of the thigh. Baste the turkey about every 30 minutes with the butter and syrup mixture. If the turkey browns too quickly tent that part with aluminum foil. When ready remove from the oven. Take turkey from the roasting pan and place on a cutting board to rest before carving, at least 20 minutes. If you are serving later then 20 minutes from removing from oven tent turkey with aluminum foil until ready to serve.

 


Mushroom Stroganoff

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It’s my birthday week. In my family we grew up with lots of little traditions, many of which add a little enchantment to the ordinary. My mother prides herself on making birthdays really special and one of my favorites ways in which she did this was with a special birthday dinner. She would tell us, we could  have anything we wanted to eat for our birthday and then Mom would make it for the family celebration. For years I requested the same dish – beef stroganoff! I have no idea how I even came up with this as my birthday request year after year, but my memories are filled with wonderful birthday celebrations eating spoons of beef stroganoff. My taste have evolved quite a bit since then , but I still love the flavors from that dish and all the memories along with it. Today, I make the dish much lighter than the one mom made years ago – using mushrooms and creme fraiche. I’ve bumped up the flavors with Madeira, paprika and red chili flakes. The result if delicious. So this week, in celebration of my birthday, I’ll be enjoying some of my mushroom stroganoff…….hmm I can’t wait!
From by the bay, wishing you loving food memories!
Maryann
Mushroom Stroganoff
Serves 4
 
Ingredients
1 pound assorted mushrooms cleaned and sliced ( such as cremini, button and shiitake)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small white onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 tablespoons Madeira or dry sherry
8 ounces creme fraiche
1/4 cup chopped parsley
Directions
Heat olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the onions and garlic and saute for a minute or two until the onions starts to soften.  Add the butter to the onion mixture and melt. Add the mushrooms to the pan and cover with a lid. Cook the mushrooms for about 15 minutes, stirring occassionally. Take the lid off and add the paprika, salt, red chili flakes, Madeira and cream fraiche. Stir the mixture and heat for about 5 minutes. Add the parsley and stir. Serve immediately over egg noodles or rice.
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