Pork Tenderloin with Agrodolce Fennel Sauce

By now you’ve probably figured out that 90% of my marinades use orange juice. What can I say? I’m a Cuban from Florida. Orange juice runs through my veins. It also makes the most delicious meat. For today’s recipe, I marinated a pork tenderloin in orange juice and soy sauce using one my favorite time-saving tricks. As soon as you bring your tenderloin home, place it in a seal-able plastic bag with soy sauce and juice and peel of a navel orange. Poof! Perfectly marinated meat as soon as it thaws. Works great with chicken, beef and pork. I’ve also poured a half a beer in when marinating skirt steak – delicious!

I cooked up the tenderloin in the usual way – seared then finished in a very hot oven. Meanwhile, I made a fennel agrodolce sauce to go with it. Agrodolce means “sour and sweet” and is an Italian sauce usually made by cooking onions with vinegar and sugar. I had some farm-fresh fennel that I knew would be great with the pork, so that went in, too. The onions and fennel are sauteed in butter and reduced with balsamic vinegar and sugar.

Agrodolce sauce is a great way to dress up pork tenderloin. If you’ve never tried it, I think you should. It’s sweet and tangy and adds just the right amount of flavor to an otherwise dull tenderloin.

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Grilled Polenta with Shiitakes, Onions & Gorgonzola

I’m always on the hunt for easy, delicious appetizers that can be made in advance. Not really because I’m constantly throwing dinner parties or catering events. Mostly, because I love to eat tapas-style. Lots of little dishes, snacks and treats. Lots different flavors. Lots of sips of wine. Our dinner Saturday night consisted of: Truffle Pate, Gruyere cheese with jam and crackers, garlic-marinated fresh anchovies (boquerones), these polenta rounds and a nice bottle of Casa Lapostolle Cuvee Alexandre Merlot. (We visited this vineyard in Chile – wonderful!)

Though everything was great, these polenta rounds really stole the show. I cheated and used the polenta in a tube to save some time, but brushed it with olive oil and grilled to get those nice char lines and enhance their flavor. On top went red onions and shiitake mushrooms that I sauteed in butter and Gorgonzola cheese. Ran them under the broiler for a few minutes, then drizzled with balsamic syrup. They were just incredible. The mushrooms were almost meaty, the onions sweet, the cheese sufficiently funky and the balsamic syrupy and tart. A very successful appetizer and definitely a keeper.

Just a reminder, Friday’s the last day to vote for me on Saveur’s Best Food Blog Awards! Get on over there and vote! Please and Thank you.

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Re-post: Chickpea & Bread Soup

I know, I know. It’s cheating to re-post an old recipe, but it’s just the right time for chickpea and bread soup. You see, for us Catholics it’s still Lent. And any good Catholic school girl knows that you shouldn’t eat meat on Fridays during Lent. And I honestly could care less about being meatless as long as I can have soup that’s as good as this. It’s kind of like French Onion soup, but the toasted chickpeas give it a slightly nutty flavor and make it more of a meal. Just perfect for Holy Week next week and pretty much any other time. Still one of my favorites!

Original Post

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Caramelized Onion & Shiitake Pasta

This is one of those weeknight meals that I’m always a little hesitant about posting. Caramelized onion and mushroom pasta – isn’t that too easy? Are people going to roll their eyes at this? They might. Yes, it’s a very simple recipe, but everyone needs simple recipes to add to the weeknight repertoire, so I’m posting it anyway.

This pasta is just easy enough to make after work, but still interesting enough to make a Tuesday a little more exciting. It starts off with some onions caramelized in butter. Once they start to melt into sweet deliciousness, add some shiitake mushrooms and cook until everything browns and melts together. To brighten it up, make a quick pesto-like sauce with Italian Parsley, olive oil and lemon juice.

Toss some pasta with the mushrooms and onions, top with some parsley pesto and dust with Parmesan cheese. The pasta gets a nice, deep brown flavor from the shiitakes and an herby lift from the parsley. It’s a really simple, really delicious dish any night of the week.

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Poached Egg over Polenta with Truffled Breadcrumbs

I’ve always loved a good brunch. But a good brunch isn’t as ubiquitous in Miami as it was in NYC, so instead of getting all dressed up, fighting traffic and paying for cold, buffet-style Eggs Benedict, I’ve resorted to making my own. It’s not as easy, but I can wear my PJ’s and glasses, and there’s no sign stating that shoes are required. In fact, shoes are strongly discouraged at our place. It’s much more fashionable to wear no shoes at all. (Hey, it’s warm here. We can do that!)

Anyway, back to brunch. Is there anything better than a poached egg over polenta? I think not. Southerners have it right with their eggs and grits. This is just a fancy pants version with sauteed onions and fresh breadcrumbs toasted in truffle oil. Yes, you read correctly. Truffled breadcrumbs. My new favorite food.

And this dish is my new favorite brunch. Creamy polenta and drippy yolk contrast perfectly with the slightly sweet sauteed onions, and truffly toasted breadcrumbs. If i had all the money in the world, I would have topped it off with shaved truffles. Sadly, there were no truffles lying around my apartment.

If you’ve never had poached eggs and polenta, you haven’t lived. Make them for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Bonus points for truffled breadcrumbs, but delicious either way.

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Spanish-Style Tuna Salad with Piquillos & Onions

I am a bad, bad blogger. I haven’t posted a thing in two weeks! Apologies, but I was celebrating Christmas with my family by roasting a whole pig in our backyard on Christmas Eve. Then it was up to Michigan for 10 days of snow, cold weather and a whole lot of cookies and libations. It was great to see the snow and snuggle under a pile of blankets, but I was very happy to don my flip flops the second I got home. Now I’m back and I’m ready to cook up a storm!

Since it’s a new year, I’m sure there’s no shortage of new resolutions to eat better. Since I don’t really do diets, this means eating healthier and hitting the gym more often. But healthier doesn’t mean diet food, and it definitely doesn’t mean boring food. For me, it means Spanish-style tuna salad. More veggies, no mayo.

Start with imported Spanish tuna packed in tomato sauce. If you can’t find it at your local grocery store, opt for some sold-pack tuna in olive oil. Saute some onions, add some chopped piquillo peppers (or roasted red peppers if you can’t find piquillo), sherry vinegar and a pinch of salt and you’ve got a tangy and delicious tuna salad. Eat it with whole wheat crackers, on a salad, in a sandwich, or wrapped in some whole wheat flatbread with lots of leafy greens.

Either way, it’s a great alternative to the traditional tuna that will make you feel great about starting the new year right.

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Goat Cheese Tartlets, 5 Ways

Photo Credit: Agustin Sanchez

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Awhile back, the Ile de France cheese company sent me a free wheel of Camembert cheese to blog about. Since one would be insane to turn down free cheese, I accepted and made roasted fig, prosciutto and camembert “sushi” drizzled with honey. Nothing better than creamy cheese, fruit, cured meat and honey. Nothing.

I guess it was a success because Ile de France sent me some more free cheese. This time, a large piece of goat cheese and the chance to submit my recipe for a chance to win $1,000! Free cheese and a chance to win some cash? Yes please. So, I invited my photographer friend and co-worker Augi and his wife Meli (one of my homeys from high school) over for goat cheese tartlets.

Photo Credit: Agustin Sanchez

I made a simple tart crust, which I stuffed into mini-muffin tins for appetizer-sized tartlets. Because I couldn’t decide on just one filling, I made five. And it can’t hurt my chances in this contest, right? Here were the 5 finalists:

• Cracked Pepper Smoked Salmon & Dill (my favorite, I think) – #4 in photo above
• Dried Apricot, Almond and Honey (Tom’s favorite) – #1 in photo above
• Roasted Fig – #3 in photo above
• Cardamom and Mustard Seed-spiked Butternut Squash – sadly, not pictured
• Caramelized Onion & Pear (my second favorite) – #2 & #5 in photo above

The point here is that you can have fun with the fillings and the possibilities are endless. Each were tasty little bites and my guest photographer snapped away while I cooked and sipped from a Red Hook ESB. A perfectly relaxing Sunday afternoon.

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Cuban Comfort Food: Ropa Vieja

Ropa Vieja can always make you feel better. Especially if you scoop it straight from the pot with a crisp soda cracker or crusty piece of Cuban bread while no one is looking. It’s warm and meaty and you can sop it up with bread, which places it firmly in the Comfort Food category. Just like her Arroz con Pollo, my mom’s Ropa Vieja is the best I’ve ever tasted. It’s still the dish she makes for my brother when he’s home, and the dish for which I’ll forever steal the leftovers.

Ropa Vieja literally translates out to “Old Clothes”. Doesn’t sound very appetizing, does it? But nothing is better than shredded flank steak stewed with peppers, garlic, tomato, tons of onions and ladled over white rice. Some people add all kinds of spices and seasonings, but I like to err on the side of simplicity. The result is bold, tangy, beefy and super delicious.

Ropa Vieja is perfect for a homey Sunday Supper during the Fall or Winter. But be warned that post-meal naps are pretty much required.

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