Black Truffle Pork Roast

This is another new balsamic we got in. Black Truffle!

I know how well truffles go with cheesy sauces so I served this up with some Alfredo noodles, because I love how a good meal comes together!

Truffle Pork Roast 

1 pork loin, 2 1/2lbs
1 tsp Oregano
2 tbsp Black Truffle Balsamic + 1 tsp
1 tbsp Rosemary Olive Oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400°. Line a casserole dish with foil.

Mix the balsamic, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper together. Rub the pork loin with the olive oil and spread the balsamic mixture on top.

Roast 30 minutes. Brush on the remaining balsamic. Roast an additional 25-30 minutes.


Veggie Alfredo

1 lb pasta, cooked and set aside
1/4 cup butter
1 tbsp Garlic Olive Oil
1/3 cup flour
2 1/2 cups milk
2 cups soft shredded cheese (mozzarella is great)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup hard shredded cheese (cheddar or Asiago)
1-2 cups frozen mixed veggies, thawed

In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter. Add the oil and flour, whisking until smooth. Cook until fully incorporated. Slowly whisk in the milk, making sure that everything is smooth. Cook on medium high heat about 2 minutes or until thickened.

Sprinkle in the shredded cheeses and stir until mostly melted. Spoon in the sour cream and stir until incorporated.

In a large pan, combine the noodles with the sauce and veggies. Cook until the veggies are warm all the way through. Serve.

Red Apple Pork Chops

I enjoyed this recipe very much. Another quick and easy one for you. The leftovers made a great salad. I'll have that for you in a couple days.

Stay warm everyone and Happy Valentine's Day!

Red Apple Pork Chops

4-8 pork chops
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp Rosemary Olive Oil
2 tbsp Red Apple Balsamic + 1 tbsp for finishing

Preheat the oven to 350°. Rub the chops down with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and sprinkle lightly with the salt and pepper.

Bake. Thicker chops up to 40 minutes, thinner maybe 20. I cooked mine about 30 minutes.

Drizzle with the extra balsamic and serve.

Roasted Rosemary Potaotes

I threw these potatoes together to go along with some pork chops the other day. Unfortunately, they got eaten before pictures were taken. I did remember to grab a shot of the potatoes. Yay!

These were nice and easy. The perfect weeknight side. Although, they were so good, I may make a mass of these with a cool dipping sauce and maybe some melted cheese for an appetizer. Or, just as dinner. That works for me.

Switch up the olive oils how you like it. I was making Rosemary Pork Chops, so the Rosemary Olive Oil was perfect for these.

Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

2 lbs small potatoes
Marsala Rosemary Sea Salt, good sprinkle
2 tbsp Rosemary Olive Oil

Preheat the oven to 400°.

Dice the potatoes and toss with the olive oil to coat. Spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet and give it all a sprinkle of Marsala Rosemary Sea Salt.

Roast for 30 minutes to an hour. The longer you cook them, the crispier they will get.

Cranberry Rolls Update

So these rolls were supposed to be fluffy and light. I got thick and dense. What happened?!

I rushed around too much and forgot to put in the applesauce. Completely forgot! And not only that, I forgot to put in the cranberries too. Clearly I think I needed more sleep.

Not to mention that I used a 1/4 cup measuring scoop to measure out the sugar. (except it was actually a 1/3 cup scoop) So they turned out a bunch sweeter than they should have been.

You would think that for all that, they would have turned out terrible. You would be wrong.

Somehow I managed to turn a messed up recipe and turn bad rolls into scones!

So, the new recipe is here.

Sweet Rosemary Scones with Cranberry Butter

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 cup flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp fine salt
3 tbsp fresh minced rosemary
10 tbsp COLD Rosemary Olive Oil
3/4 cup favorite non-dairy milk, unsweetened

Combine the vinegar and the milk together in a small bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients together. Using a fork, cut in the cold olive oil until the dough is a crumbly texture.

Make a well in the center and pour in the milk. Stir until just combined. Flour a surface and turn out the dough. Lightly flour the top and fold the dough over itself 4-5 times. Pat it down to about 1/2 inch thick and cut it into any shape you like. I used a biscuit cutter, but scones can be any shape you want them to be.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Grease a baking sheet and bake for 16-18 minutes.

Cranberry Butter

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup cranberry sauce
   

Mix the butter together with the cranberry sauce and refrigerate until it hardens.

I used some extra cranberry sauce from my Cranberry Fool. It was delicious.

Slow Cooker Pork Sandwiches

Oh yum. I forgot to put the cheese on my sandwich, but never missed it. Go for it if you want!

Slow Cooked Pork

1 pork shoulder 3-4 lbs

1-2 onions

1 tbsp Rosemary Olive Oil per pound

1 tsp flaky salt (like our Greek)

1/2 cup white wine, optional

Slice the onions medium thick in rings. Rub the salt and olive oil all over the roast. Place it in the slow cooker and top with the onions. Add the wine, if you are using it. Cook on high for 4 1/2 hours. Any longer and it will be pulled pork. You want to be able to slice this. It will still fall apart, but not quite that much. More like pot roast.

If you do not have a slow cooker, preheat the oven to 325 degrees and put it in a large dutch oven for 3 hours.

Sandwiches

Ciabatta bread, sliced in half

1 tbsp stone ground mustard

2-3 roasted red pepper slices

a bit of the onions

2 slices of the pork

2 slices provolone (optional)

Assemble and devour.

Cranberry Rolls with Rosemary

This is a vegan request for Thanksgiving. Vegans need rolls too! And you could also make these just regular rosemary rolls. Just leave out the berries!

Cranberry Rolls with Rosemary

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp fine salt
1-2 tbsp fresh minced rosemary, optional
10 tbsp COLD Rosemary Olive Oil
1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened is better
1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped
3/4 cup favorite non-dairy milk, unsweetened

Combine the vinegar and the milk together in a small bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients together. Using a fork, cut in the cold olive oil until the dough is a crumbly texture.

Make a well in the center and pour in the applesauce and milk mix. Add the cranberries. Stir until just combined. Fold the dough over itself a few times. This helps create a layered texture. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll out the dough until it is about 3/4" thick. Cut into any shape you like.

Grease a baking sheet and bake for 16-18 minutes. DO NOT open the oven for at least 10 minutes. Chilling the dough and starting with cold oil helps these biscuits to rise. Opening the oven before then will undo all that good work and you will have flat muffins.

Gnocchi with Sweet Corn and Arugula

Gnocchi are a strange pasta. Fluffy and kinda cute. I found some nice sweet corn at the farmers market this past weekend and thought this would be fun. Feel free to use frozen corn if that's what you have.

Gnocchi with Sweet Corn and Arugula

1 pkg gnocchi

1 small bunch arugula

2 ears of cooked corn or 1 cup kernels

1 bunch green onions

2 tbsp Rosemary Olive Oil

a few sprigs fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup sour cream

Heat the Rosemary Olive Oil in a large saute pan to medium heat. De-kernel your corn if you have to and toss it into the pan. Stir around and let cook for a minute. 

Slice through the arugula a couple times with a sharp knife and add it to the pan with the corn. Stir it around until it wilts down. 1-2 minutes.

Add in the green onions, sour cream and heavy cream. Stir to combine and cover. Let everything come up to temperature.

While you are making the sauce, cook the gnocchi according to the package directions. Drain and rinse them, but keep them warm.

When the gnocchi are done, add them to the pan with the sauce with the rosemary leaves.

Serve warm.