Smothered Pork Tenderloin

This is one of my favorite roast pork dishes. The tenderloin is lean and juicy and together with the veggies it is very healthy and satisfying. There is an art to cooking pork - some cuts need to be cooked in dry heat quickly, others are best low and slow or smoked. This is quick and easy and delicious - just be careful not to overcook!

Smothered Pork Tenderloin
1 pork tenderloin - 1-1/2 to 2 lbs
1 large sweet onion, sliced thin
1 large fennel bulb, sliced thin
2 tart apples, unpeeled and sliced thin
1/2 cup fat free chicken broth
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 pinches dried thyme
fresh ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 F. In a non-stick skillet, heat canola oil and saute onions and fennel on stove until golden and tender. Reduce heat and add apples and chicken broth, cooking for about five minutes until apples begin to soften. Mix in thyme and salt and place on the bottom of a shallow baking dish. Grind pepper over pork and place uncovered on top of veggies. Be sure to use a meat thermometer stuck straight in the center of the tenderloin. Cook until meat reaches internal temperature of 150 F. This could take anywhere from 20-45 minutes depending on the weight of your tenderloin. When done, remove dish from the oven and cover top of tenderloin snugly with foil, allowing the bottom uncovered to let the juices mingle with the veggies. Let sit until pork reaches 155 to 160. Remove pork and slice. Add balsamic vinegar to veggies and mix. Serve pork on top of veggies and garnish with leftover fennel fronds.

Dolmas

Every time my girls and I go to the Strip District in Pittsburgh, we stop at Labad's Middle Eastern Grocery. Here we find all sorts of yummy ingredients. For my daughter Zoë, this is the place to stock up on grape leaves. You can also find some somewhat-fresh stuffed grape leaves at our local grocery, but I have been wanting to give my Grandma Harvey's recipe a try. Actually, she had two recipes - one with rice and one without. One of her recipes is only a list of ingredients, and the other has some instructions. So I mushed them together a bit and made this from the combination of both.

Dolmas
1 jar of grape leaves, rinsed
1/2 pound ground lamb
1/2 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon parsley
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
fresh ground black pepper
juice of two lemons
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Remove grape leaves from jar and rinse. Place them in a pot of boiling water for one minute, and then remove and put in cold water. When they have cooled, drain the water. Combine meat with carrots, rice, tomato paste, and seasonings. When ready to roll, place one teaspoon of the meat mixture on the back of one grape leaf and roll tightly. When the meat is gone and all leaves are rolled, place the remaining whole and broken leaves at the bottom of a heavy pot. Layer the stuffed grape leaves in snugly in the pot, making two or three layers as needed. Place a heatproof dish on top of the leaves to hold them down and then pour water in the pot to just cover the dish. Bake in the oven at 350 F for one hour. When cooled, drizzle leaves with lemon juice and olive oil. Serve warm or cold.

Sweet Heat Garlic Wings

Game time is here, and I threw all caution aside to create something perfect for the Super Bowl. Tomorrow it's back to healthy eating and Meatless Monday, but today I will be watching and munching, cheering on the team. Enjoy!

Sweet Heat Garlic Wings

4 lbs chicken wings

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup Sriracha

2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic

1 teaspoon salt

pepper to taste

Bake wings on a flat baking pan at 450 F until golden, flipping once. (You can also deep fry the wings for extra crunch). While baking, melt butter in a small saucepan. Add garlic and saute until fragrant. Then add remaining ingredients. When wings are done (about 20 minutes each side), toss gently in wing sauce. Season with fresh ground black pepper.