Jamaican Jerk Pork Tenderloin

This is a delicious, fiery marinade. Now that the weather is warming up, time to fire up the grill! I originally made this in November of 2004: almost 14 years ago! I’m going through some recipe binders now and pulling out some old favorites.

Process in a blender or food processor until smooth:

2 cups coarsely chopped green onions
1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion
2 Tb white vinegar
1 Tb soy sauce
1 Tb vegetable oil
pinch of kosher salt
2 tsp fresh thyme
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp peeled chopped ginger
1 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp cinnamon
2 minced garlic cloves
1-4 scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, seeded and chopped

1 1/2lb pork tenderloin, trimmed
Slice pork lengthwise, cutting to but not through the other side. Open flat and marinate in a dish or bag refrigerated 3-24 hours. Discard remaining marinade, grill 8 minutes on each side or until meat thermometer reaches 160 (slightly pink).

Try serving with Trader Joe’s chimichurri rice.

Cilantro Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce and Cucumber Slaw

I made these to have with other apps/for lunch with family in Maine. 
These are fresh and yummy but messy like eating a taco. A "deconstructed" version was served to dad. 

Ingredients: 
3/4 cup sushi rice 

small bunch of cilantro
1/2 english cucumber 
1 shallot 
1 Thai chili
1 head Boston lettuce 

Buy a premade slaw mix?
1/4 cup shredded green cabbage
1/4 cup shredded red cabbage

1 TB fish sauce 
12 oz ground chicken
3 TB rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce (low sodium) 
canola oil 
salt & pepper
small covered pot to cook rice 
nonstick skillet to cook chicken patties
small bowl to make peanut sauce
medium bowl to make slaw 
serving platter or plates

Cook the rice: bring 1 1/4 cups water and 1/4 tsp salt to a boil, add rice, bring to a boil, stir once and lower heat to low, covered, 12 minutes. Leave covered another 10 minutes, off the heat. Fluff rice with a fork then cover again to keep warm. 

Cilantro: separate leaves from stems and chop both. 

Cucumber: quarter lengthwise then thinly slice crosswise. 

Shallot: peel and mince, divide in two. 

Thai chili: thinly slice and chop, removing seeds, divide in two.  

Separate the Boston lettuce and place large leaves on serving platter. 

Mix and form patties: 

In a medium bowl, combine fish sauce, cilantro stems, half of shallot, half of Thai chili, 1/2 tsp salt, and dash of pepper. Add chicken, mix and form into small patties. This part is messy so I found it good to put them right in the pan greased with Tb oil to cook right away. Brown on both sides, 6-8 minutes total. 

Mix the slaw: remaining shallot, Thai chili, half of rice wine vinegar, 1 Tb canola oil, and 1/4 tsp salt to combine. Add cabages. 

Make sauce: in a small bowl or cup, mix peanut butter, soy sauce and remaining rice wine vinegar to combine. 

Finish rice: Wet hands and scoop up rice, forming into patties and place on lettuce leaves. The rice is very sticky so you will need to rinse your hands often (do this next to the sink). 

Plate lettuce wraps: 

Layer lettuce wraps with sticky rice, chicken patties, drizzle over peanut sauce. Top with desired amount of slaw, a little more peanut sauce and garnish with cilantro leaves. 

 

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Bake 2 sweet potatoes at 425 for 45 minutes.
Meanwhile in a small saucepan bring to a boil
2 Tb butter
2 Tb maple syrup
1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
Optionally add 1/2 tsp orange zest.
When the potatoes are done, carefully peel them while hot and put them through a potato ricer into the syrup, stir, salt & lightly pepper. They’re delicious!

Taster approved with roast chicken dinner. Roast the bird while you bake the potatoes!

Chocolate Cheesecake Strawberries

These are a pop-in-your-mouth incredible treat!

Start with the best strawberries you can find. I actually started out with a 2lb container that I bought because they smelled so fragrant and looked so good, I later found a recipe for strawberries.
Never before have I dipped them in chocolate and it was so easy! I used Ghiradelli milk chocolate, the small bowl over a small simmering pot method.

First, wash the strawberries so they can dry on paper towels and make the cheesecake filling:

8 oz softened cream cheese
1 Tb sour cream
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

I mixed with the whisk attachment in the stand mixer. Put filling into a piping bag fitted with a fancy tip or in a zip baggy you can snip the corner off.
Hollow out strawberries and squeeze filling into them, covering your cut edges.

Sprinkle crushed graham crackers over. Try to just get the cream cheese part. Do this over wax paper or the sink for easy cleanup. During this process you’ll find working near the sink handy or a wet towel because your hands will need to be rinsed every so often.
Next, pop a blueberry in the top for a little extra flavor boost. I microwaved a scoop of seedless black raspberry jam for 30 seconds (becomes liquid) and mixed the berries into that.

Finally, have a sheet ready, lined with wax paper, that will fit into the fridge for chilling.

Dip the strawberries in chocolate. This part is tedious, I tried a few different ways and truly the best was to just dunk them in. A small spatula helps take off excess.

Chill in the fridge for an hour to set before party time!

Lemon Bread

Dense and delicious, the perfect bread to have with tea! Very lemony. Don’t go overboard on the glazed topping, a light drizzle is all you need. 

In a medium bowl combine: 

1 1/2 cup flour

1 3.4oz package vanilla instant pudding 

1/2 tsp each baking powder, baking soda and salt

In a mixer, blend: 

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 Tb softened butter

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp lemon extract

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup oil

3/4 cup Greek yogurt (plain, vanilla or lemon)

Zest of one lemon

Once blended, gradually add the dry ingredients. Pour into a 5x9 loaf pan lined with parchment (it will stick to the sides whatever you use) or 3 smaller pans.

Bake at 350 for 55 minutes. 

Let cool slightly then frost:

Mix 3 Tbs soft butter

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 Tb lemon juice

1 tsp lemon extract 

Refrigerate to set frosting and enjoy!

Apple Pie Bars

These are, dare I say, better than apple pie! Very simple to make and easy to eat. All you need is:

400 degree oven, 9x13 dish (I lined mine with foil for easy cleanup)

Roll out pie dough using flour so it doesn’t stick and line the pan. I cut off the sides and added to the ends to go from circle to rectangle. Crimp the sides. Basically this shell will bake as is.
For filling:
3 large apples, peeled and chopped. Put these in a large bowl and toss with 1/2 squeezed lemon (optional). Add 2/3 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup flour and apple pie spice. I just used a large dash of cinnamon, some ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Pour over crust and top with 2 tablespoons of bits of butter. Bake for 40 minutes until nice and brown, checking after 30 to make sure it’s not burning.

Taster approved!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Made this from a Home Chef meal kit, it was so good I’d make it again! And next time try a chocolate ganache topping like we had on the pumpkin cheesecake at Thanksgiving.

8oz bar of cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick (2oz) butter, melted
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
8” pie dish
4oz Greek yogurt
3fl oz liquid egg (2 large eggs minus 1Tb or 6Tb)
3oz light brown sugar (6Tb)
2oz canned pumpkin
1 Tb pumpkin pie spice (4 parts cinnamon, 2 ginger, 1 cloves, 1/2 nutmeg)

Combine graham crumbs and butter, spread into baking dish using a cup (a measuring glass used to melt the butter) to press down and push up the sides a bit. Place dish in fridge to chill while making the filling.
Preheat oven to 350.
Using a blender or food processor, combine the remaining ingredients, adding a pinch of salt. Blend on high until smooth and light, 2-4 minutes.
Pour batter into crust and bake 25-35 minutes. Let cool 30 minutes then refrigerate 2 hours. We didn’t wait and it was yummy warm! Taster approved.