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 Salad

As promised, here is the salad made with the leftovers of the Red Apple Pork. They were fun as chops, but this was even better. Next time I make pork chops, I'm making extra just for salad!

Red Apple Pork Salad

2 pork chops, cooked
1 red apple
1/2 medium head of cabbage
1 orange pepper
1 green pepper
1/2 red pepper
sesame seeds
3 tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil
2 tbsp Red Apple Balsamic

Slice everything into thin strips. You can substitute a bag of coleslaw mix for the cabbage. Put the whole thing in a large bowl and drizzle with the oil and balsamic. Toss to coat and give it a generous sprinkling of sesame seeds.

I think it's even better a little warm. Just pop your serving in the microwave for 30-40 seconds.

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.

Sesame Pork with Leeks

So I've had this bunch of leeks in my fridge for about a week. They were starting to look sad and shrivel-y so I really had to use them quickly. Then yesterday when I went shopping, pork loin was on sale! A match made in heaven. I got right home and cooking!

If you have no leeks, add in extra onions. Red onion, yellow onion, green onion bunches... leeks are related. It's all good. If you have no pork....also works with chicken.

Sesame Pork with Leeks

1 pork loin, 2 lb
1 large bunch of leeks
     or a little bit of leeks and a small onion
1 tbsp garlic paste
2 tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil
2 tbsp, plus 1 tbsp White Honey Ginger Balsamic
Sesame Seeds
2 chilies, seeded and diced
1 bunch parsley, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400°. Place the pork roast in a non-stick pan and rub down with 2 tbsp Honey Ginger Balsamic and garlic paste. Roast, uncovered for 35-40 minutes. Let cool.

Slice the leeks thinly white parts and non woody green bits, and the onion if you are using. Heat a large pan to medium heat and add in the leeks and the Toasted Sesame Oil. Saute slowly until the leeks are soft and fragrant stirring occasionally.

Dice the pork roast and add it to the pan. Raise the heat to medium high and saute, stirring often. Add in the chilies and the parsley. Cook until everything is warmed through and the parsley is well wilted.

Now add the remaining tablespoon of White Honey Ginger Balsamic and serve. Top with sesame seeds.

Brown Sugar Balsamic Pork Roast

This roast was just something fun so we could have leftovers that weren't turkey. Turned out so great, my grandfather didn't have any turkey in the first place!

The would work just as well with a boneless roast, but I think the bones add a bit more flavor. And they fall right off anyway. If you can't find apple soda, go ahead with some apple juice. But I think the juice is a bit sweeter.

Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Balsamic Pork Roast

1 2lb bone-in pork roast
1/2 cup applesauce
1 can apple soda
1/4 cup Red Apple Balsamic
2 medium onions
1/4 cup brown sugar

Quarter the onions and toss them into the slow cooker. Put the roast on top, fatty side down. Pour the apple soda over the top.

Cook on medium heat for 6-8 hours.

Add the applesauce, balsamic and the brown sugar to a small saucepan and bring it to a medium low heat. Stir often until the sugar is dissolved. It should only take a couple minutes. The mixture should be thick and a bit sticky.

Remove the roast from the crock pot. Mine was falling apart, so I did it in sections. Peel out the bones if your roast has them. Spread with the balsamic sauce and serve with extra on the side. Tent with foil until you are ready to serve.

Pork Loin with Jerk Seasoning and Pan Sauce

I told you another pork loin was coming. Here it is! I went a little spicy with this, but the heat really cooks off and blends with the sauce. Besides, it's only a little spice.

I like the sauce right over top, but if you make a sandwich, it would make an awesome dipping sauce too.

Pork Loin with Jerk Seasoning and Pan Sauce

1 tbsp Chipotle Olive Oil
2 tbsp Jerk Blend Spices
2 lbs pork loin
1/2 cup Fig Preserves
1 tsp minced garlic

Preheat your oven to 375degrees.

Spread the oil over the roast and sprinkle on the jerk spices. Pat them do to make sure they stick.  Place in a deep sided pan and roast for about 40-50 minutes. A thermometer inserted in the thickest part should read 145degrees.

Remove the roast from the pan and let rest, covered in foil for at least ten minutes.

Drain the juices from the pan into a large bowl. Add the garlic and the Fig Preserves. Whisk until you get an even consistency.

Serve.

Honey Sesame Pork

Sometimes olive oil just isn't what you need. This Asian-inspired dish really needs the toasty flavor of sesame oil. It is a good thing that it mixed so well with the flavors of our Honey Date Balsamic, or this would be a recipe for another blog!

Honey Sesame Pork

1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp Honey Date Balsamic
1/4 cup vegetable stock
1 lb pork, sausage or ground
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
sesame seeds

Brown the pork in the sesame oil. Add in the vegetable stock and simmer, covered about 8-10 minutes. The liquid should be reduced and the pork should be cooked through.

Add in the Honey Date Balsamic, and the red pepper flakes and stir to coat. Use salt and pepper sparingly, if desired.

Cook for 2-4 minutes to let the Balsamic caramelize on the pork. Shake sesame seeds over the pan. You want a generous amount on there.

Serve hot. With rice or udon noodles.

Pork Steaks and Fennel

The recipe is measured for one serving. Mostly because my husband gave me a funny look when I told him we were having fennel for dinner.

So he's having a frozen pizza. And I'm having tasty, tasty fennel. And pork steak! You can scale up the recipe with ease from here. If you don't have the Southwest Seasoning Blend, come see me at the store! Or just use a spicy oil, like the Chipotle.

But seriously, come see me at the store. This weekend is supposed to be beautiful!

Pork Steaks with Fennel

1 sirloin cut pork steak
1 large fennel bulb, cut into wedges
1 tbsp Southwest Seasoning Blend
1 tbsp Spanish Oil
1/2 cup vegetable stock, low sodium

Heat the oil to medium-high heat in a nice heavy bottomed pan. Rinse your pork steak and pat dry. Rub about 3/4 of the seasoning blend all over the pork and place it in the pan. Add in the fennel slices and sprinkle the rest of the seasoning blend over them.

Brown everything quickly, say a minute on each side, fennel too.

Now it is time for the vegetable stock. Gently pour the stock in the pan. Cover and reduce the heat to medium. Let it cook for about 10 minutes, flipping everything once.

I suppose that this is technically braising. I just cook things, I don't try to define them.

Ham with Honey Date Balsamic Glaze

Definitely not vegan. There is just no way to modify this one. That's what the squash dishes are for!

Ham with Honey Date Balsamic

This all depends on what size ham you have and if it is a pre-cooked or not. I got a pretty small 6 lb ham that was full cooked. If yours is not fully cooked, please follow the cooking directions on the package.

Remove your ham from the fridge so it comes to room temperature before you cook it. Preheat your oven to 320degrees. The estimate for cooking is 15-20 minutes per pound.

For my ham, I am rubbing about 1 tbsp of dry mustard powder over the ham and brushing the Honey Date Balsamic all over it.

It takes about an hour and 30 minutes to bake, brush more Honey Date on every 15 minutes.

The last 5 minutes are very important. (If you have a bigger ham, you might want to make this the last 10 minutes) Turn the heat up to 400degrees to caramelize the Balsamic.

I am warming up some more balsamic to serve on the side.

Pomegranate Chipotle Pork

While my mom's favorite combination is the Chipotle Olive Oil with the Mango Balsamic, I prefer the Chipotle mixed with the Pomegranate.

My sister-in-law sold Pampered Chef for a long time and my favorite of their products was the pomegranate chipotle sauce. It was smoky and sweet and something I would hoard away for special occasions that never seemed to come up. At twelve dollars for about 8 ounces, it was so hard to justify using it on things. And then, they stopped making it!

So now, I make my own-ish. It works out to much less cost per serving and is still just as good.

Pomegranate Chipotle Pork

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp Chipotle Olive Oil
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp Pomegranate Balsamic
Salt and pepper
3 clove garlic, sliced
1 pork roast 2 1/2 pounds is a great size
Garlic Mashed Potatoes (recipe follows)

Heat your oven to 350degrees.

Place your roast in a roasting pan and cut slits in it. Then slide the garlic slices inside. Rub first with the Balsamic, then the Oil, making sure to get everything. Try to get some inside the slits with the garlic too.

Ahem, now go wash your greasy, spicy hands.

Place the roast in the oven and cook for about an hour. Flip it and cook for another hour.

Remove from the oven and let rest for about 15 minutes before serving.

Slice and drizzle with additional Chipotle and Pomegranate.



Basic Garlic Mashed Potatoes

1 box garlic mashed potatoes, sub in Garlic Olive Oil for 1/2 the butter

or, use Alton Brown's recipe. He's the best.

Cinnamon Pear Pork Chops

Oven Baked Cinnamon Pear Pork Chops

1 pkg thick cut pork chops
1/2 cup smooth applesauce
4 tbsp Cinnamon Pear Balsamic
2 tbsp Olive Oil, I used our House Blend
Salt and Pepper

Heat your oven to 425degrees.

Heat the olive oil to medium high heat in an oven safe pan. Season your pork chops with salt and pepper. Add the chops to the pan and cook about 4 minutes per side.

Mix the applesauce with the Cinnamon Pear Balsamic until smooth. Spoon over the pork chops and place in your preheated oven.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

Serve with veggies and stuffing.

Fall here we come!